معلومات عن هذه الحلقة
She couldn’t comfortably step up and down stairs, her knees and lower back were talking loud, and her bone density scans were trending the wrong way. So Mary Stahlman made a decision a lot of people delay for years: stop hoping “staying active” will be enough and start training with a plan.
We talk through Mary’s transition from a busy life in Nashville to a new chapter at Palmetto Bluff, and why that change of season became the perfect moment to commit to strength training. Along the way, she shares what it’s like to work with a coach who listens, modifies movements without lowering the challenge, and builds progress week by week. If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the idea of lifting heavier weights or worried your limitations disqualify you, her perspective is a reset.
The most powerful part is measurable: Mary’s bone density moved from osteopenia back to normal, returning to a level similar to her 2016 baseline. We dig into why progressive resistance training can matter for bone health, especially for women thinking about osteoporosis prevention, and how consistency turns small wins into life-changing momentum. We also connect the gym to real life, from tennis and footwork to agility, balance, core, and coordination for long-term resilience.
If you want a practical roadmap for building strength, confidence, and a body that keeps up with your goals, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review with the habit you’re committing to next.
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النص 🔗
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Are you ready to live an active lifestyle?
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Welcome to Behind the Bluff, where we believe every moment of your life is an opportunity to pursue wellness on your terms.
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I'm your host, Jeffrey Ford, and today I'm joined by Mary Stallman, one of our Palmetto Bluff members.
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When Mary started training with us, knee and back pain were present.
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They were limiting what she could do.
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Since then, she's built strength, seen remarkable improvements in her bone density results, and gained confidence that carries into everyday life, including the tennis courts.
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We're talking about what helped her get started, why consistency matters, and what her experience can teach us about taking control of our health.
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Mary, welcome to Behind the Bluff.
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Jeffrey, thank you for having me here.
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And thank you for all the amazing work that you have been doing, your vision to build this program, to develop your team and the fitness community here of members.
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It is nothing short of spectacular.
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And I just appreciate you so much for what you've done.
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Thank you.
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Mary, you are very welcome.
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I am blessed every day to work with incredible members and teammates.
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And it's people like you that started the momentum to the program creating a trickle effect to others who have not been working out, getting involved.
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And engagement is how we measure our success.
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And I am so grateful that you are able to share your story today on how you got engaged in our program and how that has changed your life.
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So before moving to Palmetto Bluff, you resided in Nashville, Tennessee.
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I did.
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And you had the classic tale of being a busy professional.
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Yes.
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Having a lot on your plate.
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Yes.
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You were active before coming here.
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What was the definition of activity in Nashville?
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And how did that change when you became full-time here at Palmetto Bluff?
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So in my 30s and 40s, we did a lot of running.
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And then through the years, my knees were no longer very happy about that.
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So we had evolved between working and just looking for ways to be efficient in exercise to doing a lot of walking.
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And I would say we were very active.
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We weren't sedentary, but we worked a lot.
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We would walk.
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And then for several years, Gray and I participated in a type of reformer program in Nashville referred to as Legris Fitness.
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So there was a lot of resistance, bodyweight resistance type of thing.
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But then I think the combination of walking as my activity, and then the aging changes that I was experiencing going into my fifth towards sixth decade, my body was not able to really keep pace with the changes to my satisfaction.
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You were noticing that even through walking regularly and participating in Legris Fitness, which is similar to Pilates Reformer training, you weren't at the strength that you thought you could be?
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Well, it was showing up in other ways.
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Um I had a lot of knee pain.
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That's the thing that kind of sticks out in my mind: knee pain and lower back pain.
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I worked in residential construction.
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And so on any given day, if I was on a job site, I was going up and down and over uneven surfaces, up and down stairs, that kind of thing.
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And I was really noticing how much problem I was having with my knees.
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And that's really what got my attention.
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And then on top of that, just a small segue is my husband was having some health issues as well.
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And so all of these life events come together and you just start to realize you're not being, you're not optimizing, you know, yourself, your body, and with the aging changes.
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So when I saw the horizon coming in front of me that we were going to be moving to Palmetto Bluff full-time, which was in early 2023, I saw that as an opportunity to try to turn things around.
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It seemed like you were about to have a lot more time on your hands and you could fully commit to a different way of training.
