Full Transcript for 45 Forward #190 - Exercising into Our Older Years—and Overcoming the Pains of Aging

pleasure to be here. Thank you 35 00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:54.879 for having me. 36 00:01:55.540 --> 00:01:57.920 Yeah, it's a pleasure for me too. And ever since 37 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:00.549 I met you, Ahmed, I know that you're on the 38 00:02:00.730 --> 00:02:03.870 underside of 45 Forward, but you work with a lot 39 00:02:03.909 --> 00:02:06.969 of older people. And ever since I met you, I 40 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:09.449 sensed that you had a really keen feeling for how 41 00:02:09.610 --> 00:02:12.409 to keep healthy as we age and deal with one 42 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:16.229 of the essential issues, which is pain in life and 43 00:02:16.270 --> 00:02:25.430 basically how to deal with it without medications and artificial remedies. Um, so, 44 00:02:25.449 --> 00:02:26.949 but let's, you know, but what I like to do, 45 00:02:26.949 --> 00:02:29.810 I mean, as I start every show is to just, uh, 46 00:02:30.050 --> 00:02:32.189 you know, give our audience a sense of who you 47 00:02:32.310 --> 00:02:34.430 are and how you got to where you are. So 48 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:35.990 why don't we talk a little bit about how you 49 00:02:36.009 --> 00:02:36.990 got interested in fitness? 50 00:02:38.990 --> 00:02:40.129 Let's do that. 51 00:02:40.189 --> 00:02:41.110 Yeah. 52 00:02:41.189 --> 00:02:44.189 For me, for me, it started as it potentially starts 53 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:46.590 for a lot of people where I was that kid 54 00:02:46.650 --> 00:02:49.490 in middle school who would always wear a shirt at 55 00:02:49.530 --> 00:02:53.449 the beach because I didn't want people to see my box. And, um, 56 00:02:54.159 --> 00:03:02.699 I lacked that self-confidence. I had absolutely no sense of self-esteem. 57 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:06.439 And that was because of where my body was at. 58 00:03:07.219 --> 00:03:10.500 And so going into high school, I started realizing that 59 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:14.439 I needed to make sure that I could increase my confidence. 60 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:17.259 I could go ahead and make friends and talk to people. 61 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:20.300 That's when I really started getting into exercise a whole lot. 62 00:03:21.030 --> 00:03:23.210 But it wasn't until college where it became like a 63 00:03:23.250 --> 00:03:25.430 religious part of my life. And I remember I actually 64 00:03:25.449 --> 00:03:28.030 started doing CrossFit. And so for those of you who 65 00:03:28.050 --> 00:03:31.469 don't know, CrossFit is a high intensity type of exercise 66 00:03:31.509 --> 00:03:35.840 where you're throwing around weights, doing a whole bunch of crazy. Now, 67 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:42.400 when I was doing a CrossFit workout back in 2014, 68 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.620 I had the most transformative experience. And it was, as 69 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:49.240 a matter of fact, one of the most painful experiences 70 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:49.879 I've ever had. 71 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:50.419 Hmm. 72 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:54.080 I was throwing up some weight. I remember it was 73 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:57.240 like a small gym, red wall, red walls. And there 74 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:01.020 was ACBP Thunderstruck playing in the background and I was 75 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:02.879 throwing around the weight. And then I ended up going 76 00:04:02.909 --> 00:04:05.930 to try and catch it. And the second I caught it, 77 00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:09.909 I immediately felt my back just go. And it was 78 00:04:10.069 --> 00:04:13.870 so bad that I couldn't finish the workout. I ended 79 00:04:13.969 --> 00:04:16.569 up that night, not being able to find a comfortable 80 00:04:16.610 --> 00:04:20.810 place to rest. sleeping i couldn't sit down i couldn't 81 00:04:21.089 --> 00:04:26.129 walk without hobbling around looking all funny and i knew 82 00:04:26.170 --> 00:04:29.750 that i had to find a solution right the reason 83 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:32.759 for that is because i don't want to lose out 84 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:35.720 on the ability to exercise because i gained so much 85 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:38.879 of that confidence from exercise so i was like okay 86 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:41.670 well if i can't go to the gym am i 87 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:44.449 going to lose all this confidence that i started building 88 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:48.019 And the answer to that question was yes. And not 89 00:04:48.100 --> 00:04:49.660 only that, but I was going to start looking out 90 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:51.779 on the community that I had built in the gym 91 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:59.569 with the people who were there. So I avoided listening 92 00:04:59.649 --> 00:05:02.250 to the kind of advice that was like, okay, well, 93 00:05:02.290 --> 00:05:04.730 you know what? Just rest, rest it. 94 00:05:04.689 --> 00:05:05.370 And you'll be fine. 95 00:05:05.470 --> 00:05:07.550 Don't go to the gym for a few weeks and 96 00:05:07.569 --> 00:05:12.629 you'll be okay. That just wasn't in the plan. So 97 00:05:12.649 --> 00:05:14.970 what I ended up doing was I ended up actually 98 00:05:15.009 --> 00:05:18.870 starting to look into how exercise can help you feel better. 99 00:05:18.889 --> 00:05:20.170 And that's when. 100 00:05:20.089 --> 00:05:23.370 I started studying anatomy and biomechanics and physics. And I 101 00:05:23.410 --> 00:05:26.569 put all that together and I started doing certain exercises 102 00:05:26.649 --> 00:05:29.769 that actually helped me feel better. And they helped me 103 00:05:29.870 --> 00:05:33.110 work out in lieu of my pain. Now, here's the thing. 104 00:05:34.550 --> 00:05:37.149 For forever, I used to think that exercise was just 105 00:05:37.209 --> 00:05:39.920 about helping you look good. But it turns out that 106 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:45.620 exercise is even better at helping you feel really good. 107 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:49.310 And that's how I got my start. So I started 108 00:05:49.389 --> 00:05:51.990 training people and working

with them to help them feel 109 00:05:52.029 --> 00:05:55.889 better in their bodies back in 2016. And I've been 110 00:05:55.910 --> 00:05:59.449 working with people one-on-one ever since. 111 00:06:00.470 --> 00:06:00.790 Right. 112 00:06:00.810 --> 00:06:01.009 Nice. 113 00:06:01.050 --> 00:06:01.410 Yeah. 114 00:06:02.209 --> 00:06:07.930 Exercise is an interesting thing. Certainly when people say, What 115 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:11.470 is the most important thing as you get older? You know, 116 00:06:11.490 --> 00:06:15.470 there's exercise, there's nutrition, there is, you know, making sure 117 00:06:15.490 --> 00:06:19.430 that you're socially engaged, that you keep your mind, you know, 118 00:06:19.750 --> 00:06:24.550 mentally engaged. And if you talk to the experts, they're like, okay, 119 00:06:25.029 --> 00:06:28.040 you got to do one thing. What's the most important thing? 120 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:33.220 They all concur. Exercise. And I think that, you know, 121 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:36.600 as you point out, it's sort of a confidence builder 122 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.480 for your self-confidence. you know, emotionally, but I think it's 123 00:06:39.500 --> 00:06:42.620 a confidence about how you live, right? I mean, you know, 124 00:06:42.670 --> 00:06:44.449 you want to be able to be active and engaged 125 00:06:44.490 --> 00:06:46.790 in life. So you need that kind of confidence that 126 00:06:46.810 --> 00:06:48.269 your body will hold up. 127 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:51.990 Yeah, a hundred percent. 128 00:06:52.050 --> 00:06:55.569 And it's really challenging too, especially as people go into 129 00:06:55.649 --> 00:07:00.949 their sixties and seventies and eighties. They just, oftentimes what 130 00:07:00.970 --> 00:07:03.430 I hear is that they don't feel like themselves anymore. 131 00:07:03.470 --> 00:07:09.639 Like they don't feel like they're, they're as, as, maybe capable. 132 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:10.160 As they once were. 133 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:14.040 And what starts to happen is they start losing out 134 00:07:14.459 --> 00:07:16.139 on the ability to do the things that they love 135 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:18.949 to do with the people that they meet. And so 136 00:07:19.209 --> 00:07:22.990 that's really the most tragic part. Because I think it's 137 00:07:23.029 --> 00:07:25.069 no surprise that, you know, if I were to go 138 00:07:25.089 --> 00:07:28.410 to a mall today and talk to 100 people and say, hey, 139 00:07:28.430 --> 00:07:31.560 do you think exercise is good for you? I mean, 140 00:07:31.569 --> 00:07:34.019 I'm sure 100% of them would say yes, yes it is. 141 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:38.319 But the problem is, actually going ahead and doing it. 142 00:07:39.290 --> 00:07:44.629 And this may be a controversial statement, but just movement, 143 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:50.610 not enough. Not enough. And I say that because one 144 00:07:50.649 --> 00:07:54.930 of the most important factors in exercising

