Latest / NHA Today Podcast / Build Strength That Keeps You Active for Life with Jen Dieter

Transcript

Build Strength That Keeps You Active for Life with Jen Dieter · NHA Today Podcast

• Stephan Esser MD: Hello and welcome to another edition of the NHA Today podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Stefan Esser, and I'm joined today by a triple threat. Jen Dieter is a licensed physical therapist with over 25 years of experience, a competitive CrossFit athlete, a world record holder in weightlifting, a dedicated mom of three, and also someone that I'm very proud to call my friend for more than 10 years. So, Jen, welcome to the podcast. Jen Dieter: Thank you. Good morning. How are you? Stephan Esser MD: Excited to be here with you and to share your message with people. You know, I I wanted to join you on the podcast really because you're an inspiration to me. Every time that I feel like slacking off, I go, no, no, no. What would Jen say? And to everyone who knows you, you continue to inspire them. And because you're living out and elevating, you know, kind of women's sports and in my mind, kind of sport and you know, well-being in general at a really compelling level. So you I mentioned you hold world records in multiple different weightlifting events. Tell us about those and which one kind of the hardest for you to kind of achieve. Jen Dieter: Right. So weightlifting, I was I was doing CrossFit and we do some Olympic weightlifting in CrossFit and one day one of my friends was like, Hey, you know, you could sense up world records with what you're doing right now. I was like, Are you kidding me? And he was like, Yeah, there's weight classes and age groups and all this kind of stuff. So I drove to the middle of nowhere, Georgia, and did a weightlifting meet locally so I could qualify for nationals and then qualify for worlds and I went to Barcelona and lifted All the weights and set the world records for the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the total when I was in the 45 to 50 year old division for women in 2018. And then when I turned 50 a couple years ago, I was like, well, heck, I might as well see if I can set the records for the 50 to 54 division as well. And so this year world championships was in Orlando. So I just took one day off work and you know, I just kept doing my same routine, Stephan Esser MD: Right. Jen Dieter: which included a lot of Olympic lifting. And I remember I said to my patients, you know, like, I'm not gonna be here tomorrow. what are you doing? I was like, Well, I'm gonna be in the world championships for weightlifting. I'm gonna go try to set some world records. And they were like, What? And so then I went to Orlando for the day, and then I came back and I was like, Well, I did it. I set all the world records. So you know, it kind of Stephan Esser MD: my gosh. Jen Dieter: worked out well. So when I turn fifty five, I guess I'll have to figure out where it is and go see if I can do it again. Stephan Esser MD: And go again. I love it. That sounds like a gen thing. And you probably were right back in clinic later that day or the next morning, like, let's go. Let's treat some people. Jen Dieter: That's right, the next morning. That's right. Stephan Esser MD: I love it. So, you know, what motivates you? What motivates you to that high level of performance and kind of pushing yourself? Jen Dieter: It's a tough question for me. you know, the people talk about internal motivation and external motivation and all that kind of stuff. And I have thought about this one a fair bit. for me, good, bad or otherwise, a lot of it boils down to motivating and inspiring other people. So I think the the outcome that I get from other people going just like you just did, like, what would Jen do? Right. Or like I thought about slacking off, but I thought, you'd be up and you know, doing the thing. or people say, Wow, you're, you know, almost fifty-three years old and you're still doing this. No matter what age, you're still doing it. so I think that some of that external motivation drives me, you know, I love being a positive influence for my kids and for other, you know, older adults, if you will, or women in particular, that just because we're getting older, we don't have to just stop doing the thing. You know, we can keep going. That's when it gets scary. When you stop running or stop jumping or stop lifting or stop taking that extra staircase or stop picking up your own bag of dog food and asking somebody else to do it at Costco, then then you stop being able to do it. Stephan Esser MD: Right. So that sort of that functional loss, you know, but that some of the our viewers, right, are having a hard time even just getting off the couch. And they might say, please, she was a college athlete or she was this or she was that. I mean, I can never, you know, kind of be like her. What's your response to that? Jen Dieter: Well, I I have been asked that sort of question, so I can respond pretty honestly that I actually spent a period of about two years where I was having babies and like busy and working and doing all the things. And I remember looking in the mirror one day and being like, huh. Think I've intentionally sweat for two years. Like, I live in Florida, so I sweat, don't get me wrong. But I remember thinking, like, I didn't do any