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Exactly.
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I I just felt like it was a golden opportunity, mine there for the taking to decide how I was going to use this new chapter in my life.
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That's so good.
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There for the taking.
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We see a lot of new members these days with more homes being built at Palmetto Bluff and the perspective of seizing the opportunity in your case to make some improvements with the pain that you were experiencing in your knees.
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So I know they were bothering you.
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We trained together early on.
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Could you tell us a bit more about your knee limitations and how that showed up in your everyday life?
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Well, as it turned out, when I was living in Nashville, we um in the last phase of our life there, we lived in a place that had a lot of up and down steps.
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And literally I would go up one step with one foot and then the next, not step over step type of thing.
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Well, that was a big signal.
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And then just on the job side again, it was very difficult um maneuvering.
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And so when I came here and I met you and I said, you know, I want to do some training.
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I want to see if I can improve this.
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I remember that that Nadair said to me later on, Jeff told me that you could barely step up and down off of a well, that's what he said that you told him.
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And I was like, Well, yeah, it's true.
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You know, I'm I'm sad to say it.
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I could do it, but it was uncomfortable.
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It wasn't a movement pattern that your body liked very much.
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As you began your journey starting to focus on strength training, what helped you take that first step to say, I need to start training?
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Well, I had worked out with a trainer in the early 2000s, and it had been a great experience.
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But once again, life comes in.
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You put yourself kind of behind other things that you think are more important for a variety of reasons.
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Um, and so again, I saw this as an opportunity.
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You were putting together at that point, uh, you were evolving your training program.
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I could tell that you had a vision for where you wanted to go.
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And I came and talked to you about, you know, I'd like to work with a trainer because I felt that I perform better when I have someone giving me feedback on what I'm doing, how to do it better, how to find ways around my limitations.
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And so I just saw that as a huge opportunity to try to improve.
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Yeah, your early experience with personal training, having someone who gave you a positive experience, definitely fed the fuel for getting someone again so that eyes could be on you, so that you could approach this next chapter with a very specific plan, with the feedback that would encourage you to keep going and just allow you to achieve your goals probably quicker.
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A simple way to say it would be I wanted to be a better version of myself.
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And that's kind of become my mantra is I want to continue to become a better version of myself with each week.
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And that's that can be just very little things, but that's just the mindset that I've taken.
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And I felt that that was the training was the way to help me open that door and start getting there.
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Tell us about your mom and what you saw in her activity level as she got older.
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Because early on when we began training, you definitely wanted to increase your bone density.
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It was something that we talked about.
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And you had an experience with your mom that I believe speaks to what a lot of our listeners have potentially seen in their parents as well.
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Well, my mom lived to be 91, but as she aged, uh osteoporosis was a big issue for her.
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And I remember that she had to take medications for it.
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And I remember her talking about how unpleasant that was.
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Now she was a very active person and she wasn't overweight.
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She was constantly working in the yard.
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Um but and and this is very late in life, but at 87, um, she had a compression fracture in her spine.
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And we actually brought her to Nashville and had uh treatment done to help her with that.
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But I saw how much pain she was in having that.
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Mary, was it consistent pain that you witnessed, like just uh in the everyday?
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It for her, yeah, it was remarkable because she was so active and she was such a positive person.
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And this was like she hit the wall.
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She was so uncomfortable, she couldn't do anything, she could hardly get herself out of the bed.
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And the miracle of it was that the procedure that she had done is very simple.
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And the next day she was like her old self again.
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The relief was there.
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The relief was there.
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But but the underlying problem certainly got my attention because if she had it, you know that genetically I might be more predisposed to having that as I age.
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So it it made it very real for me.
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Yeah.
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You and I began training, we worked around your limitations, we built a foundation, and then we hired this incredible guy, Nadair Mertulli.
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Many of our listeners know this gentleman.
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And he took it from there.
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What was your experience with Nadair?
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And how did he set up your program where each week you felt like you were making progress?
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Well, I we don't have enough time for me to talk about how good I feel about Nadair.
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Um, he is a remarkable individual.
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He is um just exceptional, and he from day one was wonderful with me in so many ways.
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And this is something that I I want anyone to know is that I think a really good trainer listens.
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I think a really good trainer knows how to modify.
