Stay Fit and Strong at Any Age: Ilana Lea’s Super Longevity Secrets!

Opening on Bone Health and Womenu2019s Screening 0:00

It's a it's a sin. It's a sin that women don't get the bone tested from, like the age of 30. It's actually a sin, maybe of the system. I don't I'm not going to point fingers, but for some reason, the medical system start testing your bones in your mid 50s or 60s. Then, of course, maybe you have bone loss, but if you knew in your 30s that every year you're going to have a percentage of bone loss, by the age of six, you already lost like 2,030%. You would do something about just like screening for breast cancer.

So it is kind of like makes me a little bit sad because I know I have a lot of clients in osteopenia and even some in osteoporosis, that it could have been preventative with the right education from their doctor. Welcome to Rad cast, where science and soul converge in shaping the future of human potential. I'm your host, Doctor Melissa Peterson, and together we're stepping beyond limits to explore super longevity. Produced by the coalition for Radical Life Extension, the visionaries behind Rad Fest. Rad past is more than a podcast.

It's a movement for the bold, the curious, and those who refuse to settle for anything less than the extraordinary together will uncover the cutting edge of science, unknown strategies and transform active practices, paving the way for a future of limitless potential. If you're ready to think bigger, dream bolder, and live longer, you're in the right place. This is rad, Cass. Now let's get ready to explore the future of life itself.

Rad Cast Introduction and Guest Welcome 1:35

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Rad Cast. I'm your host, doctor Melissa girl Peterson. Together, we are about to explore the frontiers of human longevity, health optimization, and peak performance. Today we're talking about how to stay fit, strong, and vibrant at any age with a true expert in super longevity training. Our guest, Ilana Leah. She is a champion fitness and figure competitor, a world class trainer, and a lifelong advocate for fitness as the foundation of longevity. She has spent over three decades helping people unlock their potential by blending enjoyment, intensity and a deep understanding of how movement fuels longevity.

Ilana, I am so thrilled to have this conversation with you today. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much. Great to be here with you. Oh my goodness, you are so inspiring. You know, just you are you are your brand. You are. And I love that. Just even in our little intro here, blending enjoyment intensity. Yes. And a deep understanding of movement like the fact that enjoyment is as the first word in how you kind of describe your work that says everything about who you are. And that's why our listeners are going to love this conversation.

Thanks. So I want to hear a little bit about your journey. You've been a fitness competitor and a trainer for over 30 years. So what would you say first really inspired your passion for movement? And how did you kind of transition into this longevity focused training? Yeah. Thank you for that question. The beginning was probably at the age of 13, which I was, you know, playing with my friends in the neighborhood. And I was making them do like headstands and handstands or running around the block.

And I'm like, I'm a teacher. Like, I got in touch, like I'm a teacher. I'm a teacher for the body. So maybe it was innate in me. Maybe it was this like calling that I had. But even from a young age, I was already bossing people around that way. So that's really where begun. I've always moved my body as a teenager. I call it movement because I've always had this, desire to move. Like I look at my body like, we need to move here, you know? And so that was like something I just did, naturally. And then I always wanted to give that to other people, like, move and inspire.

And, and I had this inspired feeling about the whole thing in my, in my soul.

Ilana Leahu2019s Fitness Journey and Early Calling 4:00

So, so then my journey continued into like being professional in it, you know, coaching gymnastics in Israel, doing my BA, doing the army and being a sports coach for the some of the soldiers in the Army, like it was always about fitness. I really never tried to go another direction. It was always like pretty strong in me. This is who I am. That's what I need to do. Then when I was, 30, I moved to the States and I started competing in fitness and in figure competitions, mainly to, like I said, strengthen my brand and and also to keep my body in good shape because people think that it's easy for maybe someone like me.

That's her profession, to stay on top of their physique and their health. But really, we're all busy. We all have distractions. So one way for me to make sure I was doing what I needed was actually to getting on stage every like eight months. And so I did that. And so the journey just kept continued. Then as the years went by, changes happen in the body, including mine and and with my clients. My clients tend to be with me for years or for years because I'm kind of like a coach of their lifestyle when it comes to fitness.

