November 22, 2024 • 36 mins
Join Dr. Jim in a dynamic interview with Kevin English, founder of The Silver Edge. He is a fitness "AGING" expert devoted to empowering individuals over 50 to build and maintain healthy, strong bodies. When entering the golden years, there should be more to life than just surviving - you want to Thrive! Kevin is a beacon of vitality with great advice for women and men who want to step into the next phase of their lives - Healthy, Fit and Vital!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome again to our podcast Live Healthy Longer.
If you happen to be 50 years ofage or older, this episode is
especially important for you.
You'll have an opportunity todiscover how to become stronger,
healthier and the most completeversion of yourself.
So guiding us on this journeyis our host and nutritionist,
(00:27):
wellness expert and author, drJames Polakoff.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
This is Dr Jim Polakoff, and I very much
appreciate you joining me onceagain.
Together, we're discovering newopportunities which support
your ability to age as healthyas possible.
And welcome to my new listenersas well.
By the way, my program is nowranked among the top 5% of all
(00:54):
podcasts, so greatly appreciated, and I thank you once again.
Now we've covered manynutritional topics in the past
episodes, so it's time to focuson fitness.
Combining fitness with healthyeating is such an important
component to your well-being.
(01:15):
My guest is Kevin English, ahealthy aging expert and the
founder of the Silver Edge.
He's a leading fitness expertdevoted to empowering
individuals over 50 to build andmaintain lean, healthy bodies.
Now, what I like about Kevin isthat he is actually rewriting
(01:38):
the story of aging, where everyindividual is not just surviving
but thriving, turning theirgolden years into a time of
renewal, strength and boundlesspossibilities.
So let's get right to it.
Here is the man who can provideus the tools to develop lean,
healthy bodies.
Welcome, kevin English.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Fantastic.
Hey, thanks for having me on.
I'm really excited to have afun conversation with you today.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, we're looking forward to it.
Now, Kevin, here is my firstimportant question.
Sure, bring it.
Why is being fit and stayingfit important to the process of
healthy aging?
Can you get into that?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, I most certainly can.
So that's the question, right.
Why is being fit so importantfor healthy aging?
And look, I suppose it probablyhelps to back up and just say
what do we mean by being fit,because that's a pretty broad
term and it's vague, right.
When we say be fit, what doesthat mean?
That I can go for a walk, thatI can go for a run, can I lift
(02:40):
weights, can I play a sport?
So there's a lot of differentdimensions to fitness.
There's mobility, there's allof these things in there.
So if we think of fitness asthis holistic sort of an
endeavor that has thismulti-dimension, there's a
cardiovascular piece to that,there's a mobility piece to that
, there's a functional strengthpiece to that.
(03:01):
But why is that critical forthose of us in our 50s, 60s, 70s
to really want to be fit?
And the answer is because beingfit equals being healthy.
Specifically, it equals beingmetabolically healthy.
There's this whole new schoolof research that is showing that
(03:23):
muscle is actually the organ oflongevity.
So muscle actually acts verymuch like an organ in our body,
and it's kind of a new school ofthought.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Well, that is.
I haven't heard that one before.
Yeah, Dr.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Gabriel Lyon is probably at the forefront of
that, at least in terms ofpopularizing that.
So if your listeners aren'tfamiliar with her, she's got a
New York Times bestseller Ithink it's called Forever Strong
.
But the premise of that book isshe's very much a researcher in
this space is that muscle is theorgan of longevity.
And when we say muscle, she'sspecifically talking about that
(03:57):
type two, fast twitch sort ofmuscle that we get from strength
training, from doing thingsthat make us stronger, muscle
that we get from strengthtraining, from doing things that
make us stronger.
So, again, if we go back towhen we think of fitness,
there's a cardiovascular pieceof fitness, there's a mobility
piece of fitness, but there's astrength component to fitness
which I feel like a lot of folksin our demographic,
(04:18):
specifically our ladies right,those ladies 50s, 60s and 70s,
historically they've been toldhey, you belong with the Jane
Fonda workout, you belong withthese little tiny pink hand
weights, you belong in anaerobics class and you guys,
maybe you're fine over here witha barbell and a dumbbell, and I
feel like that's been a bigdisservice to us as we age.
So that's why it's important,because being strong equals
(04:40):
being metabolically healthy.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Right.
Are you equating strength interms of male and female, or are
you saying that it's equal?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I think it's of equal importance, 100%.
And let me be clear it isequally as important for a woman
, especially in our agedemographic, to participate in
strength training and work ongetting strong, as it is for a
man, and here's why.
So your listeners are probablyfamiliar with the term
sarcopenia, which basicallymeans age-related muscle loss,
(05:12):
and osteopenia, which isage-related bone density
weakening or bone weakeningright.
Both of those are overcome bystrength training, by some sort
of professionally designed,age-appropriate strength
training programs.
Every time we strengthen ourbodies, our muscles, we also
strengthen our bones.
Now for your postmenopausalladies.
(05:34):
This is critical because weknow that postmenopausal females
are more prone to osteopenia,osteoporosis, and a lot of that
can be mitigated, even reversed,with.
A lot of that can be mitigated,even reversed, with a good
strength training program.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I know that many of my listeners, especially those
who are over 65 years of age,find it difficult to find a
fitness routine that reallyworks for them.
So, in your opinion, let's saythat someone really is on the
wrong track, which many peopleare.
How do we really begin theprocess of becoming fit?
(06:08):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah.
So, again, my area of expertiseis going to be in helping
people be strong, fit, capable,vital as they age.
And you brought up a greatpoint when being winded and do I
have still am I maintainingmobility as I age?
Can I squat, can I hinge, can Iget my arms up over my head, et
(06:41):
cetera right.
So can I put my own overhead,my own luggage, in the overhead
compartment in a plane, forexample, right.
But when we talk specificallyabout strength training, I feel
like where we run into problemssometimes is that there's aimed
at our age demographic.
There seems to be two types ofprograms that are pretty popular
(07:01):
.
One treats us like we have onefoot in the grave, like we're
feeble, and you know it's, forgoodness sakes, whatever you do,
don't squat, don't deadlift,don't lift anything heavy.
And the other side is kind ofthe you know that younger 20
year old bro or broette tellingus, hey, no pain, no gain and no
days off and let's get after it, let's, let's charge hard.
And somewhere in between thereis what is appropriate for most
(07:26):
of us at this age demographic.
Now, that being said, it's verycritical that we meet ourselves
where we are If you're verydeconditioned, have never lifted
a weight in your life, you'dprobably have a different
workout program that'sappropriate for you than
somebody who's maybe more active.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, one of the big, obviously one of the big
challenges, and I've seen manyseniors in particular back off
of exercise because they jumpinto it with a lot of gusto or
vitality and unfortunatelybecome injured.
So what is your suggestion?
As far as starting, you know tobuild a fitness regime slowly.
(08:03):
What would you recommend to ouraudience in terms of let's not
get hurt.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Let's not get hurt.
So that should be our look.
We want to build muscle, wewant to become fit.
We want to become fit, we wantto be healthy.
But you've already said themagic word, and that's to go
slowly, to progress very slowly.
So what I like to tell peoplewho are either deconditioned or
maybe new to strength trainingin particular is to become a
student of movement first.
(08:30):
So let's just take body weightmovements or maybe you're using
some light resistance bands orsomething like that let's get
really good at doing body weightsquats where we can slowly and
with control, get a full depthof range of motion in a squat
and stand back up powerfully.
Let's learn to lunge with justbody weight Lunge forward, lunge
(08:51):
backwards, lunge to the side.