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And one of the things I like to say in my work with Nader was we didn't work any less, we just worked differently.
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And so even now, when we work together, he will start with, you know, how are you feeling?
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And I will tell him, you know, if I've got something in particular bothering me, and then we just modify the way we work around that.
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And I think I can't really speak to how he devised the training plan in his head, but I think initially it was to get his arms around what I could and couldn't do.
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And then he began to try to figure out so how do we take small steps toward working on the things that we can do and building up the things that we don't do well, you know, like chipping away at that.
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And that and I don't know if that's answering your question, but that's that's really kind of how we That's what you felt.
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Well, that's how we approached it was you know, let's take the things that we can do and then okay, let's try this thing.
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Okay, if that uh can't do that, let's modify it.
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How about this thing?
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But he always had tools to help me find ways to work hard.
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Yeah.
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For you, you're someone who I would describe as focused and intense towards making improvement.
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And I mean that as a fellow intense towards making improvement type of person.
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How did that feel knowing that Nadair always had a different way to work around a limitation or a trick up his sleeve?
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Well, I loved it.
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I mean, we we have we work really hard.
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Sometimes I'm grabbing my knees, going, give me just a second, I can't talk.
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Um but there's just so much joy in the process, and um we always find a way to do it differently or better.
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And those little changes, those discoveries, and kudos to him because I think he has grown over the past three years because he has learned how to, I think, listen to the older client.
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And I think that's really, really critical.
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You know, the the ability, my body now isn't what my body was in my 30s.
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I would like it to be, but it's not.
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And so he's willing to meet me where I am on that day, and and help me come up with a really challenging plan.
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And he does that consistently.
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Mary, there's a lot of listeners who struggle to get into a fitness plan because they're worried about working around their limitations.
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They're intimidated by the fact that they may have to modify, and that isn't the best look.
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You said it.
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As we get older, our bodies are just not like they were when they're 30.
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And so it can be defeating to want to do something that you used to do, but it's not really right for you.
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How would you help that person get over the fact that they're in a different season of their life and a different plan needs to be the approach?
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One I think is just to make the commitment to just start.
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You don't have to have overly ambitious goals of what you want to do.
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I think if we just start and we're consistent, then you start to see your body responding to the work that you're doing.
00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:10.480
And I know it can feel intimidating, but I can't imagine a more welcoming community than the one that you've created here.
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All of the trainers that I witness every single day working with people are supportive and they're kind and they're patient.
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You really couldn't ask for a better environment to, let's say, get your feet wet to get in and to start and to try.
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That's so good to put yourself in an environment with supportive people.
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So even if you're not a member here at Palmetto Bluff, in the environment was very powerful for you to feel comfortable to take that step.
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And I think that's is hopefully the case for members walking into our new Palmetto Bluff Club Fitness Center.
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Is the environment does allow us to feel more comfortable to take those steps and to ask for modifications.
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Let's talk about impact.
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You made tremendous progress.
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And I remember how Nader and I would kind of be on your team as you were continuing to make this progress through in-body scans and ensuring that your plan was moving forward from a quantitative perspective, that what was being part of the program was driving the results.
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There were some moments where you're like, Jeff, I, you know, might just stop and sit on the couch and eat some potato chips.
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What allowed you to move past that when the results weren't exactly as you had anticipated, and then tell us what results came specific to bone density.
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Well, I think between you and Nadair, just the encouragement that if you stay after it, the results will show up.
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And I and I just put faith in that.
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I really did.
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I just put faith in the fact that if I did the work, the results would show up.
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And I and I would look back and realize that even in small ways, I had made progress.
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So over a period of time, I can't tell you what it was.
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Now I could step up on a 12-inch box.
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Couldn't do that before, now it can, doesn't hurt.
00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:22.640
Um, the big revelation um came for me with uh bone density scan.
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And that's the the thing I love to tell people about because it is so measurable.
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Uh, it's it's so exciting.
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So 10 years ago in 2016, I had my first bone density scan, and it was normal.
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And so I had a repeat one in uh 2021 and then again in 2023.
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In 21, my numbers had gone down, and in 23, they had gone down even more, and then I was clearly considered in the category of osteopenia.
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Well, again, with the familial history, the maternal history, that definitely got my opinion or my attention.
