speaker-0: Welcome to You're Not Crazy, it's Perimenopause. If you're a woman over 40 and feeling more anxious, not sleeping well or disconnected from your body, this podcast is for you. I'm your host, Jenny Smith, functional medicine health coach, here to help you understand what the heck is happening in perimenopause. Each week, we're diving into real life conversations about how our changing hormones impact anxiety, sleep, and stress. and I'll share simple strategies to help you feel normal again. So grab a cup of tea or beverage of choice, get comfy and let's dive in. Welcome back to You're Not Crazy, it's Peri Menopause. I am so excited because today on the podcast, I have my very, very first guest and she is one of my friends and we met through a mutual business coach, Shawn Miner, and we have become close and now she is my personal trainer and she also contributes. to the hormone reset project in our strength training section. We are going to be talking about strength training today, what you need to know about it, why it's so important after 35. And it's important anytime of our lives, but it's even more critical after, you know, 40s. And we're gonna talk about that. But first, let me introduce you to... Adelaide LaFontaine, she is a certified personal trainer and owner of AGM Health and Fitness with over six years of experience helping women over 40 build strength, confidence, and healthier lifestyles through beginner friendly strength training. She's passionate about making fitness feel approachable. She teaches women how to lift weights safely in supportive, non intimidating spaces. both online and in our private women's studio in Montreal, Canada. So I am so excited to have you here today, Adelaide. Hi, how are you doing?

speaker-1: ⁓ I'm good. Thank you for having me.

speaker-0: Yeah, thanks for being here. I know we were getting set up here with technology and she's in Canada. I'm in the United States. And so I think it's just so cool to be able to have this conversation like this and bring it to all of you. I have a lot of women in my network who are from Canada. So I'm super excited to have you here. Let's get started. So what got you into personal training and why do you love working with women specifically over 35?

speaker-1: So what got me into personal training kind of started back in 2016. I had joined a gym to do my own boot camp challenge for myself. And I ended up winning that challenge when we used to do those type of things. And the owner of the gym asked me if I wanted to. be an intern and help with some group fitness and leading the boot camps. So that's kind of where my interest started. I was running a class and I helped a woman through her first push-up that she thought she couldn't do. And just seeing her be able to do something that she didn't think she could do and then surprise herself doing it, it was really rewarding. and I knew that at some point I wanted to help other women feel that way. Then, fast forward a few years, I had continued working in event management and wedding planning and then I was working producing events for Just For Laughs here in Montreal and the pandemic hit when All of vents were shut down, so my whole world kind of shut down and I didn't really know what I was going to do. And then here in Canada, we got something called CERB where we were getting government support, getting paid while we weren't able to work. So I thought, okay, we have a little bit of cash coming in so we can, you know, do our groceries and things like that. But then I can now use my time to finally get my personal training certification. So I started to study to get that, I became certified, and then I started completely online. So I was hosting Zoom classes for women and it was something that we really needed, especially in that time when everyone was kind of stuck inside and we weren't, I don't know about how it was there, but we weren't allowed to go for walks. We had a curfew here and... If you went outside after 8 o'clock, you would get a fine. So everyone was kind of cooped up and we had no community and no way to be physically active. So these Zoom classes were great for everyone for not just the physical aspect, but the community aspect. And then it just kind of grew from there. it was as things started to open up, I started training people in parks. And then as I became more, as I became busier, I started renting out studio spaces. then, you know, over time, I really niched down to working with women over 35 and over 40 as my niche. But before that, was kind of just, you know, as you start a business, you kind of take all the clients you can get.

speaker-0: Yeah, just to figure out where you kind of ⁓ connect, like who you connect with, the age range that you connect with. And I could not even imagine not being able to go outside for walks and getting fined if you're out past a certain time. That, no, it was not like that here in Arizona. We were probably the least strict state, I think, in the US. So we were able to go outside a lot and it's just so challenging for people to be stuck indoors and no wonder it just, it was so counterproductive, right? Like, well, we got to stay indoors so we stay safe and not get sick. But then what happens when we stay indoors and don't get outside and move our bodies?

speaker-1: Exactly. It's not just about our physical health but also our mental health as well. So staying inside and being able to order Uber Eats and order alcohol is better but we're not allowed to go out and take a walk, you know? Yeah.

speaker-0: It did not make sense.