These are very functionalmovements that we should not be
surrendering lightly justbecause we're kind of feeling,
well, I'm too old for that now.
No, you're not too old forbasic primal human movements.
You should not surrender thoselightly.
So I like people to start withvery basic, compound, functional
(09:13):
movements like squatting andhinging, pushing and pulling,
some of these split stance typethings.
So lunging again is one that alot of our clients when they
initially come into our program.
That's one of the ones theyreally struggle with, because if
you think about a lunge,there's strength involved,
there's balance, there'scoordination, there's mobility.
So there's all these different,multiple facets in a movement
(09:35):
like that that make it seem a toprogress to more.
You know, maybe start tointroduce some dumbbells or some
(09:56):
barbells and start working onyour strength that way.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Will.
Someone in their 60s, forexample, may really have a
difficult difficulty, I shouldsay, in terms of squatting.
Would you recommend people likethat, for example, to use the
back of a chair when you'resquatting to give yourself a
little help in up and down?
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Because some people are really out of shape.
Yes.
So, yes, again, that goes backto meeting yourself where you
are.
It may be appropriate, forexample, I'm 60.
I'll load up a barbell and putit on my back and squat away.
But a peer of mine who's thesame age may have to start, like
you're saying, with their handsmaybe on the back of a chair
and do a partial squat.
(10:36):
Or we may take that person, ifthey belong to a gym, and we may
use some of the machines.
So a leg extension machine, forexample, is a fantastic way for
somebody to very safely andeasily progress some of just
some lower body strength.
And as they build some strengththere, then we'll continue to
work on mobility.
We'll get them to where theycan do a body weight squat and
(10:59):
then, when they're ready tograduate from that, maybe they
grab some small dumbbells andstart squatting now with some
added load.
But 100% it's a matter ofmeeting yourself where you are
and starting from there and justprogressing slowly.
This is a patience game.
This is a patience game.
This is a lifelong game right?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Well, it makes a lot of sense.
Now you have a number ofclients that come to you for
coaching and, of course, yourorganization is the Silver Edge
a great name, by the way and youhave a different approach to
obtaining and maintaining a lean, healthy body.
So, as a coach, can youdescribe your process?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Sure.
So I'll start with this caveatMost of our clients come to us
for weight loss, so that's theprimary goal of most people.
Now there are some exceptions,that people come because they
want to build muscle, they wantto be strong, fit, capable as
they age.
But the majority of our folksare coming with that initial
goal at least of weight loss,and we have basically a
(11:56):
three-step blueprint orframework for that, and we're
very fond of the saying what youdo before and after your diet
is way more important than youractual diet.
So as humans, we're not meantto just constantly be calorie
deprived or in a calorie deficit.
That's horrible for ourmetabolism.
So we take a very metabolichealth approach to this.
(12:20):
So, for example, our phase onefor, say, you come into our
program and your goal is hey,I'd like to lose 20 pounds, 10
pounds, 50, whatever, it doesn'tmatter, but I'd also like to
build a little muscle.
I kind of like your philosophyof being strong and fit and
capable.
So that person is going to comein and we're not going to diet.
We're not going to diet formaybe two, three months,
depending on where theirmetabolism is.
(12:42):
We want to restore and optimizetheir metabolism.
In other words, we want to putthem metabolically in a position
where their body is much morelikely and willing to give up
those fat stores.
Because, as you know, I'm sureyour body loves to store fat.
Because when you go on a diet,your body doesn't know that
you're just on a diet to try andlose a few pesky pounds.
(13:04):
It's perceiving this as foodscarcity and it's then
down-regulating the metabolismto adjust to that, to adapt to
that, which doesn't mean it's abroken metabolism.
It's just what your body'sdesigned to do.
So we try and do everything.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Right, as we know, our metabolism as we age really
slows, and that's amazing.
Year by year, slow by slow, andI mean obviously you take that
into consideration, which isextremely important.
We 100% did.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
We also are strong proponents of look, there's 100%
there.
Especially as we get to 60 andolder, it's undeniable Our
metabolism does start tobiologically slow due to age.
Now, those of you in your 50s,if you have a really crappy slow
metabolism, that's probablymore lifestyle-driven than it is
(13:49):
age-driven.
So we want to do everything wecan within our control to affect
what we can affect.
So while we can't turn back thehands of time chronologically,
we can metabolically just by.
Of course, there's somenutritional strategies we have,
but one of the big things wehave is we want you to be strong
, we want you to get strong.
(14:11):
So everybody is going to do aagain, depending on where
they're starting from, but we'regoing to work on building
strength and that starts tobuild the metabolism, starts to
speed up the metabolism,optimize the metabolism, putting
them at a position where a fatloss phase will be much, much
easier, less painful than normal.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Well, I like to state the fact that we've become, I
should say, a sitting nation.
Does some of this have to dowith becoming a couch potato
sitting at our desk, looking atour computers, watching TV?
Have we become so sedentarythat that also affects our
metabolism, even at a youngerage than 65.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
It absolutely does, you're absolutely right.
So when we go back tosarcopenia, that age-related
muscle loss, most of that untilwe're, say, in our 80s or maybe
90s, even most of that isattributable to lifestyle
factors.
And the number one lifestylefactor is going to be that
sedentary lifestyle, sittingRight, sedentary lifestyle,
(15:17):
sitting right most of us are notmoving and active and you know,
using our musculaturethroughout the day and most of
us sit, for even those of usthat work out.
So if you think you, if youwent to the gym for 45 minutes
at a time and you did that three, four times a week, but the
rest of the day you were in aseated position or or inactive,
that's tough to overcome.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Well, and obviously you have most of your programs,
at least as I understand it.
I'm sure you may do someone-on-one, but basically your
classes, your courses, are allonline.
So I'm interested in basicallywhat you call your eight-week
transformational journey, inother words, taking your body
(15:57):
and transforming it, as you callit, into a fat-burning machine.
Fat-burning machine yeah, canyou tell us a little bit about
that?
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Sure, so yeah, that eight-week program is designed
basically to jumpstart ametabolism.
So this is to take adeconditioned person and help
them practice healthy habits.
So what are we?
I'll tell you what we're notgoing to do in eight weeks, and
that's diet.
We're not going to restrictcalories, so we're going to ask
everybody to take at least aweek and weigh, measure and
(16:25):
track all of their food.
There's a number of reasons whywe do that, but we want a
baseline right.
For some of those people, theymay be reverse diet, which is
exactly what it sounds like, andwe may ask them to eat a little
bit more food.
Along this journey, we're goingto work on, of course, getting
strong.
Strength.
Training is a big piece of that.
We're going to work onoptimizing our sleep and
minimizing stress, so some ofthese lifestyle factors as well.
(16:48):
But again, what we're trying todo is in eight weeks, what can
we accomplish from going fromkind of a sluggish metabolism to
a fat-burning metabolism, andby that I just mean can we speed
that metabolism up?
So, if you think, if you add alittle bit of muscle on your
body, muscle is metabolicallyexpensive.
Again, I'm talking about themuscle that we get from strength
(17:10):
training, not from cardio.
Those are two different thingsmetabolically speaking.
And that type two muscle, orthat muscle that we build from
strength training, ismetabolically expensive.
It's calorically expensive,meaning it takes more calories
to maintain that muscle, even atrest.
So for you for those of youthat are maybe out there getting
(17:31):
a jog or you're on your Pelotonbike and you're burning
calories while you're doing thatexercise but the second, you
stop.
The calorie burn stops when wedo strength training.