successfully to achieve 145 00:07:55.290 --> 00:07:59.629 whichever goals you're looking to achieve is this idea of progression. 146 00:08:01.189 --> 00:08:05.319 And so what I mean by that is this. If 147 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:09.079 you were to do a 10-minute walk one day, and 148 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:11.160 then maybe the week after that, do a five-minute walk. 149 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:13.560 That's all you have time for. Then the week after that, 150 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:14.639 maybe do a seven-minute. 151 00:08:15.389 --> 00:08:18.529 Well, that's great. But if we were to plot that out, 152 00:08:18.569 --> 00:08:20.610 what would that look like? That would look like 10 minutes, 153 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:24.629 and then five minutes, and then seven. But instead, if 154 00:08:25.129 --> 00:08:27.699 you're really looking to make a difference so that your 155 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:31.660 body can adapt to new stimulus, and so that you 156 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.440 can get healthier, and so that you can feel better 157 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:36.360 in your body, and so that your muscles can help 158 00:08:36.379 --> 00:08:39.590 you move better, well, then you actually want to do 159 00:08:39.970 --> 00:08:42.970 more of a progression. So maybe that means 10 minutes 160 00:08:43.049 --> 00:08:47.330 one week, 12 minutes a week after that. Maybe you 161 00:08:47.370 --> 00:08:49.370 realize that, hey, 12 minutes was a little too much. 162 00:08:49.389 --> 00:08:52.669 And so instead of going to 13 or 14 minutes, 163 00:08:52.730 --> 00:08:55.509 you go back to 12 minutes and try it again 164 00:08:55.529 --> 00:08:57.799 and see how your body feels, and then you keep progressing. 165 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:00.779 And so the point of what I'm saying here is this. 166 00:09:02.700 --> 00:09:08.100 Exercise is helpful because it helps you do more. And 167 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:11.990 if you're not doing more from week to week, that's 168 00:09:12.029 --> 00:09:13.950 not going to help you to get the right dose 169 00:09:14.169 --> 00:09:17.470 of exercise that you need to make serious changes to 170 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:18.769 your life. 171 00:09:19.649 --> 00:09:23.509 Now, you mentioned in our previous conversations and I mentioned 172 00:09:23.549 --> 00:09:26.100 in the intro that you have all sorts of clients. 173 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:29.700 But for the sake of the show, let's talk about 174 00:09:29.860 --> 00:09:32.480 people as they get older, like If somebody comes to you, 175 00:09:32.580 --> 00:09:37.200 say they're, you know, in their 50s or early 60s 176 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:39.840 and they're like, you know what, I'm into retirement or 177 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:43.700 going into retirement. I know that I've been sitting a 178 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:46.720 lot for years, like I was as a writer sitting 179 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.190 at a desk. How would you start with them? What 180 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:53.149

is your assessment process? How do you onboard them into 181 00:09:53.190 --> 00:09:53.789 your process? 182 00:09:55.049 --> 00:09:58.649 So, you know, first it starts with a conversation. So 183 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:03.679 I try to understand, hey, you're here today. What are 184 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:06.799 the reasons that you're here? And start talking about that. 185 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:12.000 And the reason for that is that motivation, there are 186 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:14.500 two types of motivation. There's external motivation and then there's 187 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:19.210 internal motivation. If somebody doesn't map out why they're doing 188 00:10:19.250 --> 00:10:25.179 something that takes up resources, it's going to be really 189 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:28.139 hard to get them to do it and then continue 190 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:30.620 doing it. So what I mean by that is this. 191 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:38.590 You know, if somebody tells their little kids or their grandkids, hey, 192 00:10:38.769 --> 00:10:41.889 go do this. How likely is it that the three-year-old 193 00:10:41.950 --> 00:10:44.690 toddler is going to listen right away to do something? 194 00:10:45.590 --> 00:10:48.830 If it's not something that they already want to do, well, 195 00:10:49.129 --> 00:10:51.860 not very likely. And so the reason why it starts 196 00:10:51.879 --> 00:10:56.289 with a conversation is because we need to both find out, 197 00:10:56.389 --> 00:10:57.710 is this something worth pursuing? 198 00:10:58.730 --> 00:10:59.929 How important is this to you? 199 00:11:00.830 --> 00:11:02.230 And then we talk about it. And then once we 200 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:04.110 have a pretty good idea of what it is that 201 00:11:04.149 --> 00:11:07.610 they need, we both realize, hey, I might be able 202 00:11:07.649 --> 00:11:10.649 to help. Well, conversation is the first place we start. 203 00:11:11.049 --> 00:11:14.309 Then after that, we go on to the assessment. Now, 204 00:11:14.350 --> 00:11:18.360 the assessment is 75 minutes of just looking at every 205 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.470 single way that their body's So I take a look 206 00:11:22.549 --> 00:11:26.190 at their posture, not just standing, but laying down as well. 207 00:11:26.929 --> 00:11:28.860 And I take a look at their strength and the 208 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:32.120 endurance that they're in and the range of motion, how 209 00:11:32.179 --> 00:11:35.259 flexible they are. And I take a look at their 210 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:37.559 weight distribution. Does their body like to put more weight 211 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:37.899 on the. 212 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:40.259 Right side or their left side? 213 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:41.320 Then I put all that together. 214 00:11:41.539 --> 00:11:43.220 Then from there, we sit down, we. 215 00:11:43.100 --> 00:11:47.299 Talk about exactly what we found in the assessment, show 216 00:11:47.350 --> 00:11:50.350 them the plan based off

of that assessment, and we 217 00:11:50.370 --> 00:11:50.850 take it from there. 218 00:11:51.990 --> 00:12:01.350 Okay. And suppose somebody has pain problems. You mentioned that 219 00:12:01.389 --> 00:12:07.769 you sort of focus on gentle strength building exercises. And 220 00:12:07.850 --> 00:12:13.169 I think we kind of take strength for granted. We 221 00:12:13.210 --> 00:12:15.970 assume that we lose strength, but we don't really think 222 00:12:16.009 --> 00:12:19.289 about how much we can regain strength and how important 223 00:12:19.340 --> 00:12:22.440 that strength is. And we talked about flexibility and balance, 224 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:25.419 but often it's the strength component that people are missing 225 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:29.179 that because of their habits, you know, that certain parts 226 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:31.379 of the body are now weaker and they need to 227 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:32.799 rebuild the strength in those parts. 228 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:36.220 Yeah. And it's really interesting because one of the things 229 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.830 you said there was a lot of balance and that, 230 00:12:38.870 --> 00:12:40.799 and that's something that I come across all the time. 231 00:12:41.509 --> 00:12:43.909 I'm across clients telling me, Hey, I want to feel 232 00:12:43.929 --> 00:12:46.309 more balanced. I want to, I want to feel like 233 00:12:46.450 --> 00:12:49.429 I'm not, in trouble with potentially falling. I want to 234 00:12:49.450 --> 00:12:49.990 feel like when I. 235 00:12:49.990 --> 00:12:51.889 Go up and down the stairs that I can do 236 00:12:51.929 --> 00:12:52.750 that by myself. 237 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:55.720 And I want to feel stable on the ground. Now, 238 00:12:55.740 --> 00:13:03.340 here's the thing. Balance isn't just a skill. So what 239 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:05.200 I mean by that is you don't just learn balance, 240 00:13:05.460 --> 00:13:08.039 but you need to be strong enough to be able 241 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:12.759 to balance. So balance is a result of your strength. 242 00:13:13.470 --> 00:13:15.870 When you lose out on your strength, which by the way, 243 00:13:16.710 --> 00:13:20.409 If you're 30, you are currently in the process of 244 00:13:20.450 --> 00:13:24.129 your muscles getting weak. And so anybody who's 30 and 245 00:13:24.149 --> 00:13:27.470 beyond that, their muscles are constantly getting weak. And so 246 00:13:27.669 --> 00:13:30.730 what we need to realize is that if we keep 247 00:13:30.750 --> 00:13:34.549 losing out on our strength, then we're going to lose 248 00:13:34.590 --> 00:13:37.850 out on the ability to do so many things. And 249 00:13:37.950 --> 00:13:41.950 part of that, excuse me, is activities of daily living. 250 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:46.210 Clean it. It's being able to take the sheets off 251 00:13:46.289 --> 00:13:48.009 and then put them back on again after you're done 252 00:13:48.029 --> 00:13:50.559 with the laundry. It's actually being able to hold on 253 00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:53.440 to that laundry basket as strong as you're doing. So 254 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.440 all of these activities that we take for granted, in 255 00:13:56.500 --> 00:13:58.440 addition to taking our bodies for granted. 256 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:02.269 Are really important. 257 00:14:02.309 --> 00:14:05.169 And when we start to lose them, we start to 258 00:14:05.210 --> 00:14:07.850 realize how important they are. It's kind of that old saying, Ron, 259 00:14:07.950 --> 00:14:09.590 how you don't know what you haven't lose. 260 00:14:09.610 --> 00:14:10.340 Right. 261 00:14:13.210 --> 00:14:18.620 Exactly. And I think that especially as you discovered in 262 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:24.539 certain parts of your body, too, or certain areas, like 263 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:29.360 your back, you don't realize how many activities are related 264 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:33.730 to your back. So I'm sure that's what you discovered 265 00:14:33.750 --> 00:14:37.929 when you got hurt. Like, oh, my God. There's very 266 00:14:37.970 --> 00:14:41.009 little you can do when you have pain in your 267 00:14:41.029 --> 00:14:41.649 back like that. 268 00:14:42.730 --> 00:14:45.860 Yeah, and it's also little things like bending down to 269 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:49.100 grab your shoes or making sure that when you're getting 270 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:53.240 into the car, you're twisting in just the right ways 271 00:14:53.299 --> 00:14:57.139 so that your back doesn't hurt. Or just doing simple 272 00:14:57.179 --> 00:15:00.409 things like rolling out of bed sometimes. And all these things, 273 00:15:01.649 --> 00:15:05.009 they start to feel like this part of your day 274 00:15:05.070 --> 00:15:07.470 where you're like, I can't believe this is happening right now. 275 00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:09.899 but it is happening to you. And that's the most 276 00:15:09.950 --> 00:15:14.029 frustrating part. And I, and I experienced this myself. I've actually, 277 00:15:14.049 --> 00:15:19.210 I've actually discovered that exercise and strength training is the 278 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:21.889 best way to be able to manage your movement so 279 00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:26.190 that you can keep doing those things with ease. Right. 280 00:15:26.429 --> 00:15:26.590 Right. 281 00:15:27.129 --> 00:15:31.070 Um, so let's, we'll, we're going to probably come into 282 00:15:31.090 --> 00:15:34.990 a break shortly, but, um, Let's talk a little bit 283 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:40.490 about what kinds of strength building exercises do you start with? 284 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:42.990 I mean, just some examples of what are we talking about? 285 00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:47.860 Yeah, so I love that question. And the other side 286 00:15:47.889 --> 00:15:50.500 of that is my answer to this, or at least 287 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:53.200 the first answer, will always be it depends on the person. 288 00:15:54.110 --> 00:15:56.350 What do