speaker-1: So I was spiraling as well for the first six weeks and then I kind of decided, okay, it's time to do something and that's when I made this decision. And then as I started working more with clients and more and more with women, I kind of saw this recurring theme and it was usually women in their 40s who finally decided to hire a personal trainer, but had been trying to motivate themselves for a long time. And they would almost always tell me things like they were intimidated by the gym, they were scared, they were embarrassed for being as out of shape as they were. So then when I saw this happening sort of a lot, I was like, these are the women that I want to work with and that I want to empower, that I want... to help them feel like they can do it and it's not too late.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, it's never, never too late. And so now you do both online and you also have your private studio in Montreal. And so can you tell us a little bit more about how the online as well as the private works?

speaker-1: Yeah, well, so as you know, over the last couple years, I had really been trying to build the online portion. Essentially, it was a program that recreates the way that I teach my clients in person. And that was a little bit more challenging to get clients in. However, I've been able to go back to doing the in-person thing with my own studio, which is something that's new. And I'm learning what I want to apply now to my online program and what works. And so typically it used to be like one-on-one sessions I would do with women, either in person or the exact same sort of thing on Zoom. So we'd schedule a Zoom session. We'd be face-to-face like this. and they would have their weights at home or they'd set up a tripod in their gym and I would guide them through the workout and I'd track their progress.

speaker-0: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Technology is so wonderful in that way, especially for, like you said, the women who are feeling intimidated to go to the gym. They can start at home with you. And as someone who's as someone who's taken your strength starts here program, what I loved about it is I've always been somebody who exercises and lifts weights. And a lot of my training comes from watching YouTube videos. And when I took your program I realized there were some things that there were moves that I was doing incorrectly and I had no idea and I thought well here I am I've been doing this plank wrong the whole time no wonder my back hurts you know and that's the importance of having somebody at least initially working with someone to make sure you're doing your form correctly and that you're not going to injure yourself

speaker-1: Exactly. I'm really big on form and we always start with, you know, unless there is some specific injury or limitation, I always start with the same six movements and mastering those and knowing where you should be feeling things and then we progress to heavier weights. So you would never just be trying to follow along with a workout before you know these movements.

speaker-0: Yeah, it's super important to make sure you're doing it correctly. Because having injuries, especially as we get older, when we're more susceptible to injuries, joint pain, things like that, it's important that we make sure that we are doing the moves correctly. ⁓ One of the reasons why I wanted to incorporate strength training into the hormone reset project was because women, as we get older, after the age of 30, we begin to lose 1 % of our muscle mass every year. And that's a significant amount of muscle loss. And what happens when we lose muscle is we begin to gain weight in areas that we don't want to. ⁓ We are like what's going on? I haven't changed the way that I'm eating. I'm not doing anything different Why am I gaining weight and it's because we're losing muscle. We also when we lose muscle we are more susceptible to injury You know, we're more susceptible to ⁓ Illnesses like falls things like that. So why do you think it is more challenging for women? to maintain muscle and lose weight after 35.

speaker-1: As you were saying, after 35, muscle mass and bone density starts to decrease. So if you're not doing anything to maintain it at least, then worry about the building it. But if you're not even doing anything to maintain it, you're working off losing the same muscle mass and bone density that you have from 35. It's just going down. that's the only way that it's going to go. Right? And that, as you know, has a lot to do with estrogen loss as well, which contributes to atrophy. So that's losing your muscle, right? So.

speaker-0: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I work with caregivers during my day job. I work with lot of caregivers who are caring for loved ones who are having trouble just even getting out of bed, having to use a walker. They're having falls and ending up in the hospital. So I think what's important is so many women don't want to lift weights because ⁓ they don't enjoy it or... they aren't really sure how to get started. And it's not something that's a priority right now. Cardio seems to be something more that they enjoy, which is really good for us anyways, for our heart. But when we think about aging well, it's good to kind of flash forward to what do we want our life to look like when we're 60 and And I know you talk a lot about that Adelaide, especially like on your socials about you know, getting understanding or why our vision, our long term vision of what, of why we're doing this, because it can be intimidating. And, and can you talk a little bit about the myth or the thought that women are worried that they're going to bulk up and they don't want to get all bulky? Can you talk about that?

