October 3, 2025 • 40 mins
We know we should exercise. But when moving your body feels like a chore, it’s easy to resist it. What if instead of “should,” we started looking at movement as something joyful, energizing, and protective of our long-term health?
In this episode, I’m joined by Erika Shannon, a fitness and wellness expert with over 20 years of experience. Erika specializes in helping women in perimenopause and menopause find sustainable, empowering ways to move their bodies—without the all-or-nothing approach.
We talk about what women in their 40s and 50s really need from exercise, why strength and functional movement matter so much in midlife, and how you can create fun, flexible workouts that actually fit into your busy life.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why exercise in midlife is about protecting your health span (not just lifespan)
- The six functional movement patterns every woman over 40 should train: push, pull, squat, hinge, carry, and rotate
- How muscle mass, bone density, and heart health change in perimenopause and menopause—and what to do about it
- Simple ways to add “movement snacks” into your day—even if you’re sitting at a desk all day
- The truth about protein, fiber, hydration, and fueling your workouts in midlife
Take Action:
- Connect with Erika at erikashannon.com.
- Grab your free functional workout by subscribing to Mind Your Midlife on Patreon or Substack.
- Take a video of yourself skipping and send it to Cheryl on social! Instagram, LinkedIn
- Listen to the Mind Your Midlife episodes on hydration and hormone health
Remember:
You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to stay strong and healthy. Exercise isn’t just about looking fit—it’s about building resilience, maintaining independence, and living joyfully in your 40s, 50s, and beyond.
Focus on “all or something,” not all or nothing.
Text me to ask a question - I'll answer on the podcast!
Subscribe to receive bonus episodes at cherylpfischer.com/bonusepisodes.
🌸 Liked this episode? Share it with fellow Gen X women navigating hormone balance, an empty nest, and/or self-confidence!
🫶 Love this show? Leave a review to help more women over 50 find us.
💡Want support through menopause, mindset shifts, or midlife transitions?
- Join the collective by subscribing on Patreon or grab the bonus episodes!
- Book a free Mindset Coaching / Intro Call: cherylpfischer.com/coaching
Let’s talk midlife body positivity, self-talk, and redefining aging for women — without the “midlife crisis” narrative.
Connect with Cheryl, Midlife Coach: Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
CherylFischer (00:00):
We know that we should exercise.
We know that we should move ourbodies.
And did you catch that littleword should in there?
Sometimes it becomes anobligation, a thing that we that
we sort of think about as Ihave to do it.
(00:21):
I don't have time.
I'm tired.
I know I should.
I want us to look at movementwith almost the opposite
perspective.
And my guest today is going tohelp us do exactly that.
Let's talk about it.
Welcome to Mind Your Midlife,your go-to resource for
(00:42):
confidence and success, onethought at a time.
Unlike most advice out there,we believe that simply telling
you to believe in yourself orchange your habits isn't enough
to wake up excited about life orfeel truly confident in your
body.
Each week, you'll gainactionable strategies and oh my
(01:02):
goodness, powerful insights tostop feeling stuck and start
loving your midlife.
This is the Mind Your Midlifepodcast.
Growing up, I did not play anysports.
And I always think back andwonder, should I have tried?
(01:23):
I almost I almost tried out forvolleyball in ninth grade.
I had moved to a new state,actually, and I decided I was
going to reinvent myself.
But in the end, I just was notI just was not into being
athletic.
And I was, though, kind of intomovement and I would walk and I
(01:45):
would do some active things.
It wasn't until I got tocollege and I uh gained a lot of
weight one year that I decidedI better start exercising a
little bit more.
And it's gone up and down overthe years.
What has made me really thinkabout this during my 50s, where
I am now, is watching someonefrom the older generation of my
(02:10):
family go through a chronicdisease for which they told her
the best thing you can do foryourself is exercise because you
need to move your body and keepyour muscles moving, toned,
working, or you will lose themeven faster.
(02:33):
And while I don't have thatchronic disease, and you
probably don't either, thatstill applies to us, kind of a
move it or lose it perspective.
We might lose our muscle toneor our strength faster if we
don't use it.
And again, I'm headed down thispath of you need to do it, you
(02:55):
should do it, aren't I?
I feel like we kind of we wesometimes resist things that
feel like an obligation in thatway.
So luckily, Erica Shannon isjoining me today.
She is a fitness and wellnessindustry expert and has been for
two decades.
She helps women on themenopause journey to optimize
(03:21):
their lives, reduce thosemenopause symptoms, and do that
with exercise, nutrition, sleepregulation, stress management,
self-care.
So we're gonna talk exercise inmidlife.
Welcome, Erica.
Thank you so much.
ErikaShannon (03:37):
It's so nice to be here.
Thanks for having me.
CherylFischer (03:40):
Absolutely.
I am excited to talk to youabout this because it's
something that is uh is aquestion, these are questions
I'm always asking myself.
Let me let me put it that way.
So I know that the the topic ofmidlife fitness is really a
powerful one for you.
So tell us how you decided toto focus quite a bit on that
(04:02):
area.
ErikaShannon (04:03):
A couple reasons.
The first reason was I'm goingthrough it myself.
I'm 49 and perimenopausal, andum it, you know, my body started
to change, the way I movedstarted to change, started to
feel different.
And so that was the first thingthat made me want to kind of
focus on this.
But the second thing was Inoticed in my work in the
(04:24):
fitness industry and streamingfitness a few years ago that
there really wasn't a lot oftargeted fitness content for
women of a certain age.
And um, it kind of jumps fromthe hyper, you know, impact high
impact, hit, aggressive, youknow, really, really hard cardio
(04:45):
and you know, boot camps andall that to chair yoga.
Like there's nothing inbetween.
And and I was like, wait asecond, this doesn't make any
sense.
And so I um every two years formy fitness certification, I
have to get continued educationcredits.
And I started a few years agojust amassing certifications.
(05:05):
One was in understandinghormones, one was programming
for the female client.
I'm a heart rate performancespecialist, and I got just kind
of like fell into it.
And there was a certificationthat I read about.
It was a menopause, um, acertified menopause specialist
certification.
And I was like, I want to dothat.
And I kind of I had it, it wasin my periphery for about six
(05:28):
months, and it was it was anexpensive certification, and it
was very involved.
And I was like, well, do Ireally want to go into this?
Is this really what I want todo next?
Like, and then I just keptthinking about it and thinking
about it, and it was honestlythe best certification I've ever
done in my 20 years in thefitness industry.
It taught me so much, not justabout what happens to our bodies
(05:49):
when we lose our hormones, butbut how to safely usher women
like us into this next phase oflife, because there's so much
prevention that we have to dealwith now.
And there are so many thingsthat we can prevent to make us
have a longer health span.
Um, we already have a longerlifespan than men, but our
(06:11):
health span tends to be shorter.
So as I watch my parents and myhusband's mother go through um
aging and osteoporosis anddementia and all those things,
I'm reading and realizing andstudying that so many of these
things can be prevented, uh, andlots of them through movement
and fitness.
(06:32):
And so that's kind of wherewe're at now, and it's really
fulfilling to work in thisfield.
CherylFischer (06:38):
Fascinating.
And I have about 17 questionsfrom what you just said.
So let's see where we go.
ErikaShannon (06:43):
Let's go.
CherylFischer (06:44):
I'm interested that you said that women tend to
have a longer lifespan, whichwe all I think know that's
statistic, yeah, but a shorterhealth span.
I never really thought aboutthat.
Is that really statistically apattern?
ErikaShannon (07:01):
Yes.
So if you look at women whohave dementia or Alzheimer's,
the percentage of women versusmen that have that
neurodegenerative disease, it'slike 70% are women.
Um, osteoporosis and osteopeniaor two other things.
I there's a ridiculousstatistic, and I don't want to
(07:22):
say the wrong thing.
I can't remember exactly whatit is, but it's it's something
along the lines of one in threewomen will have a an
osteoporotic bone fracture inthe later part of their life.
And that just opens the door toso many other risks because you
have to end up in the hospital,you have to have surgery, it
(07:44):
opens you to sepsis and andinfection and so many other
things that can end up killingyou.
So, um, or it completelyrendering you immobile.
So if you can't move and youhave, you know, and and your
brain is deteriorating, thenthen your health span is
shorter.
And so we also die ofcardiovascular disease.
(08:07):
Number one killer of women iscardiovascular disease.
CherylFischer (08:10):
And that I did know, and I don't think most
people know that actually,because you hear about men
having heart attacks from thestress of their job or whatever.
But you don't hear about womenso much.
ErikaShannon (08:21):
Yeah.
I know, I know, but whathappens is when we lose our
estrogen, it affects every organsystem in our body and it it
makes our cholesterol go higher.
Um, the protection estradiol isa very protective hormone.
And so when we lose it, we losethe benefits of it.