So you do 40 minutes ofstrength training, you get days
worth of calorie burn for thatIf you integrate that into your
life.
We're just getting this Now.
We're starting to just slowlyand over time, just increase
(17:52):
that calorie burn over time.
So that's what we're trying todo is instill in these people in
eight weeks.
These are the habits that youshould practice to get to speed
up that metabolism.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, that's very interesting because I think your
description, your comparisonbetween a Peloton, for example,
and the continuation of fatburning, which doesn't happen
after you've stopped yourexercise your program actually
continues the fat burning, ifthey're, even after someone,
let's say, just takes a breakand relaxes and perhaps goes
(18:27):
back to a sedentary position fora bit.
What you're saying is thatthey're still burning fat with
your program 100%.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Yes, yes, because of that increased calorie demand.
So, for example, I was at thegym at six o'clock this morning.
It's 11am where we are now andI'm still enjoying that
additional fat burn, calorieburn, just because of that, that
, that stimulus that I had thismorning and in fact this evening
, if I'm maybe on the couch withmy wife, I'll still be enjoying
(18:56):
that, whereas when I dosomething like play pickleball
or go for a run, I'm gettingcardio, which don't get me wrong
.
Cardio is absolutely critical.
I like to say, think of cardiofor heart health and think of
strength training for quality oflife.
So you can almost say cardiokind of is more of a longevity,
and do your strength trainingfor that health span.
(19:20):
For that I want to befunctionally strong and able to
do things.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Very interesting.
Now you also offer a lean bodyblueprint workout.
Now this, apparently, is gearedfor a 24-week regimen.
If you're getting as much outof what you describe in eight
weeks, the 24 weeks has to be ata superior level, I'm assuming,
right?
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Yeah, so a couple of different things.
The eight-week program is agroup coaching program.
So you're in there with one ofmy other coaches Coach Monica
typically runs those.
There's weekly meetings andthere's each day you have a
reading.
So there's we're crash again.
That's a crash course and justboosting that metabolism.
Body blueprint workout that's abasically it's a six month
(20:09):
workout program.
It's over five phases, so it'sall delivered through an app.
This would be for somebody whowants an again, a professionally
designed, age appropriateworkout program, but maybe
doesn't have the expertise orexperience to do a program
themselves, or maybe they'vestarted a program in the past
and found that it wasineffective, or maybe they got
hurt working out.
This would be something forthose types of folks.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
All right, so let's take a moment to switch to
something that I think is a lotof fun.
Apparently, you're a pickleballfan.
In fact, you have a programcalled Pickle Fit.
That's a good one, especiallyif you're in a pickle, but in
any case, I won't get into puns.
What's it all about?
And since you're coachingonline, I'm trying to understand
(20:55):
how you really make this workfor clients.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah, so we have one-on-one coaching, we have
workout programs, we have groupcoaching, and 100% of it is
delivered online.
I no longer coach in personanymore.
But yeah, the Pickle Fitprogram is a workout program
designed specifically for peoplein our age demographic who want
to get better playingpickleball.
Now, what it's not is teachingyou the skill and strategy of
(21:21):
hitting shots and positioningthings like that, but what it is
is increasing your mobility,increasing your strength,
increasing your explosivity,your speed to move laterally.
And I created it with that theidea that somebody would use
this type of a program to getbetter at pickleball.
But really, in the back of mymind, I created it to help
(21:44):
people become more injury proof,because the statistics for
people starting in art,specifically 50, 60,
70-year-olds, senior citizens,playing pickleball, were getting
hurt in droves.
And it's no mystery if you thinkabout it.
Pickleball the barrier to entryis really low and the fun
factor is ridiculously high.
(22:05):
So you might imagine somebodywho's been very, very sedentary
gets dragged to a court by theirfriend or, you know, these days
it could be a grandkid.
There's more kids now playingpickleball than our seniors,
believe it or not.
That's how I got into it.
My daughter dragged me topickleball, but what happens is
now, for the first time ever,this 60, 70, 80 year old man or
(22:26):
woman is on a court.
They're having fun, and they'rea couple of weeks in, and now
they're moving explosivelylaterally.
They're they're hinging in waysthat they've not hinged in
years.
It's not hard to see how thatperson's going to get hurt,
right?
So when I did that program,that's a three phase program.
The idea there is hey, I wantto make you more athletic, I
(22:54):
want to make you a betterpickleball player, but I also
want to make you injury-proof,or to at least dramatically
reduce your risk of injury.
So that is a.
It's a workout program.
So all of the programs wetalked about Lean Body,
blueprint and Pickle Fit arethey're three days a week, 40 to
60-minute workouts, usuallyfull body.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Yeah, so that's how that works.
So how do you get peopleplaying pickleball though I'm
kind of curious online?
In other words, you lay downthe factors they need to know
when they get on the court.
Is that it?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
No, I'm just helping them get in better shape to play
the game at a higher level.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Ah, now I see, so it is a workout program right, so
it is a workout program to helpindividuals become better, more
injury-resistant players.
So if somebody really, forwhatever reason, doesn't want to
get into pickleball or they'rein a weather situation where
they don't have an indoorfacility, in addition to
pickleball, what other fitnessregimens do you recommend for
(23:46):
women and men in the senior agegroup, for example, lifting
weights?
I think you mentioned thatearlier.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
All right.
So I'm bullish on liftingweights and I think all of us
should be lifting weights, 100%of us, and whatever that looks
like for you.
Like I said, that may be youstarting with body weight only
exercises, but some sort ofresistance program I think
that's table stakes personally,nothing crazy.
Again, if you were starting out30 minutes three times a week
(24:15):
would be a perfect place tostart.
I feel like everybody should bewalking a minimum of 7,000
steps a day.
Now, if you only walk 2,000steps a day and most of us have
some sort of a tracker typething then you probably should
start with 3,000 steps a day andbuild.
Most of us have some sort of atracker type thing that you
probably should start with 3000steps a day and build on that,
but work up to your averagedaily steps is 7000.
That's not.
(24:35):
It's not.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Would that be about four or five blocks or what
would you in other words?
So people understand, what does7000 feet mean?
I think that's going to be yeah, so we're talking, a couple of
miles of walking.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
But now, while that might sound intimidating, you
could do that in your housethrough the course of the day,
just by taking two minutes at atime to walk up and down your
stairs, walk, you know, do lapsaround your house or in your
house.
So just anything you can do toincrease general movement is
going to help improve youroverall health.
General movement is going tohelp improve your overall health
(25:10):
.
So, yeah, I think that strengthtraining and walking are the
hallmarks, or the table stakes,if you will, for healthy aging.
And then, on top of that, Ilove the idea of doing something
you're passionate about, findsomething active, and that could
be hiking, that could be maybetrail running or riding your
bike.
It could be a sport likepickleball or golf or, if you're
more athletically minded, maybetennis or recreational
(25:32):
basketball.
But finding something that youreally enjoy, that has an
element of community, ideally, Ithink, is an ideal ticket for
healthy aging.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
How do you feel about let's get into the water
exercises, where there'sobviously you don't have that
impact that you do on hardsurfaces.
Do you like swimming?
Do you like aqua jogging?
You recommend any of that?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Absolutely, yeah, 100%.
So, as you mentioned, for thoseof us with maybe joints that
aren't going to take poundingand running, swimming or aqua
jog fabulous way to get somegood cardio in.
A fabulous way to get some goodcardio in, a lot of our clients
who are really deconditionedwould start maybe in some sort
of an aqua jogging, aquaaerobics kind of class, just to
get moving, get a little bloodflow going, work on a little bit
(26:18):
of that cardiovascularconditioning.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Good, good.