I mean by that? Well, if I notice 289 00:15:56.429 --> 00:16:00.009 that somebody has a posture, like maybe they're leaning to 290 00:16:00.049 --> 00:16:05.090 the right side because of the back problem. And we 291 00:16:05.169 --> 00:16:07.720 need to get them to be able to lean back 292 00:16:07.789 --> 00:16:11.299 towards that left side so that their posture is symmetrical. 293 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:15.059 So that we don't have that right side of the 294 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:19.500 spine having more pressure and more strain on it. And 295 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.460 so that we can manage the forces that we go 296 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.820 through on a day-to-day basis. Symmetrically, from the right side 297 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:30.259 to the left side. Now, what the exercises will look 298 00:16:30.350 --> 00:16:34.509 like depends on how sensitive somebody is, depends on what 299 00:16:34.610 --> 00:16:36.129 they already can. 300 00:16:35.830 --> 00:16:38.250 Do, and of course, it depends on their experience. 301 00:16:39.210 --> 00:16:41.070 So from there, what we do is we make sure 302 00:16:41.090 --> 00:16:46.600 that we have them do exercises that feel good, first 303 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:49.960 and foremost, exercises that feel good, and then exercises that 304 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.200 are going to help them strengthen and move better quickly. 305 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:58.100 So what that can look like potentially is somebody taking 306 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:02.259 their hand and opening it up and then closing it 307 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:05.829 to a 25% squeeze in their fist and then opening 308 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:08.150 it back up. I actually do that quite often with 309 00:17:08.210 --> 00:17:11.009 a client of mine who has pretty bad arthritis. That's 310 00:17:11.069 --> 00:17:14.029 one example of an exercise where you might not think, hey, 311 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:17.390 so what are you saying to them? You're just closing your. 312 00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:20.049 Fist and then opening it. So that's a quick example 313 00:17:20.089 --> 00:17:21.150 of an exercise that I can do. 314 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:25.109 Yeah, very interesting. Yeah. So we are going to come 315 00:17:25.150 --> 00:17:28.130 up to a quick break. But that was a great example, Ahmed. 316 00:17:28.289 --> 00:17:31.970 And when we come back, folks, we have much more 317 00:17:31.990 --> 00:17:35.380 to talk about, different kinds of exercises, ways to avoid pain, 318 00:17:35.450 --> 00:17:39.039 to prevent it, and to strengthen your body, especially as 319 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:41.599 we get older, but at any age. So, folks, we're 320 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:43.619 going to take a short break. When we come back, 321 00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:46.460 we'll be talking much more with personal trainer Ahmed. So 322 00:17:46.509 --> 00:17:47.269 don't go anywhere. 323 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:53.210 Follow Voice America at Facebook.com forward

slash Voice America for 324 00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:57.460 juicy updates from your favorite radio shows and podcasts. 325 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:01.700 Today, our 40s sit firmly in midlife. We are starting 326 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:04.240 to feel our place and have many productive years ahead. 327 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:06.940 But now is the best time to plan for our 328 00:18:07.059 --> 00:18:11.140 future life. Listen for 45 Forward with host Ron Roel. 329 00:18:11.569 --> 00:18:14.809 From retirement to health and technology to caring for our parents, 330 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:17.430 no topic is off the table. We don't have a 331 00:18:17.470 --> 00:18:19.990 roadmap to our actual future, but we can start to 332 00:18:20.049 --> 00:18:24.049 plan more effectively. 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To reach Ron Roel or 351 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.500 his guest on the program, please send an email to ron.roel 352 00:19:54.819 --> 00:20:02.369 at gmail.com. That's ron.roel at gmail.com. Now back to 45 Forward. 353 00:20:04.910 --> 00:20:07.950 Welcome back, folks. We're talking today with personal trainer Ahmed Ahmed, 354 00:20:07.970 --> 00:20:12.430 the founder of Lotus Fitness. Before I continue, I want 355 00:20:12.450 --> 00:20:13.589 to let you know that you can find out a 356 00:20:13.589 --> 00:20:19.059 lot more about his work and his philosophy at his website, lotusfitnessny.com. 357 00:20:19.430 --> 00:20:20.720 We'll mention that again at the end of the show, 358 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:21.859 but I wanted to get it in a couple of 359 00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:26.859 times so you can remember and write it down, lotusfitnessny.com. 360 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:31.460 So we were talking before the break with Ahmed about 361 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:35.380 the importance of exercise and strength building exercise. And I 362 00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:38.380 just wanted to share, I just ran across this random 363 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:41.039 quote a couple of days ago, which I found fascinating. 364 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:46.359 It was about Thomas Jefferson, one of our presidents. And, 365 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:50.640 of course, Jefferson was renowned for his sort of learned 366 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:54.279 and bookish knowledge. But one of the things I found 367 00:20:54.339 --> 00:20:57.660 interesting was he wrote a letter several years before he 368 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:01.309 became president. And what he said to the receiver of 369 00:21:01.329 --> 00:21:04.210 the letter was that he preferred to use all the 370 00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:08.539 afternoon for exercise and recreation because health is worth more 371 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:10.779 than learning, which I found interesting. 372 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:11.940 Wow. I love that. 373 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:14.079 Thomas Jefferson was an interesting man. 374 00:21:14.660 --> 00:21:15.039 Yeah. 375 00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:15.619 Yeah. 376 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:20.740 Very complicated and very, uh, very full. Uh, so, and so, 377 00:21:20.789 --> 00:21:24.299 but today we are learning about exercise and, uh, So 378 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:28.579 we were talking about some examples of gentle strength building 379 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:34.109 before the break. And just to talk, you know, dig 380 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:36.190 a little deeper into that, Ahmed. So one of the 381 00:21:36.210 --> 00:21:39.190 things you've mentioned to me is that while strength is 382 00:21:39.289 --> 00:21:45.490 the key to unlocking movement and to helping people be pain-free. 383 00:21:45.910 --> 00:21:48.589 So talk a little bit more about that, about, you know, 384 00:21:48.849 --> 00:21:52.930 how it deals with some of the sources of pain. 385 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:54.779 Yeah. 386 00:21:55.279 --> 00:22:00.700 So one of the sources of pain is a issue 387 00:22:00.940 --> 00:22:04.799 with the bones themselves. So usually what I like to 388 00:22:04.819 --> 00:22:07.529 do is I like to backtrack. And often what I'll 389 00:22:07.569 --> 00:22:09.029 ask people is, hey, when it comes to. 390 00:22:09.069 --> 00:22:10.269 Bones, how do you think about bones? 391 00:22:10.390 --> 00:22:13.170 And they'll say things like, you know, it's the