intentional exercise. I used to joke, like, well, I demonstrate one rep of everything all day long with my patients, you know? So one rep counts eventually in some way, right? but I I stopped trying to exercise. I stopped trying to do anything in particular, you know, that would would elevate my health and wellness. And And to be quite honest, I'm you know, I'm one of three girls and girls are kind of mean. And I visited my sisters and my sisters were like, Hey Jen, your butt is getting really saggy So between that and then kinda being like, huh, I haven't really tried to do anything athletic in a long time. I just started. One of my sisters was like, Hey, I think you should try c try CrossFit. And I said, I'm a physical therapist. I know everything about exercise. I'm not gonna pay someone to tell me what to do. That would be foolish, you know? And she was like, just try it, just try it. Meanwhile, she lives in Oregon. I'm in Florida, and she found a gym for me less than a mile from my house. She's like, just go there and try it. And I did, and I remember on the third day I was doing like, you know, some kind of burpee flop on the floor. I was sweating. I was probably crying a little. I don't don't even know and you know, probably about to throw up, who knows what. But it was really hard. It was the hardest I remember thinking it was the hardest thing I had done since giving labor or giving, you know, childbirth in labor. And I haven't stopped since then and that was like 15 years ago. So if f if for me, it's it doesn't matter. I mean, CrossFit's just what I have found, that like full functional fitness combination of everything. I love that. But for a lot of people, I tell people like you just have to find something that you're passionate about. The hardest thing to do is putting your sneakers on or your running shoes or your pickleball shoes. Like that's the hardest part is walking out the door with the intention of going to do the thing. Once you get there, it's never that bad. You know? And then you I've never regretted exercising. There's been a lot of days where I've chosen not to exercise because I'm tired or I'm busy or I prioritize something else because I'm not perfect. but I've never regretted doing it, but I have regretted not going to the gym or not going for that run or not doing that thing. So I think you just have Stephan Esser MD: I there's Jen Dieter: to find the thing that you're passionate about, whether it's pickleball or walking or climbing and hiking, you know, or CrossFit or weight li whatever it is, really. Stephan Esser MD: And I'm hearing kind of a lot unpackage a little bit of that, you know. I'm hearing A, you have this internal motivator that has a desire to be well, to be functional, a desire to be an example to others, which many of our viewers out there, right? You have people in your social circles, right, in your circles of influence, whether it be kids, grandkids, friends, et cetera, that you have a choice. What kind of an example are you gonna be? One that is compromised and getting more and more unhealthy and more dysfunctional, or someone who cares right for their body and takes good care of themselves and inspires and uplifts around them. Number two, I'm hearing from you the people in your personal circle influenced you, right? Like your sisters saying, hey, well, psh, get back up. Let's go, Jen Dieter: Yeah. Stephan Esser MD: right? And then you went out and tried something new and different for yourself and clearly have fallen in love with it now with world records and continued master's level CrossFit athlete, you know. you know, so really there's a lot of stuff there for each of us to listen to and unpackage in our own lives and say, how can I apply this to ourselves? And, you know, because some of our viewers, right, they're on the couch. Jen Dieter: Mm-hmm. Right. Stephan Esser MD: And they're just saying, how do I get started? Right. I so I they look at you and they go, All right, she looks fantastic, she's super fit and functional. I'd love to feel like that. But you know, so what do you say to them? What what's where do they start? Jen Dieter: Well, I think they need to start by finding somebody that can help to teach them how to move properly. You know, I think I I think as a as a movement specialist, that's what I do as a PT, I think it's important to find someone that can help you move well. Because maybe Stephan Esser MD: So what does that look like? A P T or a what else? Jen Dieter: I think it could be a PT or a highly skilled personal trainer, you know, depending on the setting. athletic trainer. you know, I think that sort of environment, there's a lot of different places that are out there these days depending on where someone is located. I certainly know Jacksonville a lot better than other areas of the country. But I think, you know, finding a physical therapist is probably a good start, or if they know someone that is at a gym that has like very good one on one personal training sort of thing, so that they I mean a lot of people say like I don't know what to do. I just need someone to tell me what to do. So that kind of is like two birds, one stone. Finding someone to tell you what to do and make sure that you're doing it well is, you know, one of the one of the first places to go, I think. Stephan Esser MD: Nice. All