So as my body change, as I experience some some changes, I'll call it that way. Not to the better or the worse, just changes. Yeah, I started diving more into okay, Lana, you know, so you're not 20, you're not 30, you know, you past the 40s, etc.. What what really is keeping you inspired and moving? And it was okay. The way I describe it, I want to be Elena. Now that's everybody's different. So what does that mean to me? I don't need to try to be younger. I'm not. I don't really care if I have more wrinkles.

What does what does really matter to me is my quality of movement. Like, I want to be able to move beautifully not only till I'm 70 or 80, but into the 80s, 90s, 100 is like when I'm 150. If I want to take a nice three mile hike onto Pinnacle Peak, there should be no question that I can do that. So that's what I call becoming like a professional fitness person in super longevity. So I'm a professional, I'm a pro, or I try to teach people to be a professional fitness, but in super longevity. So that's the whole thing.

I love it. And and you, you know, part of your brand in getting to really look at the work you do, you've, you've really developed this unique approach, like you just said called super longevity training. So what is that? So when you're working with clients and so that they can begin to understand and appreciate the importance of movement and mobility, so that they can right, be doing more of what they love. How how does your model how do you what is super longevity training? How do you approach it?

Is it different than maybe, regular personal training? What do you really focus on? That's the ensuring good movement. That's such a good question because I can't tell you. I have a structure of this training, and this is what you need to do. If you walk into the gym and you see more trainers and, training, you want this, they say, oh my God, she's doing super longevity training because we're all moving the body in different ways, you know, and with different goals in mind. So I can say to you for sure that what sets me apart is I work very strongly on people's mindset.

Yeah. So even so, let's say so longevity training would be I just want to have a okay quality. I want to be able to open a jar when I'm 80, which is fine. Okay. I'm not saying and they should be able to. So super long days like look you know it's not only to 80 and it's not only about opening a jar, okay. It's about you staying you physically y change y y become less capable in movement. So my mindset is number one. So to answer your question, mindset I have to change the way of thinking because.

So in the beginning like oh I'm just going to live to 80. But then as a with me like, oh, maybe I'll shoot for 120. So then I say, okay, so if it's 120 now, how are we going to work out? And then honestly, together with that individual individuals, I find the way together to move them forward in that process. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it's it's has to do with everything. You know, I mean, the longevity revolution is about more than just searching online for a few hacks or any one of us moving our biomarkers in the right direction.

It's about coming together to learn, share, to connect and create the unlimited future we want. That's why you need to be at Rad Fest 2025, in Las Vegas from July 10th to the 13th. Rad Fest the Revolution Against Aging and Death is proud to be partnering for the first time with Doctor Aubrey de Gray and Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation. The form the single most comprehensive, advanced,

Defining Super Longevity Training 9:20

informative and inspiring event on age reversal for a general audience. Meet the people you want to make forever with Rad Fest 2025. Take advantage of lower advanced pricing now at Brown fest.com. Yeah, I love it. I mean, I think I'm curious from your experience, how many what have you found about people's mindset? So before they realize that they've put limitations on themselves, right. Like what do they think is just supposed to happen? I have you have many people. Do they have a clear intention about even if it's just to 80 and adjust.

Right. But if it doesn't matter what the number is, do they already have a clear intention of understanding how they want to be experiencing life in their bodies, how they want to be showing up and moving, or do you find that many of them, many of your clients haven't necessarily connected the dots? And there's just kind of this idea of like, okay, open a jar when I'm 80 because they're already assuming a certain degree of of breakdown. What what is it that you see a lot of? I think it's more number two, what you said.

However, in the past I'd say five years, there's been more people coming in already. Look, you know, I want to stay fit and strong, and I want to travel, and I'm. And there's been more people coming to me. So I think I think there's something new happening in the sound in the world, but there's also people just come in and I think they're just repeating what they're hearing in society. Oh, I'm getting old or everything hurts me. It's my age. They're just repeating. And then they're believing, so they're repeating what they're hearing, then they're believing it and then they manifest it.

So they come to me like that, and I have to almost like, turn it all around. And it's fun. I do it together with them and they're usually open. You know, people don't say, oh no, I want to get really decrepit at 70. It's not bother. They usually don't do that right. You know, they're happy to interact that way. Yeah. They're like, okay, now let's play with those sounds. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah okay. So let's talk about some of the most common, common things that you see happening across the decades.