(08:42):
It's very protective of ourheart health, of our skin, of
our brain health.
And so without that, the LDLjust goes up, the HDL goes down,
triglycerides go up, our sugartolerance is all over the place,
and it can really affect us ina bad way.
CherylFischer (09:00):
Cholesterol.
Oh my goodness.
ErikaShannon (09:03):
My cholesterol is so high right now.
My doctor, and and I I'm acertified fitness professional
and menopause coach specialist,and I color inside the lines.
I'll tell you that right now.
And my doctor's like, have youbeen eating really badly lately
or something?
And I'm like, No, I haven'tchanged anything.
And I hear this from a lot ofclients all the time.
They're like, I have changednothing.
(09:24):
Yeah, you two.
I've changed nothing about mydiet, and yet my cholesterol's
through the roof and I'mpre-diabetic.
I'm like, what?
Doesn't make any sense.
So that's where hormone therapycomes in, but that's another
conversation.
CherylFischer (09:37):
It is another conversation, but I did not know
the cholesterol thing becauseyeah, my doctor, I don't think,
believes me that I'm a healthyeater and I'm a really healthy
eater because my cholesterol isgetting a little bit higher.
Wow.
Okay, let me focus.
So the other thing is I kind ofchuckled when you said chair
yoga, and I feel like I have tojust say, you know, if you're
(10:00):
listening, I'm not making fun ofchair yoga.
It's important.
My mom did it when she wasdealing with mobility issues,
but I see your point thatthere's got to be something
between that and high intensitysomewhere in the middle.
ErikaShannon (10:13):
Just because we're aging doesn't mean we have to
sit down.
We we have so there's so muchwe can do and should do because
we have to protect our leanmuscle mass and our bone
density, both of which go downduring menopause.
Yeah.
So, and and we have to takecare of our cardiovascular
health as well.
And we have to take care of ourstress levels.
(10:34):
And so, how do we do that?
Fitness and movement.
CherylFischer (10:37):
So I want you to list those again because what I
was about to ask you is what arethe key goals?
If we're gonna talk aboutexercising, we know we're
supposed to exercise.
What is it that we really needto exercise for?
And so I I want you to justlist those again because I think
you just said that.
ErikaShannon (10:53):
Yeah, well, we want to exercise for bone
density, we want to exercise forlean muscle mass, we want to
exercise for a healthy heart.
Um, and the way to do that isthrough functional movement
training, uh, moderate intensitycardiovascular training.
And yeah, go high cardio acouple times a week for a little
bit of time, but don't spendmost of your time there.
(11:14):
We have a mentality as women ofthis age, I think, where more
is more, and we have to go ashard as we possibly can to get
results.
That is not true.
And at our age, we need to beselective about when we push
really hard because our stressresponse is thrown off by our
(11:36):
hormones as well.
So if we are constantly in ananaerobic state, it's very
stressful on the body, and thatis going to actually hinder us
from weight loss and hinder usfrom feeling calm and refreshed
and rested.
You know what I mean?
So, what we focus on isfunctional movement for sure.
(11:56):
Thinking about health spanagain.
The things that we need to doto function in this world are
push, pull, squat, hinge, carry,and rotate.
Okay.
And so those are the three,those are the six things that we
need to be able to do to livelife as an active human being in
(12:19):
this world.
Yeah.
And so when I work with myclients, I make sure that they
are getting that form ofmovement as well, and then
integrating healthy cardio.
And if you are trying to loseweight and menopause, then you
want to do, you want to err onthe side of more cardio and you
know, with a lot of strengthtraining in there.
(12:39):
But again, calories in,calories out, yada, yada, yada.
You gotta do.
CherylFischer (12:45):
Yeah.
Now, what happens if someone isreally?
I mean, I talk about walkingall the time.
Walking is very good, but whatif they're only walking or
they're only doing whatevercardio they like?
Are I'm sure they're gettingsome benefit, but not for sure.
ErikaShannon (13:00):
Walking is amazing.
I would say if you're walking alot, walk as fast as you
possibly can.
Walk brisk is better always.
So push yourself, push yourheart rate, and the the impact
of walking is really good forbone density as well.
So that's great.
Okay, but there are a ton ofexercises that you can do that
(13:23):
are body weight only that youcan integrate into a warm-up
before you walk, for example.
CherylFischer (13:29):
Okay.
And the squat thing Idefinitely agree with you on.
I've been working on knee pain,so I'm realizing that I better
in my mid-50s now, I better geton this and I better make sure I
can do it because I know if Idon't do it, I'm probably gonna
lose it, right?
You don't use it, you lose it.
That's the truth.
Yeah.
(13:50):
So you said push, pull, rotate,squat, and I what are the other
two?
ErikaShannon (13:56):
Hinge and carry.
So hinging at your hips.
Yes, yes, and carrying.
Grip strength is veryimportant.
Okay, yeah.
And there are a lot of articlesout there um talking about how
grip strength is an indicator ofmortality, which is crazy,
which makes me nervous because Ihave really poor grip strength.
(14:18):
I'm always I'm working on it.
But you know, it's when youthink about carrying groceries
or carrying something from oneplace to another, a suitcase or
a duffel bag, pick up a weightor a kettlebell and just walk
around with it for a littlewhile.
It doesn't have to be, youdon't have to have fancy
equipment for this kind ofstuff, you know.
CherylFischer (14:35):
Okay, okay.
Yeah, and my husband used to doCrossFit, and they used to do
what was maybe called a farmer'scarry or something, and they
would carry heavy stuff and walkaround.
ErikaShannon (14:45):
That's exactly right.
Yes, that's it.
Okay, okay.
Farmers picking up big jugs ofcow's milk and stuff.
That's exactly what we'retalking about.
Functional movement.
Yeah.
And rotate, of course, isanything where you're rotating
your spine.
CherylFischer (14:59):
Yeah, I'm not sure I practice that one either.
It does feel like these thingswould be easy to do in kind of
our own little routine.
I like that.
On the topic of walking, youdid mention the impact.
I have heard people say thatthat's not enough impact, and we
should be stomping around orjumping or running if we can.
ErikaShannon (15:21):
I mean, it really depends on you and what your
body is doing.
Um, if you do haveosteoporosis, I would talk to
your doctor between uh beforestarting any super high impact
exercise.
But jumping, like jumping jacksor jumping rope, it's so good
for bone density.
Uh, and you need it.
(15:42):
So putting a little impact intoyour workout, even if you if
you walk for a minute and runfor 20 seconds or just integrate
skipping, even skipping hasimpact to it.
CherylFischer (15:54):
Oh, I love skipping.
I think I might feel a bitsilly in the neighborhood, but I
love skipping.
ErikaShannon (15:59):
But isn't it fun to be playful too?
Yeah.
You know, we're we're in ourmidlife, but we're not dead.
We might as well.
I'll tell you, this morning, Ijust so I just moved to a new
house in a new neighborhood in anew city, and I joined the rec
center, um, which is in ourcommunity, and it's really
amazing.
And this morning I was like,oh, my muscles hurt.
(16:20):
I've been doing a lot of powerwashing and unpacking.
And so I was like, there's ahot tub at the rec center.
I'm gonna go to the rec center.
I'm gonna sit in the hot tub.
So I went to the hot tub, Ifelt so great, and then they
don't have a cold plunge, butthey do have an indoor pool.
So I went into the indoor pool,and there is a lazy river in
the indoor pool.
And I just like went around andaround floating and kicking and
(16:46):
doggy paddling and swimming andsidestroking, and it was so
much fun, it was just like veryplayful for me.
And I think that we need tointegrate more playful movement
into our lives because it doesbring us joy.
So um that's my Q2 for you islike do something that you like,
do something that's fun oradventurous.
If you like to hike, if youlike nature, get outside, you
(17:08):
know.
Um, there's just it's fun andand do it with your kids and and
and play.
And and who cares what peopleare thinking about you?
Like, I was by myself a49-year-old woman, and there was
like a little guppies classgoing on in the other end of the
pool.
I was like, we like it.
CherylFischer (17:27):
I love it.
I love it.
That's such a powerful mindsetmessage, really, because even
even doing this podcast, andI've done I've done episodes
about laughter, fun is reallyimportant.
I totally agree with you onthat.
But sometimes we get soserious, we're like, now we have
to do this and we have to thinkthis way, you know?
ErikaShannon (17:47):
I just read an article about the importance of
having hobbies at our age anddoing things that are just
creative and fun with nopayback, just to give ourselves
a little escape.
And I just love that idea.
And I think that we canincorporate movement in so many
fun ways in that way.
I love that.
(18:08):
It's also great to buildrelationships and community,
which is also so important atour age.
Yeah, and just brings us joy.
Yes.
CherylFischer (18:15):
Now, if you're listening and you're willing to
skip around your neighborhood,get somebody to take a picture
or a video of you and share itwith me on social media.