structure 392 00:22:13.690 --> 00:22:16.410 and it's important to take care of them. And they're right. 393 00:22:16.950 --> 00:22:19.349 That's exactly how I think about bones and a couple 394 00:22:19.380 --> 00:22:22.460 of other things as well. So it's true that it's 395 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:25.769 the structure of our, of our body. Our bones are 396 00:22:25.789 --> 00:22:29.410 incredibly important. Number two, they help us with locomotion. Without bones, 397 00:22:29.549 --> 00:22:32.950 there's nothing for you to move. So bones help with 398 00:22:32.990 --> 00:22:38.589 locomotion and movement. And number three, bones are finite. So 399 00:22:39.650 --> 00:22:43.759 what I mean by that is in between your bones, 400 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:45.380 you have what's called cartilage. 401 00:22:46.140 --> 00:22:46.299 Right. 402 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:50.690 And This cartilage, once it runs out, and by the way, 403 00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:53.049 it acts as a shock absorber so that you're able 404 00:22:53.089 --> 00:22:56.789 to move without any issues. Once this cartilage runs out, 405 00:22:57.170 --> 00:23:00.950 you start having issues like arthritis, where now you get 406 00:23:00.990 --> 00:23:07.039 this bone-on-bone friction going on. And that's when things start 407 00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:13.000 not feeling so good. Now, the question is, how does 408 00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:18.019 the cartilage start to run out? And the answer to 409 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:22.650 that is number one, overuse. That's why typically we'll start 410 00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:27.250 to see more osteoarthritis in people of older age. And 411 00:23:27.289 --> 00:23:30.930 number two, because of the way that their bodies are 412 00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:34.250 set up, either because of their day-to-day activities or because 413 00:23:34.269 --> 00:23:39.220 of their muscular imbalances, the lack of strength on one 414 00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:42.359 side versus the other side of their body. Now, for 415 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:44.279 the listeners, you may have heard me talk about this 416 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:48.859 idea of the right side versus the left. Symmetry versus asymmetry. 417 00:23:49.150 --> 00:23:52.920 Asymmetry ends up leading to pain. The reason for that 418 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:56.940 is because if you have muscles tugging more on one 419 00:23:56.980 --> 00:24:00.000 side of your body, let's say, for example, the right 420 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:02.200 side of your body, the muscles on the right. 421 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:04.140 Side of your torso are pulling on your spine and 422 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:05.180 they're pulling you into that right. 423 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:08.839 But what ends up happening, as you can imagine, is 424 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.839 the right side of the bone itself, there's more friction there. 425 00:24:13.829 --> 00:24:17.420 And so that side is actually going to have the cartilage. 426 00:24:16.970 --> 00:24:17.720 In that area. 427 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:22.220 Start to evolve faster than that left. And what do 428 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:23.859 we need to do? We need to make sure that 429 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:28.200 we get the posture back corrected, but we need to 430 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:31.799 make sure that those muscular imbalances that led to the 431 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:34.420 spine moving to the right side and led to the 432 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:36.400 torso moving to the right side in the first place, 433 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:41.640 it starts to get more balanced because when the bones 434 00:24:42.650 --> 00:24:46.789 are more symmetrical. When you have more surface area on 435 00:24:47.029 --> 00:24:49.529 one side of the bone and the bone beneath it, 436 00:24:50.069 --> 00:24:53.240 or on one part of your arm and then your 437 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:56.019 upper arm and your lower arm, well, now what we 438 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:58.759 start to see is we start to see your bones 439 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:01.660 start to act more like Jenga pieces that are laying 440 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:04.930 on top of one another in a very nice way. 441 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:08.420 That's what we actually want to see. We don't want imbalances. 442 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:10.859 We don't want asymmetry in the body. We want symmetry 443 00:25:11.059 --> 00:25:15.670 because the asymmetry leads to orthopedic issues. Now, here's the 444 00:25:15.710 --> 00:25:21.910 other side of that. Pain is an amalgamation of information 445 00:25:21.970 --> 00:25:23.990 that your brain gets. And then it says, hey, I'm 446 00:25:24.029 --> 00:25:26.890 going to let you know that you feel pain in 447 00:25:26.930 --> 00:25:31.130 that area. Sometimes it's incredibly surprising what starts to happen 448 00:25:31.269 --> 00:25:34.670 once you start introducing strength and symmetry back into the body. 449 00:25:35.170 --> 00:25:38.559 Because what happens then is your body, it starts using 450 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:41.940 your muscles differently. It starts integrating all of the little 451 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:43.839 muscles that you have in a different way in your 452 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:48.480 body to make movement happen in a more controlled, in 453 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:53.529 a more precise, and in a healthier manner. So that's 454 00:25:53.609 --> 00:25:56.390 why getting your muscles stronger can help with pain. 455 00:25:57.849 --> 00:26:04.099 So The pain is really the result of either the 456 00:26:04.130 --> 00:26:08.000 cartilage or the body movement affecting your nerves, right? In 457 00:26:08.019 --> 00:26:09.259 that area. Is that right? 458 00:26:09.859 --> 00:26:10.240 Or is it? 459 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:11.359 Yes. 460 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:13.539 And to add on to that, it doesn't only have 461 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:16.279 to be the cartilage evolving and then you get bone 462 00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:18.299 on bone. Other

things can start to happen too. When 463 00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:20.240 bones start rubbing on each other, you could get things 464 00:26:20.279 --> 00:26:23.420 like bone spurs, which are basically these outgrowths of bone 465 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:27.859 that you have in certain areas. that your body is 466 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:30.980 constantly trying to make things work. And so it often 467 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:34.740 starts to create what's called compensation to make things work. 468 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:39.539 And these compensations, short term, can actually be incredibly helpful. 469 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:44.059 And it's the genius way that your body helps you 470 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:46.259 continue to do the things that you need to do 471 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:49.400 in your life. But the problem is when those compensations 472 00:26:49.720 --> 00:26:52.099 start to actually affect your movement and start to lead 473 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:55.079 to pain. So what I mean and what I'm trying 474 00:26:55.099 --> 00:26:58.200 to say is it's not just a cartilage running out issue, 475 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:01.539 but ultimately at the end of the day, it's a 476 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:05.119 bone issue. What is happening with the bone? Are the 477 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:08.619 bones starting to have less space between them? And is 478 00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:12.579 that causing the nerves to start to communicate in a 479 00:27:12.619 --> 00:27:16.619 less effective manner? And is that starting to influence. 480 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:17.279 The way that you're moving? 481 00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:19.289 And then from there, you start to ask the questions 482 00:27:19.349 --> 00:27:22.269 like what muscles aren't playing their part? What muscles are 483 00:27:22.309 --> 00:27:25.339 actually affecting... the bones and the way that these bones are. 484 00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:27.359 Right. 485 00:27:28.180 --> 00:27:33.140 Yeah. Now, one of the things that I've noticed personally, Ahmed, 486 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:37.299 with myself is, especially when you, so my career has 487 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:40.039 been as a writer. So I had, you know, spent 488 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:43.759 a lot of time sitting and really at times did 489 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:47.700 not focus enough on the fact that, that sitting is 490 00:27:47.819 --> 00:27:52.950 actually detrimental, you know, because it's, you're, you're not, um 491 00:27:53.430 --> 00:27:57.569 you know you know actively uh stressing uh you know 492 00:27:57.609 --> 00:27:59.490 certain parts of the body but you are stressing them 493 00:27:59.650 --> 00:28:01.670 in a way by not moving them you know and 494 00:28:01.690 --> 00:28:04.450 keeping them in fixed positions and one of the things 495 00:28:04.509 --> 00:28:06.750 i've noticed too especially and this happened to me was 496 00:28:07.369 --> 00:28:10.569 that um you know we i don't know if this 497 00:28:10.690 --> 00:28:12.950 is how generally true this is i meant but i 498 00:28:12.990 --> 00:28:15.710 think that men tend to focus on the upper body 499 00:28:16.099 --> 00:28:18.230 you know the way we look and look and we're 500 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:22.140 strong in our arms whereas we don't pay enough attention 501 00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:25.500 to our legs, which is a source of strength of 502 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:31.369 being able to move freely and effectively. And so, especially 503 00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:35.789 as a result of sitting, certain parts of my thighs or, 504 00:28:35.849 --> 00:28:40.029 you know, my hamstrings or my other parts of my, 505 00:28:41.049 --> 00:28:44.059 you know, are weaker and they need to be, you know, 506 00:28:44.230 --> 00:28:47.319 and they become weaker from sitting. So how do you 507 00:28:47.339 --> 00:28:50.579 deal with this sedentary society, which You know, we thought 508 00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:53.259 at one point, oh, great, we're not doing hard manual labor. 509 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:57.299 We're doing, you know, soft skills, you know, sitting, which 510 00:28:57.700 --> 00:28:59.619 is worse to an extent. 511 00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:04.900 Yeah, so what I'm going to say might apply to it. 512 00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:05.640 Okay. 513 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:10.640 I don't have a problem with sitting. Now, here's the thing. 514 00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:15.839 Sitting does end up putting a whole lot of pressure 515 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:20.099 on the vertebrae, so the bones in your spine. And 516 00:29:20.380 --> 00:29:22.900 it keeps your hips stuck in a certain position. One 517 00:29:22.920 --> 00:29:25.359 of the things you mentioned, for example, staying in fixed position. 518 00:29:25.420 --> 00:29:28.160 Now that, that is a problem because when you are 519 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:31.609 in a fixed position for a long time, the muscles are, 520 00:29:32.049 --> 00:29:35.529 are working and acting on your bones in a very 521 00:29:35.650 --> 00:29:38.029 certain way for, again, for a prolonged period of time. 522 00:29:38.049 --> 00:29:38.650 So that's an issue. 523 00:29:39.769 --> 00:29:45.920 However, sitting is only a problem if it's continuing to 524 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:51.000 lead to problems. And if you are able to switch 525 00:29:51.079 --> 00:29:54.569 up your positions and your postures as you're sitting on 526 00:29:54.609 --> 00:29:57.109 a frequent basis, then it might not be an issue. 527 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:59.880 But it becomes an issue when, say, for example, you're 528 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:03.720 sitting and you're always leaning to the right side of 529 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:06.640 your chair. You constantly have your arm on the right 530 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:10.650 side of your chair and you're constantly in that position. Well, 531 00:30:10.690 --> 00:30:13.930 what starts to happen is those muscles on that right side, 532 00:30:14.589 --> 00:30:17.470 they start having to

