The Over 50 Health & Wellness Podcast

I was born in Santa Monica, CA, but moved to rural southwestern PA when I was very young, maybe five or six. There I lived on a beef cattle farm with cows, chickens, horses, an apple orchard, and a gigantic vegetable garden. Somewhere in my mid-teens a divorce landed me in a teeny tiny ex coal mining town, where… well… let’s just say I didn’t exactly flourish. And right before my senior year of high school my mom, step-dad, and my ...

In this week’s episode of the Coach’s Corner I start out by talking about some foods that often get marketed as healthy, but really aren’t, and I list my top 13 foods that fall into this category as well as healthier alternatives. Then I spend a few minutes pontificating on what would happen if I had a magic wand and could give everyone their perfect dream body. The links to all the resources we discussed in this episode are below:

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I used to think of health as an either/or proposition – either you’re unhealthy or you’re healthy. But I now think of health as a continuum – with extremely poor health on one end, and optimal health and vitality on the other end. And if we labeled this continuum from one to ten – with 1 being very poor health, and 10 being optimal health and vitality, I’d guess that most of us over 50 are somewhere in the sub-five category. And in...

In this week’s episode of the Coach’s Corner, I start out by talking about the importance of progressive overload and how to incorporate these principles in your exercise program. Then I talk about being a salesman, and what I’m selling and what you are buying, and I finish up discussing a few articles I read on technology and fitness. The links to all of the resources we discussed in this episode are below:

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Before we get started with today’s episode, I want to speak to you ladies. This episode is as much for you as it is for the men. When today’s guest Dr. Tracy Gapin first approached me with the topic of men’s health, I was initially reluctant, mainly because according to my statistics this show’s audience is close to 50/50 men and women. But Dr. Gapin informed me that a large number of his clients are actually referred to him by the...

I’m traveling this week, so just a short Coach’s Corner today.  Here’s what we’re covering in today’s episode.  I start off talking about my favorite superfoods and why I try to eat them every day.  Then spend a few minutes answering the question of is it realistic to think you can get into the best shape of your life at 50 years of age.  Below are the links to the resources we discussed in this episode:

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Let me ask you a personal question – are you happy?  I mean you’re listening to the Over 50 Health & Wellness podcast right now, so I’ll assume you’re at least a little bit happy right now.  But are you big-picture happy?  I suppose we should define happiness.  The dictionary states that happiness is a feeling of pleasure or contentment - or having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with a person, arrangement, or situatio...

In this week’s edition of the Coach’s Corner, I start out by talking about my website getting hacked by some nasty cyber-criminals, and then talk about some Instagram posts I’ve seen recently discussing top foods for burning belly fat.  Then I talk a bit on why you should consider yourself and athlete, and that as an athlete you should focus on training instead of exercising.  Then I wrap up with a discussion on set and reps, and w...

I’m a big fan of keeping things simple, of not over-complicating things.  I like to take complex concepts and study them and break them down into easy-to-understand chunks.  I remember a professor in college once telling me that if I couldn’t explain a concept to a child, that I didn’t fully understand that concept myself.  And this love for simplicity has served me well as I dive into the world of exercise and nutrition.  While nu...

In this week’s edition of the Coach’s Corner I start out by talking about the new James Bond movie and how Daniel Craig gets into such great shape for his role as 007, and then spend a couple of minutes talking about what to do when you get off track from your nutrition or exercise program.  Then I share my thoughts on diet soda and whether swapping out regular for zero calorie soda can help you lose weight, and then wrap up with a...

If you’ve listened to this show for any length of time you know I’m a huge proponent of being your own health advocate, of talking full responsibility and ownership for your health.  As one of my former guests Dr. Kien Vuu put it, you are your own best medicine.  I frequently rail against the common narrative of aging - that we naturally lose muscle and mobility as we age, that aches and pains come with the territory, that we can’t...

In this week’s edition of the Coach’s Corner I start out by discussing a few of the resources that helped me on my early fitness journey and then transition to talking about the importance of sleep for healthy weight loss and muscle building.  Below are the links to everything we discussed in today’s show.

Time Stamps:
1:42 – Early Fitness Resources
13:15 – The Importance of Sleep

Below are links to the resources we discussed in this w...

Are you skeptical about health and nutrition claims?  You should be.  There is no single source of truth when it comes nutrition, most general practice physicians have little to no training on the subject, we’re constantly being bombarded with conflicting new-studies-show type headlines from the media, shysters and hustlers are promising amazing weight loss success if you only buy their product, and on social media there are wars b...

Here’s what we’re covering in today’s episode.  I start off talking about my new Holiday Accountability offer that I’m launching today, and then I share a couple of news stories I read this week that I found interesting.  Next I discuss what’s more important for weight loss – how much you eat versus what you eat (believe it or not there’s actually a war being waged on social media over this right now).  Then I discuss the role of s...

A year or so ago I was sitting on the beach with half a dozen or so people.  And at age 56 at the time, I was the oldest in the group by at least a decade.  And somehow the conversation turned to - at what age did you peak?  And these folks – most of them in their late thirties or early forties – went around describing when they think they peaked.  The responses varied – some stating right before their first child, or when they wer...

In this episode of the Coach’s Corner, I cover several topics.  We start out with some breaking news regarding this podcast, and then I answer the age-old question – what’s better for fat loss: cardio of strength training?  After that I talk about the seven primal human movements and discuss ways we can improve these, and then give an update on my client Broc’s progress.  I do a quick book review of Diet for Great Sex by Christine ...

When’s the last time you had an adventure?  When is the last time you did something challenging and exciting?  When is the last time that you went exploring?  When’s the last time you took a risk, or did something bold?  Many of us lose our sense of adventure as we grow older.  Perhaps we have aches and pains that we didn’t have as a younger person, which inhibits us from adventuring.  My guest today is fond of saying that adventur...

If I say to you, “She’s a strong woman,” what comes to mind?  Maybe your first thought is that she’s emotionally strong, or mentally tough.  What if I say, “She’s a strong 70 year old woman?”  Now what comes to mind?  You’re probably not thinking of physical strength.  That simply doesn’t fit the common narrative for 70 year olds in our culture.  But what if I told you that this woman can squat 250 pounds and deadlift 320 pounds an...

The typical American sits for an average of 13 hours a day, and the typical American office worker sits for up to 15 hours daily.  That’s a lot of sitting!  Sitting is actually a fairly new phenomenon – we’ve really only been sitting for about the last 200 years.  Before that our natural resting position would have been a deep squat, a position that many of us over 50 find difficult to get into and out of, never mind resting for lo...