I'm gonna give you a challenge.
ErikaShannon (18:25):
I love this.
I love this.
And when this comes out, I'mgonna challenge my community to
do it too.
CherylFischer (18:32):
Yeah, I I mean it's hilarious.
I will do it, I will feelsilly, but I will do it.
So, yes, perfect.
We're all skipping.
ErikaShannon (18:41):
Um feeling silly is the best part because when
you're done, you're like, oh,that wasn't so bad.
And I laughed at myself.
Yeah, exactly.
CherylFischer (18:49):
And then you get braver.
Exactly.
Exactly.
I love it.
Okay, so so related to this, Iput out to my Patreon community
that I was gonna be talking toyou and asked them what they
would ask.
And Jill came up with a goodquestion that I'm not sure I
would have thought of.
(19:10):
And that is okay, so we'regonna work out.
Do we need to fuel differentlybefore or after?
I'm gonna say, now than when wewere younger when we work up.
ErikaShannon (19:22):
The answer, the short answer is no.
Okay.
Um, there's a lot of talk rightnow about creatine and high
protein this and that.
And and I just had, I do thesethings called menow parties
where I'll have a guest experton.
And I had a nutritionist anddietitian on a couple weeks ago,
and she I asked her aboutcreatine, and she's like,
(19:44):
listen, unless you're trainingfor the Olympics or a marathon,
or you're a professionalbodybuilder, you don't need
creatine to like put on aweighted vest and walk around
the park.
Like you just you don't.
It's great for recovery, itdoes help you with muscle
recovery, but like just thinkabout what you're doing, you
know, and and honestly, abalanced diet that makes you
(20:07):
feel energized is great.
I would say there have beensome studies coming out about
fasted cardio and how there'sreally not a lot of evidence,
like scientifically backedevidence against the benefits of
fasting uh before working out.
If you don't feel good workingout after eating breakfast, then
(20:27):
just don't.
But the most important thing isto listen to yourself.
But to answer Jill's question,no, you don't need to do
anything different in midlife.
Just I think in midlife, whatyou really want to focus on
overall and unrelated to fitnessis increasing your protein
fiber and hydration.
(20:48):
When you eat more fiber, youneed more water.
So you want to make sure thatthat goes hand in hand.
And fiber really is kind ofyour best friend in this
situation, as well as protein.
CherylFischer (20:58):
So that's a I'm glad you're bringing up fiber
because protein, I definitelyknow and agree.
Obviously, fiber is good, but Ihadn't thought of it in exactly
this way.
And I will link to an episode Idid on hydration because I
agree that's a big deal.
And we talked on that episode.
I had a guest for that as well.
(21:19):
She talked about making sure wehad electrolytes so we could
actually absorb the water andthe power of hydration.
So, yes, go find that in theshow notes and listen to that
one too.
Okay, I like that's kind of thetrue the three protein, fiber,
and hydration.
Yeah.
Okay, so this is a two-partquestion, sort of, because I
don't want to stress anyone outwho's listening, but what is, in
(21:42):
your opinion, because I knowthere'd be varying opinions
about this, the ideal amount ofexercise for someone in their
40s and 50s to do maybe in aweek.
And what if that's daunting?
What do you suggest someone dowho just wants to get started?
ErikaShannon (21:57):
The goal is 150 minutes of exercise a week.
So it's like, you know, 30minutes a day.
And you want to incorporateboth strength training,
cardiovascular training, andrecovery in that 150 minutes.
Recovery can be Tai Chi, it canbe stretching, mobility work,
(22:19):
um, active recovery.
So there's passive recoverylike massage, cold plunge,
acupuncture, and then there'sactive recovery, which is your
stretching and gentle yoga.
Regular yoga, like power yoga,is not recovery.
Yoga is very difficult, and itis very it is very good for
(22:40):
strengthening your body.
It's the perfect body weightstrength workout if you're doing
certain kinds of yoga, but likeyin yoga or yoga that is um
recovery-based or um lowintensity, that is a great
recovery as well.
CherylFischer (22:54):
Okay, I like that that goes into it.
ErikaShannon (22:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So again, based on what yourgoals are and based on what you
enjoy, I would start with whatyou like because, and this is
this is to answer the secondpart of your question.
Start with what you likebecause you are more likely to
continue if you do.
(23:18):
So if you like to do Zumba oryou like to dance, or you like
nature, or you like to goswimming, start there and do
something that you like, andthen you can incorporate maybe
making that longer or doing ittwo days instead of one day.
Work with yourself and be niceto yourself.
(23:39):
Something that I always tell myclients is it's not an all or
nothing situation, it's all orsomething.
All or something.
I will tell you completelyconfession time.
Yesterday was the first daythat I have set foot in the gym
for probably a month.
(24:00):
But I have just moved into thishouse and cannot tell you how
physically exhausted I am fromwalking up and downstairs,
carrying heavy boxes.
Yesterday I was, I was like,why are my forearms so sore?
I was power washing.
Like, there are a lot ofthings, gardening, those things
can they count as movement.
(24:22):
They count, and if you get yourheart rate up while doing
something like that, it counts.
So don't underestimate youreveryday movement and then
incorporate other stuff.
So if you are um doing laundryand you're like right now, my my
dryer is up high.
So I'm doing I'm gonna do asquat and then lift it up.
(24:45):
And instead of maybe put tryingto get it all in one thing,
I'll do one article of clothingat a time, and then all of a
sudden I've got 20 squats in,you know, psych yourself out,
like completely psych yourselfout.
Don't like play a game with it.
We are meant to, we are meantto live life fully in our
bodies, and so why not justplay?
(25:06):
And you know, we're all busy atthis age.
We're taking care of our kids,we're taking care of our
parents, we're workingfull-time, we're insane.
So sometimes those movementsnacks and those little, you
know, habit stacking things arethe way that we get our workout
in that week.
CherylFischer (25:21):
I love that.
I don't think I would havethought to add squats into
something I'm doing during theday, and that's a great idea.
ErikaShannon (25:30):
Yeah, and you can even alternate squatting and
hinging with that, right?
Because you can squat with yourlegs or you can soften your
knees, hinge at your hips, andpick something up, right?
So now you're getting twofunctional movements in by
changing the laundry.
Love it, kind of nice, love it,yes, and if you put it to the
(25:51):
side, then you can get rotationin.
CherylFischer (25:54):
Oh my goodness.
ErikaShannon (25:57):
If you want me to come and live with you, I'll
just tell you all day long.
CherylFischer (26:00):
Yes, you have to you have to come and follow me
around and tell me how to addmovement.
ErikaShannon (26:07):
Yeah, we overthink it.
We overthink it.
CherylFischer (26:11):
Yeah, it's really so much simpler than we think.
What would you say to someonewho is sitting in a chair all
day working on the computer?
How could they add in somemovement?
ErikaShannon (26:21):
I would definitely say set a timer to get up every
hour and do 10 squats or 20squats, um, or take a walk up
and down some stairs.
There was a study done recentlythat standing up and doing 10
squats once an hour lowers yourblood sugar as much as taking a
full walk after a meal.
CherylFischer (26:41):
Yeah.
ErikaShannon (26:41):
Wow.
Yeah.
So it really does make adifference.
So I know that the Apple Watchhas one of those like time to
stand notifications.
Yes.
Get one of those.
Um, and or there are so manyfree things, movement, and they
also have hydration reminderapps and stuff like that.
And again, stack it.
(27:01):
Like for me, I like to uh everyhour I'll get up, I'll go
downstairs, I'll get a drink, Iwill play with my dog for a
couple minutes, and then I'llcome back up, or I'll take her
for a walk and come back up.
I'm I'm learning in my newspace how to how to manage that.
But you just have to trickyourself into it.
CherylFischer (27:19):
And and even someone who's at the office
could certainly get up, walkdown the hall, go up and down
the stairs, something like that.
Maybe not squats at your desk,I guess.
But I mean, no.
ErikaShannon (27:30):
But you could, you know, you could stand by the
wall and just give yourself astretch and a calf stretch.
You could do some wall push-upsif you're, you know, if you're
in a quiet space and nobody'slooking.
I mean, or you can see if youcan take walking meetings.
So many people work from home,and I don't think people
necessarily take advantage ofthe walking meeting.
(27:52):
I love a walking meeting.
Because we don't need to be onZoom all the time.
Sometimes if we have a call, wecan be like, hey, can we do
this on the phone?
I would love to do a walkingmeeting.
Why don't we take a walk whilewe do this together?
CherylFischer (28:03):
Huh.
ErikaShannon (28:03):
I like it.
Easy.
CherylFischer (28:05):
And my my professional hardworking self is
thinking, well, how would Itake notes?
Well, maybe you record themeeting and then you go back out
later if you need it.
ErikaShannon (28:15):
Huh.
CherylFischer (28:16):
I like it.
