The Optimal Aging Podcast

Have you ever found yourself torn between maintaining your fitness routine and surrendering to the allure of total relaxation while on vacation? Well, this episode of Optimal Aging will simultaneously challenge you and offer solutions to this age-old dilemma. We'll share the fascinating journeys of Rachel and Oliver, two 50+ travelers who have managed to strike an impressive balance between their health goals and their love for travel. We also delve into their secrets of staying motivated and energetic, even while savoring the joys of a Caribbean cruise.
Shifting our attention to the importance of staying physically fit while globetrotting, we unfold an inspiring narrative of Joanne, an 80-year-old adventurer who fulfilled her dream of exploring the Galapagos Islands. Her tale is testament to the transformative power of regular exercise and its role in making travel plans more achievable and enjoyable. We also offer practical advice on maintaining healthy habits during trips, the challenges of transitioning back to routine post-travel, and the imperative of staying physically prepared for the demands of both leisure and business travel. So, if you're wrestling with the exercise-on-holiday conundrum or simply want to glean insights on managing travel, fitness, and the crucial balance between the two, this episode is a must-listen.
Resources and Information
My new course to motivate men over 50 to get off the couch and into fitness
Life Priority Supplements -- Affiliate Discount here
Functional Aging Institute -- Use FAIMM50 discount code
Prime Fit Content – Engage the over-50 market

Like many of you, I’m intrigued by the growing merger of the healthcare and fitness industries. I wonder where it could take us as a society — and if it could lead to systemic support for millions more people to exercise and eat right. You know, particularly among older people, the word of medical professionals carries great sway — even when fitness professionals strongly disagree.

How many times have you heard a prospect or client say he can’t do something because his doctor told him that he’s too old for weightlifting, running, exertion of any kind...?

My guest this week is a nurse, a personal trainer and functional aging specialist who represents a growing number of “nurse coaches” who seek to help integrate healthcare and fitness.

Nicole Vienneau is on the faculty of the International Nurse Coach Association’s Integrative Nurse coach Academy. She also owns Blue Monarch Health, bringing fitness training to people over 50 in Washington state. Dementia prevention is a major focus of her work.

Nicole’s spirit and enthusiasm are infectious, and I love the angle she represents on this topic. Enjoy our conversation.

Time Index
7:45 -- Suffering and death -- and 'a small amount of healing'
11:20 -- How 'nurse coaches' emerged
18:50 -- 'This is not a typical gym'
25:45 -- How she reaches older women -- and overcomes their barriers to fitness
34:30 -- Going where the communities already exist
44:30 -- Older people want to remain active
49:55 -- Three Things I Like This Week
Resources and Links

Integrative Nurse Coach Academy

Her page there

Blue Monarch Health

Naamly -- Support our advertiser, who helps you keep in touch with your members

The ‘Respect’ movie site

Report on ‘Middle-Age Spread’

World Alzheimer’s Month

How close do fitness clients typically become with their trianers? What qualifies as sufficiently good customer service, what goes above and beyond, and how do genuine personal relationships develop — particularly among a client in his 70s and a trainer in his 30s?

This is Optimal Aging, the podcast for fitness professionals who want to grow their businesses by reaching more people over 50.

I’m delighted to bring this episode to you during the holidays, because it’s been a gift for me to work on — and I hope you enjoy our conversation half as much as I did.

I first met Jerry Mathis last year and wrote about him for my Prime Fit Content subscribers, after he ran his first 5K Spartan Race to celebrate his 75th birthday.

He’ll be 77 soon and hopes to be doing this into his 80s. Here’s my chat with Christian about his amazing physical fitness and his amazing friendship with his trainer. Enjoy.

Naamly – Support our advertiser, who helps you keep in touch with your members
Life Priority Supplements -- Affiliate Discount code here
Functional Aging Institute -- Use FAIMM50 discount code
Prime Fit Content – Engage the over-50 market

Today we’re talking about a topic that is rarely discussed, either in society generally or in the fitness world specifically.

But it’s one of the most important events in women’s lives, and it affects their lives across the board – including their fitness and healthy living habits.

Which means you, as a fitness professional, male or female, regardless of age, need to know more about... MENOPAUSE.

If you’re wondering what do fitness and menopause have to do with each other, then this week’s episode of Optimal Aging is here to answer the question. It’s a special, shortened version of an earlier, longer interview I did with athlete, author, podcaster and advocate Selene Yeager. I enjoyed our conversation back then, and I enjoyed preparing this abridged version for you today.

Resources and Links

Naamly – Support our advertiser, who helps you keep in touch with your members
Selene Yeager
Hit Play Not Pause podcast
Prime Fit Pros Group on Facebook
Prime Fit Content – Engage the over-50 market

Did you know that two-thirds of workers over 50 and almost 80 percent of the self-employed don’t plan to retire at 65? That’s according to a study in December 2020, but only 1 in 5 said the pandemic had delayed their exit from the daily workforce.

But the same survey found just 62 percent of us are focused on staying healthy so we can keep working.

And look, if you’re going to keep working, or if you’re looking for a job, then you need to stay in shape – with the strength, endurance, agility and social competence that’s required.

A new book aims to help us navigate today’s job market, “In Control at 50-Plus: How to Succeed in the New World of Work” by Kerry Hannon.

Hannon lays out why we’re working later in life nowadays, the challenges older workers face, and strategies for re-entering the workforce or finding a new job.

She joins this week’s episode of the Optimal Aging podcast to talk about all this and more.

Resources and Links

Kerry Hannon

‘In Control at 50+’ on Amazon

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