So one of your core principles,I should say, involves passion.
I love that word, passion, andyou state I'm going to quote you
without passion, there is noway to create a lasting,
impactful change.
So, as a person who's aging,how do you find the energy?
(26:42):
I mean you've been sedentaryhow do you find the energy to
create that passion?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Yeah, what a great question.
So, again, we're going to goback to patience.
So this is going to happenovernight.
But when we start to practiceself-care and remember self-care
equals self-love, and byself-care I mean we're going to
start choosing foods that honorour bodies we're going to get
our steps in.
We're going to have some sortof a walking practice,
(27:10):
intentional walking practice.
We're going to have some sortof strength training routine
that we incorporate in our lives.
What, slowly, over time, startsto happen.
All those things might beonerous to start with, you know
that may be challenging, may bedifficult.
It's a different routine, butover time what happens is we
start to upregulate all of ourhealth markers.
We start to feel better, maybea couple months in family and
(27:33):
friends that we haven't seen ina while start commenting on it
and say, hey, if you lost weight, you look great.
And we start to have moreenergy.
Our sleep starts to improve andas we continue on this, there's
sort of this, what I like tocall a falling in love.
So I feel like one of the keys,going back to passion, one of
(27:59):
the keys to living a healthy,strong, vital life is to learn
somehow to fall in love with theprocess of healthy living.
So I think what happens is alot of time people they don't
embrace healthy aging, doing thethings that it takes to be
healthy as we age, because theyfeel like it's giving up or they
feel like it's a bunch ofonerous tasks.
Oh, I have to work out and eathealthy.
(28:19):
That doesn't sound like muchfun, but what you find is that
over time, that becomes thepreferred way of doing things.
Time that becomes the preferredway of doing things.
When I eat foods that honor mybody, when I do movements and
exercises that honor my body,that just feeds into this love
(28:40):
and this passion.
So that's what I mean by that.
I think that the key tolong-term success for healthy
aging is finding some way offalling in love with that
process.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Well, that's a very romantic type of passion, but I
think the two equate very well.
I like your description of it,but in any case, I can't believe
we've already been at this forabout 30 minutes, but it's been
a very insightful interview.
I want our listeners to knowthat, in addition to individual
online and as well as groupcoaching, you also host a
(29:15):
popular podcast which people canlisten to.
You write some very informativeblogs which I think can be
inspiring as a matter of fact.
So all of this can be found onyour website,
silveredgefitnesscom.
But I believe my listenerswould be very interested in your
free book.
We all like things that are freeand obviously you're a wealth
(29:37):
of knowledge, so tell us aboutthis book and how we get it free
.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Yeah, so I think what you're referring to.
There is the Silver Edge Guideto Health and Vitality Folks.
If they're interested in thatthey can go to
SilverEdgeFitnesscom.
There's across the top.
One of the tabs says freeresources and that guide is that
e-book is pinned right there atthe top.
All you have to do is justclick on it and you'll go to a
page you have to put in youremail and we'll email it to you.
But on that page we have Idon't know 20, 25 plus free
(30:05):
guides.
So we have all kinds of.
We have all kinds of guides onnutrition, on strength training,
on lifestyle, things like that.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Folks can go there and download anything they like.
So it's free of charge andbasically it's that simple.
And when we read the book, arewe going to actually learn
things from this book?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
I hope so.
Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
I mean, is it a good starter before they start with
your program?
Is that why you offer itinitially?
Speaker 3 (30:54):
It is because the idea of that particular e-book
is that I'm trying to paint thisvery holistic picture of what
healthy aging can and shouldlook like and make it accessible
for folks.
So it's got a lot of tips on,of course, strength training and
how to eat healthy and how tooptimize your sleep, how to
manage stress, how to getstarted.
So I do think that it's a goodholistic overview for folks that
are interested in healthy aging.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Well, I definitely would like our listeners to, if
nothing else, get a copy of thebook.
Of course I want them to ourlisteners to, if nothing else,
get a copy of the book.
Of course, I want them to lookmore into your programs because
I think that you know, I knowyou're a wealth of knowledge and
I appreciate that a great deal.
So the good news for ourlisteners is, whether or not
you're exercising or you'redriving or you're cooking, while
(31:25):
you're listening to thispodcast, you don't need to stop
what you're doing and write itdown.
You simply come to our website,jamespolikoffcom, which we're
going to talk about a little bitlater, and all of the
information about Kevin Englishand the Silver Edge will be
there, along with how to get hisfree book.
In any case, I want to thankyou, Kevin.
(31:47):
When it comes to healthy agingas our silver years approach,
you are certainly a wealth ofknowledge and I think this has
been very insightful.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Thanks, dr Jim, it was my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
And I'll be right back after this message with the
best foods to eat that help youstay fit.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Once again.
More information about KevinEnglish and the Silver Edge can
be found at our informativewebsite, jamespolikoffcom.
Also at our website, you'llfind other excellent, lively
podcasts, plus how you candiscover the secrets of living
to 100 and beyond in DrPolikoff's new book Live Healthy
(32:28):
Longer with Dr Jim.
Dr Jim's highly acclaimed bookprovides you with insights to
preventing heart disease, cancerand Alzheimer's.
You'll discover ways to loseweight for good, eliminate back
pain and arthritis, as well asmanaging stress and, since
there's now proof, with intimacyand sexual fulfillment you can
(32:50):
live healthy longer.
Dr Jim devoted three exciting,stimulating chapters on this
subject.
Live Healthy Longer with Dr Jimis now available at amazoncom
For further information.
For further information, visitour website, jamespolakoffcom.
That's jamespolakoffcom.
(33:12):
Now back to Dr Jim.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
I once again wish to thank fitness guru Kevin English
for joining us in this episode.
So, as you consider his advice,the question arises what are
some of the foods that canprovide energy in supporting our
exercise efforts to stay fit?
If you don't have the rightfood for fuel to eat before
(33:36):
exercising, it's possible you'renot going to have enough in the
tank to complete your fitnessregimen.
So here are some healthy tips.
Grab a banana or an apple aboutfive to 10 minutes before your
workout.
This will give you some quick,natural energy If you exercise
later in the day.
(33:56):
Another good choice, about anhour before you get started,
might be a sports bar.
Now be sure to choose a barwith low fiber content.
Three grams or less is mysuggestion, because too much
fiber before exercising couldactually lead to an upset
(34:18):
stomach.
And as important hydrate,studies show that water is our
best fluid.
So begin drinking water abouttwo hours before you begin
exercise and then again 20minutes in advance.
Try to drink the equivalent ofa glass of water every 15
minutes during the fitnessroutine and also rehydrate after
(34:42):
your session.
You should aim to drink atleast 8 ounces of water within
30 minutes.
And, by the way, what youingest after a workout is also
important.
Fiber is great, so instead of abottle of juice, eat whole
fruits.
For example, a bowl ofblueberries is shown to reduce
(35:07):
muscle soreness after strenuousexercise.
Cherries are another goodoption, but any berry is berry
great.
By the way, it's suggested ifyou fall into that senior age
group, try to build up to 30minutes of exercise most days.
150 minutes per week would beideal.
(35:28):
So there you have it Now.
Although a healthy diet mighthave an edge of importance for
those in the senior age group,regular physical activity is
essential, especially formaintaining muscle mass balance
and overall well-being.
You can certainly learn evenmore about healthy living
(35:50):
through our informative podcastsand blogs, which are found on
our website, jamespolikoffcom.