ErikaShannon (28:18):
You can totally record.
Interesting.
It just depends on how youwork.
You can always figure it out.
Everything is so figure outablewith trying to incorporate this
kind of stuff into youreveryday life, which is
wonderful.
CherylFischer (28:30):
Yeah.
ErikaShannon (28:31):
Which is wonderful.
And it does go against ourbeliefs, our old school beliefs.
That, like, if I'm not in acycling class for 45 minutes, it
doesn't count.
Or if I'm not breaking a sweatand huffing and puffing, it
wasn't good enough.
No, that's not true.
I will say, pick up some heavystuff.
(28:53):
Pick up heavy weights when youcan.
Do heavy weights.
It is so good for you.
Wow.
And you're not gonna bulk uplike we all thought in the 90s.
It's not gonna happen.
Again, unless you're trainingfor the Olympics.
It's not gonna happen.
CherylFischer (29:07):
Right.
Okay.
Great, great, great tips.
And and I asked that questionbecause I know how I think, and
I know there must be otherpeople who think this way for
sure.
And that is that sometimes I'mlike, uh, you know, 150 minutes,
like, no way.
So whatever.
I just am not gonna do it.
I it's not gonna make adifference, whatever I do.
(29:28):
And clearly that's not true.
ErikaShannon (29:30):
Yeah, because if you think of 150 minutes, that's
a lot of minutes.
But if you think of I want, youknow, I want to work out four
days.
Okay, so four days at 30minutes, yeah, that's good.
It is right, yeah.
120 minutes, or four days at 25minutes, or start just start
(29:53):
somewhere if you're not doinganything right now, four days at
10 minutes, start there, yeah.
Because The more you move, themore you're gonna want to.
I always tell my clients whenthey don't feel like working
out, and I don't feel like Inever feel like working out.
It's like just start, just geton the mat, just start doing
some your warm up.
(30:14):
Just press play on one of myworkouts on my platform and do
the warmup.
And I guarantee you that onceyou're through the warm-up,
you're gonna be like, well, I'malready here, I'm already on the
mat.
I might as well pick up myweights and finish this
30-minute workout.
I used to play games withmyself working out from home on
my own.
That I'm like, okay, I'm gonnago to 10 minutes.
(30:35):
And then I get to 10 minutesand like, okay, I'm gonna make
it to 13 minutes, you know?
And then a good song comes on.
I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go tothe end of this song.
And before you know it, I'veworked out longer than I would
have.
CherylFischer (30:47):
Yeah.
And I'll tell you the game Iplay with myself.
I don't like to wear shoes athome.
I not, I mean, I guess it'spartly a cleanliness thing.
I just don't like to wearshoes.
And so putting on the shoes towork out became this big thing.
I didn't want to put my shoeson.
Yes.
And so I found things I coulddo without putting my shoes on.
(31:11):
And there was that barriergone.
ErikaShannon (31:14):
So yeah, I got creative.
I really like working outwithout shoes on.
You see a lot of people doingheavy lifting and kettlebell
workouts and barbell workoutswith socks on.
Because you can really use themuscles in your feet to balance
and feel the floor anddistribute your weight, it's
(31:34):
really grounding.
If you're lifting somethingsuper heavy and you're afraid
you're gonna drop it on yourfoot, I would suggest shoes.
But if you are doing, you know,I do a lot of my workouts on my
platform move and win in socksor barefoot because it just
feels good.
And and I encourage if and ifwe're going to be doing some
(31:55):
high impact or jumping, I alwayssay, like, I have shoes on
today for this workout becausewe're jumping a little bit, but
use your judgment, you cantotally do what you want.
CherylFischer (32:04):
Yeah.
Just kind of take away the thephysical or the mental barriers,
absolutely.
ErikaShannon (32:09):
I think the overarching theme is give
yourself more credit for whatyou can do.
CherylFischer (32:15):
Yeah.
And that's why this podcast ismindset-oriented.
We're talking about all thesethings that make a difference in
midlife, but so much of itcomes from what we're telling
ourselves about what anything wedo or don't do means and
whether we're worthy of whateverwe should be doing, and just
all that kind of stuff isdirecting us so much.
ErikaShannon (32:38):
Yeah, I had a I used to be a member of Weight
Watchers back in the day, and Ihad a leader that would say,
Stop shooting all over yourself.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
It keeps you stuck.
And I was like, shoulding allover yourself, that's really
good.
And it's so true.
I think about that all thetime.
CherylFischer (32:56):
Yeah, yeah.
And so it helps then to kind ofswitch it to well, what would I
actually enjoy?
And start there.
I like that idea.
Movement should not be apunishment, yeah, it should be
an adventure or aself-discovery.
Yes.
ErikaShannon (33:10):
And it's great for your confidence.
CherylFischer (33:12):
Yeah, that's a great point because our bodies
are changing in some more thanothers, some more stressed about
it than others, and confidence.
Wow, yeah, that's a big deal.
ErikaShannon (33:25):
Really big deal.
CherylFischer (33:26):
Let me just pause here and ask you to tell us
where can people find you, learnmore about what you do, and
connect with you.
ErikaShannon (33:34):
My website is ericashannon.com.
It's Erica with a K.
And on my website, I have a fewdifferent options.
So option number one is to workout with me.
I have a platform called Moveand Win because my tagline is if
you're moving, you're winning.
Love it.
So my so my platform is calledMove and Win.
(33:55):
I drop a new workout everysingle week.
Um, and I have workouts thatare focused in cardio, strength,
recovery, menopause specific,which is really great.
The menopause workouts, I willadd a little bit more breath
work or pelvic activation at thebeginning.
We do a longer warm-up, forexample.
There's just some slightdifferences, and that is an
(34:19):
option to work out with me.
I also have an online communitythat is not on social media,
it's members only.
And we share resources, I doflash coaching and things like
that.
And then I also have a groupand private coaching options for
menopause coach.
CherylFischer (34:37):
Awesome.
ErikaShannon (34:38):
And then on Instagram, Erica Shannon
Movement is where I ameverywhere.
So Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,YouTube, Erica Shannon
Movement.
On my YouTube channel, I dopost videos of past meno parties
with experts and stuff likethat, and any links to anything
else that I do out in the world.
(34:59):
Yeah.
CherylFischer (35:00):
Awesome.
I will make sure that all thatis in the show notes.
So if you're listening rightnow, just scroll down, go find
it.
Thanks.
Part of it is just making thiseasy uh because again, it takes
away a barrier that we talkourselves out of doing it.
So I love that you're doingthat.
ErikaShannon (35:15):
For sure.
I send a weekly email out to mysubscribers, and basically it's
just I talk a little bit aboutwhat's going on in the world of
menopause and fitness, and Idrop whatever the workout is for
the week there.
Perfect.
I will mention one more thing.
Yeah.
If people go to my website,there is a pop-up that will show
(35:37):
up to get a free 10-day emailcourse, um, menopause crash
course, where it just links tovideos of me talking about all
the different things aboutmenopause.
It's totally free.
Grab it, just join my mailinglist to get it.
Excellent.
CherylFischer (35:49):
Okay, so as we sort of get to the wrap-up here,
I always say, I'm sure peopleare listening and they're, you
know, doing their laundry.
Maybe they're squatting whiledoing it, or they're driving the
car, walking around theneighborhood, whatever they're
doing.
And it's hard to remembereverything from what we talked
about.
So if somebody is listening andis thinking, what do I need to
(36:13):
remember?
What's your kind of overarchingOMG?
This is the key thing toremember from this episode.
ErikaShannon (36:20):
If you're moving, you're winning.
CherylFischer (36:21):
Yeah.
ErikaShannon (36:21):
If you're moving, you're winning.
Every single thing you do inmovement is good for your
health, period.
CherylFischer (36:27):
And we're so tempted to be stuck on our
phones and probably not movingor sitting in front of the TV
and binge watching something.
Not that any of those thingsare inherently bad, but it's
it's so easy not to move at all.
It is.
Yeah.
It is, yes.
Okay, well, Erica, I've learneda ton from you.
(36:49):
So I know that anybodylistening will have as well.
Movement.
Just movement.
And I have to tell you, priorto having this discussion that
we've just had with Erica, I didnot foresee us going in the
direction of having fun.
(37:11):
And isn't that just flippingamazing?
Number one, everybody needsmore fun in their lives.
Everybody, probably everybody.
And number two, we have enoughobligations at this point in
life.
And we have that little voicein our heads telling us all
(37:33):
about the difficulties and themistakes and the things that
might happen that wouldn't begreat.
Let's let's let movement andexercise be a completely
separate thing that is fun.
Find something that is fun foryou.
Now, for me, that lately hasbeen Zumba.
(37:53):
I've been trying Zumba on anapp at home.