speaker-1: go back to the thing that you were saying about caregiving and seeing people with their partners and their parents in that you know I'm sure anyone who's listening to your podcast has seen a loved one or whether it be friends or family who has been in that position so maybe they're in their late sixties or seventies and they struggle to tie their shoe or get up and down from the floor or even just standing up from the couch or you know lifting things like I often see people and family who are late sixties early seventies who have never lifted weights and they struggle to hold a jug of orange juice and You know, you might look at that and just think, ⁓ it's part of getting old, but it doesn't have to be. So we have to use that as a little bit of our motivation and our why, because it's not fun losing your independence. And you don't have to, and it doesn't have to be a part of your aging. ⁓ So, but like you said, you know, a lot of women are afraid to start or have traditionally been told their whole lives that lifting weights was going to make them bulky. So you you didn't lift anything that was higher than a two or five pound weight. We stuck to cardio machines, step classes, spin classes, know anything aerobic. Cardio because we were told that's what's going to burn fat. And so naturally now, you know, still have that, lot of women still have that mentality. It's not true. It takes a lot of work to get bulky. Like you're training six days a week, an hour at a time or more, and you are eating a very specific high protein diet, supplements like you really have to work to get bulky. We're talking about strength training and lifting weights, benefiting you, and heavier weights two to three times a week. And that can be a huge benefit for you.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, as I'm working with you right now, I am asking for you to help me create like routines to at least just get 20 minutes sessions. Like it doesn't even have to be 30 minute sessions and you don't even really need to be going to the gym. You can work out at home. You can, you can do things to build strength. And we're talking about It's one of those things muscle if you don't use it you lose it and When you think about all the things like you said bending over to tie your shoe getting up from sitting down on the couch If you want to travel are you gonna be able to lift your luggage? To the overhead compartment or if you're traveling alone, are you gonna have to rely on people to help you? It's just there's so many things that we don't think about right now because we don't have to because we're younger But what we do now is going to set the stage for what our life will look like in our 60s and 70s. And women, one of the biggest risks for them is falling and breaking a hip. And then once they break a hip, then forget about it. the chances of early death increases. So like you said, building muscle to improve bone density. because we are, especially when we hit perimenopause into menopause, we start to lose bone health and that makes us more susceptible to injury and surgeries and not being able to do the things that we used to love to do.

speaker-1: If you ever do have to have something like a hip replacement or a knee replacement or you have any sort of fracture, how you recover usually is going to involve some sort of physio. So if you haven't been strength training before and you wait until you have an injury or something that requires you to do physio, so that you can get better, it's going to be a lot harder. And not just physically harder, but when you have to do physio and you want to recover, you have to do the exercises that your physio gives you. So if you are not used to giving yourself a routine and moving, you're probably not going to do those exercises, which means you're also probably not going to recover in the way that you could.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, that's and again, those are things that we don't think about until we have to.

speaker-1: Yeah, and I've seen and I've had clients who their only regret is that they didn't start sooner. They start in their 70s because they, you know, they're hearing now how important it is, which is great. As we said before, it's never too late to start. But the only thing I hear over and over from those clients is that they wish that they started sooner, but they still make they still make great progress. But they feel like they just woke up one day and they couldn't get up from the floor.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah. And we are more sore, too, you know, as we it is, ⁓ we've got to take greater care with our body when we do start to do exercises that we're not used to doing. And I think one of the things that I've learned a lot with strength training is like you had mentioned earlier, two to three pound weights aren't going to do it. Like we have to lift heavy shit like that is If you heard the saying, have to live heavy shit, we're not going to get bulky. We have to lift super heavy to build the muscle. And it doesn't necessarily need to be like so many reps. It's just lift heavy to where you're tired. So could you explain a little bit more about that? Like the whole progressive overload, because I didn't understand what that meant. I always heard these influencers on social or whatever saying, you got to do progressive overload. You got to what? and you explained it to me. So can you explain our listeners? What does that mean? Progressive overload.

speaker-1: So progressive overload can be done by either gradually increasing the weights that you're lifting week to week or increasing the reps that you're doing. So in one of those ways, you are achieving progressive overload. So I'll give you an example. A lot of people who are training at home, maybe they don't have a huge array of weights or dumbbells to choose from, right? So say you're doing bicep curls with 10 pound weights, you want to aim to do those bicep curls correctly until your last two reps are challenge. So for me, I typically use the 8 to 12 rep range. I don't do a ton of the low reps, high, high weight because I'm really about form and a lot of my women are just, you know, learning and are Gradually progressing but anyways to go back to what I was saying So you can then if you don't have weights higher than your 10 pound dumbbells, right and The first time you do it you can do eight reps the last two are a bit of a challenge Then say second or third time that you do them You get to those eight reps and you feel like you could do two more You add reps I like to do this until you get to 12 reps. Where say you can do two sets of 12 reps pretty easily. Or the last two are a bit of a challenge but you still complete them. Then I usually would go up in weight. And then start back down at lower reps. So that's your progressive overload is either you're upping your reps or you're upping your weight. So going back to what I was saying, if you only have those 10 pound dumbbells and you can't go up, then you're gonna add reps. So maybe you're gonna do 14 reps. You want your last two to be a challenge.