And so let's really think 50s, 60s, 70s, but let's kind of start around the 50s as far as clients coming into what are they already dealing with. So I appreciate that. Just first, there's this big let's get your mind understanding more as possible. That's brilliant. But now what are some of the things that you're seeing just kind of natural are happening that have to be addressed? With, you know, through training, through movement, through any of the work that you're doing with your clients. Yeah, that's a big question, because generally speaking, people show up in different ways.

You know, it's it's actually it's very broad. But what I am saying is more pain in the body, more stiffness in the body, less self-esteem, less confidence, more injuries. Definitely with women, there's more issues of hormones, which would lead to extra body fat. And somewhat more of a weakness was strength. It's not so much flexibility and mobility, but with strength. So that definitely shows up. And of course, you know, and we know there's a gigantic movement happening just right now around, you know, post menopause and what it means and what you can do about this.

So much great information. It's exciting. So definitely when I get someone kind of entering in the I call it, you know, perimenopause, menopause post menopause, I'm already letting them know that there's some really great solutions and ways to approach the whole change in that way. It's not like a downer. Are you ready to redefine aging and unlock your full potential as a longevity leader? At the Human Longevity Institute, our world class certification programs train doctors, coaches, and wellness professionals how to deliver cutting edge, integrative longevity health solutions so people can live better today for longer, healthier, and more vibrant tomorrows.

If you're ready to join the Longevity Revolution, visit Human Longevity institute.com to enroll and become a practitioner. Today. Right? Right. Yeah, movement really is medicine for sure. And you know, there's there's a lot around just muscle. So let's talk muscle for a few minutes because you have beautiful muscles. So let's talk a little to whatever level you feel comfortable with the science. And the the solutions that having good muscle mass offers with increasing just overall health and healthspan and vitality in the body and hormone regulation, all of that.

So everything we'll start from muscle and let's let's get into some of the intricacies about the important connection with longevity. So good, so good. So some muscle is like I call it like the gold. It's the gold of the body.

Mindset Shifts and Client Expectations 14:20

It's like that expensive tissue that you want to keep on your body. And build, like no matter what. Like never lose that, that beautiful, expensive tissue, which is the muscle. So that has been in me like almost for I don't know why when I was a child I just wanted to be strong. I don't I can't explain that. Why? Maybe because I was a twig and I just wanted to be strong. So I've always had a feeling around being strong and having muscle, but I've never really lifted very heavy. That wasn't my thing. So.

So that's just me and not everybody's like me, but but because and I could get into the science. But there's people that are much better than me. I, I've been following, you know, Doctor Stacy Sims, who was an exercise physiology physiologist that finally is focusing. There's someone who's focusing on women's physiology as especially women athlete, active women, and especially, postmenopausal women. And she has been a gift for me personally. And because I was a little bit on what I call like a deep, like kind of wonderment or what we call travail, like, okay, Alana, you have all these clients, they're entering this phase and what's going on?

How do you approaches, how do you approach like the heavy lifting the the protein and Doctor Sims, for me, she just brought it all together for me in a way that I could manifest it with my clients. And so, so I'm doing that, which means they should lift heavy, whatever that means to them. I won't get into all that because you can see it all over. But they should lift heavy complementary to their married 2 to 3 times a week. They should do some hip workouts. They could do some zone to a low cardio.

It's just for fun. But it's not the bread and butter and they should do some jump exercises ten minutes, three times a week. Yes. For their bones. Yeah, very simple to follow. Very simple to create for clients and based on science. Not based only on my intuition, which is great, but it's nice to have the science for women. Absolutely. And it's I mean, I think, you know what? I don't know if women know enough to your point is that because after menopause, we have such a decline of estrogen levels and that is directly linked, it will accelerate muscle loss.

So even more significantly in women than men. So it is absolutely important. I love how you just broke down like really hate. It's not rocket science. It's just a few simple things. Let's talk for a moment, because part of that equation is making sure we're getting the right macronutrients. And specifically making sure we're getting the right amount of protein. And even more specifically from those proteins, those essential amino acids, because that's what's going to help us to retain muscle, to make sure that we're not breaking it down as quickly.