You might have already heard mesay that I go to bar class and
I walk, but in the summer, whichis at the time I'm recording
this, I don't love walkingoutside because it's hot.
So I've been trying Zumba and Ilove to dance.
For you, it might be somethingcompletely different.
I love her perspective that weshould just have fun.
(38:15):
And I was serious about theskipping challenge.
Go outside.
It can be in a public street inyour neighborhood.
I guess it could be in yourgarage.
I don't know.
I want you to do a video ofyourself skipping and send it to
me on social media.
Find me at Cheryl P.
(38:36):
Fisher on Instagram, on TikTok,on Facebook, find Mind Your
Midlife podcast, and send me avideo, and I will make a little
reel out of them.
I will share them.
I think, hey, let's start askipping movement.
Why not?
And here's a fun piece of newsfor our Patreon and Substack
(39:00):
subscribers.
Erica created a free functionalworkout.
Remember the push-pull sixitems that we need to work on in
menopause?
She created a free workout justfor us.
So make sure you grab that onPatreon or Substack when you
subscribe.
(39:21):
And in the meantime, slow down.
Maybe take a deep breath.
Notice what's going on in yourhead, what's going on around
you.
And let's create somethingamazing.
We know that we should exercise.
We know that we should move ourbodies.
And did you catch that littleword should in there?
Sometimes it becomes anobligation, a thing that we that
we sort of think about as Ihave to do it.
(00:21):
I don't have time.
I'm tired.
I know I should.
I want us to look at movementwith almost the opposite
perspective.
And my guest today is going tohelp us do exactly that.
Let's talk about it.
Welcome to Mind Your Midlife,your go-to resource for
(00:42):
confidence and success, onethought at a time.
Unlike most advice out there,we believe that simply telling
you to believe in yourself orchange your habits isn't enough
to wake up excited about life orfeel truly confident in your
body.
Each week, you'll gainactionable strategies and oh my
(01:02):
goodness, powerful insights tostop feeling stuck and start
loving your midlife.
This is the Mind Your Midlifepodcast.
Growing up, I did not play anysports.
And I always think back andwonder, should I have tried?
(01:23):
I almost I almost tried out forvolleyball in ninth grade.
I had moved to a new state,actually, and I decided I was
going to reinvent myself.
But in the end, I just was notI just was not into being
athletic.
And I was, though, kind of intomovement and I would walk and I
(01:45):
would do some active things.
It wasn't until I got tocollege and I uh gained a lot of
weight one year that I decidedI better start exercising a
little bit more.
And it's gone up and down overthe years.
What has made me really thinkabout this during my 50s, where
I am now, is watching someonefrom the older generation of my
(02:10):
family go through a chronicdisease for which they told her
the best thing you can do foryourself is exercise because you
need to move your body and keepyour muscles moving, toned,
working, or you will lose themeven faster.
(02:33):
And while I don't have thatchronic disease, and you
probably don't either, thatstill applies to us, kind of a
move it or lose it perspective.
We might lose our muscle toneor our strength faster if we
don't use it.
And again, I'm headed down thispath of you need to do it, you
(02:55):
should do it, aren't I?
I feel like we kind of we wesometimes resist things that
feel like an obligation in thatway.
So luckily, Erica Shannon isjoining me today.
She is a fitness and wellnessindustry expert and has been for
two decades.
She helps women on themenopause journey to optimize
(03:21):
their lives, reduce thosemenopause symptoms, and do that
with exercise, nutrition, sleepregulation, stress management,
self-care.
So we're gonna talk exercise inmidlife.
Welcome, Erica.
Thank you so much.
ErikaShannon (03:37):
It's so nice to be here.
Thanks for having me.
CherylFischer (03:40):
Absolutely.
I am excited to talk to youabout this because it's
something that is uh is aquestion, these are questions
I'm always asking myself.
Let me let me put it that way.
So I know that the the topic ofmidlife fitness is really a
powerful one for you.
So tell us how you decided toto focus quite a bit on that
(04:02):
area.
ErikaShannon (04:03):
A couple reasons.
The first reason was I'm goingthrough it myself.
I'm 49 and perimenopausal, andum it, you know, my body started
to change, the way I movedstarted to change, started to
feel different.
And so that was the first thingthat made me want to kind of
focus on this.
But the second thing was Inoticed in my work in the
(04:24):
fitness industry and streamingfitness a few years ago that
there really wasn't a lot oftargeted fitness content for
women of a certain age.
And um, it kind of jumps fromthe hyper, you know, impact high
impact, hit, aggressive, youknow, really, really hard cardio
(04:45):
and you know, boot camps andall that to chair yoga.
Like there's nothing inbetween.
And and I was like, wait asecond, this doesn't make any
sense.
And so I um every two years formy fitness certification, I
have to get continued educationcredits.
And I started a few years agojust amassing certifications.
(05:05):
One was in understandinghormones, one was programming
for the female client.
I'm a heart rate performancespecialist, and I got just kind
of like fell into it.
And there was a certificationthat I read about.
It was a menopause, um, acertified menopause specialist
certification.
And I was like, I want to dothat.
And I kind of I had it, it wasin my periphery for about six
(05:28):
months, and it was it was anexpensive certification, and it
was very involved.
And I was like, well, do Ireally want to go into this?
Is this really what I want todo next?
Like, and then I just keptthinking about it and thinking
about it, and it was honestlythe best certification I've ever
done in my 20 years in thefitness industry.
It taught me so much, not justabout what happens to our bodies
(05:49):
when we lose our hormones, butbut how to safely usher women
like us into this next phase oflife, because there's so much
prevention that we have to dealwith now.
And there are so many thingsthat we can prevent to make us
have a longer health span.
Um, we already have a longerlifespan than men, but our
(06:11):
health span tends to be shorter.
So as I watch my parents and myhusband's mother go through um
aging and osteoporosis anddementia and all those things,
I'm reading and realizing andstudying that so many of these
things can be prevented, uh, andlots of them through movement
and fitness.
(06:32):
And so that's kind of wherewe're at now, and it's really
fulfilling to work in thisfield.
CherylFischer (06:38):
Fascinating.
And I have about 17 questionsfrom what you just said.
So let's see where we go.
ErikaShannon (06:43):
Let's go.
CherylFischer (06:44):
I'm interested that you said that women tend to
have a longer lifespan, whichwe all I think know that's
statistic, yeah, but a shorterhealth span.
I never really thought aboutthat.
Is that really statistically apattern?
ErikaShannon (07:01):
Yes.
So if you look at women whohave dementia or Alzheimer's,
the percentage of women versusmen that have that
neurodegenerative disease, it'slike 70% are women.
Um, osteoporosis and osteopeniaor two other things.
I there's a ridiculousstatistic, and I don't want to
(07:22):
say the wrong thing.
I can't remember exactly whatit is, but it's it's something
along the lines of one in threewomen will have a an
osteoporotic bone fracture inthe later part of their life.
And that just opens the door toso many other risks because you
have to end up in the hospital,you have to have surgery, it
(07:44):
opens you to sepsis and andinfection and so many other
things that can end up killingyou.
So, um, or it completelyrendering you immobile.
So if you can't move and youhave, you know, and and your
brain is deteriorating, thenthen your health span is
shorter.
And so we also die ofcardiovascular disease.
(08:07):
Number one killer of women iscardiovascular disease.
CherylFischer (08:10):
And that I did know, and I don't think most
people know that actually,because you hear about men
having heart attacks from thestress of their job or whatever.
But you don't hear about womenso much.
ErikaShannon (08:21):
Yeah.
I know, I know, but whathappens is when we lose our
estrogen, it affects every organsystem in our body and it it
makes our cholesterol go higher.
Um, the protection estradiol isa very protective hormone.
And so when we lose it, we losethe benefits of it.
(08:42):
It's very protective of ourheart health, of our skin, of
our brain health.
And so without that, the LDLjust goes up, the HDL goes down,
triglycerides go up, our sugartolerance is all over the place,
and it can really affect us ina bad way.
CherylFischer (09:00):
Cholesterol.
Oh my goodness.
ErikaShannon (09:03):
My cholesterol is so high right now.
My doctor, and and I I'm acertified fitness professional
and menopause coach specialist,and I color inside the lines.
I'll tell you that right now.
And my doctor's like, have youbeen eating really badly lately
or something?
And I'm like, No, I haven'tchanged anything.
And I hear this from a lot ofclients all the time.
They're like, I have changednothing.
(09:24):
Yeah, you two.
I've changed nothing about mydiet, and yet my cholesterol's
through the roof and I'mpre-diabetic.
I'm like, what?
Doesn't make any sense.
So that's where hormone therapycomes in, but that's another
conversation.
CherylFischer (09:37):
It is another conversation, but I did not know
the cholesterol thing becauseyeah, my doctor, I don't think,
believes me that I'm a healthyeater and I'm a really healthy
eater because my cholesterol isgetting a little bit higher.