00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:13.359
And so um it was right around that time, it was early 2023, was when I had come to you to say I want to start training.
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And so I did that work.
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I just put it as a priority, showed up every week, did the work.
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And uh in 2025, around October of 25, that's when I remember saying to you and Nadair, okay, guys, I'm going in and getting this bone density test.
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If I'm not at least stable, you know, I just might sit on the sofa and eat potatoes.
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I might be done with all this.
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And so I go get the bone density test, and the results come back.
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And I had reversed those numbers back to normal, to 2016 level.
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I couldn't believe it.
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And and I joke because, you know, my husband's a retired spine surgeon, and even he was shocked.
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He was like, wow, you know, I okay, that's impressive.
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That was that was very gratifying, very validating.
00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:10.319
That right there, you know, just okay, it's working.
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Because, you know, here's the thing.
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This this is a message I particularly want women to hear is I had been active.
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I was walking, I was doing the Legris stuff.
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And with the aging changes and life stuff going on, being active wasn't enough for my body.
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Might be for somebody else, but it wasn't enough for my body.
00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:35.200
And the numbers were proving it.
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My my inability to step up on that 12-inch box when you and I started training, those were very measurable, real signals to me that this was going downhill faster than I wanted it to, that I'd better find the brakes on this thing.
00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:55.200
Um, so so that's that's the big picture of that.
00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:06.240
In your training program, we emphasized lifting heavier weights and doing it with extremely good form.
00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:12.160
How do you think the weight lifting impacted the bone density results?
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:16.640
Well, for me, I can only say that I think it was all about that.
00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:24.240
Lifting heavy weights is a different kind of stimulation between the bone and muscle than being active.
00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:30.160
I think it just it physiologically is a different type of animal.
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And you can read about that and and learn specifically what's happening at the cellular level.
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But for myself, I believe that I bear witness to the fact that that is exactly what made the difference for me.
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Were you scared at all when the loads continued to increase?
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Lifting heavy weights can sometimes be something that many people shy away from because we're scared of injury.
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How did your mindset look at that change in doing something that you maybe had not done before?
00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:09.599
It it didn't bother me.
00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:14.400
Um, it's a little intimidating every now and then when you're taking a step up.
00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:24.160
But on the other hand, as you get better over time, if you take one step at a time and not try to think about, well, today I can lift five pounds.
00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:29.759
Your trainer, if they're good, is not going to hand you a 30-pound weight the next day.
00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:35.599
You're gonna work your way to that to the point that you're gonna say, you know, I think I could do a little more.
00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:37.519
That's what happened.
00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.000
Is it's not so much about lifting heavier.
00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:42.559
It would be, okay, I did that.
00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:44.319
I think we could do a little more.
00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:47.200
Yeah, I feel like I'm ready for that next level.
00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:53.279
And the person there starting to feel that difference at the, you know, tail end of the repetitions, for instance.
00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.759
It's the validation of the work you've been doing where before you were lifting, uh, you know, doing a curl with uh, let's say a tin pan.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.640
And all of a sudden you're like, okay, that was fine.
00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:04.480
I could do that a whole lot more.
00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:06.400
Just let's try a heavier weight.
00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:07.759
Yeah, let's go to 12 and a half.
00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:10.079
We've got those two and a half pound increments.
00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:10.880
Yes.
00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:13.920
Well, for certain muscles, that's that's plenty.
00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:25.599
But my point is that as you do it over time, it it becomes self-fulfilling because as you get better, you want to do more.
00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:28.799
As you want to do more, you get better.
00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:29.759
It feeds.
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:30.960
It feeds itself.
00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:35.279
And and that's really if we go back to why start, that's why.
00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:37.039
And why be consistent?
00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:41.680
Because it becomes self-fulfilling if you stay with it.
00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:53.119
Mary, you have a perspective on training that has allowed you to become very consistent with it over time.
00:22:53.680 --> 00:23:04.160
Could you share with us the mindset tools that you've put into place that ensure that fitness remains the cornerstone in your life?
00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:10.160
Well, I start with my training schedule.
00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:12.799
It takes priority in my calendar.
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:15.039
I don't like to miss a session.
00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:21.279
It has to be something pretty significant for me to be willing to miss a session of training.