So how how would you say when you're working with your female clients, are you approaching that? So and what I mean by that is specifically looking at macronutrients and just getting really good nutrient density in, such a good question. And really again, one of my like recently, like, how can I get these beautiful American women to not be afraid of food, right? Like, food doesn't make you fat. It's not really true. Like, really undernourishment makes you fat, right? And so. But but to answer your question, this is what I've been focusing with.

Then I try to keep things simple because people are overwhelmed. They're overwhelmed. Too much information, great information. But like, am I doing this? Where do I start? So I say, look, let's work on fueling you before and after your workout. Let's talk about food. Not as food, but as fuel. Okay. Yeah. So then I again, I followed what doctor Sims recommends and I said, always get 15g of protein before workout, 30 minutes an hour after your workout you want to get about 40g of protein. I said, let's let's just start from that.

Because really, unfortunately, most women entering their 50s or even before they are low protein. So, you know, carbs are never a problem. Fat, you know, it varies, but protein and protein builds muscle.

Muscle, Protein, and Womenu2019s Longevity Nutrition 18:40

And so that's what I've been trying to like give to them. Let's start with that. And that's been a huge that's been really help because I seen wow, my work is so much better. I'm feeling so much better. They're having an experience around food and fuel. Absolutely. And and I'm I'm happy to hear you say that. And I think everybody, in case you don't realize, this protein is the most metabolically it allows you to be the most metabolically active. So when you're looking at your macros, you're looking at your meal.

You start with protein first. Your body works harder, takes a little longer, takes a little more to break it down. It is the essential building blocks to everything. It breaks down into amino acids, and you need amino acids to, to repair, to replicate, to, to build, to do all the things in the body. So, so yeah. And that is something I do believe that we're hearing it more and more. But you're right, I think a lot of people, there's still a lot of confusion. And this isn't about a diet type look, if you want to get plant based over animal based protein, you can you just have to ingest more of it.

But even, you know, over big protein, it it's just so important that we're getting those amino acids and and so I, I love that you're making sure that your clients know that. And, and that's, that's some really good stuff. So so all right. You so your process, you keep it simple. I love the jump. For bones and again, let's talk bone health for a minute, because I don't think people realize the rate that their bones they're losing. Mass. Well, it's it's sad, it's sad. It's it's a it's a sin. It's a sin that women don't get the bone tested from, like, the age of 30.

It's actually a sin. Maybe of the system. I don't I'm not going to point fingers, but for some reason, the medical system start testing your bones in your mid 50s or 60s. Then, of course, maybe you have bone loss, but if you knew in your 30s that every year you're going to have a percentage of bone loss, by the age of six, you already lost like 2,030%. You would do something about just like screening for breast cancer. So it is kind of like makes me a little bit sad because I know I have a lot of clients in osteopenia and even some in osteoporosis, that it could have been preventative with the right education from their doctor.

Okay, not even from me, from their so bone health. I mean, without our structure, the bone, you know, I called the muscle the goal. Maybe the bone is like the platinum, right? But without the structure, how can we build muscle if we don't have the bone and we're lifting weights? The bones get scared because not strong enough to hold that muscle. So it's a catch 22, right? Right. If you build muscle, you get stronger bones with the bones already so weak. Yeah. It's it's it's sad and doesn't have to happen.

And it is reversible, as you know, to a certain point or if not totally reversible, the bone loss, at least you can stop it with weight training and, a sufficient amount of protein. Yes, you can do that. And that should be like someone if you go to your doctor and they say, okay, I'm going to prescribe you blood pressure medicine and cholesterol or statins, and I'm also going to prescribe you getting into the gym and lifting some weights two times a week, because it is not a it needs to be mandatory from that standpoint.

It needs to be people need to know you have to do this, especially women. So when you're doing I agree hundred percent. So when you're doing jump. So talk a little bit about that. What you mean by that for our listeners. So they get it right. So, so you know, there's me personally that I've always loved bouncing around, like a bouncer, you know, but when I heard, oh, wow, that's great for my bones, I got more excited. So, so it can be very simple, like skipping or just doing some squat jumps in place, but you want to take ten minutes and practicing lifting your body off the ground and landing, because in the landing, there's a shock to the bones.