Wow.
Okay, let me focus.
So the other thing is I kind ofchuckled when you said chair
yoga, and I feel like I have tojust say, you know, if you're
(10:00):
listening, I'm not making fun ofchair yoga.
It's important.
My mom did it when she wasdealing with mobility issues,
but I see your point thatthere's got to be something
between that and high intensitysomewhere in the middle.
ErikaShannon (10:13):
Just because we're aging doesn't mean we have to
sit down.
We we have so there's so muchwe can do and should do because
we have to protect our leanmuscle mass and our bone
density, both of which go downduring menopause.
Yeah.
So, and and we have to takecare of our cardiovascular
health as well.
And we have to take care of ourstress levels.
(10:34):
And so, how do we do that?
Fitness and movement.
CherylFischer (10:37):
So I want you to list those again because what I
was about to ask you is what arethe key goals?
If we're gonna talk aboutexercising, we know we're
supposed to exercise.
What is it that we really needto exercise for?
And so I I want you to justlist those again because I think
you just said that.
ErikaShannon (10:53):
Yeah, well, we want to exercise for bone
density, we want to exercise forlean muscle mass, we want to
exercise for a healthy heart.
Um, and the way to do that isthrough functional movement
training, uh, moderate intensitycardiovascular training.
And yeah, go high cardio acouple times a week for a little
bit of time, but don't spendmost of your time there.
(11:14):
We have a mentality as women ofthis age, I think, where more
is more, and we have to go ashard as we possibly can to get
results.
That is not true.
And at our age, we need to beselective about when we push
really hard because our stressresponse is thrown off by our
(11:36):
hormones as well.
So if we are constantly in ananaerobic state, it's very
stressful on the body, and thatis going to actually hinder us
from weight loss and hinder usfrom feeling calm and refreshed
and rested.
You know what I mean?
So, what we focus on isfunctional movement for sure.
(11:56):
Thinking about health spanagain.
The things that we need to doto function in this world are
push, pull, squat, hinge, carry,and rotate.
Okay.
And so those are the three,those are the six things that we
need to be able to do to livelife as an active human being in
(12:19):
this world.
Yeah.
And so when I work with myclients, I make sure that they
are getting that form ofmovement as well, and then
integrating healthy cardio.
And if you are trying to loseweight and menopause, then you
want to do, you want to err onthe side of more cardio and you
know, with a lot of strengthtraining in there.
(12:39):
But again, calories in,calories out, yada, yada, yada.
You gotta do.
CherylFischer (12:45):
Yeah.
Now, what happens if someone isreally?
I mean, I talk about walkingall the time.
Walking is very good, but whatif they're only walking or
they're only doing whatevercardio they like?
Are I'm sure they're gettingsome benefit, but not for sure.
ErikaShannon (13:00):
Walking is amazing.
I would say if you're walking alot, walk as fast as you
possibly can.
Walk brisk is better always.
So push yourself, push yourheart rate, and the the impact
of walking is really good forbone density as well.
So that's great.
Okay, but there are a ton ofexercises that you can do that
(13:23):
are body weight only that youcan integrate into a warm-up
before you walk, for example.
CherylFischer (13:29):
Okay.
And the squat thing Idefinitely agree with you on.
I've been working on knee pain,so I'm realizing that I better
in my mid-50s now, I better geton this and I better make sure I
can do it because I know if Idon't do it, I'm probably gonna
lose it, right?
You don't use it, you lose it.
That's the truth.
Yeah.
(13:50):
So you said push, pull, rotate,squat, and I what are the other
two?
ErikaShannon (13:56):
Hinge and carry.
So hinging at your hips.
Yes, yes, and carrying.
Grip strength is veryimportant.
Okay, yeah.
And there are a lot of articlesout there um talking about how
grip strength is an indicator ofmortality, which is crazy,
which makes me nervous because Ihave really poor grip strength.
(14:18):
I'm always I'm working on it.
But you know, it's when youthink about carrying groceries
or carrying something from oneplace to another, a suitcase or
a duffel bag, pick up a weightor a kettlebell and just walk
around with it for a littlewhile.
It doesn't have to be, youdon't have to have fancy
equipment for this kind ofstuff, you know.
CherylFischer (14:35):
Okay, okay.
Yeah, and my husband used to doCrossFit, and they used to do
what was maybe called a farmer'scarry or something, and they
would carry heavy stuff and walkaround.
ErikaShannon (14:45):
That's exactly right.
Yes, that's it.
Okay, okay.
Farmers picking up big jugs ofcow's milk and stuff.
That's exactly what we'retalking about.
Functional movement.
Yeah.
And rotate, of course, isanything where you're rotating
your spine.
CherylFischer (14:59):
Yeah, I'm not sure I practice that one either.
It does feel like these thingswould be easy to do in kind of
our own little routine.
I like that.
On the topic of walking, youdid mention the impact.
I have heard people say thatthat's not enough impact, and we
should be stomping around orjumping or running if we can.
ErikaShannon (15:21):
I mean, it really depends on you and what your
body is doing.
Um, if you do haveosteoporosis, I would talk to
your doctor between uh beforestarting any super high impact
exercise.
But jumping, like jumping jacksor jumping rope, it's so good
for bone density.
Uh, and you need it.
(15:42):
So putting a little impact intoyour workout, even if you if
you walk for a minute and runfor 20 seconds or just integrate
skipping, even skipping hasimpact to it.
CherylFischer (15:54):
Oh, I love skipping.
I think I might feel a bitsilly in the neighborhood, but I
love skipping.
ErikaShannon (15:59):
But isn't it fun to be playful too?
Yeah.
You know, we're we're in ourmidlife, but we're not dead.
We might as well.
I'll tell you, this morning, Ijust so I just moved to a new
house in a new neighborhood in anew city, and I joined the rec
center, um, which is in ourcommunity, and it's really
amazing.
And this morning I was like,oh, my muscles hurt.
(16:20):
I've been doing a lot of powerwashing and unpacking.
And so I was like, there's ahot tub at the rec center.
I'm gonna go to the rec center.
I'm gonna sit in the hot tub.
So I went to the hot tub, Ifelt so great, and then they
don't have a cold plunge, butthey do have an indoor pool.
So I went into the indoor pool,and there is a lazy river in
the indoor pool.
And I just like went around andaround floating and kicking and
(16:46):
doggy paddling and swimming andsidestroking, and it was so
much fun, it was just like veryplayful for me.
And I think that we need tointegrate more playful movement
into our lives because it doesbring us joy.
So um that's my Q2 for you islike do something that you like,
do something that's fun oradventurous.
If you like to hike, if youlike nature, get outside, you
(17:08):
know.
Um, there's just it's fun andand do it with your kids and and
and play.
And and who cares what peopleare thinking about you?
Like, I was by myself a49-year-old woman, and there was
like a little guppies classgoing on in the other end of the
pool.
I was like, we like it.
CherylFischer (17:27):
I love it.
I love it.
That's such a powerful mindsetmessage, really, because even
even doing this podcast, andI've done I've done episodes
about laughter, fun is reallyimportant.
I totally agree with you onthat.
But sometimes we get soserious, we're like, now we have
to do this and we have to thinkthis way, you know?
ErikaShannon (17:47):
I just read an article about the importance of
having hobbies at our age anddoing things that are just
creative and fun with nopayback, just to give ourselves
a little escape.
And I just love that idea.
And I think that we canincorporate movement in so many
fun ways in that way.
I love that.
(18:08):
It's also great to buildrelationships and community,
which is also so important atour age.
Yeah, and just brings us joy.
Yes.
CherylFischer (18:15):
Now, if you're listening and you're willing to
skip around your neighborhood,get somebody to take a picture
or a video of you and share itwith me on social media.
I'm gonna give you a challenge.
ErikaShannon (18:25):
I love this.
I love this.
And when this comes out, I'mgonna challenge my community to
do it too.
CherylFischer (18:32):
Yeah, I I mean it's hilarious.
I will do it, I will feelsilly, but I will do it.
So, yes, perfect.
We're all skipping.
ErikaShannon (18:41):
Um feeling silly is the best part because when
you're done, you're like, oh,that wasn't so bad.
And I laughed at myself.
Yeah, exactly.
CherylFischer (18:49):
And then you get braver.
Exactly.
Exactly.
I love it.
Okay, so so related to this, Iput out to my Patreon community
that I was gonna be talking toyou and asked them what they
would ask.
And Jill came up with a goodquestion that I'm not sure I
would have thought of.
(19:10):
And that is okay, so we'regonna work out.
Do we need to fuel differentlybefore or after?
I'm gonna say, now than when wewere younger when we work up.
ErikaShannon (19:22):
The answer, the short answer is no.
Okay.
Um, there's a lot of talk rightnow about creatine and high
protein this and that.
And and I just had, I do thesethings called menow parties
where I'll have a guest experton.