right. So finding that resource that can help guide you. And maybe word of mouth, talking to friends, family, checking in with people, who do they use, who have they experienced, that sort of stuff. Okay. Now we break exercise down, right? Kind of into strength training, cardiovascular fitness, balance, coordination, flexibility, all these different categories. In my experience, all too often women shy away from strength training. You mean I have so many of them are like, I'm gonna get out there and do my cardio every day, but we talk about strength training and they're like, put the pause on that. What's your exp Jen Dieter: Right. Stephan Esser MD: do you have that similar experience? And and if so, why do you think Jen Dieter: yeah. Stephan Esser MD: it is? Jen Dieter: I have women that come all the time and they'll say things, you know, like they'll schedule an appointment with me and they're like, Hey, my doctor said I need to start lifting weights, but I have no idea. I've never lifted weights in my entire life. And I've had women that are in their 30s, 50s, recently, an 80-year-old. And she's like, I wanna be able to continue to do things. She wants to live by herself. She wants to be able to do a little bit of gardening, although she can't do as much as she used to. And she's like, I have to start, you know, doing more weight bearing exercise to help minimize. my osteoporosis and she's lovely and she's 80, you know? So I think that it it's really never too late. There's research that shows that at any age, even if someone's already in an assisted living facility, they can still build strength. So I think people get very afraid of weightlifting because there used to be this connotation that women looked like too manly or too big or too bulky. Like, I Stephan Esser MD: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Jen Dieter: don't want to get bulky. I just wanna like look toned, right? That kind of is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me a little bit, you know? Stephan Esser MD: Right, right. Jen Dieter: We don't want to be just toned. We we you know, muscles are a good thing, and muscles are sort of like our investment for the future, right? Unfortunately, if we don't do anything about it, muscles gonna go away. Just like our bank account, right? Once we retire. It's gonna get used up. So we have to do something to continue to build it so that we have that for the future. Stephan Esser MD: Such an interesting thing. Just when you were saying that about kind of like women, because yes, I've heard that, right? I don't want to look too manly. And I've always wondered like, where did that start? Did that start from some woman? Did it start from a guy trying to, you know, not have a strong woman? Like they there are all tines of angles. We could come at that, right? Kind of breaking that down, but it's such a foreign thing because, like you're saying, you know, that muscle is a sign that your body is healthy and vital and functional and capable, right? And you Jen Dieter: Right. Stephan Esser MD: want to be capable for so much longer. No? Hmm. So, Jen Dieter: Right, right. So true. So true. Stephan Esser MD: you know, so when you think I heard a little bit in there, but put it together for us. What are the top three reasons everyone, and let's start with women, every woman should be doing strength training in your mind? What are the top couple reasons? Jen Dieter: Well, I think it's a gonna be super important, you know, for for them to have some kind of motivation, first of all. So, you know, they need to make sure that they're able to do something that can kind of help them for the future, right? So that's their whole retirement account idea. So build muscle Stephan Esser MD: Okay. Yeah, I like that. Jen Dieter: so that they have this, you know, kind of bank in the future so that if they do have to be out because they got the flu, then there's there's something, you know, in in the bank for storage, or if they do have Some kind of significant illness. Like, I I think I or I learned early on I was working at a traumatic brain injury facility when I was a student, and there was a guy that was on a motorcycle, and he had been in some kind of big bodybuilder guy. And all the doctors said that the reason he didn't have more musculoskeletal injuries was because he had so much muscle mass on him and that protected him during the motorcycle crash. You know, like you Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. Right. Jen Dieter: never know if something bad's gonna happen, but You need more. And one little other story to go with that, I I have a patient right now, she's 57, and she trains hard. She works maybe three to four days a week. And this other woman who was in her 60s said, my gosh, you're working so hard. What are you training for? And she said, I'm training for life. I just want to be able to carry my grandchild down the stairs and not have to worry about falling. And last week she tripped over a laundry basket with stuff in her hand, an infant in her other hand, and she didn't fall. And she was like, I'm so happy because this is the this is the example of training for life. Like I'm building muscle. I have good res reflexes and I was able to, you know, not fall and save my child, you know, and that sort of thing. Stephan Esser MD: Right. I