So there's different levels of jumping. But let's say if it's a beginner, let's say someone comes in to me and she's like, she can't even do like a squat. Well, I'm not going to make a jump. I'm going to teach her the squat. But then when she gets good, I'll have her hold tricks. Now lift yourself off the ground and let's do some. So. So for instance, you have ten minutes at home. Put on the timer, do ten jump squats. Hopefully our listeners kind of know what that is squatting and jumping. Then skip across the hall like a kid back and forth and then jump with two feet, like over, imaginary line on the floor.

Just go back and forth to the side, okay? And do that for ten minutes with break. So you don't have to turn to like a heart rate, you know, conditioning exercise. That's not really the goal. You can do that if you want to, but the goal is that your jumps get better and better so that your landing gets, you know, more impactful for the bones. So maybe I'll do two rounds of that, maybe do three. Maybe if you're really, really fit and strong, you'll do five six. It doesn't really matter. But you did your ten minutes.

Yeah. Jump training. Yeah. So let's talk about the importance of kind of, progression because, of course we know that just zone to training can reduce the rate and risk of all cause mortality by upwards of 50%. Yeah. So again, movement truly is medicine, across Mars, but not everybody's coming in with the same ability level. Right. So what best practices would you maybe recommend to our listeners right now? So and let's assume that, you know, maybe a lot of people are hearing you, they're inspired.

They're like, yeah, I want to do super longevity training. So so walk us through maybe a process of how we should think about approaching it, kind of what's that little mindset shift you could invite them into first and foremost, and then how would they safely assess their capacity and maybe kind of like just start because they might not be able to, like you said, they'd be doing the jumps and they might not be able to to do big, big explosive movements. Yeah. They might not be ready for high intensity training yet.

Maybe they've been a couch potato for a really, really long time. So what are just some of the what's the best progression and some of the simple essential things that if they just do a couple

Bone Density, Jump Training, and Injury Prevention 25:00

little things, they're going to get great benefit. Oh, I love your questions. Because like my whole life and way of thinking just put like into a question. And okay, so you started with if the listeners are here listening to Want to Know more and they're excited to start, I say, okay, first, damper the excitement because excitement will get you into trouble. Even if you're a top athlete and you're excited to get going, you know, and it's going to get you into trouble. What is trouble? I mean, you're going to hurt yourself.

You're going to overdo it. You're going to overtrain. And it's that's not good. You don't want to have any setbacks. So, so so that's number one. Say, okay, I'm excited. I want to start. Good. But bring it down a notch okay. Bring it down a notch. Then you have to be real with where you're at. So if you're like a couch potato, like you don't even workout on a regular basis and not talking about, oh, and when I was 20 years ago, I did boot camp for six months and lost 40. I'm not, and you know who you are.

If you're a person that just does not have the appointments on a regular basis, whether yourself or a trainer or a class two, move your body and you just know that's who you are. You need to just get out for ten 15 minutes and start walking or something that you know you're good at. Maybe. Maybe you are a good swimmer. Sure. You begin. Please to make the appointments with yourself. Put them in your calendar 10 to 20 minutes. You are moving your body now if you say, okay, I that's not me, I do that and I do that easily.

I'm a five days a week appointments I never miss, which, believe me, it's rare. I can tell you stories about this. People think they're working out, but then when I really get down to it, they're like, oh my God, I just have to this week, you know? So so the appointment is the key. You guys. The appointment is the key. Just please put it in your appointment. Book something. Okay. So that's number one. Then they want to get going with let's say the jump training. Start with two minutes. Maybe you can jump at the ten minutes.

It's just like whoa start slow, start everything. Cut everything I said into like, you know, do 30% of everything I set. It's kind of it's this question is so profound. And I think that's really my expertise is to take a person wherever they're at and to take them the right direction. They don't even have to, like, work out with me three days a week. But I have the capacity to give them direction and to start the process and to show them that it's possible, no matter what age they are, what capacity they have, what injuries are going on.

So, so so that's number one. And so maybe you can now done give me like an example of a person. If you have someone like you're going to let's say your mom or a friend of yours that they're in a certain situation I can walk you through. Yeah. Well, I think you've I mean, I think you've done a really good job of helping people to know if you really important things first, you really highlighted something that I want to I want to do a callout on, which is, you said you I have stories most people think they're doing a lot more than they are.