I thank you for listening andbe sure to join me once again
for new episodes of Live HealthyLonger.
This is Dr Jim Polakoff,wishing you good health and
(36:11):
happiness.
Thank you.
Welcome again to our podcast Live Healthy Longer.
If you happen to be 50 years ofage or older, this episode is
especially important for you.
You'll have an opportunity todiscover how to become stronger,
healthier and the most completeversion of yourself.
So guiding us on this journeyis our host and nutritionist,
(00:27):
wellness expert and author, drJames Polakoff.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
This is Dr Jim Polakoff, and I very much
appreciate you joining me onceagain.
Together, we're discovering newopportunities which support
your ability to age as healthyas possible.
And welcome to my new listenersas well.
By the way, my program is nowranked among the top 5% of all
(00:54):
podcasts, so greatly appreciated, and I thank you once again.
Now we've covered manynutritional topics in the past
episodes, so it's time to focuson fitness.
Combining fitness with healthyeating is such an important
component to your well-being.
(01:15):
My guest is Kevin English, ahealthy aging expert and the
founder of the Silver Edge.
He's a leading fitness expertdevoted to empowering
individuals over 50 to build andmaintain lean, healthy bodies.
Now, what I like about Kevin isthat he is actually rewriting
(01:38):
the story of aging, where everyindividual is not just surviving
but thriving, turning theirgolden years into a time of
renewal, strength and boundlesspossibilities.
So let's get right to it.
Here is the man who can provideus the tools to develop lean,
healthy bodies.
Welcome, kevin English.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Fantastic.
Hey, thanks for having me on.
I'm really excited to have afun conversation with you today.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, we're looking forward to it.
Now, Kevin, here is my firstimportant question.
Sure, bring it.
Why is being fit and stayingfit important to the process of
healthy aging?
Can you get into that?
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yeah, I most certainly can.
So that's the question, right.
Why is being fit so importantfor healthy aging?
And look, I suppose it probablyhelps to back up and just say
what do we mean by being fit,because that's a pretty broad
term and it's vague, right.
When we say be fit, what doesthat mean?
That I can go for a walk, thatI can go for a run, can I lift
(02:40):
weights, can I play a sport?
So there's a lot of differentdimensions to fitness.
There's mobility, there's allof these things in there.
So if we think of fitness asthis holistic sort of an
endeavor that has thismulti-dimension, there's a
cardiovascular piece to that,there's a mobility piece to that
, there's a functional strengthpiece to that.
(03:01):
But why is that critical forthose of us in our 50s, 60s, 70s
to really want to be fit?
And the answer is because beingfit equals being healthy.
Specifically, it equals beingmetabolically healthy.
There's this whole new schoolof research that is showing that
(03:23):
muscle is actually the organ oflongevity.
So muscle actually acts verymuch like an organ in our body,
and it's kind of a new school ofthought.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Well, that is.
I haven't heard that one before.
Yeah, Dr.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Gabriel Lyon is probably at the forefront of
that, at least in terms ofpopularizing that.
So if your listeners aren'tfamiliar with her, she's got a
New York Times bestseller Ithink it's called Forever Strong
.
But the premise of that book isshe's very much a researcher in
this space is that muscle is theorgan of longevity.
And when we say muscle, she'sspecifically talking about that
(03:57):
type two, fast twitch sort ofmuscle that we get from strength
training, from doing thingsthat make us stronger, muscle
that we get from strengthtraining, from doing things that
make us stronger.
So, again, if we go back towhen we think of fitness,
there's a cardiovascular pieceof fitness, there's a mobility
piece of fitness, but there's astrength component to fitness
which I feel like a lot of folksin our demographic,
(04:18):
specifically our ladies right,those ladies 50s, 60s and 70s,
historically they've been toldhey, you belong with the Jane
Fonda workout, you belong withthese little tiny pink hand
weights, you belong in anaerobics class and you guys,
maybe you're fine over here witha barbell and a dumbbell, and I
feel like that's been a bigdisservice to us as we age.
So that's why it's important,because being strong equals
(04:40):
being metabolically healthy.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Right.
Are you equating strength interms of male and female, or are
you saying that it's equal?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I think it's of equal importance, 100%.
And let me be clear it isequally as important for a woman
, especially in our agedemographic, to participate in
strength training and work ongetting strong, as it is for a
man, and here's why.
So your listeners are probablyfamiliar with the term
sarcopenia, which basicallymeans age-related muscle loss,
(05:12):
and osteopenia, which isage-related bone density
weakening or bone weakeningright.
Both of those are overcome bystrength training, by some sort
of professionally designed,age-appropriate strength
training programs.
Every time we strengthen ourbodies, our muscles, we also
strengthen our bones.
Now for your postmenopausalladies.
(05:34):
This is critical because weknow that postmenopausal females
are more prone to osteopenia,osteoporosis, and a lot of that
can be mitigated, even reversed,with.
A lot of that can be mitigated,even reversed, with a good
strength training program.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I know that many of my listeners, especially those
who are over 65 years of age,find it difficult to find a
fitness routine that reallyworks for them.
So, in your opinion, let's saythat someone really is on the
wrong track, which many peopleare.
How do we really begin theprocess of becoming fit?
(06:08):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah.
So, again, my area of expertiseis going to be in helping
people be strong, fit, capable,vital as they age.
And you brought up a greatpoint when being winded and do I
have still am I maintainingmobility as I age?
Can I squat, can I hinge, can Iget my arms up over my head, et
(06:41):
cetera right.
So can I put my own overhead,my own luggage, in the overhead
compartment in a plane, forexample, right.
But when we talk specificallyabout strength training, I feel
like where we run into problemssometimes is that there's aimed
at our age demographic.
There seems to be two types ofprograms that are pretty popular
(07:01):
.
One treats us like we have onefoot in the grave, like we're
feeble, and you know it's, forgoodness sakes, whatever you do,
don't squat, don't deadlift,don't lift anything heavy.
And the other side is kind ofthe you know that younger 20
year old bro or broette tellingus, hey, no pain, no gain and no
days off and let's get after it, let's, let's charge hard.
And somewhere in between thereis what is appropriate for most
(07:26):
of us at this age demographic.
Now, that being said, it's verycritical that we meet ourselves
where we are If you're verydeconditioned, have never lifted
a weight in your life, you'dprobably have a different
workout program that'sappropriate for you than
somebody who's maybe more active.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, one of the big, obviously one of the big
challenges, and I've seen manyseniors in particular back off
of exercise because they jumpinto it with a lot of gusto or
vitality and unfortunatelybecome injured.
So what is your suggestion?
As far as starting, you know tobuild a fitness regime slowly.
(08:03):
What would you recommend to ouraudience in terms of let's not
get hurt.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Let's not get hurt.
So that should be our look.
We want to build muscle, wewant to become fit.
We want to become fit, we wantto be healthy.
But you've already said themagic word, and that's to go
slowly, to progress very slowly.
So what I like to tell peoplewho are either deconditioned or
maybe new to strength trainingin particular is to become a
student of movement first.
(08:30):
So let's just take body weightmovements or maybe you're using
some light resistance bands orsomething like that let's get
really good at doing body weightsquats where we can slowly and
with control, get a full depthof range of motion in a squat
and stand back up powerfully.
Let's learn to lunge with justbody weight Lunge forward, lunge
(08:51):
backwards, lunge to the side.
These are very functionalmovements that we should not be
surrendering lightly justbecause we're kind of feeling,
well, I'm too old for that now.
No, you're not too old forbasic primal human movements.
You should not surrender thoselightly.