speaker-0: So let me recap to see if I'm understanding it is that you, let's say you do 12 reps and it's tiring, so you'll do two more to where it feels like you can't do anymore, then you're good. But if it's feeling like it's easier at the reps, you either increase more reps or you move up in weight.

speaker-1: and then you can lower your reps.

speaker-0: and lower the reps, okay. Yeah, I noticed that ⁓ when I started the workout routine that you gave me, I was working with like eight pound weights and then a couple weeks into it, I was able to do it super easily. And that's when I increased the weight and doing less of the reps, which is, unless you're tracking, which is what I like about the app that you use, is that you're able to track your starting point and then see your progression from there, which I think is important. So, and you don't have to do that. Like if you're working on your own, let's just say somebody wants to get started with weight training. They know it's important. They are kind of at a loss on how to get started. What would you say is the... next best step for them to take it because not everyone's going to feel comfortable going to a personal trainer right away. Like there's there's different types of personalities. Some like I, I was always somebody who loved to work out at home alone because I would just put on my workout clothes, go downstairs and put on YouTube. ⁓ and then there are people that can't do that. Like they need to go in person to be held accountable with a personal trainer. So let's talk about the first personality of someone who does not want to go to a gym, doesn't want to work with a personal trainer. What would you recommend they do to get started?

speaker-1: So I would recommend starting with, remember I was talking about how I teach the same five or six movements at the beginning to all of my clients? So I would recommend, those are called functional movements. So I would recommend learning those movements first. So you're doing tutorials on those movements. You're not jumping into a workout. So those movements are squat, lunge, push, pull, and hinge. And with the pull you can use an object or you can use a band and I actually have a whole playlist of these tutorials so you don't have to go searching for them that I can give you the link to.

speaker-0: Okay. Did you say you have that on YouTube? Yes. Yay. Okay, perfect. That's a great place to start.

speaker-1: And then it's like you're learning, right? It doesn't feel as much like, oh, I'm going into a workout and worrying that you're not gonna be able to do it or it's gonna be too intense. You look at it as learning.

speaker-0: Yeah, absolutely. And we all start somewhere. So thinking about something that you are really good at now, what was that like for you when you first started? Like we have to practice. Like it's a practice. Every day that we move our body, it is a practice. So what would you say for somebody who likes to go to the gym and needs to be held accountable with a personal trainer? Like how do they get started? So I know not everyone can... go to you in Montreal because ⁓ we all live different places, what would you recommend that that person do?

speaker-1: So this is somebody who is ready and willing to hire a personal trainer.

speaker-0: and wants to get a workout outside of the house because they're not motivated to workout at home by themselves. Yeah.

speaker-1: Yeah, and that's something I hear all the time, which is how I'm What I'm using to like navigate the the online portion, how do we get people to feel accountable to show up online? ⁓ So Yeah, if you need to get out of the house need to have an appointment totally understandable So my advice would be to take time to find the right trainer a lot of women tell me that they went to this gym or that gym and that the trainer was trying to push certain workouts on them or diet plans and make it about weight loss when they didn't even specify that, right? Treat it like an interview process. See who is listening to you and actually listening to you and not just selling to you. You know, because you want to spend a lot of time with this person, you want to have a connection there. So if you're going to hire a trainer, really take the time to find someone that you connect with and that listens to you.

speaker-0: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And what about gyms? Because I know there's personal trainers in gyms and I know you've talked about that in your program on in your online program because one of the goals of the online program was to put was to start at home and then go into the gym. And so you had talked about like ways to go about that, like as far as visiting them and touring them. and I think you could do passes right as far as getting into the gym, because it can be intimidating when you're not used to going to a gym. And I don't know about you, but I know for me, and I know for many women, we have this disease called Compareritis. Compareritis, where we compare ourselves to others, we're thinking we're not as fit as this person, and just thinking like, coming from the perspective that that person did not start with where they're at right now. Like they progressed to that. So how can they get past that, move past that?