do a bit of overtime. And 533 00:30:17.509 --> 00:30:20.490 because they're doing overtime as compared to the other side, well, 534 00:30:20.529 --> 00:30:23.019 then that's an issue. But the way that we deal 535 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:26.799 with sitting is we need to understand how is sitting 536 00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:32.559 affecting your body? Is it that your hamstrings or your 537 00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:36.059 legs aren't as strong because you're sitting? Or what is 538 00:30:36.519 --> 00:30:39.180 really the reason that the legs aren't as strong as 539 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:41.700 you'd like them to be? And the way that we 540 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:44.339 start to work on that, it has a lot to 541 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:47.980 do with the compensations that your body has derived from 542 00:30:48.180 --> 00:30:51.970 years of sitting or from years of doing whatever activities 543 00:30:51.990 --> 00:30:54.490 you love to do. And then from there, working on 544 00:30:54.849 --> 00:30:59.190 the pieces within your body, the muscles, to actually help 545 00:30:59.259 --> 00:31:02.099 transform how your body can deal with sitting. 546 00:31:05.430 --> 00:31:06.990 Glad you unpacked it that way, because I think that 547 00:31:07.049 --> 00:31:09.369 is true. And one of the things I have noticed, too, 548 00:31:09.450 --> 00:31:15.430 is that problems come up when I'm looking in one 549 00:31:15.490 --> 00:31:19.480 direction from my computer. My notes are on one side, 550 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:23.500 and I'm like, you should switch sides a little bit here, 551 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:27.259 because you're constantly looking to your left here, and that's 552 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:27.839 the problem. 553 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:29.289 And it's amazing. 554 00:31:29.329 --> 00:31:30.569 Yeah, go ahead. 555 00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:33.410 That you came up with that conclusion. I mean, a 556 00:31:33.430 --> 00:31:35.430 lot of people, you know, just having the awareness of 557 00:31:35.490 --> 00:31:37.750 the small things in your day. I always talk to 558 00:31:37.769 --> 00:31:41.529 people about this idea that dealing with your pain problems 559 00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:46.009 is a lot like running a business. And what I, 560 00:31:46.390 --> 00:31:49.299 what I mean by that is this. So in business, 561 00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:55.539 we have profit and profit is. when your business is 562 00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:58.069 actually making money. Now, there are two ways to do that. 563 00:31:58.509 --> 00:32:00.490 For those of you who don't know, number one is 564 00:32:00.529 --> 00:32:03.869 to have more revenue, i.e. more money coming into your 565 00:32:03.910 --> 00:32:10.359 business than money going out. So more revenue, less expenses, 566 00:32:10.430 --> 00:32:12.619 more money coming in than money coming out. And then 567 00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:15.200 the other way to make a profit, the other way 568 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:15.640 to make. 569

00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:16.640 Money for your business. 570 00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:20.730 Is to have It's very little expensive and starts to 571 00:32:20.910 --> 00:32:25.869 decrease your expenses while keeping your revenue the same. So, 572 00:32:26.289 --> 00:32:30.480 for example, say I'm running a business and every single 573 00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:34.900 month I'm bringing in $ 100 and I'm only spending $ 10. Well, 574 00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:39.369 100 minus 10 is 90. So that's the profit that 575 00:32:39.410 --> 00:32:44.289 will be made. Another way to start to increase my 576 00:32:44.349 --> 00:32:49.859 business is to make $ 110 and still continue to only 577 00:32:49.880 --> 00:32:52.180 pay $ 10. 578 00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:51.839 As my expense. 579 00:32:51.880 --> 00:32:53.920 So that's now $ 110 minus $ 10. That's now $ 100 of profit. 580 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:57.339 Sorry for all the math. Bear with me. Another way 581 00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:59.099 to do this is instead of making the $ 100 and 582 00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:01.640 paying out $ 10, $ 10 of money going out, what you 583 00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:12.519 can start to do is You can start to then 584 00:33:13.980 --> 00:33:18.910 pay maybe only $ 0, find a way to have zero expenses. 585 00:33:19.529 --> 00:33:22.190 And now your profit is the a hundred dollars that's 586 00:33:22.210 --> 00:33:25.029 coming in. So you got to the same point of 587 00:33:25.069 --> 00:33:27.509 making a hundred dollars profit, but what you did there 588 00:33:27.569 --> 00:33:32.480 is different. Now, how does this have to do with pain? Well, 589 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:37.039 here's the thing you can get stronger. IE that's your revenue, 590 00:33:37.539 --> 00:33:39.319 just like the money coming into your business. 591 00:33:39.400 --> 00:33:40.380 You can get stronger. 592 00:33:41.210 --> 00:33:44.390 Or you can start to decrease your expenses. It's like 593 00:33:44.410 --> 00:33:46.490 the money going out of your business. You can start 594 00:33:46.509 --> 00:33:48.470 to decrease your expenses. And what I mean by that 595 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:51.920 in the realm of pain, you can start to do 596 00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:56.119 less of what's causing this over you. So in your case, Ron, 597 00:33:56.160 --> 00:34:00.289 for example, maybe instead of looking to that one side 598 00:34:00.309 --> 00:34:03.150 when you're looking at your notes, every few minutes you 599 00:34:03.190 --> 00:34:07.450 switch the sides. So now that the muscles on that 600 00:34:07.529 --> 00:34:10.150 one side that you were typically stuck in, they don't 601 00:34:10.190 --> 00:34:12.070 have to do as much work because now you're getting 602 00:34:12.110 --> 00:34:14.909 help from the other guys sometimes. So what you've done 603 00:34:14.949 --> 00:34:19.880 there is you've effectively lowered your expenses. And that can 604 00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:22.780 start to do a whole lot to help. So this 605 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:25.219 idea of lifestyle consultation. 606 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:25.960 Is sometimes something that I'll do. 607 00:34:26.019 --> 00:34:28.719 And just to reiterate, when I brought up that idea 608 00:34:28.760 --> 00:34:31.400 of squeezing your hand and making a fist at 25% 609 00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:34.690 as a way to build strength, that's working on the 610 00:34:34.769 --> 00:34:37.650 revenue side of things. But on the expensive side of things, 611 00:34:37.670 --> 00:34:39.230 what you can start to do is instead of maybe 612 00:34:39.289 --> 00:34:41.849 texting all the time, you can start to use voice dictation, 613 00:34:42.269 --> 00:34:44.190 or you can start to make the keyboard smaller so 614 00:34:44.210 --> 00:34:46.670 that your muscles don't have to work as hard. There 615 00:34:46.710 --> 00:34:50.010 are so many different ways to help introduce certain things 616 00:34:50.070 --> 00:34:53.010 or remove certain things in your lifestyle to start to 617 00:34:53.030 --> 00:34:55.090 make some real changes in your pain problem. 618 00:34:55.469 --> 00:34:57.800 I like that analogy of just changing some of the 619 00:34:57.820 --> 00:35:00.079 things you do, which is essentially lessening your pain, but 620 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:07.380 but lessening the expenses of pain through doing different techniques. Yeah. Now, 621 00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:11.429 what about just getting back a little bit to some 622 00:35:11.449 --> 00:35:15.170 of the things in particular about leg strength? Because I 623 00:35:15.210 --> 00:35:18.489 think this is something that we don't think about as 624 00:35:18.530 --> 00:35:20.949 we get older. And yet I think it's really critical 625 00:35:20.989 --> 00:35:24.050 in terms of our ability to be mobile. So what 626 00:35:24.090 --> 00:35:26.289 are some of the things that you do with respect to, 627 00:35:26.650 --> 00:35:32.469 you know, building a person's leg strength? or rebalancing the 628 00:35:32.530 --> 00:35:35.869 strength in their legs that are maybe imbalanced from things 629 00:35:35.929 --> 00:35:37.469 like sitting or other activities. 630 00:35:38.530 --> 00:35:38.769 Yeah. 631 00:35:38.789 --> 00:35:42.570 So if somebody is in a place where they don't 632 00:35:42.630 --> 00:35:46.409 have the strength or they don't have the mobility to 633 00:35:46.730 --> 00:35:49.989 get into an exercise machine to start off, and sometimes 634 00:35:50.010 --> 00:35:53.230 we'll do things where they're laying down and they're lifting 635 00:35:53.250 --> 00:35:55.809 their leg up off of a table or off of 636 00:35:55.869 --> 00:35:58.630 the ground, just a couple of inches, just holding their 637 00:35:58.650 --> 00:36:01.070 leg up in the air and for five percent. 638 00:36:03.530 --> 00:36:05.880 Eventually, again, I spoke. 639 00:36:05.699 --> 00:36:10.599 About progression earlier in my talk today. Eventually, that can 640 00:36:10.659 --> 00:36:13.980 progress to them being