mean, so many people put themselves on the shelf, right? I think it's been normalized in our society that, you know, 40s, 50s, 60s, it's just all you're old, you know, just go on the shelf, right? And as though Jen Dieter: Right. Stephan Esser MD: as though you're almost like stepping out of the game and watching everybody else. I saw on your social media recently, right? You kind of doing flips into the water off of cliffs, you know, et cetera. And I was just like, Wow, yeah. I mean, that's it, isn't it? Right. Like that's Jen Dieter: Yeah. Stephan Esser MD: the why are we going on the shelf, right? Just you that doesn't make any sense. So Jen Dieter: Right, right. Right. Stephan Esser MD: Very cool. I like that story about the about that lady. And, you know, I'm I'm thinking in my head, medically, we know that strength training, when you look at the American Heart Association's comparative slides like on cardiovascular fitness versus strength training, both help with your risk of heart disease, which is the number one cause of death in women, right? whether it be through cholesterol lowering, blood pressure improvements, you know, all of this sort of stuff. and then also strength training, right, with regards to breast cancer risk. And then you mentioned osteoporosis. You know, tell us more about that, kind of how strength training helps with that. Jen Dieter: Yeah, I mean, so you need some type of resistance on the bones in order for bones to beget more bone, you know, essentially. So if we are able to add load and jumping is a big thing too. And I'm not talking about like a little trot jog, but you need to actually have like I think it's something like four to five times your body weight in a landing situation. Or I think that that's what jumping creates is like four to five times your body weight. I think running is three times your body weight when you go foot to foot to foot. And that research has shown that you need that like three to five times your body weight jump in order to help with you know gaining bone. as well. Now, if someone is already advanced into osteoporosis, then we're certainly not gonna have them jump right off the go. but I might have my osteoprotic patients work on footwork, they might go step quickly over a line or something like that. So, you know, it's a matter of training these qualities that we don't wanna lose over time, right? So whether it's if you've always been a runner or a tennis player or a thing, you know, whatever it is, or if you've never exercised but you've always been a gardener, then you wanna learn how to properly hinge. you know, and that sort of Stephan Esser MD: Mm-hmm. Jen Dieter: thing so that that hunched over position doesn't increase your osteoporosis over time. you know. Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. Yeah. You know, I heard you a couple of times use the w term functional strength. It's and also we hear kind of the bandied about the term functional training, kind of as a as a catchphrase. What is what does functional training really mean and what does that look like? Jen Dieter: Sure. So functional training compared to going into a gym and just pumping some iron, lifting some weights, functional training is more about the the function or the whole body movements that we might do. So I could go into a gym and I could do a whole bunch of bicep curls and that would work my bicep, maybe a couple other little small guys around there. Or I could work on some type of TRX or ring row or something like that where I'm having to maintain a good core position. I'm also using my bicep. I'm making sure my neck posture is good. You know, I'm doing all these other things, but my bicep is still the main mover. But now functionally I've got all these other things going. On and then maybe that could help me pull myself up and out of something someday, right? So that's a pulling functional activity. Or today I had someone doing deadlifts, this big, huge, scary deadlift, right? But we all have to at some point in our life bend over and pick something up, whether it's your purse or whatever. So I had an eight-pound ball sitting on a 15-inch bench, and we just practiced hinging, bending over at the waist, keeping her core tight. And learning how to hinge properly so she doesn't bend over and bend her spine poorly when she's doing it. It's still at deadlift, but we've got this functional exercise. I'm like, okay, from now on, every time you bend over to pick up your purse off of a table, or when you bend over to close the toilet seat or open it or whatever, I want you to think about hinging at the waist like this because you're going to continue to deadlift or squat for the rest of your life, hopefully, because everything is not at shoulder height for us, right? We have to bend over sometimes and we have to sit sometimes. So in order to do these functional movements like sitting, which is a squat, or picking something up, which is a deadlift, we can train these functional patterns so that we can do them safely over the course of our day. Stephan Esser MD: Nice. And it sounds like, you know, because I keep thinking in my head, all right, what are my viewers, you know, kind of thinking about heading in strength training? And I I bet many of them are hearing this, but going, Yes, but it's too late to me. And I know we already addressed this, but I just want you to hit it again. Is it too late for people in their 50s and 60s? Not at all. Jen Dieter: No, not at all. I mean, I honestly I think I mean, I didn't start CrossFit exercise, weight training and all that until I was 38, which, you know, is significantly younger than I am now. But still, I was 38 and I hadn't done anything in years and years and years. And I was able to become elite. Not everybody has a goal of becoming elite, which is totally fine. But if you're in your 50s, you can still become stronger. If you're in your 70s, you can still become stronger. And that's what it's all about, right? We're just trying to at least maintain, if not improve where we are. so that we can keep doing the things that we love to do. Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. How many days a week do you recommend to have good health benefits from the strength training? Jen Dieter: Say strength training four days a week is probably very reasonable. Stephan Esser MD: Okay. And how how long each time? Jen Dieter: It doesn't have to be that long. I mean, I see people waste a lot of time doing sort of mediocre exercise for you know an hour, right? Where they're not doing a whole Either they're working out, right? But they're kind of doing an hour and it's it takes a whole hour. But you can do some intense exercise in three minutes. Take Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. Jen Dieter: a two-minute break, and then do some intense exercise in three minutes. You want to be warmed up properly. But I've also seen some research recently. Stacy gosh, I'm forgetting her last name now. Mel Robbins had somebody on her po Stacey Scott, I think is her name. Anyway, they were talking all about how women in particular make the mistake of doing this like 45 to an hour minute class, and they kind of like lift their light weights and they do their thing and it's a little hard, but not that hard. And their heart rate is probably in that like zone two, zone three, which for me is you know 130 beats a minute or something like that. So I'm I'm working, but I'm not doing anything too crazy. And they do that over and over, their body kind of gets used to it, and you're never really challenging the cardiovascular system. to an extreme, and you're never challenging your strength system to an extreme. So it's going to be better off to hit the highs and the lows and not do as much of the middle. And what I mean by that is to do intense cardiovascular and strength exercise or zone two chill, right? So we spend more time with that beautiful walk because it's outside and I'm walking briskly and I'm in my zone two and I'm building my cardio base, fantastic. Or I'm doing intense work or I'm maybe be doing interval training, working for three minutes hard, right? Whatever hard is for you, and then resting for a period of maybe two minutes or something like that. or a four to two, or sometimes even a one to one, you know, work rest, work rest. But that sort of like intensity, you're forcing your body to figure out how to recover because recovery is a huge part of training as well. Whether you're training for life or training for an event, you still need to have your body be able to recover from that thing. And if you're doing 45 minutes of like as you know, middle of the road, it's not going to be as beneficial, according to the research, as high intensity and then continuing with. that low base zone two intensity as well. Stephan Esser MD: And that's where that sort of litigron hit, right? On that high intensity training that you're talking about. So that we all Jen Dieter: Yes, yes, yes. Stephan Esser MD: should be adding more of that in for health, function, longevity, right? Getting the hormones boosted, all those good things. So Jen Dieter: Yes, yes, exactly. Stephan Esser MD: very nice. Jen Dieter: I I tell my with the hormones, my neighbor is one of my best friends and she's at OBGYN and you know I'm I'm fifty two and I I'm s not in menopause yet according to my blood work. And I tell her, I feel like it's like the grim reaper knocking on my door and if I just keep exercising intense with intensity and really hard, it can't catch me. And she's like, Jen, that's Stephan Esser MD: Ha ha. Jen Dieter: not how it works. And I was like, You don't know. I'm gonna just keep running faster than than then Stephan Esser MD: huh. Jen Dieter: aging can catch up with me. And if I keep, you know high intensity and I keep exercising and I keep lifting the weights, then maybe you know, maybe aging can't catch up with me. That's my nine scientific belief. Stephan Esser MD: I love it. I love it. Well, you're certainly gonna, that's right, you're certainly gonna delay it, that's for sure. So so we think about some of these movements that I almost think of as young people's movements, right? Sprinting, jumping, explosive quick lifting. And yet, as you suggested, those exact movements are necessary for safety and for function. The person crossing the road, getting out of the way of danger. grabbing the hand of the little child and swinging them out of the way, right? That you know, to save them, the little grandchild you're walking with, or or like you said, catching your toe on something, being able to catch yourself quickly because you're accustomed to jumping or