speaker-1: So in terms of finding a gym, like you were saying, some offer free trials or they do like class passes depending on what you like. Like if you want to go to a gym independently, you have that option. Or maybe you want to try something like a group fitness class. But definitely to go in and visit some different gyms and see how you feel. Check out the vibe, you know? Because like you said, we do kind of struggle with that Comparitus. So you want to walk in somewhere where you feel comfortable and of course, you know, if you haven't been to a gym before, it's been a while, it's not going to feel comfortable right off the bat. But there's certain things that you can look for like, is there someone who greets you at the front? Is there someone who's willing to show you around? Are there other women there? Do you feel like it's kind of full of beefcakes. You know, so you want to be somewhere where you feel comfortable. And then in terms of like the comparitis, we're going to do it anyways, but I think it's important to remind ourselves that everyone is thinking about themselves. And that gym culture is actually a lot kinder and more supportive than we think. So there's like times when I'm in the gym and I see someone who is just starting out and you can tell might be a little uncomfortable using machines or like just being there and like in my head and my heart I'm like so proud of them.

speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, and those machines can be very intimidating because you're like, wait, for me.

speaker-1: Like there's so many, I'm like, sometimes I walk in and I'm like, I'm supposed to, like I know equipment. Imagine not knowing any of this stuff. Like I don't know how to set it up. I'm just gonna leave that there. And I don't want anyone to watch me as I'm struggling to set up or figure out whatever this is. So you really don't even need those machines. Free weights, cable machines. are your best friends, especially if you're just starting out. Free weights are great because they mimic your everyday life and everyday functional movements, right? Machines are good if you are injured and you need to isolate like one part, you know, of your arms. So say you want to work your arms, but you don't want to be using your core or your back for whatever reason, again, only if you're really injured, then that's beneficial, but you don't need those. sort of like if they feel intimidating. Block them out.

speaker-0: Yeah, okay, good. That's good to know. And that's good to know, like you said, the difference between the free weights versus the machines. Because I don't even think I really knew that. I just thought, ⁓ these are just something different, cooler.

speaker-1: And another thing is that a lot of those machines were created with men's bodies in mind.

speaker-0: Mm, yeah. Yeah. And I think that's another misconception for a lot of women too, is that weight training is for men, not women. And that is, couldn't be further from the truth, especially with everything that we talked about, about why we need to have muscle in our body, because we need to age well too, just like the men. And is it easier for them to build muscle? I think. I think so, right? Because they have more testosterone than we do.

speaker-1: Yeah, well then they don't have the muscle and bone loss that women do after 35. Like ⁓ not decreasing at such a rapid pace, you know.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. And I think, I think what's important to know too, especially with women entering into perimenopause with the ⁓ weight gain that they're, they're dealing with is frustrating. And not only is, you know, the, the muscle building is important for longevity, for mobility, for bone strength. but it does help with blood sugar balance. And I say those words all the time on this podcast because ultimately our health, like our overall health and vitality starts with the foundation of good blood sugar balance. So the more muscle that we have on our body, the more our metabolism is increased, the more our blood sugar is stable, the better we feel, the easier it is for us to lose weight, ⁓ you know, the more that we can eat. So I know that weight loss is not something I primarily focus on, but it is something that women really, really want help with. And so that is one of the ways to do it, is to build more muscle. The more muscle you have on your body, the more ⁓ metabolically flexible you are, and the more you are able to increase your metabolism and to keep your weight at a healthy weight. So I know that that is a motivating driver for a lot of women too, is how we look. We wanna look good. know, summer season's approaching and we want to be able to wear tank tops and like have, when we're going to shake the salt, we don't want our flabby arms going all over the place.

speaker-1: So yeah, like you said like, you know one of the motivate motivating factors is and has been weight loss, which is why? women tend to Go to cardio because they think ⁓ cardio that's gonna burn calories. That's gonna get my you know Help me achieve my weight loss goal But the thing is that when you're doing cardio Yes, you're burning the calories, right? But your metabolism is only working when you're doing that cardio exercise. Whereas when you have muscle, the more muscle you have, your metabolism is working all day when you have muscle, not just when you're working out.