So I like people to start withvery basic, compound, functional
(09:13):
movements like squatting andhinging, pushing and pulling,
some of these split stance typethings.
So lunging again is one that alot of our clients when they
initially come into our program.
That's one of the ones theyreally struggle with, because if
you think about a lunge,there's strength involved,
there's balance, there'scoordination, there's mobility.
So there's all these different,multiple facets in a movement
(09:35):
like that that make it seem a toprogress to more.
You know, maybe start tointroduce some dumbbells or some
(09:56):
barbells and start working onyour strength that way.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Will.
Someone in their 60s, forexample, may really have a
difficult difficulty, I shouldsay, in terms of squatting.
Would you recommend people likethat, for example, to use the
back of a chair when you'resquatting to give yourself a
little help in up and down?
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Because some people are really out of shape.
Yes.
So, yes, again, that goes backto meeting yourself where you
are.
It may be appropriate, forexample, I'm 60.
I'll load up a barbell and putit on my back and squat away.
But a peer of mine who's thesame age may have to start, like
you're saying, with their handsmaybe on the back of a chair
and do a partial squat.
(10:36):
Or we may take that person, ifthey belong to a gym, and we may
use some of the machines.
So a leg extension machine, forexample, is a fantastic way for
somebody to very safely andeasily progress some of just
some lower body strength.
And as they build some strengththere, then we'll continue to
work on mobility.
We'll get them to where theycan do a body weight squat and
(10:59):
then, when they're ready tograduate from that, maybe they
grab some small dumbbells andstart squatting now with some
added load.
But 100% it's a matter ofmeeting yourself where you are
and starting from there and justprogressing slowly.
This is a patience game.
This is a patience game.
This is a lifelong game right?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Well, it makes a lot of sense.
Now you have a number ofclients that come to you for
coaching and, of course, yourorganization is the Silver Edge
a great name, by the way and youhave a different approach to
obtaining and maintaining a lean, healthy body.
So, as a coach, can youdescribe your process?
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Sure.
So I'll start with this caveatMost of our clients come to us
for weight loss, so that's theprimary goal of most people.
Now there are some exceptions,that people come because they
want to build muscle, they wantto be strong, fit, capable as
they age.
But the majority of our folksare coming with that initial
goal at least of weight loss,and we have basically a
(11:56):
three-step blueprint orframework for that, and we're
very fond of the saying what youdo before and after your diet
is way more important than youractual diet.
So as humans, we're not meantto just constantly be calorie
deprived or in a calorie deficit.
That's horrible for ourmetabolism.
So we take a very metabolichealth approach to this.
(12:20):
So, for example, our phase onefor, say, you come into our
program and your goal is hey,I'd like to lose 20 pounds, 10
pounds, 50, whatever, it doesn'tmatter, but I'd also like to
build a little muscle.
I kind of like your philosophyof being strong and fit and
capable.
So that person is going to comein and we're not going to diet.
We're not going to diet formaybe two, three months,
depending on where theirmetabolism is.
(12:42):
We want to restore and optimizetheir metabolism.
In other words, we want to putthem metabolically in a position
where their body is much morelikely and willing to give up
those fat stores.
Because, as you know, I'm sureyour body loves to store fat.
Because when you go on a diet,your body doesn't know that
you're just on a diet to try andlose a few pesky pounds.
(13:04):
It's perceiving this as foodscarcity and it's then
down-regulating the metabolismto adjust to that, to adapt to
that, which doesn't mean it's abroken metabolism.
It's just what your body'sdesigned to do.
So we try and do everything.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Right, as we know, our metabolism as we age really
slows, and that's amazing.
Year by year, slow by slow, andI mean obviously you take that
into consideration, which isextremely important.
We 100% did.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
We also are strong proponents of look, there's 100%
there.
Especially as we get to 60 andolder, it's undeniable Our
metabolism does start tobiologically slow due to age.
Now, those of you in your 50s,if you have a really crappy slow
metabolism, that's probablymore lifestyle-driven than it is
(13:49):
age-driven.
So we want to do everything wecan within our control to affect
what we can affect.
So while we can't turn back thehands of time chronologically,
we can metabolically just by.
Of course, there's somenutritional strategies we have,
but one of the big things wehave is we want you to be strong
, we want you to get strong.
(14:11):
So everybody is going to do aagain, depending on where
they're starting from, but we'regoing to work on building
strength and that starts tobuild the metabolism, starts to
speed up the metabolism,optimize the metabolism, putting
them at a position where a fatloss phase will be much, much
easier, less painful than normal.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Well, I like to state the fact that we've become, I
should say, a sitting nation.
Does some of this have to dowith becoming a couch potato
sitting at our desk, looking atour computers, watching TV?
Have we become so sedentarythat that also affects our
metabolism, even at a youngerage than 65.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
It absolutely does, you're absolutely right.
So when we go back tosarcopenia, that age-related
muscle loss, most of that untilwe're, say, in our 80s or maybe
90s, even most of that isattributable to lifestyle
factors.
And the number one lifestylefactor is going to be that
sedentary lifestyle, sittingRight, sedentary lifestyle,
(15:17):
sitting right most of us are notmoving and active and you know,
using our musculaturethroughout the day and most of
us sit, for even those of usthat work out.
So if you think you, if youwent to the gym for 45 minutes
at a time and you did that three, four times a week, but the
rest of the day you were in aseated position or or inactive,
that's tough to overcome.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Well, and obviously you have most of your programs,
at least as I understand it.
I'm sure you may do someone-on-one, but basically your
classes, your courses, are allonline.
So I'm interested in basicallywhat you call your eight-week
transformational journey, inother words, taking your body
(15:57):
and transforming it, as you callit, into a fat-burning machine.
Fat-burning machine yeah, canyou tell us a little bit about
that?
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Sure, so yeah, that eight-week program is designed
basically to jumpstart ametabolism.
So this is to take adeconditioned person and help
them practice healthy habits.
So what are we?
I'll tell you what we're notgoing to do in eight weeks, and
that's diet.
We're not going to restrictcalories, so we're going to ask
everybody to take at least aweek and weigh, measure and
(16:25):
track all of their food.
There's a number of reasons whywe do that, but we want a
baseline right.
For some of those people, theymay be reverse diet, which is
exactly what it sounds like, andwe may ask them to eat a little
bit more food.
Along this journey, we're goingto work on, of course, getting
strong.
Strength.
Training is a big piece of that.
We're going to work onoptimizing our sleep and
minimizing stress, so some ofthese lifestyle factors as well.
(16:48):
But again, what we're trying todo is in eight weeks, what can
we accomplish from going fromkind of a sluggish metabolism to
a fat-burning metabolism, andby that I just mean can we speed
that metabolism up?
So, if you think, if you add alittle bit of muscle on your
body, muscle is metabolicallyexpensive.
Again, I'm talking about themuscle that we get from strength
(17:10):
training, not from cardio.
Those are two different thingsmetabolically speaking.
And that type two muscle, orthat muscle that we build from
strength training, ismetabolically expensive.
It's calorically expensive,meaning it takes more calories
to maintain that muscle, even atrest.
So for you for those of youthat are maybe out there getting
(17:31):
a jog or you're on your Pelotonbike and you're burning
calories while you're doing thatexercise but the second, you
stop.
The calorie burn stops when wedo strength training.
So you do 40 minutes ofstrength training, you get days
worth of calorie burn for thatIf you integrate that into your
life.
We're just getting this Now.
We're starting to just slowlyand over time, just increase
(17:52):
that calorie burn over time.