And I had a nutritionist anddietitian on a couple weeks ago,
and she I asked her aboutcreatine, and she's like,
(19:44):
listen, unless you're trainingfor the Olympics or a marathon,
or you're a professionalbodybuilder, you don't need
creatine to like put on aweighted vest and walk around
the park.
Like you just you don't.
It's great for recovery, itdoes help you with muscle
recovery, but like just thinkabout what you're doing, you
know, and and honestly, abalanced diet that makes you
(20:07):
feel energized is great.
I would say there have beensome studies coming out about
fasted cardio and how there'sreally not a lot of evidence,
like scientifically backedevidence against the benefits of
fasting uh before working out.
If you don't feel good workingout after eating breakfast, then
(20:27):
just don't.
But the most important thing isto listen to yourself.
But to answer Jill's question,no, you don't need to do
anything different in midlife.
Just I think in midlife, whatyou really want to focus on
overall and unrelated to fitnessis increasing your protein
fiber and hydration.
(20:48):
When you eat more fiber, youneed more water.
So you want to make sure thatthat goes hand in hand.
And fiber really is kind ofyour best friend in this
situation, as well as protein.
CherylFischer (20:58):
So that's a I'm glad you're bringing up fiber
because protein, I definitelyknow and agree.
Obviously, fiber is good, but Ihadn't thought of it in exactly
this way.
And I will link to an episode Idid on hydration because I
agree that's a big deal.
And we talked on that episode.
I had a guest for that as well.
(21:19):
She talked about making sure wehad electrolytes so we could
actually absorb the water andthe power of hydration.
So, yes, go find that in theshow notes and listen to that
one too.
Okay, I like that's kind of thetrue the three protein, fiber,
and hydration.
Yeah.
Okay, so this is a two-partquestion, sort of, because I
don't want to stress anyone outwho's listening, but what is, in
(21:42):
your opinion, because I knowthere'd be varying opinions
about this, the ideal amount ofexercise for someone in their
40s and 50s to do maybe in aweek.
And what if that's daunting?
What do you suggest someone dowho just wants to get started?
ErikaShannon (21:57):
The goal is 150 minutes of exercise a week.
So it's like, you know, 30minutes a day.
And you want to incorporateboth strength training,
cardiovascular training, andrecovery in that 150 minutes.
Recovery can be Tai Chi, it canbe stretching, mobility work,
(22:19):
um, active recovery.
So there's passive recoverylike massage, cold plunge,
acupuncture, and then there'sactive recovery, which is your
stretching and gentle yoga.
Regular yoga, like power yoga,is not recovery.
Yoga is very difficult, and itis very it is very good for
(22:40):
strengthening your body.
It's the perfect body weightstrength workout if you're doing
certain kinds of yoga, but likeyin yoga or yoga that is um
recovery-based or um lowintensity, that is a great
recovery as well.
CherylFischer (22:54):
Okay, I like that that goes into it.
ErikaShannon (22:56):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So again, based on what yourgoals are and based on what you
enjoy, I would start with whatyou like because, and this is
this is to answer the secondpart of your question.
Start with what you likebecause you are more likely to
continue if you do.
(23:18):
So if you like to do Zumba oryou like to dance, or you like
nature, or you like to goswimming, start there and do
something that you like, andthen you can incorporate maybe
making that longer or doing ittwo days instead of one day.
Work with yourself and be niceto yourself.
(23:39):
Something that I always tell myclients is it's not an all or
nothing situation, it's all orsomething.
All or something.
I will tell you completelyconfession time.
Yesterday was the first daythat I have set foot in the gym
for probably a month.
(24:00):
But I have just moved into thishouse and cannot tell you how
physically exhausted I am fromwalking up and downstairs,
carrying heavy boxes.
Yesterday I was, I was like,why are my forearms so sore?
I was power washing.
Like, there are a lot ofthings, gardening, those things
can they count as movement.
(24:22):
They count, and if you get yourheart rate up while doing
something like that, it counts.
So don't underestimate youreveryday movement and then
incorporate other stuff.
So if you are um doing laundryand you're like right now, my my
dryer is up high.
So I'm doing I'm gonna do asquat and then lift it up.
(24:45):
And instead of maybe put tryingto get it all in one thing,
I'll do one article of clothingat a time, and then all of a
sudden I've got 20 squats in,you know, psych yourself out,
like completely psych yourselfout.
Don't like play a game with it.
We are meant to, we are meantto live life fully in our
bodies, and so why not justplay?
(25:06):
And you know, we're all busy atthis age.
We're taking care of our kids,we're taking care of our
parents, we're workingfull-time, we're insane.
So sometimes those movementsnacks and those little, you
know, habit stacking things arethe way that we get our workout
in that week.
CherylFischer (25:21):
I love that.
I don't think I would havethought to add squats into
something I'm doing during theday, and that's a great idea.
ErikaShannon (25:30):
Yeah, and you can even alternate squatting and
hinging with that, right?
Because you can squat with yourlegs or you can soften your
knees, hinge at your hips, andpick something up, right?
So now you're getting twofunctional movements in by
changing the laundry.
Love it, kind of nice, love it,yes, and if you put it to the
(25:51):
side, then you can get rotationin.
CherylFischer (25:54):
Oh my goodness.
ErikaShannon (25:57):
If you want me to come and live with you, I'll
just tell you all day long.
CherylFischer (26:00):
Yes, you have to you have to come and follow me
around and tell me how to addmovement.
ErikaShannon (26:07):
Yeah, we overthink it.
We overthink it.
CherylFischer (26:11):
Yeah, it's really so much simpler than we think.
What would you say to someonewho is sitting in a chair all
day working on the computer?
How could they add in somemovement?
ErikaShannon (26:21):
I would definitely say set a timer to get up every
hour and do 10 squats or 20squats, um, or take a walk up
and down some stairs.
There was a study done recentlythat standing up and doing 10
squats once an hour lowers yourblood sugar as much as taking a
full walk after a meal.
CherylFischer (26:41):
Yeah.
ErikaShannon (26:41):
Wow.
Yeah.
So it really does make adifference.
So I know that the Apple Watchhas one of those like time to
stand notifications.
Yes.
Get one of those.
Um, and or there are so manyfree things, movement, and they
also have hydration reminderapps and stuff like that.
And again, stack it.
(27:01):
Like for me, I like to uh everyhour I'll get up, I'll go
downstairs, I'll get a drink, Iwill play with my dog for a
couple minutes, and then I'llcome back up, or I'll take her
for a walk and come back up.
I'm I'm learning in my newspace how to how to manage that.
But you just have to trickyourself into it.
CherylFischer (27:19):
And and even someone who's at the office
could certainly get up, walkdown the hall, go up and down
the stairs, something like that.
Maybe not squats at your desk,I guess.
But I mean, no.
ErikaShannon (27:30):
But you could, you know, you could stand by the
wall and just give yourself astretch and a calf stretch.
You could do some wall push-upsif you're, you know, if you're
in a quiet space and nobody'slooking.
I mean, or you can see if youcan take walking meetings.
So many people work from home,and I don't think people
necessarily take advantage ofthe walking meeting.
(27:52):
I love a walking meeting.
Because we don't need to be onZoom all the time.
Sometimes if we have a call, wecan be like, hey, can we do
this on the phone?
I would love to do a walkingmeeting.
Why don't we take a walk whilewe do this together?
CherylFischer (28:03):
Huh.
ErikaShannon (28:03):
I like it.
Easy.
CherylFischer (28:05):
And my my professional hardworking self is
thinking, well, how would Itake notes?
Well, maybe you record themeeting and then you go back out
later if you need it.
ErikaShannon (28:15):
Huh.
CherylFischer (28:16):
I like it.
ErikaShannon (28:18):
You can totally record.
Interesting.
It just depends on how youwork.
You can always figure it out.
Everything is so figure outablewith trying to incorporate this
kind of stuff into youreveryday life, which is
wonderful.
CherylFischer (28:30):
Yeah.
ErikaShannon (28:31):
Which is wonderful.
And it does go against ourbeliefs, our old school beliefs.
That, like, if I'm not in acycling class for 45 minutes, it
doesn't count.
Or if I'm not breaking a sweatand huffing and puffing, it
wasn't good enough.
No, that's not true.
I will say, pick up some heavystuff.
(28:53):
Pick up heavy weights when youcan.
Do heavy weights.
It is so good for you.
Wow.
And you're not gonna bulk uplike we all thought in the 90s.
It's not gonna happen.
Again, unless you're trainingfor the Olympics.
It's not gonna happen.
CherylFischer (29:07):
Right.
Okay.
Great, great, great tips.
And and I asked that questionbecause I know how I think, and
I know there must be otherpeople who think this way for
sure.
And that is that sometimes I'mlike, uh, you know, 150 minutes,
like, no way.