speaker-0: Yeah, very good point, very good point. Yeah, and so ⁓ we don't need to, I guess it's good news for a lot of people. You don't need to be running marathons if you don't want to. Yeah, yeah. I have a really good friend who loves running marathons and it suits her well. She handles it very well, but some women who do, it's very hard on your body and it just destroys.

speaker-1: You don't have to feel like you're going to puke.

speaker-0: your cortisol. And so, ⁓ you know, just it's important to know that you don't have to do intense workouts to get the results. So if if a woman only has 20 minutes, what should she focus on? Like for me, like I told you, I only have you said, OK, Jen, how much time do you have during the week? And I said, OK, I can commit to I want to start slow because when we set a goal, that's attainable, we're more likely to do it. So if I would have said, Adelaide, give me a routine for five days a week, I would have failed right away because I didn't build up to that. So I said, can you give me a workout that's at least 20 minutes long, two to three days a week? And so you created it for me and I was able to add reps if I had more time. So that's what I love. So tell me, someone like me, what... what would you recommend they focus on if they don't have a whole lot of time?

speaker-1: So if you only have 20 minutes a day, three to four times a week, and you have dumbbells, I'm going to go back to those exercises that I mentioned at the beginning. Push, pull, hinge, squat, lunge. So those are your functional movements that you are gonna want to incorporate in those workouts.

speaker-0: ⁓ Okay, so you would do it every session or would you break it up like say lower body and up?

speaker-1: body. So if you're going to have extra, so I would say you you do two full bodies and then if you're doing a third day do an extra lower body and core because we have the most muscles in our lower body and this also means not only are we building those muscles and we're building our metabolism through all of those muscles but we're also burning more calories using those muscles. if you're one of those people who have that weight loss goal.

speaker-0: Yeah, okay, yeah, that's a good point. So one of the other things that we don't think about with building muscle and building strength is that it naturally boosts our testosterone. And so as we start to go into menopause, perimenopause, menopause, we start to, those hormones start to fluctuate and we start to lose them. So being able to lift the weights and building muscle naturally helps boost testosterone. and testosterone helps with your energy, your memory, your mood, ⁓ as well as like your libido. So I know that this phase of life, many women are just like, I have no desire in the bedroom. Like I have no desire to be with my partner. And when we are healthy and have a strong body, then our testosterone is naturally boosted to to feel that way again. So that's another added bonus with having more strength on our body to being more strong. Yeah.

speaker-1: And the feeling that you get after completing a workout, it's just like this natural high. Like your endorphins are up, your dopamine is boosted, and you just feel really good about yourself. And I always tell people to remember that feeling the next time you don't want to go do a workout. Think about how good you're going to feel after.

speaker-0: 100%. I feel that so much. I don't know about you, but I never want to do a workout.

speaker-1: It's hard, it's been hard. I just got back from vacation and I worked out once, so it happens to me too.

speaker-0: Yeah. And you're right. It's like, okay, well, that and then we have to go back to our vision. We have to go back to our why. Why are we doing it? What's the reason? And that's what's going to get us up and moving. And then afterwards, we're like, ⁓ my gosh, I feel so good. I'm so glad I did it. Because you never regret a workout. You never regret making time for a workout ever.

speaker-1: And it's often the hardest days that it is to do it that you feel the best of.

speaker-0: That's probably the days that you need it. That you really need it. Like when you're not feeling good is when you should get up and do it. And ⁓ do you talk to women about nutrition at all when it comes to pairing it with strength training?

speaker-1: do in terms of when it comes to protein. Most women aren't eating enough protein, as you probably know. And I know women are being told everywhere you need to eat. Eat more protein. You need to have a gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight, all of that stuff. So we're getting all of this info about it.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: But I think a lot of women think, but isn't that going to increase my calories? So the idea is to prioritize protein over those carby snacks or things that you would grab out of a cupboard or out of a box, you know?

speaker-0: Yeah, because we need those, we need protein to sustain the muscle that we have on our body and to build new muscle.

speaker-1: Exactly. So. Yes, so it helps with muscle repair and recovery and also repairing the muscle fibers that you are naturally losing in perimenopause and menopause. So we need it more.

speaker-0: Yeah, and that is why we keep hearing it all over because there's research and studies to show that we do need it. We need more protein, we're just not eating enough. And if you're worried about calories, when you start your meal with protein, I talked about the balance plate method in previous episodes and making sure that you have 30 grams, at least minimum, of protein on your plate. When you start with that, you... you fill up faster so you don't want all the extra junk so you actually eat less calories because you're full.

speaker-1: and you stay full for longer, right?

