How do we slow down the aging process at Fitness Forward Studio?

How do you slow down the Aging Process in 2018? Well let me share how I train and coach our clients at Fitness Forward Studio – as well as how we are getting younger as we get older!

I have had a few clients stay with me for almost twenty years as personal training clients! They are very committed and consistent to their weekly workout time with me as well as doing their “homework” exercises the other days without me. Since I am 46 years young (suddenly) today, I have been training some of my loyal ongoing clients since I started at a local private athletic club training client at 25 years of age! Wow now that is a life journey we have shared together…we have grown up together.

In fact, probably half the guests at our wedding in 2007 were my clients as they have watched me grow up and shared my experiences! My clients have become family – or I call my fitness family. Since so many of my personal training clients have been with me many years, we have aged up together. I don’t like to call it “getting older” together but rather the opposite- we have worked together to SLOW DOWN the aging process together with elements of what I now call “The WHOLESTIC Method”.

As many of my clients are now in their 50 to 60’s and now reaching 70 years young… we are really doing our own research study on how to slow down the aging process via the eight elements of transform the WHOLE you:

NUTRITION: Eating a real food while avoiding refined sugars, processed foods and common food allergens as gluten, soy, commercial dairy, peanuts, corn and sometimes eggs for some people. I also encourage my clients not to get in the habit of drinking 2-3 glasses of wine each night, beer, or cocktails – instead select one night per week to have alcohol (or two-night max!) with 2 glasses maximum.

EXERCISE: Consistent weekly strength training 2-3 times per week for 20-45 minutes plus cardiovascular the other days 30-45 minutes. Don’t be afraid to lift heavy weight sometimes if you have good form and alignment! We focus a lot on building our foundation and stabilizers- with attention to stability, mobility, and core work.

SLEEP: I continue to find clients struggling to sleep through the night due to stress, alcohol, sugar or some type of hormonal imbalance that may require Nutritional Therapy to determine the root cause of the disruption of their sleep cycle. I encourage our clients to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night- ideally asleep before 10pm and waking up around sunrise without an alarm. That requires relaxing and unplugging before bed – so start reading a book in bed and writing in a journal. Sleep is when your body conducts it’s natural internal housekeeping and rebuild’s itself so don’t mess with your sleep! Make sleeping 7-9 hours a priority if you want to optimize your health!

STRESS: Obviously I am extra aware of client’s stressors and changes in their behavior or moods based on my own personal experience that I wrote in LIFE IS NOT A RACE book. Chronic stress is common in so many clients, friends, and family members. I see stressed out, anxious and emotionally strained individuals daily in my studio and community. Perhaps we all need to read my book at least once and listen to my weekly podcast (The WHOLE Athlete) to create awareness of our personal triggers and our reaction to stress as well as trying to improve the nervous system balance by using our Meo-energetics Vagal Tone and Brain De-Flame healing oils as well as measuring our morning heart rate variability with SWEETBEAT LIFE app. We are so sympathetic dominant society so we all could benefit from a session at Urban Float, acupuncture and stretch therapy with Melissa Carey. See more in digestion section as every stress response is a blood sugar response and impacts digestion, immune system, and brain health.

MOVEMENT: Most client’s workout in the morning then go sit all day at work or busy on sitting in board meetings or driving kids around town to their activities. Even if we exercise in the morning, we still need to get up and move every hour. The goal is to get 10,000 steps per day if you use tracker devices (estimated) but to also do mobility movements during the day as side bends, lunge and reach stretch, squat and rotate. A simple exercise is to stand against a wall and make old fashioned “snow angels” on the wall!

DIGESTION: This is an area of opportunity for all of us – even if we don’t think we have any digestive issues or symptoms. I now offer my The WHOLESTIC Method 5-day Jumpstart Liver Detox & Reset Challenge (Phase One of my Transformation Program) the first week of each month at Fitness Forward Studio to help the liver remove toxins out of the body and improve our detoxification pathways. Phase two of The WHOLESTIC Method (WM) program continues after the five-day detox into a sugar detox or elimination challenge to improve digestion, gut health, and overall health. As with each element of The WM program, they each influence each other, so if our stress levels are high then our digestive system is impacted. If our digestion is off, then our happiness level may be impacted as the gut and brain are connected! If our stress levels are high, then our immune system is always impacted as 70% of our immune system (preyer’s patches) lie in our gut (small intestine). Register for our new The WM 30-day transformation program via www.fitnessforwardstudio.com or contact Debbie for questions.

HYDRATION: Another area of opportunity for all clients is to HYDRATE with clean filtered water daily. We are to consume half our body weight in ounces of clean water per day so if you weight 180 lbs. then you are to consume throughout the day (not all at night!), 90 ounces of water PLUS another 12-16 ounces for every diuretic you consume (coffee, juice, tea, soda, and other caffeinated beverages). Try adding more water into your day by keeping a bottle of water (glass bottle) in your car, at your desk and during workouts. I add a little sea salt in the morning (great for those of us with adrenal issues- which is most people!), lemon and sometimes muddled mint or cucumber.

HAPPINESS: how many individuals surprise me are sad and depressed on the inside. Perhaps this is related to our high consumption of refined sugar, gluten/grains, and processed foods plus our non-stop addicted to busy-ness as well as multi-tasking and constant dependence on emails, texts, and social media updates. I ask my coaching clients to start an evening ritual by writing in a journal – first starting with at least three things, people, or experiences that they were grateful for that day then begin letting yourself write freely once you let yourself relax and unplug. Let it go! Improving gut health and changing nutritional habits – especially eating low-carb and adding ketones at Pruvit supplement improve mental health in a way including focus, clarity, and concentration. Liver detox and gut health protocols also show to improve happiness and positive outlook in life which helps you make better decisions (exercise and food choices as well as sleep better through the night (less stress and anxiety!). .