hopping. You know, so I mean, where do we start with those simple movements like the hopping? Like, you know, somebody, what do you well give give us something like a little tip that somebody could do to start working on hopping, you know, even if they're a little unstable or unsteady. You know, what could they Jen Dieter: Yeah. I think Stephan Esser MD: do? Jen Dieter: I think doing sort of like a quick foot kind of thing. I mean for for people that can see me right now, what I'm doing is I'm just moving my feet back and forth on an imaginary line. Right. So I've got this line and I'm just stepping as quickly as I can, side to side, right? And then that Stephan Esser MD: Mm-hmm. Jen Dieter: could turn into a little bit of a hop, a little bit faster, side to side. I also would want to do it foreign back. Forward and back, one foot at a time, one foot at a time back, one foot at a time forward. So I'm going step step, step, step. And then when I get better at it, I could do a quick step and I could have a little bit more impact on that step as well. so I hopefully I explain that for people who aren't able to view. But you know, just doing something that's like quick footwork. I had a eighty year Stephan Esser MD: Yeah, yeah. Jen Dieter: old patient who plays pickleball now, but he wanted to be able to play pickleball and he didn't trust his balance, didn't test his trust his strength, anything like that. And we did a whole bunch of quick footwork like that. Imaginary line, Stephan Esser MD: Nice. Jen Dieter: real line, whatever, quick over and back. And our body moves in a moves in a few different planes of motion, right? So we move forward and back, we move side to side, and then we move in rotation. So I believe it's important to train those three planes of motion, which is why the forward and the back and the side to side are important. And interestingly, with this guy, he tripped over a sidewalk lip and he went quick step, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, caught himself and didn't fall. And he was like, I honestly think it's because you made me do all those stupid quick foot over the line, you know, Stephan Esser MD: Right. Jen Dieter: things. So it's that's essentially, you know, training for life, training for hopping, training for moving quickly, because in life we don't get to just move at whatever pace we want to all the time. Sometimes things happen, like you just explained, grabbing a child out of the way or somebody tripping over something. And then what happens if all of a sudden you have to move your feet five times faster than they've moved in the past 10 years? You know, you don't want to strain. Something if that happens, and you want to be prepared so you don't fall and create some other kind of injury along the way. So I think a quick, a quick foot, quick footwork is a really good thing. And then I usually progress people on that same imaginary line, two-foot hop. And it's a lot harder to do a two-footed hop than one, two, back and forth, back and forth, you know, Stephan Esser MD: Yeah, yeah. Jen Dieter: kind of like a step-step. But those are things that you can practice. You could also go onto an elevated curve of some kind. You could do your quick foot up, down, up, down. Once you get comfortable on the imaginary line, right? You could go up on the curb, down and off, just like a regular step, but now you're doing it a little bit more quickly. And you could use a handrail to make sure that you feel balanced at first or have somebody spotting you. But you know, those sort of things so that you're you're training the thing that you don't want to lose. Mm-hmm. Stephan Esser MD: Yeah, yeah, I love it. So maybe start with thirty of those or maybe start with two minutes of the little back and forths and then build up. Yeah, no, I love Jen Dieter: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that would be great. Stephan Esser MD: it. You know, some people train for a week or two and then they lose focus. you know, in your mind, is there a mindset that can help people stay focused, stay motivated? Like Jen Dieter: Yeah. I I mean, I think you gotta train for the next thirty years, not just the next thirty days. So it's sort of like imagine, you know, what is what is what do you want your life to look like when you're thirty years older, right? Stephan Esser MD: Right. Jen Dieter: Do you wanna be just sitting in an assisted living facility, watching T V all day? Or do you wanna be able to go on trips with your grandchildren or your children or your friends or your loved one, you know, and that sort of thing? You know, and it's not gonna just ha it's not gonna happen. If you don't use it, you lose it. That's a phrase that's been around for a long time for a reason. You know, so I think certainly trying to make sure that we're we're training for the future and for longevity, right? I mean it's it's not just for for beach muscles, it's for longevity. That's the important thing. So I think you you sometimes you have to take yourself out of your own little environment of, you know, well, today I'm training for tomorrow, not just So I can get some bigger biceps today. Stephan Esser MD: Well, and I love what you're saying there to me, because a lot of it's resonating in the sense of, you know, for many of us, maybe we had goals with, like you