strong enough where now we can 641 00:36:14.159 --> 00:36:16.960 add five pounds to their legs. And instead of just 642 00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:19.469 holding the weight of their legs up, now they're holding 643 00:36:19.489 --> 00:36:22.710 the weight of their legs up plus five pounds. You 644 00:36:22.750 --> 00:36:24.750 can start to progress that ever so slowly until they 645 00:36:24.789 --> 00:36:27.230 get to a place where they actually can get into 646 00:36:27.269 --> 00:36:29.519 an exercise machine. And I had... I had a client 647 00:36:29.539 --> 00:36:32.050 who was in this place where there was a certain 648 00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:34.010 area in her leg that we needed to work on, 649 00:36:34.090 --> 00:36:36.409 but we couldn't actually put her into a machine because 650 00:36:36.449 --> 00:36:39.309 she couldn't get into it. She couldn't have left her 651 00:36:39.389 --> 00:36:42.050 leg up enough to get into the machine. So what 652 00:36:42.070 --> 00:36:45.619 we needed to start doing is meet her where she 653 00:36:45.659 --> 00:36:48.820 was at. And that meant doing certain exercises while she 654 00:36:48.860 --> 00:36:52.380 was sitting down, doing exercises while she was laying. So 655 00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:54.420 there are so many different ways to start to work 656 00:36:54.519 --> 00:36:58.360 on this depends on Again, where somebody is at and 657 00:36:58.570 --> 00:37:01.280 what they're able to do and how we can make 658 00:37:01.300 --> 00:37:03.699 sure that they're progressing to get stronger and stronger. 659 00:37:04.500 --> 00:37:07.420 Yeah, good point. Yeah, that issue of progression, I think, 660 00:37:07.519 --> 00:37:10.219 is critical. And, you know, it can be very incremental. 661 00:37:10.280 --> 00:37:13.559 I think that's a safe way to do it. So 662 00:37:13.579 --> 00:37:16.340 we're going to talk more about progression, but we do 663 00:37:16.360 --> 00:37:19.409 need to take another short break. So when we come back, folks, 664 00:37:19.449 --> 00:37:20.989 don't go away. We have a lot more to talk 665 00:37:21.030 --> 00:37:24.750 about with Ahmed, personal trainer and the founder of Lotus Fitness. 666 00:37:25.230 --> 00:37:27.030 So don't go anywhere. 667 00:37:28.670 --> 00:37:33.949 Voice America is on LinkedIn. Connect with us today. Psych 668 00:37:33.969 --> 00:37:37.489 Up Live with host Dr. Suzanne Phillips offers a psychological 669 00:37:37.550 --> 00:37:41.329 perspective on coping with common and current life issues. This 670 00:37:41.369 --> 00:37:45.679 show addresses topics as varied as marital stress, insomnia, depression, 671 00:37:46.039 --> 00:37:51.199 raising teens, campus violence, and building self-resilience. Listen in as Dr. 672 00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:54.449 Phillips and her guest experts share the latest in books, findings, 673 00:37:54.489 --> 00:37:57.909 and information that will inform and enhance your life journey. 674 00:37:58.250 --> 00:38:00.699 Psych Up Live is

heard every Thursday at 2 p.m. 675 00:38:00.760 --> 00:38:03.840 Eastern Time, 11 a.m. Pacific Time on the Voice America 676 00:38:04.039 --> 00:38:04.920 Variety Channel. 677 00:38:08.110 --> 00:38:10.840 Tune in to the Voice America Variety Channel on the 678 00:38:10.920 --> 00:38:15.260 Voice America Talk Radio Network. Voice America Variety broadcasts a 679 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:19.059 diverse array of topics reaching a global community. Our experts 680 00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:21.429 come from all walks of life and the topics they 681 00:38:21.469 --> 00:38:28.710 discuss are everything from current events, arts and entertainment, leadership, parenting, relationships, self-improvement, 682 00:38:28.869 --> 00:38:31.889 career advice, and a variety of other topics. 683 00:38:32.159 --> 00:38:33.050 Check us out today. 684 00:38:33.340 --> 00:38:37.000 You're sure to find something of interest. Voice America Variety. 685 00:38:37.219 --> 00:38:39.199 Talk on today's hot topics. 686 00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:44.340 It's time to unlock some of the best-kept secrets in health, wealth, 687 00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:46.579 and happiness. Are you ready to live your life to 688 00:38:46.619 --> 00:38:50.079 the fullest and hear insider tips from today's experts? Then 689 00:38:50.139 --> 00:38:53.199 tune in to The Forbes Factor with celebrity TV host, 690 00:38:53.480 --> 00:38:58.510 keynote speaker, and inspirational icon, Forbes Riley. She's a best-selling 691 00:38:58.590 --> 00:39:01.150 author and TV fitness expert, and you know her from 692 00:39:01.190 --> 00:39:04.650 QVC and HSN. Now, she brings her expert advice and 693 00:39:04.710 --> 00:39:07.829 guests to the Voice America Variety Channel. Tune in live 694 00:39:07.909 --> 00:39:10.380 every Wednesday at 11 a.m. Pacific Time and 2 p.m. 695 00:39:10.440 --> 00:39:13.800 Eastern Time for The Forbes Factor. We guarantee it will 696 00:39:13.860 --> 00:39:15.219 be the best hour of your week. 697 00:39:17.219 --> 00:39:21.300 Stimulating talk gets those synapses in the brain firing really fast. 698 00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:24.829 All the time. The number one Internet talk station where 699 00:39:24.889 --> 00:39:25.849 your opinion counts. 700 00:39:26.050 --> 00:39:27.829 VoiceAmerica.com. 701 00:39:20.250 --> 00:39:21.889 You're listening to 45 Forward. 702 00:39:21.909 --> 00:39:24.090 To reach Ron Roel or his guest on the program, 703 00:39:24.130 --> 00:39:25.969 please send an email to ron.roel at gmail.com. 704 00:39:26.030 --> 00:39:27.119 That's ron.roel at gmail.com. 705 00:39:27.139 --> 00:39:31.920 Now back to 45. 706 00:39:33.619 --> 00:39:33.800 Forward. 707 00:39:51.349 --> 00:39:53.650 Welcome back, folks. Once again, I'm talking today with personal 708 00:39:53.670 --> 00:39:57.929 trainer Ahmed, who specializes in helping older adults, but also 709 00:39:57.989 --> 00:40:01.260 people of any age, really, overcome pain through gentle strength 710 00:40:01.280 --> 00:40:04.420 building and exercise. And before the break, we were talking 711 00:40:04.519 --> 00:40:07.460 about the importance of progression in terms of strength building 712 00:40:08.280 --> 00:40:10.920 bit by bit, you know, whether it's legs or arms 713 00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:16.449 or whatever. So in light of that progressive approach, I 714 00:40:16.489 --> 00:40:18.829 know that you do offer an e-book, which is a 715 00:40:18.869 --> 00:40:22.320 step-by-step approach. I just want to How have you let 716 00:40:22.340 --> 00:40:24.159 the folks know about it? I think you call it 717 00:40:24.179 --> 00:40:25.800 the home mobility routine, right? 718 00:40:27.219 --> 00:40:27.920 Sure, yeah. 719 00:40:27.940 --> 00:40:32.780 I have multiple e-books. The e-books, the purpose of them 720 00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:35.860 is to give people exercises that they could do from 721 00:40:36.280 --> 00:40:43.510 just about anywhere. They're at home and they have furniture 722 00:40:43.550 --> 00:40:45.710 in there. They can start to use the furniture as 723 00:40:45.769 --> 00:40:46.849 their exercise machine. 724 00:40:47.550 --> 00:40:48.329 Sometimes you don't even. 725 00:40:48.929 --> 00:40:51.530 need any furniture, all you need is the weight of 726 00:40:51.570 --> 00:40:54.269 your body to start making some serious changes to. 727 00:40:54.250 --> 00:40:55.230 Your mobility fast. 728 00:40:56.050 --> 00:40:59.909 Now, in addition to that, I have a YouTube videos, 729 00:41:00.030 --> 00:41:05.320 actually over 430 videos on my YouTube channel, exercises that 730 00:41:05.360 --> 00:41:08.219 you can try out and see how they work for you. 731 00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:11.159 And the purpose of this is to make sure that 732 00:41:11.199 --> 00:41:13.619 people are getting everything that they need so that they 733 00:41:13.659 --> 00:41:15.719 can quickly make changes to their body and so they 734 00:41:15.739 --> 00:41:19.980 can feel Feel how strength changes the way that they move. 735 00:41:20.780 --> 00:41:20.960 Right. 736 00:41:21.239 --> 00:41:21.460 Yeah. 737 00:41:22.159 --> 00:41:25.519 Now, I noticed you also have, I guess this is 738 00:41:25.539 --> 00:41:28.300 a video, maybe it's on YouTube as well, unlock your 739 00:41:28.340 --> 00:41:32.320 morning stiffness exercises that you can do from bed. We 740 00:41:32.340 --> 00:41:34.360 don't need to get into the specific ones, but in general, 741 00:41:34.420 --> 00:41:38.920 you know, I certainly, as I get older, I'm like, okay, 742 00:41:39.000 --> 00:41:41.440 I better do some stuff before I even get out 743 00:41:41.500 --> 00:41:45.679 of bed and plan my day. So give us a 744 00:41:45.699 --> 00:41:46.860 little bit of a taste for that. 745 00:41:47.920 --> 00:41:48.460 Yeah. 746 00:41:48.599 --> 00:41:52.260 So, uh, that video, that's actually a private video. I know, 747 00:41:52.340 --> 00:41:54.199 I know I sent it to you, but, uh, I'm 748 00:41:54.300 --> 00:41:57.409 happy to send it to