00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.079
So I've made it a priority.
00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:29.920
And as I've made it a priority, I have found it to be very therapeutic.
00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:34.720
It is really good for the mind and the soul and the body.
00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:37.839
It serves all the dimensions of my well-being.
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:39.920
And so I want to do it now.
00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:50.079
Even though it's hard, even on days when I feel lazy or I don't want to start, I will say, put on your clothes, go give it 10 minutes.
00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:57.359
And sure enough, it is like this veil of whatever laziness lifts off of me.
00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:59.200
And then I want to do the work.
00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:08.880
I've also really interestingly learned that if we start a set and the first set feels really hard, it is amazing.
00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:13.359
It's almost like my body says, okay, this is what we're gonna do.
00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:14.640
All right, I'll do it.
00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:18.319
And the next two sets feel much better.
00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:22.559
It's like your body agrees to participate in this.
00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:24.480
And I love that feeling.
00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.920
Your body agrees to participate in this.
00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:28.319
Yeah.
00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:32.160
Your nervous system starts to welcome the weight at that point.
00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:33.359
I kid you not.
00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:37.440
It is there are many days where I'm like, okay, that first set, that was really hard.
00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:42.480
And by the second or third, I'm like, okay, I think we could go up a little.
00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:46.640
Isn't that like an amazing thing?
00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:47.599
I love it.
00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:50.240
See, I get so excited about this stuff.
00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:51.599
I love the excitement.
00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:52.960
Keep it coming.
00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:59.279
How has consistent training changed your life outside the fitness center?
00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:13.039
From you mentioned feeling this therapeutic feeling every day, but has it changed how you approach challenges or just the types of movement that you experience in your everyday?
00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:14.799
It absolutely has.
00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:25.680
Well, simultaneously almost to starting training, um, I decided my I'll call it drug of choice here on property was going to be tennis.
00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:30.960
There's so many things here to do, but I decided I would go take tennis 101.
00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:34.799
I had played tennis when I was, I don't know, we'll say like 14 years old.
00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:37.279
So it had been decades since I had played.
00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:38.880
And I really loved it.
00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:42.799
So training and tennis have become kind of my go-to.
00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:57.039
And my ability to move better, to have that flexibility, to have that speed, all of those things show up, I think, from the training and support my ability to do these other things in my life better.
00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:01.680
Tennis was a brand new activity for you in retirement.
00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:04.480
Yeah, like I said, I probably hadn't played for a decade.
00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.839
I joke and I say, I played when there were wooden rackets.
00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:08.640
Wow.
00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:09.119
Yeah.
00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:11.119
It was a minute.
00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:12.319
You know, it's been a while.
00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:14.720
So that that's been a a while.
00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:25.119
And well, I think when we have more time on our hands, we start to become interested in hobbies that we either haven't done in a while or want to test out.
00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:28.640
I've seen that time and time again with members here.
00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:32.240
Mary, so your training continues on.
00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:38.000
I know that every day you are working towards becoming a better version of yourself.
00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:40.400
What goals do you have now?
00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:56.319
So, over the course of time, as Nadir and I were training, I began to realize that the things I wanted to work on were things that allowed me to be more durable, more versatile, and more resilient.
00:26:56.480 --> 00:27:05.519
I felt like if if I could work toward those as the broader goals, uh, I would get better at everything that I wanted to do.
00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:12.079
And I really like playing a lot of tennis, as anybody who's out on the tennis courts realizes.
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:16.559
And so Nader and I train right now three days a week.
00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:19.119
We do two days of heavy lifting.
00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:32.640
And in order to try to work on this durable, versatile, and resilient approach, we added in a training day of what we call ABC, agility, balance, core, and coordination.
00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:44.640
And we do a lot of things that have to do with single-leg balance, uh, agility, um, footwork drills, hand-eye coordination, those types of things.
00:27:44.880 --> 00:27:51.039
So all of those things also play into one of the things as we're aging is balance.
00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:56.960
You want to try to get really good about being able to correct yourself so you don't fall.
00:27:57.119 --> 00:28:00.400
So, again, all of these things blend together.
00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:12.160
And I see all of them just becoming a part of my approach to these goals of being the best version of myself I can be today and every day going forward.