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: Whereas if you have something that's a little bit more high in carbohydrates, you'll fill up, but you'll usually be hungry in an hour or two.

speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, it's, ⁓ it's empty calories versus a sustainable fuel for our body and our brain and all the things. Hormone balance protein is if there were a magic pill for perimenopause, it would be protein. And many of you do know, I have a protein guide that helps guide you, ⁓ to getting enough protein, the different types of sources. So I'm going to link that in the show notes. because we're hearing it from a personal trainer how important it is. So we need to make sure that we are prioritizing protein along with prioritizing muscle. anything else that you, anything else you wanna share with our listeners about strength or working out or exercise in general before we wrap up.

speaker-1: that it doesn't have to be complicated and you only need 20 minutes so don't think that if you don't have 45 minutes or an hour that it's not worth it. Whatever you're able to do the most frequently, do it.

speaker-0: Yeah, I agree. And even if you don't have 20 minutes.

speaker-1: Yeah, 15. Yeah, doing air squats while your coffee brews in the morning. That kind of like habit stacking where you might be waiting for something. You can do reps. You could do throughout the day, you know.

speaker-0: And yeah, micro movements, I love that.

speaker-1: exactly set little alarms on your phone if you work from home at a desk you know to get up do some lunges do some glute bridges which are really good if you sit for long periods for your hips

speaker-0: And all of these movements that we're talking about, you're going to find on Adelaide's YouTube channel. We'll make sure that we link that in the show notes too. So if you're someone who is not string training at all, you can easily start with following the movements. ⁓ Did you say functional movements?

speaker-1: movements and if you are brand brand new especially if you are someone who tends to get back pain I highly recommend starting with core engagement learning how to engage your core starting with things like a plank or a dead bug which I again have in that playlist on YouTube that's what that's where you'd want to start

speaker-0: Okay, and you said earlier too, ⁓ when we started talking is that it's never too late to start. Like even if you're in your 70s, it's never too late.

speaker-1: Seriously, if you can move, you can start.

speaker-0: Yeah, if you have a pulse, right, you could start.

speaker-1: If you, that's, yeah, unless you're like fully bedridden and like, but.

speaker-0: Yeah, and you have some success stories. Like I've seen them on your Instagram where you have like older women who have gotten started, who were really struggling and started working with you and started building strength. And I think that's a perfect testimony to it not being too old to do something like this.

speaker-1: Yeah, that's it. Maybe the one of the clients you're referring to. But she started with me when she was 70. And she was diagnosed with osteoporosis when she was 40. Started strength training at 70 after two years, only twice a week. And she's reversed to osteopenia.

speaker-0: That is awesome. See you later.

speaker-1: So and it doesn't take really doesn't take a lot just consistency and you know the desire to get stronger for yourself.

speaker-0: Yeah, the vision, there's that vision again, that why. And you said it to that word, consistency. Whatever you are going to commit to, just consistently do it.

speaker-1: Yeah, and if you fall off track, start again when you can. So a lot of times women get frustrated if they, you know, they fall off track, they get sick, they had a bad week, they went on vacation and didn't do anything and so they think like, well I'm gonna fail so why bother, you know? As long as you keep coming back and trying again and again, that's how you build your consistency.

speaker-0: And with that momentum comes more energy and yeah, so just find a way to hold yourself accountable, whether it's talking to a friend and doing it together or working with a health coach or working with Adelaide, ⁓ just whatever you need to do to start building that routine and being able to be consistent with it and focusing on your big vision, your why you're doing this, you're gonna see huge results. Well, thank you so much Adelaide for being here and for ⁓ being brave, being my first guest. And hopefully the technology turns out okay. Just with this, ⁓ it's all new for me too to bring a guest on here. So where can people find you?

speaker-1: Thank you so much for having me. And people can find me on Instagram at AGM Health Fitness or on my website, AGMhealthfitness.com. I am going to be launching a virtual version of my beginner strength training program in the next couple of months. So that will be there as well.

speaker-0: Awesome. And I'll make sure to include all of what you shared in the show notes as well.

speaker-1: Thank you so much. This was great.

speaker-0: All right, well ladies, thank you so much for tuning in and I will see you next week. Happy muscle building.