anybody. If you'd like what, what, 749 00:41:57.800 --> 00:42:00.909 what it is, is it's video. It's a video where 750 00:42:00.929 --> 00:42:05.829 you can start to do exercises, literally. So it's head 751 00:42:05.849 --> 00:42:10.489 to toe exercises. Um, literally you're doing neck exercises, you're 752 00:42:10.510 --> 00:42:15.190 doing feet and ankle exercises, and you'd be surprised at. 753 00:42:15.210 --> 00:42:17.889 How much you can actually do just. 754 00:42:17.739 --> 00:42:22.860 By moving your body while you're laying down. I constantly 755 00:42:23.460 --> 00:42:28.199 give people different types of exercises in different positions. Now, 756 00:42:28.260 --> 00:42:31.119 the science of that is that when you're laying down, 757 00:42:31.940 --> 00:42:34.360 say you lift your arm up, you don't just have 758 00:42:34.400 --> 00:42:36.320 to fight the weight of your arms to keep your 759 00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:39.269 arm up, but you also have to fight gravity. So 760 00:42:39.510 --> 00:42:43.489 gravity is a resistance within itself. And depending on where 761 00:42:43.510 --> 00:42:45.340 you're at in terms of your strength levels, that may 762 00:42:45.389 --> 00:42:49.420 be really easy or it might be really hard. So 763 00:42:50.159 --> 00:42:54.300 the exercises in there are all meant to be something 764 00:42:54.380 --> 00:42:58.400 that's maybe not super challenging, but if it is, that's okay. 765 00:42:58.519 --> 00:43:00.159 And all you'll want to do is you'll want to 766 00:43:00.500 --> 00:43:04.820 start off on the lower repetition. So I believe in 767 00:43:04.900 --> 00:43:08.639 the video, I suggest doing eight repetitions for each exercise. 768 00:43:09.550 --> 00:43:14.449 Maybe just start doing one or two, and that can 769 00:43:14.489 --> 00:43:16.579 help your strength go a really long way. And then again, 770 00:43:17.099 --> 00:43:19.480 over time, you progress that into the second week, you 771 00:43:19.500 --> 00:43:21.960 do three, third week, you do four, so on and 772 00:43:21.980 --> 00:43:22.239 so forth. 773 00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:25.260 Yeah, I think that's important. You know, we tend to 774 00:43:25.300 --> 00:43:27.340 get obsessed over, well, you got to do 10 reps 775 00:43:27.400 --> 00:43:29.949 of this and 15 reps of this and says, no, 776 00:43:29.989 --> 00:43:33.219 you can start, you know, and build. With this five 777 00:43:33.260 --> 00:43:36.199 or six or eight, I think those are good metrics 778 00:43:36.239 --> 00:43:36.800 to think about. 779 00:43:37.019 --> 00:43:42.809 One of my mentors, he talks about how with exercise, 780 00:43:42.829 --> 00:43:47.989 sometimes repetitions don't even matter. Now, I wouldn't go that far. 781 00:43:48.110 --> 00:43:50.809 And the reason I say that is because there is 782 00:43:50.829 --> 00:43:56.380 decades of research out there that is talking about how 783 00:43:56.420 --> 00:44:00.400 doing certain amounts of repetitions can make different changes to 784 00:44:00.559 --> 00:44:02.690 your body. So if you're doing anywhere from one to 785 00:44:02.710 --> 00:44:05.429 five repetitions, for example, you're typically working more on strength. 786 00:44:06.050 --> 00:44:09.210 Working anywhere from six to 15 repetitions, you're working on 787 00:44:09.309 --> 00:44:13.110 actually building muscle and increasing your muscle mass. And then 788 00:44:13.159 --> 00:44:15.059 doing more than 15, that can help you more with 789 00:44:15.079 --> 00:44:15.840 endurance type. 790 00:44:15.719 --> 00:44:18.099 Activities, like going for long walks or going for a 791 00:44:18.119 --> 00:44:18.480 long hike. 792 00:44:19.179 --> 00:44:22.280 So what I'm going to talk to you about is 793 00:44:23.019 --> 00:44:29.840 exercising for longevity. There's a book called OutLive. It's by Dr. 794 00:44:29.920 --> 00:44:30.619 Peter Atiyah. 795 00:44:31.960 --> 00:44:34.610 And he's a specialist in helping people live for as 796 00:44:34.730 --> 00:44:40.230 long as they can. The number one tool, even over nutrition, 797 00:44:40.710 --> 00:44:44.409 that he suggests for people to do is exercise. Now, 798 00:44:44.449 --> 00:44:46.619 what are the challenges that people end up having when 799 00:44:46.659 --> 00:44:48.619 it comes to exercise? Well, one of them is actually 800 00:44:48.739 --> 00:44:52.409 pain itself. So I'm sure that's funny to you. I'm 801 00:44:52.449 --> 00:44:54.570 talking to you about how exercise can help with your 802 00:44:54.610 --> 00:44:57.409 pain problems. But in the same vein, I'm talking to 803 00:44:57.429 --> 00:45:00.429 you about how exercise can be a deterrent, excuse me, 804 00:45:00.489 --> 00:45:03.630 how pain can be a deterrent to actually starting to exercise. 805 00:45:04.550 --> 00:45:09.400 By the way, I completely understand that. But if we 806 00:45:09.480 --> 00:45:14.519 unpack that, the real issue is that sometimes people will 807 00:45:14.559 --> 00:45:18.900 have expectations of what an exercise should look like. Now, 808 00:45:18.960 --> 00:45:23.909 I'm a strong believer in thinking that exercise shouldn't even 809 00:45:23.969 --> 00:45:29.409 have names. And I say that because when people think 810 00:45:29.489 --> 00:45:33.710 about exercise needing to look a certain way or needing 811 00:45:33.750 --> 00:45:38.070 to have that element of no pain, no gain, needing 812 00:45:38.110 --> 00:45:41.639 to be something that's completely going to wear you out. Well, 813 00:45:41.659 --> 00:45:44.880 these expectations, they can actually start to have a negative effect. 814 00:45:44.960 --> 00:45:48.219 It can help you take, take you further away from 815 00:45:48.280 --> 00:45:51.989 actually getting into the gym. So What you need to 816 00:45:52.010 --> 00:45:56.260 start to think about is this. Have zero expectations when 817 00:45:56.320 --> 00:46:00.519 it comes to strengthening your muscles. Think about your muscles 818 00:46:00.619 --> 00:46:05.019

as helping your bones move. And then from there, start 819 00:46:05.059 --> 00:46:09.119 to do very light exercises that feel good. So if 820 00:46:09.139 --> 00:46:13.699 you're somebody who has back pain, like I've experienced, Well, 821 00:46:13.960 --> 00:46:16.639 maybe doing exercises where your back doesn't feel good or 822 00:46:16.659 --> 00:46:19.579 off of the table. And that's completely fine because you 823 00:46:19.619 --> 00:46:24.239 can actually start to exercise without even moving. And that's 824 00:46:24.429 --> 00:46:27.969 using the power of isometric. Another way to think about 825 00:46:28.050 --> 00:46:32.250 isometric is a hold. And so a hold can look 826 00:46:32.269 --> 00:46:35.690 a lot like you putting your fist on your chest 827 00:46:36.469 --> 00:46:40.510 and then from a seated position, starting to twist your 828 00:46:40.550 --> 00:46:44.190 torso to that right side. From there, holding and squeezing 829 00:46:44.230 --> 00:46:47.050 your abs and all your muscles and counting to five. 830 00:46:47.570 --> 00:46:51.050 That's a hold. That's the isometric. Say, for example, that 831 00:46:51.090 --> 00:46:52.940 doesn't feel good on your back. Well, what can you do? 832 00:46:53.920 --> 00:46:56.179 One thing that I'll do with clients sometimes is actually 833 00:46:56.519 --> 00:46:59.139 put my hands on their shoulders, on the opposite side 834 00:46:59.159 --> 00:47:01.940 of their shoulders, and twist them just like you would 835 00:47:02.000 --> 00:47:05.119 twist a bottle cap off of a bottle, but doing 836 00:47:05.159 --> 00:47:07.260 it from a position where they don't even have to twist. 837 00:47:07.639 --> 00:47:10.369 Just asking them to shove into my hands and act 838 00:47:10.449 --> 00:47:13.949 as an immovable object so that they can start to 839 00:47:14.769 --> 00:47:18.269 use those muscles. Pain can be a deterrent for exercise, but... 840 00:47:19.199 --> 00:47:21.719 In the same vein, getting your muscles stronger can actually 841 00:47:21.780 --> 00:47:24.369 help with that pain. And to start to think about 842 00:47:24.889 --> 00:47:27.010 pain and exercise in a different way to start to 843 00:47:27.030 --> 00:47:27.769 make some serious changes. 844 00:47:28.429 --> 00:47:31.230 In the few minutes we have left, I just wanted 845 00:47:31.250 --> 00:47:33.349 to ask you a little bit more about some of 846 00:47:33.369 --> 00:47:35.369 the things you've learned. I know that you've done a 847 00:47:35.389 --> 00:47:37.030 lot of travel and to learn from a lot of 848 00:47:37.090 --> 00:47:40.780 individuals around the globe. Give us a sense of where 849 00:47:40.800 --> 00:47:43.980 you've been and what you've learned from people abroad and nationally. 850 00:47:45.110 --> 00:47:47.829 That's right. So one of my passions is learning as 851 00:47:47.869 --> 00:47:50.610 much as possible so that I can give my clients 852 00:47:51.050 --> 00:47:53.730 what they deserve in terms of a service that's going 853 00:47:53.750 --> 00:47:56.969 to help them with their problems in the most effective, 854 00:47:57.570 --> 00:48:01.630 in the most low risk and in the most fun way. 855 00:48:02.250 --> 00:48:04.409 And so what I've done is I've learned from people 856 00:48:04.429 --> 00:48:06.269 who have been doing this for longer than I am. 857 00:48:06.469 --> 00:48:08.630 I'm humble enough to know that there's always more to learn. 858 00:48:09.250 --> 00:48:10.969 And it's funny because the more you learn, the more 859 00:48:11.030 --> 00:48:15.050 you realize you don't know a whole lot. So what 860 00:48:15.070 --> 00:48:17.570 I've done is I've learned from some of my mentors 861 00:48:17.929 --> 00:48:22.670 in Canada, in Ohio, in other areas. I spoke previously 862 00:48:22.750 --> 00:48:26.110 about how I learned from a physical therapist as well. 863 00:48:26.369 --> 00:48:30.500 And he helps people through his resistance training specialist program. 864 00:48:31.340 --> 00:48:33.519 And so part of that is making sure that I'm 865 00:48:33.599 --> 00:48:35.840 able to learn as much as possible about physics and 866 00:48:35.880 --> 00:48:39.679 biomechanics and anatomy to start to make changes that are 867 00:48:39.739 --> 00:48:43.980 appropriate for people, regardless of where they're starting from. And 868 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:46.800 I love being able to chat with colleagues. So I 869 00:48:47.480 --> 00:48:51.420 have colleagues in England that I chat with every so often. 870 00:48:52.260 --> 00:48:54.900 One of my good friends is a gentleman from Illinois 871 00:48:54.980 --> 00:48:59.090 and we chat often. And then again, I have people 872 00:48:59.760 --> 00:49:02.989 where we get to really geek out on exercise and 873 00:49:03.070 --> 00:49:06.150 the way that it can help make changes for people's lives. 874 00:49:06.989 --> 00:49:09.489 That's great. That's right. And talk a little about your website. 875 00:49:09.510 --> 00:49:11.150 You have a lot of stuff on your website. I 876 00:49:11.170 --> 00:49:14.059 know you have stuff on YouTube as well. What can 877 00:49:14.099 --> 00:49:15.300 people learn from your website? 878 00:49:16.360 --> 00:49:20.159 Yep, lotusfitnessny.com. So there I have a whole bunch. of 879 00:49:20.219 --> 00:49:24.519 podcasts that I've done with certain people in the health 880 00:49:24.579 --> 00:49:30.699 and fitness space, chiropractors, physical therapists, naturopathic doctors. And we 881 00:49:30.739 --> 00:49:34.500 talk a lot about the benefits of exercise, not just 882 00:49:34.619 --> 00:49:39.949 for pain, but for other things, like for example, if 883 00:49:40.010 --> 00:49:43.849 you are taking care of a loved one, I have 884 00:49:43.969 --> 00:49:46.329 a podcast with a physical therapist where we start to 885 00:49:46.349 --> 00:49:48.949 talk about some things that you can do to help 886 00:49:48.969 --> 00:49:51.869 you get through that with a little bit more. 887