00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:28.799
For someone who's taken the time to join the conversation today who doesn't have a clear plan, maybe they're dealing with some pain, limitations, or just low motivation, what's one step you would advise them to take today?
00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:32.960
As simple as just start.
00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:38.720
I think if you can set aside your fears and give yourself a six-month window.
00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:42.000
I know six months sounds like a long time, but it's really a blink of an eye.
00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:43.680
It goes by in such a hurry.
00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:49.920
So commit to giving yourself a window of time to be consistent.
00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:52.480
Make that commitment to show up for yourself.
00:28:52.640 --> 00:29:00.559
I like to use that little analogy of like if you're on the airplane and the flight attendant says, now put your oxygen mask on before you put the person next to you.
00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:06.640
That's because you can help others if you aren't in your best self, your best shape.
00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:10.720
And so just start, show up, be consistent.
00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:17.200
You'll hear me say over and over, I think that consistency is the foundation for all of the progress.
00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:20.559
Mary, final question.
00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:24.240
What does wellness mean to you?
00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:28.400
For me, it's a very comprehensive approach.
00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:32.000
It's that mind, body, spirit balance.
00:29:32.480 --> 00:29:42.079
It's actively and dynamically pursuing all of these things to help me become that best version of myself.
00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:45.440
This has been so much fun, Mary.
00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:53.279
I really appreciate you taking the time to share your story, the impact that fitness and training has made on your life.
00:29:53.359 --> 00:30:01.680
And I just think this is so encouraging for those out there who have maybe not taken that next step to get consistent with their training.
00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:02.799
I hope so.
00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:04.799
I it it really is a lot of fun.
00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:09.599
It's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun, and the payoff in how you feel is worth it.
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:17.359
Well, I'm grateful for your focus and for your support of our program.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:20.720
Well, I think I'm in good hands with your program.
00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:29.279
It it Nader is a beautiful representation of what you are building here, and I'm grateful for both of you and for the whole program.
00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:30.319
Thank you.
00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:32.319
You're so welcome.
00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:40.400
Listeners, feel free to hang out with me for a few more minutes and get some healthy momentum for the rest of your week.
00:30:48.559 --> 00:30:56.000
Mary was one of the first members that I can unequivocally say that I made a level three relationship with.
00:30:56.240 --> 00:30:58.160
Level one is small talk.
00:30:58.319 --> 00:30:59.440
Hey, how are you?
00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:00.720
How's your life?
00:31:01.039 --> 00:31:02.400
Very surface level.
00:31:02.640 --> 00:31:08.240
Level three is complete alignment and understanding with that person.
00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:15.759
We both view the world very similarly, where every day is an opportunity to get better.
00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:24.079
And I don't know if you heard it, but at the very beginning of the conversation, she mentioned seizing the opportunity.
00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:35.359
Sei the opportunity to make change and work hard towards something that matters to you.
00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:44.559
Mary saw something in what we were doing before the rest of the community and she jumped on it.
00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:52.799
I know you can hear how much effort she put in to making the change herself.
00:31:53.039 --> 00:32:02.000
So even if an environment is inviting and the program is there, effort must come from the person.
00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:13.920
Beyond seizing the opportunity, there were three themes that emerged to me that I believe we should all hang on to this week and beyond.
00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:20.640
First, modify without compromising the challenge.
00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:23.680
It's okay to adjust your approach.
00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:28.559
There's almost joy in adjusting the approach and tinkering with it.
00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:34.720
You can keep growing while respecting what your body can do.
00:32:36.319 --> 00:32:41.119
Second, become a better version of yourself each week.
00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:51.839
This was a mindset that Mary shared over and over again: a simple, relatable mindset that makes progress personal and achievable.
00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:55.839
And finally, we mentioned it.
00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:58.000
Find joy in the process.
00:32:58.640 --> 00:33:05.359
There is always another way to move, challenge yourself and enjoy the experience.
00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:11.920
We need to keep in mind that change is a process and not an event.
00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:20.079
And as long as we're willing to put the effort in and seize the opportunity, anything is possible.
00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:26.079
That's your healthy momentum for this week.
00:33:26.319 --> 00:33:30.240
I want to thank you so much for taking the time to join the conversation.
00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:36.559
And until next week, remember to actively participate in life on your terms.