So that's what we're trying todo is instill in these people in
eight weeks.
These are the habits that youshould practice to get to speed
up that metabolism.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
Well, that's very interesting because I think your
description, your comparisonbetween a Peloton, for example,
and the continuation of fatburning, which doesn't happen
after you've stopped yourexercise your program actually
continues the fat burning, ifthey're, even after someone,
let's say, just takes a breakand relaxes and perhaps goes
(18:27):
back to a sedentary position fora bit.
What you're saying is thatthey're still burning fat with
your program 100%.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Yes, yes, because of that increased calorie demand.
So, for example, I was at thegym at six o'clock this morning.
It's 11am where we are now andI'm still enjoying that
additional fat burn, calorieburn, just because of that, that
, that stimulus that I had thismorning and in fact this evening
, if I'm maybe on the couch withmy wife, I'll still be enjoying
(18:56):
that, whereas when I dosomething like play pickleball
or go for a run, I'm gettingcardio, which don't get me wrong
.
Cardio is absolutely critical.
I like to say, think of cardiofor heart health and think of
strength training for quality oflife.
So you can almost say cardiokind of is more of a longevity,
and do your strength trainingfor that health span.
(19:20):
For that I want to befunctionally strong and able to
do things.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Very interesting.
Now you also offer a lean bodyblueprint workout.
Now this, apparently, is gearedfor a 24-week regimen.
If you're getting as much outof what you describe in eight
weeks, the 24 weeks has to be ata superior level, I'm assuming,
right?
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Yeah, so a couple of different things.
The eight-week program is agroup coaching program.
So you're in there with one ofmy other coaches Coach Monica
typically runs those.
There's weekly meetings andthere's each day you have a
reading.
So there's we're crash again.
That's a crash course and justboosting that metabolism.
Body blueprint workout that's abasically it's a six month
(20:09):
workout program.
It's over five phases, so it'sall delivered through an app.
This would be for somebody whowants an again, a professionally
designed, age appropriateworkout program, but maybe
doesn't have the expertise orexperience to do a program
themselves, or maybe they'vestarted a program in the past
and found that it wasineffective, or maybe they got
hurt working out.
This would be something forthose types of folks.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
All right, so let's take a moment to switch to
something that I think is a lotof fun.
Apparently, you're a pickleballfan.
In fact, you have a programcalled Pickle Fit.
That's a good one, especiallyif you're in a pickle, but in
any case, I won't get into puns.
What's it all about?
And since you're coachingonline, I'm trying to understand
(20:55):
how you really make this workfor clients.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah, so we have one-on-one coaching, we have
workout programs, we have groupcoaching, and 100% of it is
delivered online.
I no longer coach in personanymore.
But yeah, the Pickle Fitprogram is a workout program
designed specifically for peoplein our age demographic who want
to get better playingpickleball.
Now, what it's not is teachingyou the skill and strategy of
(21:21):
hitting shots and positioningthings like that, but what it is
is increasing your mobility,increasing your strength,
increasing your explosivity,your speed to move laterally.
And I created it with that theidea that somebody would use
this type of a program to getbetter at pickleball.
But really, in the back of mymind, I created it to help
(21:44):
people become more injury proof,because the statistics for
people starting in art,specifically 50, 60,
70-year-olds, senior citizens,playing pickleball, were getting
hurt in droves.
And it's no mystery if you thinkabout it.
Pickleball the barrier to entryis really low and the fun
factor is ridiculously high.
(22:05):
So you might imagine somebodywho's been very, very sedentary
gets dragged to a court by theirfriend or, you know, these days
it could be a grandkid.
There's more kids now playingpickleball than our seniors,
believe it or not.
That's how I got into it.
My daughter dragged me topickleball, but what happens is
now, for the first time ever,this 60, 70, 80 year old man or
(22:26):
woman is on a court.
They're having fun, and they'rea couple of weeks in, and now
they're moving explosivelylaterally.
They're they're hinging in waysthat they've not hinged in
years.
It's not hard to see how thatperson's going to get hurt,
right?
So when I did that program,that's a three phase program.
The idea there is hey, I wantto make you more athletic, I
(22:54):
want to make you a betterpickleball player, but I also
want to make you injury-proof,or to at least dramatically
reduce your risk of injury.
So that is a.
It's a workout program.
So all of the programs wetalked about Lean Body,
blueprint and Pickle Fit arethey're three days a week, 40 to
60-minute workouts, usuallyfull body.
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Yeah, so that's how that works.
So how do you get peopleplaying pickleball though I'm
kind of curious online?
In other words, you lay downthe factors they need to know
when they get on the court.
Is that it?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
No, I'm just helping them get in better shape to play
the game at a higher level.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Ah, now I see, so it is a workout program right, so
it is a workout program to helpindividuals become better, more
injury-resistant players.
So if somebody really, forwhatever reason, doesn't want to
get into pickleball or they'rein a weather situation where
they don't have an indoorfacility, in addition to
pickleball, what other fitnessregimens do you recommend for
(23:46):
women and men in the senior agegroup, for example, lifting
weights?
I think you mentioned thatearlier.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
All right.
So I'm bullish on liftingweights and I think all of us
should be lifting weights, 100%of us, and whatever that looks
like for you.
Like I said, that may be youstarting with body weight only
exercises, but some sort ofresistance program I think
that's table stakes personally,nothing crazy.
Again, if you were starting out30 minutes three times a week
(24:15):
would be a perfect place tostart.
I feel like everybody should bewalking a minimum of 7,000
steps a day.
Now, if you only walk 2,000steps a day and most of us have
some sort of a tracker typething then you probably should
start with 3,000 steps a day andbuild.
Most of us have some sort of atracker type thing that you
probably should start with 3000steps a day and build on that,
but work up to your averagedaily steps is 7000.
That's not.
(24:35):
It's not.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
Would that be about four or five blocks or what
would you in other words?
So people understand, what does7000 feet mean?
I think that's going to be yeah, so we're talking, a couple of
miles of walking.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
But now, while that might sound intimidating, you
could do that in your housethrough the course of the day,
just by taking two minutes at atime to walk up and down your
stairs, walk, you know, do lapsaround your house or in your
house.
So just anything you can do toincrease general movement is
going to help improve youroverall health.
General movement is going tohelp improve your overall health
(25:10):
.
So, yeah, I think that strengthtraining and walking are the
hallmarks, or the table stakes,if you will, for healthy aging.
And then, on top of that, Ilove the idea of doing something
you're passionate about, findsomething active, and that could
be hiking, that could be maybetrail running or riding your
bike.
It could be a sport likepickleball or golf or, if you're
more athletically minded, maybetennis or recreational
(25:32):
basketball.
But finding something that youreally enjoy, that has an
element of community, ideally, Ithink, is an ideal ticket for
healthy aging.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
How do you feel about let's get into the water
exercises, where there'sobviously you don't have that
impact that you do on hardsurfaces.
Do you like swimming?
Do you like aqua jogging?
You recommend any of that?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Absolutely, yeah, 100%.
So, as you mentioned, for thoseof us with maybe joints that
aren't going to take poundingand running, swimming or aqua
jog fabulous way to get somegood cardio in.
A fabulous way to get some goodcardio in, a lot of our clients
who are really deconditionedwould start maybe in some sort
of an aqua jogging, aquaaerobics kind of class, just to
get moving, get a little bloodflow going, work on a little bit
(26:18):
of that cardiovascularconditioning.
I love it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Good, good.
So one of your core principles,I should say, involves passion.
I love that word, passion, andyou state I'm going to quote you
without passion, there is noway to create a lasting,
impactful change.