So whatever.
I just am not gonna do it.
I it's not gonna make adifference, whatever I do.
(29:28):
And clearly that's not true.
ErikaShannon (29:30):
Yeah, because if you think of 150 minutes, that's
a lot of minutes.
But if you think of I want, youknow, I want to work out four
days.
Okay, so four days at 30minutes, yeah, that's good.
It is right, yeah.
120 minutes, or four days at 25minutes, or start just start
(29:53):
somewhere if you're not doinganything right now, four days at
10 minutes, start there, yeah.
Because The more you move, themore you're gonna want to.
I always tell my clients whenthey don't feel like working
out, and I don't feel like Inever feel like working out.
It's like just start, just geton the mat, just start doing
some your warm up.
(30:14):
Just press play on one of myworkouts on my platform and do
the warmup.
And I guarantee you that onceyou're through the warm-up,
you're gonna be like, well, I'malready here, I'm already on the
mat.
I might as well pick up myweights and finish this
30-minute workout.
I used to play games withmyself working out from home on
my own.
That I'm like, okay, I'm gonnago to 10 minutes.
(30:35):
And then I get to 10 minutesand like, okay, I'm gonna make
it to 13 minutes, you know?
And then a good song comes on.
I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go tothe end of this song.
And before you know it, I'veworked out longer than I would
have.
CherylFischer (30:47):
Yeah.
And I'll tell you the game Iplay with myself.
I don't like to wear shoes athome.
I not, I mean, I guess it'spartly a cleanliness thing.
I just don't like to wearshoes.
And so putting on the shoes towork out became this big thing.
I didn't want to put my shoeson.
Yes.
And so I found things I coulddo without putting my shoes on.
(31:11):
And there was that barriergone.
ErikaShannon (31:14):
So yeah, I got creative.
I really like working outwithout shoes on.
You see a lot of people doingheavy lifting and kettlebell
workouts and barbell workoutswith socks on.
Because you can really use themuscles in your feet to balance
and feel the floor anddistribute your weight, it's
(31:34):
really grounding.
If you're lifting somethingsuper heavy and you're afraid
you're gonna drop it on yourfoot, I would suggest shoes.
But if you are doing, you know,I do a lot of my workouts on my
platform move and win in socksor barefoot because it just
feels good.
And and I encourage if and ifwe're going to be doing some
(31:55):
high impact or jumping, I alwayssay, like, I have shoes on
today for this workout becausewe're jumping a little bit, but
use your judgment, you cantotally do what you want.
CherylFischer (32:04):
Yeah.
Just kind of take away the thephysical or the mental barriers,
absolutely.
ErikaShannon (32:09):
I think the overarching theme is give
yourself more credit for whatyou can do.
CherylFischer (32:15):
Yeah.
And that's why this podcast ismindset-oriented.
We're talking about all thesethings that make a difference in
midlife, but so much of itcomes from what we're telling
ourselves about what anything wedo or don't do means and
whether we're worthy of whateverwe should be doing, and just
all that kind of stuff isdirecting us so much.
ErikaShannon (32:38):
Yeah, I had a I used to be a member of Weight
Watchers back in the day, and Ihad a leader that would say,
Stop shooting all over yourself.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
It keeps you stuck.
And I was like, shoulding allover yourself, that's really
good.
And it's so true.
I think about that all thetime.
CherylFischer (32:56):
Yeah, yeah.
And so it helps then to kind ofswitch it to well, what would I
actually enjoy?
And start there.
I like that idea.
Movement should not be apunishment, yeah, it should be
an adventure or aself-discovery.
Yes.
ErikaShannon (33:10):
And it's great for your confidence.
CherylFischer (33:12):
Yeah, that's a great point because our bodies
are changing in some more thanothers, some more stressed about
it than others, and confidence.
Wow, yeah, that's a big deal.
ErikaShannon (33:25):
Really big deal.
CherylFischer (33:26):
Let me just pause here and ask you to tell us
where can people find you, learnmore about what you do, and
connect with you.
ErikaShannon (33:34):
My website is ericashannon.com.
It's Erica with a K.
And on my website, I have a fewdifferent options.
So option number one is to workout with me.
I have a platform called Moveand Win because my tagline is if
you're moving, you're winning.
Love it.
So my so my platform is calledMove and Win.
(33:55):
I drop a new workout everysingle week.
Um, and I have workouts thatare focused in cardio, strength,
recovery, menopause specific,which is really great.
The menopause workouts, I willadd a little bit more breath
work or pelvic activation at thebeginning.
We do a longer warm-up, forexample.
There's just some slightdifferences, and that is an
(34:19):
option to work out with me.
I also have an online communitythat is not on social media,
it's members only.
And we share resources, I doflash coaching and things like
that.
And then I also have a groupand private coaching options for
menopause coach.
CherylFischer (34:37):
Awesome.
ErikaShannon (34:38):
And then on Instagram, Erica Shannon
Movement is where I ameverywhere.
So Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,YouTube, Erica Shannon
Movement.
On my YouTube channel, I dopost videos of past meno parties
with experts and stuff likethat, and any links to anything
else that I do out in the world.
(34:59):
Yeah.
CherylFischer (35:00):
Awesome.
I will make sure that all thatis in the show notes.
So if you're listening rightnow, just scroll down, go find
it.
Thanks.
Part of it is just making thiseasy uh because again, it takes
away a barrier that we talkourselves out of doing it.
So I love that you're doingthat.
ErikaShannon (35:15):
For sure.
I send a weekly email out to mysubscribers, and basically it's
just I talk a little bit aboutwhat's going on in the world of
menopause and fitness, and Idrop whatever the workout is for
the week there.
Perfect.
I will mention one more thing.
Yeah.
If people go to my website,there is a pop-up that will show
(35:37):
up to get a free 10-day emailcourse, um, menopause crash
course, where it just links tovideos of me talking about all
the different things aboutmenopause.
It's totally free.
Grab it, just join my mailinglist to get it.
Excellent.
CherylFischer (35:49):
Okay, so as we sort of get to the wrap-up here,
I always say, I'm sure peopleare listening and they're, you
know, doing their laundry.
Maybe they're squatting whiledoing it, or they're driving the
car, walking around theneighborhood, whatever they're
doing.
And it's hard to remembereverything from what we talked
about.
So if somebody is listening andis thinking, what do I need to
(36:13):
remember?
What's your kind of overarchingOMG?
This is the key thing toremember from this episode.
ErikaShannon (36:20):
If you're moving, you're winning.
CherylFischer (36:21):
Yeah.
ErikaShannon (36:21):
If you're moving, you're winning.
Every single thing you do inmovement is good for your
health, period.
CherylFischer (36:27):
And we're so tempted to be stuck on our
phones and probably not movingor sitting in front of the TV
and binge watching something.
Not that any of those thingsare inherently bad, but it's
it's so easy not to move at all.
It is.
Yeah.
It is, yes.
Okay, well, Erica, I've learneda ton from you.
(36:49):
So I know that anybodylistening will have as well.
Movement.
Just movement.
And I have to tell you, priorto having this discussion that
we've just had with Erica, I didnot foresee us going in the
direction of having fun.
(37:11):
And isn't that just flippingamazing?
Number one, everybody needsmore fun in their lives.
Everybody, probably everybody.
And number two, we have enoughobligations at this point in
life.
And we have that little voicein our heads telling us all
(37:33):
about the difficulties and themistakes and the things that
might happen that wouldn't begreat.
Let's let's let movement andexercise be a completely
separate thing that is fun.
Find something that is fun foryou.
Now, for me, that lately hasbeen Zumba.
(37:53):
I've been trying Zumba on anapp at home.
You might have already heard mesay that I go to bar class and
I walk, but in the summer, whichis at the time I'm recording
this, I don't love walkingoutside because it's hot.
So I've been trying Zumba and Ilove to dance.
For you, it might be somethingcompletely different.
I love her perspective that weshould just have fun.
(38:15):
And I was serious about theskipping challenge.
Go outside.
It can be in a public street inyour neighborhood.
I guess it could be in yourgarage.
I don't know.
I want you to do a video ofyourself skipping and send it to
me on social media.
Find me at Cheryl P.
(38:36):
Fisher on Instagram, on TikTok,on Facebook, find Mind Your
Midlife podcast, and send me avideo, and I will make a little
reel out of them.
I will share them.
I think, hey, let's start askipping movement.
Why not?
And here's a fun piece of newsfor our Patreon and Substack
(39:00):
subscribers.
Erica created a free functionalworkout.
Remember the push-pull sixitems that we need to work on in
menopause?
She created a free workout justfor us.
So make sure you grab that onPatreon or Substack when you
subscribe.
(39:21):
And in the meantime, slow down.
Maybe take a deep breath.
Notice what's going on in yourhead, what's going on around
you.
And let's create somethingamazing.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.