And and that's okay. That's not a judgment. It's just kind of I think step one, like you said, is one step one. Let me get really real with myself. Like, where am I at in this moment? And so, you know, instead of I like how you said, hey, you could be really excited, but let's bring it down because the excitement is going to create this whole big plan. And I've got to do all the things and you're going to over, over task yourself in a way that might not be realistic and you might not stay with. Right.

So then you helped us to know, okay, let's just bring it down and get real. It's okay. Judgment free zone. Like, what are you actually really, really doing? And chances are most of us are not really doing much. And so if we just start from there and say, well, if I'm not doing anything a ten, a ten minute something. Yeah. Is a is a good place to start. Is what you amazing. Yes. Amazing. You guys zone two is just simply being able to exert yourself and still talk without being breathless. So let's say you're going for a walk.

You're able to walk with a friend and have a conversation and you're not winded. That is zone two. So you don't need to be running. You don't need to be doing high intensity, crazy stuff. And so this is you know, you know what? You're you're really helping us, Elena. To really to really appreciate that it's about doing it. You don't have to do it to extremes. And so then, you know, from there, it's kind of meeting ourselves where we're at, where what am I doing? So if I'm only doing ten minutes a day, am I only doing ten minutes a day, three times a week?

Then maybe I could make it five times a week. I'm only once a day, five days a week. Could I do it 20 minutes? Right? So I like this idea of increments so that we can just help our listeners realize you don't have to do it all overnight, just little baby steps. You know? Exactly. It's so good because you want it. At least me, we want to give people solutions. We don't want to square them, scare them off. You know, we don't want you to do this, this, this. So this this. Oh my God. You know, so so yes, to answer your question, people again, they need to realize ten minutes, five days a week on a span of a year, you can transform your body and your reality.

And not only you shouldn't, you're not allowed to. You said something. I'm like. And I want to say, like, you're not allowed to overdo it. You're not allowed to overdo it because super longevity training is it's it's a it's a, it's a practice of how to listen to the body, how to listen. Like for instance, pain. I'm not talking about really about like soreness of, you know, somebody massaging you this sore muscle. I'm talking about pain. Everybody knows a pain is, 1% when you're doing, let's say, bicep curls

Starting Safely and Building Consistency 31:00

and you have 1% of pain in the muscle in the shoulder. What do you do most days? At 1%, I could do ten more. No. And super longevity. You listen to that 1% and you say, okay, my body's talking to me. I better like, put it down, do something else. Yeah, that body, the core of super longevity. Becoming an expert in listening to what you are saying already and not overriding it like the whole mind over matter. Yeah, not good for super longevity. And let that so good. Oh, I like that one. You know and I know we, I get you for a few more minutes.

I want to come back to a moment, around mindset because I did this I did this exercise with my students, probably a year and half ago. I do most cohorts when we are going through the fitness section, because a Human Longevity Institute, we train practitioners, doctors, coaches, you know, providers on longevity medicine. And so when we get to the fitness section, one of the things that I first do is I look at the data on how people perceive the gym. And when you say the word exercise, you're giggling.

So let's talk about that. Really? Oh my gosh. It's it's it's an issue. It's an obstacle. Yes. Yeah. Because and so for our listeners right now and we all do it right. So and the same thing we're in to the same exercise for aging. When you think of going to the gym, when you think of fitness exercise or working out, we'll just kind of any of those words that resonate for you. What's the first thing that comes to mind? Right. For most people, and as you said, it's it's an issue because for most people and there's been massive studies done on this, the unconscious association is that it's or it's painful.

It's hard. It's not. It's something they have to do versus want to do. And so these are these are cognitive biases getting that we don't realize we're carrying around, you know. And and so part of what you're doing with your clients in the mindset piece is so important to kind of just put it out on the table to just simply be willing to be like, oh, yeah, I don't I don't like this. Well why not? What's association? You know, and maybe it's just instead of doing in the gym, maybe we need to get out, do it in the parking lot.

It's like, you know, you know what I mean? Who knows what all the leave. It's like, oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, it's I think that's why, I put out my energy as, like, enjoyment, like, I show them I lead by example of enjoying losing the body. I don't believe in getting my clients so sore where they can't, you know, sit on the toilet the next day, like, what are you doing? Like, that would not make them want to come back. So. So yes, you're right. I mean it's it's so in longevity. We already know, like you said already, that exercise is like the number one medicine.