00:49:51.530 --> 00:49:52.849 Ease in your life. 888 00:49:52.889 --> 00:49:54.889 And I know that that can be hard. Maybe, maybe 889 00:49:54.929 --> 00:49:57.349 there is no easy way, but hopefully there are some 890 00:49:57.409 --> 00:50:00.190 tips in there that can help you start to start 891 00:50:00.210 --> 00:50:03.409 to make some changes to make your life, make your 892 00:50:03.429 --> 00:50:03.670 life a. 893 00:50:03.630 --> 00:50:04.050 Little bit easier. 894 00:50:04.730 --> 00:50:05.409 Right. Yeah. 895 00:50:05.710 --> 00:50:05.929 Yeah. 896 00:50:06.690 --> 00:50:10.039 And, So where do you see yourself now? I said 897 00:50:10.079 --> 00:50:13.090 you're on the underside of 45 and under, under rather 898 00:50:13.219 --> 00:50:16.849 than over, but what do you see yourself going in 899 00:50:16.889 --> 00:50:19.610 terms of fitness and where do you see the profession going? 900 00:50:21.869 --> 00:50:22.170 Wow. 901 00:50:22.690 --> 00:50:26.250 Where I see the profession going is a really important question. 902 00:50:26.889 --> 00:50:29.650 The personal training industry needs to professionalize on a very 903 00:50:29.690 --> 00:50:32.449 high level. The problem is that a lot of people 904 00:50:32.489 --> 00:50:35.750 who are personal trainers, and by the way, When I 905 00:50:35.789 --> 00:50:39.550 say the problem, this is a problem, but at the 906 00:50:39.610 --> 00:50:42.429 same time, it's really important to acknowledge that even personal 907 00:50:42.510 --> 00:50:46.050 trainers who do work on a part-time basis, they really 908 00:50:46.150 --> 00:50:49.690 care about you and seeing you do well. And they've 909 00:50:49.769 --> 00:50:52.030 seen the transformative effect of exercise and stuff. 910 00:50:52.050 --> 00:50:52.730 So they want to help. 911 00:50:53.670 --> 00:50:55.369 But what I tend to see in the industry is 912 00:50:55.469 --> 00:50:59.630 that there's a lot of turnover and personal trainers typically 913 00:51:00.550 --> 00:51:04.679 don't even last a year. Now, there are multiple reasons 914 00:51:04.760 --> 00:51:08.599 why that is, but where I see personal training needing 915 00:51:08.780 --> 00:51:12.860 to go is professionalized. Having more personal trainers who respect 916 00:51:13.059 --> 00:51:18.949 that the body is incredibly complicated and dynamic and unique 917 00:51:19.349 --> 00:51:23.190 for each and every person. And I believe that we 918 00:51:23.230 --> 00:51:26.769 need to be able to make certain decisions and judgments 919 00:51:26.909 --> 00:51:29.869 on people's bodies and what the appropriate exercise are based 920 00:51:29.949 --> 00:51:33.130 on that a priori knowledge and having a deeper understanding 921 00:51:33.190 --> 00:51:37.110 of the science behind exercise. So that's where the, the, 922 00:51:37.809 --> 00:51:41.030 the industry should be going. If we, if we want to, 923 00:51:41.070 --> 00:51:44.860 if we want to help integrate exercise into people's health.

924 00:51:47.219 --> 00:51:50.599 And, and so how can people find personal trainers and specifically, 925 00:51:50.639 --> 00:51:52.679 how can they find you? I just would be just 926 00:51:52.719 --> 00:51:54.480 going to the website or how can they contact you? 927 00:51:55.780 --> 00:51:58.530 I appreciate that. So there are so many different ways 928 00:51:58.550 --> 00:52:00.409 to do that. One thing I'd say is if there 929 00:52:00.429 --> 00:52:02.829 are people in your lives who already work with personal trainers, 930 00:52:02.849 --> 00:52:05.409 you talk to them and see what their experience is 931 00:52:05.429 --> 00:52:07.570 like there. That can go a very long way in 932 00:52:07.590 --> 00:52:10.679 terms of taking the right personal trainer. If you're finding me, 933 00:52:11.000 --> 00:52:15.059 if you'd like, you can go to LotusFitnessNY.com. I'm also 934 00:52:15.239 --> 00:52:21.659 on Instagram, Ahmed Ahmed Trainer. So that's A-H-M-E-D, A-H-M-E-D Trainer. 935 00:52:22.820 --> 00:52:25.050 And you can find me on YouTube as well. And 936 00:52:25.130 --> 00:52:28.269 so I'm in all of these different places here, and 937 00:52:28.610 --> 00:52:30.469 hopefully there's some good stuff on there that can help 938 00:52:30.489 --> 00:52:30.949 you right away. 939 00:52:31.489 --> 00:52:34.530 Great, great. Okay. Well, there's much more to talk about, 940 00:52:34.610 --> 00:52:37.210 but we'll have to save it for another episode with 941 00:52:37.349 --> 00:52:40.250 Ahmed Ahmed. But thanks for a great conversation. I love 942 00:52:40.289 --> 00:52:43.800 all the specifics. If you have any questions for me, 943 00:52:45.239 --> 00:52:50.489 you can find me, ron.roel at gmail.com. Once again, folks, 944 00:52:50.590 --> 00:52:53.050 if they miss our conversation with Ahmed today, you can 945 00:52:53.090 --> 00:52:56.650 listen to it as a podcast on voiceamerica.com or just 946 00:52:56.869 --> 00:52:59.349 search for my show, 45 Forward, and you can find 947 00:52:59.369 --> 00:53:03.400 it on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or hard radio. So, folks, 948 00:53:03.820 --> 00:53:06.099 be sure to join me next Monday, 12 noon Pacific, 949 00:53:06.099 --> 00:53:09.679 3 p.m. Eastern Time. It's Labor Day, and I'll be 950 00:53:09.699 --> 00:53:12.079 doing a special encore show with Carol Golden, who is 951 00:53:12.099 --> 00:53:15.250 an expert in long-term care planning and best-selling author of 952 00:53:15.570 --> 00:53:18.170 How Not to Tear Your Family Apart, A Practical Guide 953 00:53:18.190 --> 00:53:22.190 to Caregiving and Financial Stability. So until then, folks, keep 954 00:53:22.210 --> 00:53:23.769 moving forward. 955 00:53:23.769 --> 00:53:24.150 45 Forward. 956 00:53:29.170 --> 00:53:31.710 Thank you for tuning in to 45 Forward. Please join 957 00:53:31.730 --> 00:53:34.510 your host, Ron Rowell, for another great show next Monday 958 00:53:34.550 --> 00:53:37.190 at 12 noon Pacific Time and 3 p.m. Eastern Time 959 00:53:37.409 --> 00:53:40.230 on the Voice America Variety Channel. We wish you a 960 00:53:40.289 --> 00:53:40.769 great week.