So, as a person who's aging,how do you find the energy?
(26:42):
I mean you've been sedentaryhow do you find the energy to
create that passion?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Yeah, what a great question.
So, again, we're going to goback to patience.
So this is going to happenovernight.
But when we start to practiceself-care and remember self-care
equals self-love, and byself-care I mean we're going to
start choosing foods that honorour bodies we're going to get
our steps in.
We're going to have some sortof a walking practice,
(27:10):
intentional walking practice.
We're going to have some sortof strength training routine
that we incorporate in our lives.
What, slowly, over time, startsto happen.
All those things might beonerous to start with, you know
that may be challenging, may bedifficult.
It's a different routine, butover time what happens is we
start to upregulate all of ourhealth markers.
We start to feel better, maybea couple months in family and
(27:33):
friends that we haven't seen ina while start commenting on it
and say, hey, if you lost weight, you look great.
And we start to have moreenergy.
Our sleep starts to improve andas we continue on this, there's
sort of this, what I like tocall a falling in love.
So I feel like one of the keys,going back to passion, one of
(27:59):
the keys to living a healthy,strong, vital life is to learn
somehow to fall in love with theprocess of healthy living.
So I think what happens is alot of time people they don't
embrace healthy aging, doing thethings that it takes to be
healthy as we age, because theyfeel like it's giving up or they
feel like it's a bunch ofonerous tasks.
Oh, I have to work out and eathealthy.
(28:19):
That doesn't sound like muchfun, but what you find is that
over time, that becomes thepreferred way of doing things.
Time that becomes the preferredway of doing things.
When I eat foods that honor mybody, when I do movements and
exercises that honor my body,that just feeds into this love
(28:40):
and this passion.
So that's what I mean by that.
I think that the key tolong-term success for healthy
aging is finding some way offalling in love with that
process.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Well, that's a very romantic type of passion, but I
think the two equate very well.
I like your description of it,but in any case, I can't believe
we've already been at this forabout 30 minutes, but it's been
a very insightful interview.
I want our listeners to knowthat, in addition to individual
online and as well as groupcoaching, you also host a
(29:15):
popular podcast which people canlisten to.
You write some very informativeblogs which I think can be
inspiring as a matter of fact.
So all of this can be found onyour website,
silveredgefitnesscom.
But I believe my listenerswould be very interested in your
free book.
We all like things that are freeand obviously you're a wealth
(29:37):
of knowledge, so tell us aboutthis book and how we get it free
.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Yeah, so I think what you're referring to.
There is the Silver Edge Guideto Health and Vitality Folks.
If they're interested in thatthey can go to
SilverEdgeFitnesscom.
There's across the top.
One of the tabs says freeresources and that guide is that
e-book is pinned right there atthe top.
All you have to do is justclick on it and you'll go to a
page you have to put in youremail and we'll email it to you.
But on that page we have Idon't know 20, 25 plus free
(30:05):
guides.
So we have all kinds of.
We have all kinds of guides onnutrition, on strength training,
on lifestyle, things like that.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Folks can go there and download anything they like.
So it's free of charge andbasically it's that simple.
And when we read the book, arewe going to actually learn
things from this book?
Speaker 3 (30:25):
I hope so.
Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
I mean, is it a good starter before they start with
your program?
Is that why you offer itinitially?
Speaker 3 (30:54):
It is because the idea of that particular e-book
is that I'm trying to paint thisvery holistic picture of what
healthy aging can and shouldlook like and make it accessible
for folks.
So it's got a lot of tips on,of course, strength training and
how to eat healthy and how tooptimize your sleep, how to
manage stress, how to getstarted.
So I do think that it's a goodholistic overview for folks that
are interested in healthy aging.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Well, I definitely would like our listeners to, if
nothing else, get a copy of thebook.
Of course I want them to ourlisteners to, if nothing else,
get a copy of the book.
Of course, I want them to lookmore into your programs because
I think that you know, I knowyou're a wealth of knowledge and
I appreciate that a great deal.
So the good news for ourlisteners is, whether or not
you're exercising or you'redriving or you're cooking, while
(31:25):
you're listening to thispodcast, you don't need to stop
what you're doing and write itdown.
You simply come to our website,jamespolikoffcom, which we're
going to talk about a little bitlater, and all of the
information about Kevin Englishand the Silver Edge will be
there, along with how to get hisfree book.
In any case, I want to thankyou, Kevin.
(31:47):
When it comes to healthy agingas our silver years approach,
you are certainly a wealth ofknowledge and I think this has
been very insightful.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
Thanks, dr Jim, it was my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
And I'll be right back after this message with the
best foods to eat that help youstay fit.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
Once again.
More information about KevinEnglish and the Silver Edge can
be found at our informativewebsite, jamespolikoffcom.
Also at our website, you'llfind other excellent, lively
podcasts, plus how you candiscover the secrets of living
to 100 and beyond in DrPolikoff's new book Live Healthy
(32:28):
Longer with Dr Jim.
Dr Jim's highly acclaimed bookprovides you with insights to
preventing heart disease, cancerand Alzheimer's.
You'll discover ways to loseweight for good, eliminate back
pain and arthritis, as well asmanaging stress and, since
there's now proof, with intimacyand sexual fulfillment you can
(32:50):
live healthy longer.
Dr Jim devoted three exciting,stimulating chapters on this
subject.
Live Healthy Longer with Dr Jimis now available at amazoncom
For further information.
For further information, visitour website, jamespolakoffcom.
That's jamespolakoffcom.
(33:12):
Now back to Dr Jim.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
I once again wish to thank fitness guru Kevin English
for joining us in this episode.
So, as you consider his advice,the question arises what are
some of the foods that canprovide energy in supporting our
exercise efforts to stay fit?
If you don't have the rightfood for fuel to eat before
(33:36):
exercising, it's possible you'renot going to have enough in the
tank to complete your fitnessregimen.
So here are some healthy tips.
Grab a banana or an apple aboutfive to 10 minutes before your
workout.
This will give you some quick,natural energy If you exercise
later in the day.
(33:56):
Another good choice, about anhour before you get started,
might be a sports bar.
Now be sure to choose a barwith low fiber content.
Three grams or less is mysuggestion, because too much
fiber before exercising couldactually lead to an upset
(34:18):
stomach.
And as important hydrate,studies show that water is our
best fluid.
So begin drinking water abouttwo hours before you begin
exercise and then again 20minutes in advance.
Try to drink the equivalent ofa glass of water every 15
minutes during the fitnessroutine and also rehydrate after
(34:42):
your session.
You should aim to drink atleast 8 ounces of water within
30 minutes.
And, by the way, what youingest after a workout is also
important.
Fiber is great, so instead of abottle of juice, eat whole
fruits.
For example, a bowl ofblueberries is shown to reduce
(35:07):
muscle soreness after strenuousexercise.
Cherries are another goodoption, but any berry is berry
great.
By the way, it's suggested ifyou fall into that senior age
group, try to build up to 30minutes of exercise most days.
150 minutes per week would beideal.
(35:28):
So there you have it Now.
Although a healthy diet mighthave an edge of importance for
those in the senior age group,regular physical activity is
essential, especially formaintaining muscle mass balance
and overall well-being.
You can certainly learn evenmore about healthy living
(35:50):
through our informative podcastsand blogs, which are found on
our website, jamespolikoffcom.
I thank you for listening andbe sure to join me once again
for new episodes of Live HealthyLonger.
This is Dr Jim Polakoff,wishing you good health and
(36:11):
happiness.
Thank you.
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