Like just a little bit of exercise or movement can transform a person's wellness. A lot of people are complaining, oh, I can't live longer. It's too expensive. All these modalities that cost money. Okay, go outside and walk 20 minutes. That cost nothing, you know? So it's like it's so like obvious that movement is so it's like a treasure. Why do people forget coming into the gym? Right. Because that is. Yeah. But what why why do like, I don't know what the percentages, but it's such a high percentage of people that do not move their body, including some family members of my, you know, and they have me and, you know, they there's no nothing in them to make, make moves.

Right. Yeah. So I, I know what I say is this, if you're going to walk into the gym, don't do it by yourself. You need to be educated. You need to be and you need to find a person that's not going to hurt you and not going to show you how. One amazing trainer they are, no matter how much they study, but how so amazing they are. They're going to make you push your body in a way to show you how, what great exercise they can give you, and then you leave feeling like, oh my God, like you can't move and you'll never come back.

So don't create that situation for yourself. Do your research in your area. Find maybe it's a person online, maybe it's maybe it's and some some fitness person that you can resonate with. And I don't know, maybe it's me. I don't know, but you gotta find the right person that can hold you your hand and move you forward so that you don't have setbacks because setbacks like injury or getting too sore, or not having a good experience in your workout at the gym, you know, whether it's atmosphere, people, soreness, pain, injury, hopefully not.

That's always going to make you not want to do it. So don't create that from the start. Don't create those things. Don't create injury. Don't create. Yeah too much soreness you know. So we chat. We all need a team of people to help us go. We want to go. We all need I needed to in the areas that I'm not very strong in my life. You know, I need that. I even needed an exercise. I get recovery people have a recovery. If I'm competing, I have a competition coach. I mean, we all need coaches and people to be with us in this process.

So don't try to do it on your own. And it doesn't have to be always expensive. You don't have to think, oh, but I can't hire a trainer, private trainer, three time.

Enjoyment, Recovery, and Personal Training Philosophy 36:30

That's not the case. You just need somebody to direct you in the process and you do your homework. Then you show up and then they direct you more. That's it. Please. Yeah. Sign someone. Yeah, I love that. And I think that you're helping to direct people today and that, you know what I keep hearing you say. And I think one of the things that I appreciate so much and and again, kind of back to the negative association with the idea of working out, a lot of people think that it's work and it's not fun.

And back to your first word about enjoyment and helping people to simply get curious about what they enjoy. So it doesn't. It's not a one size fits all. It doesn't. It's not the same cookie cutter approach for every single person. It's simply, how does your body like to move? What feels right? You know what types of movements? Like you said, maybe it's swimming, maybe it's pickleball, maybe it's yoga. Maybe it is high intensity. Maybe it is jumping rope. Maybe it's skipping, maybe who knows yet it's maybe it's dancing, right.

Like and so I, I really want to invite people to, to go ahead and appreciate that. You know, I want to ask you what your kind of, everyday personal super longevity routine is that keeps you just living your, your most enjoyable, vibrant life every day. I'm happy to share that. And I'll just say one thing on what you just said around. Find what you enjoy. I am going to speak to the women in menopause post menopause. You might not enjoy weight lifting, but you have to do it. I'm sorry you have to do it just to get to brush your teeth, okay?

You have to do it. However, you will enjoy the results, which is quality of life, the capacity to enjoy your vacations later on in your life. So keep that in mind and find the right person to show you how to do it correctly. So that's that's my last post that I think that's important. Thank you. And with me, I mean, I've always been a person that average in their whole lifetime moved, worked out, moved exercise, dedicate that time of six hours a week, okay. Six hours a week, I would say is my average for the past 35 to 40 years.

Now. What I do now is because I'm in that phase of post menopause. Yes, I lift three times a week, make sure it's heavy, whatever that means to me. When to the six rep, you know, heaviness or depends on the weight because I gotta listen to what's going on. But yes, I do lift heavy and I do, do a lot of mobility workout. I do do two hits a week. Sometimes they're great, sometimes they're not so good. So I'm always listening. Sometimes I can push my heart rate up there. Sometimes it's just not the right week.

And I put a lot of emphasis on recovery, but it's still an average of six hours a week. Whether it's stretching, mobility, recovery, hit the jump training, the the strength training, it's still in that frame of an hour, six days a week. Let's say one day off. That's that's really kind of who I am. It's always been that I love it, I love it. That's fantastic. And so for those of you that inspire to get to where Ella is, I will share with you. You know, I, I would say I used to, I used to, be back in the day.

I mean, I ran fitness program. So the whole thing I would, I would do a minimum of 15 hours a week minimum. Right, for years and years. And I know you used to do that, too, like when we were in our earlier days in our 20s and our 30s. It was a lot of that stuff. I'll never forget, after I had my son, I, I had a massive change in perception around movement and what I considered exercise because, again, I, I taught everything, I ran programs like I, I danced since I was two, so I was the fitness woman, right?

Just like you. And all of a sudden I'm holding this nine month old, you know, sack of yumminess. And I'm like, here's my workout now. And then I just started to look and I'm like, life is my workout now. Well, I get to appreciate that. I may not get to the gym all those hours every time the way I did, even, you know, six months ago. And so that one little thing started giving me the opportunity to look at life differently and look at life as an invitation to move and an invitation to lift heavy things.

Daily Routine, Final Advice, and Closing Remarks 41:00

And it didn't have to just be a dumbbell, but I'm like, I'm going to lift my heavy baby, or I'm going to lift, you know, like I'm going to lift my dog up onto the bed, I'm going to lift things, I'm going to bend my knees, I'm going to do I'm going to take two stairs at the time I'm going to play instead of just going up stairs to get something. I'm looking for every opportunity. Oh, I gotta go. I'll go. I'll, you know, down. Get down. And and so doing an even folding laundry, can I stand up versus sit down.

Right. So I think that when we get curious that there's many ways to just enjoy being in this room, the form, you know, it's it changes it for all of us. So I want to thank you for just reminding us of that today. Yeah, yeah. My pleasure. And I love that. I love what you said about that. That's beautiful. That's right on. Yeah, yeah. And, so my gosh, I, I cannot wait. We will have more and more of these beautiful conversations. And so listen gang, if you have enjoyed this today, yes. We have to go here in a moment.

But, you know, when you come to Las Vegas this July for the ten year anniversary of Rad Fest, and we have partnered up with Aubrey de gray and the Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation, we are going to have the most amazing gathering of experts and enthusiasts alike. And this beautiful human that you are hearing from today, this vivacious, filled vessel full of life will be there. And who knows, maybe we'll be running a fitness lab for us. You never know. Love to be part love until, yes, it's going to be very experiential this year, so we'll have lots of surprises up our sleeves for all of you.

And, there's links in the show notes below of how you can get your Earlybird tickets. We hope to see you guys there. Elena. What, any other thoughts, wisdom you choose to impart with us? Of course. We want to know how to get in touch with you. But as we get ready to wrap today, any final thoughts that you want to share with our audience? Just to remember that you you, which is your body, your physical body is so precious and so capable and as long as you're breathing, there's a way for you to improve yourself in every way.

And I'm here for you. You can find me, you know, on Instagram. Elena, Leah, you can you can call me. I think my phone number is on Facebook, and you can find me. Find me. I'll always be someone to inspire you, give you hope and tell you that it's never too late to improve your body, your movement. Never, never, never, never listen to that sound. That's wrong. Yeah. So that's how to say wow. Incredible. Thank you, my dear. And we will have links to her social media, to her website, to all the ways so that you can continue to just stay tapped into this inspiration.

And as always, I want to thank each and every one of you for continuing to be a part of this conversation. Stay bold, be curious, and continue to express your greatest states of aliveness. I'm Doctor Melissa until next time, be well. Thank you for tuning in to Doctor Talks. We hope today's episode has enlightened and inspired you on your path to optimal health. Each day is a new opportunity to make choices that empower your well-being. For more insights and strategies, subscribe to our podcast and visit our website w w w dot doctor Talksport.com.

Stay connected, stay healthy and join us next time on Doctor Talks. Real talks from real doctors on the issues that matter to you most.