said, beach muscles or sex sexiness or whatever it might be in right in our 20s, teenage years, whatever. and so many people kind of just say, Well, that's past me at this point and it's too uncomfortable to work out. And they lose sight of that that strength training, that working out that they're gonna do is gonna let them be the best version of themselves in 30 years. And and like you kept saying earlier, I love that, right? This bank account that you're filling up with this strength. So you have this residual strength as your body is weakening, as you're getting sarcopenia. And yes, we all age, things happen, et cetera. But so much of the aging that we see is due to disuse, right? It's it's a lack Jen Dieter: Right. Stephan Esser MD: of use. It's a lack of challenging the body, right? Like when you say, okay, you're in your early 50s kind of a thing, and then you look at, I mean, I I see it every day, just like you do. People come into our clinics and we're like, how's this person 50? They're like, they're 75. What is going on? Right. And then Jen Dieter: Right. Right. Stephan Esser MD: you talk to them more. Well, so much of it is the personal choices they made along the way. Jen Dieter: Right. Stephan Esser MD: you know, and it's like that's why it's so inspirational when you're sharing with us about how look, you said, let's go, right? And every day you're continuing that journey, like you said, to build for thirty years from now, which is really cool. I love it. Jen Dieter: Right. You know, and and you and I are in the medical field specifically. So, you know, I think a lot of things happen with people over the course of their life. You know, we may see them because they've had an injury, but fear is a really big thing. People become very Stephan Esser MD: Mm. Jen Dieter: afraid to move. So Stephan Esser MD: Right. Jen Dieter: going back to the woman that I had today doing the quote unquote deadlifts, right? She was just hinging to pick something up off a bench. But I we talked, I I know her, I've worked with her before. So I said I I see the fear in your eyes. Like you're fearful to bend Over and pick a thing up because you're so afraid that you're going to hurt Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. Jen Dieter: something. And when we don't know what the next step is going to look like, our brain says, No, no, I'm not gonna do that because I don't know that the ground is sturdy in that spot, you know? So that Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. Jen Dieter: whole like fear avoidance thing happens, like, I'm afraid if I do this thing, that I'm gonna make my life worse. So again, I think it's you know, I'm biased as a physical therapist. I think it's important to find a physical therapist or somebody. with that mindset that can help you get over the fear of movement so that you can Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. Jen Dieter: train for 30 years from now. You know, I I think and again, we live in the world of of medical stuff where people that we see often have been injured in some way. Stephan Esser MD: Right. Jen Dieter: hopefully there's a bunch of people that we never meet out there that have never had injuries. But Stephan Esser MD: That's right. I mean, I you're making me think about the synchrony of how movement requires this freedom, this belief and ability to do, right? So everything fires together synchronously and allows this whole kinetic chain to occur. But if you're fearful, if you're doubting, if you're unsure, if you're inexperienced in that area, then when you make that movement, things are not coordinated well together. This muscle's not relinquishing and this one's not elongating, this one's not tightening the way they should in the patterns they should. That's where injury sets in, right? We think about high-level athletes that say who injured their ankle now have higher rates of ACL tear, right? Because things are just not firing quite the same way. But yet if they're training on a daily basis, their body now, right, things move more symmetrically, more efficiently, more together. And that belief system just expands right into their movement. I love that. That's what it made me think of, you know, there, what you were saying. So very cool. Jen Dieter: Mm-hmm. Yeah, for sure. We want safety. Yeah. Stephan Esser MD: Yeah. So well, here we are. We're getting close to the end of our time together. And, you know, I always want to leave our viewers with some tangible tips of things that they can apply into their life. You've already given us some inspiration, some motivation, some your own personal experiences, a little bit about movement that you showed us, et cetera. What have you got for us today? Some tangibles to leave the viewers with. Jen Dieter: I would say try to lift something heavy two or three days a week, right? So make make an actual intention on something that's heavier that you normally would lift. And I'm not talking about 10 times as heavy, but a little heavier. It could be holding, I don't know, if you've got a watermelon in your fridge, right? And hold it while you sit on a chair. Something like that. That's called a goblet squat, right? If you're holding your hands in front of you like this, and then you go to sit in a chair down, that's called a goblet squat. It can be whatever you need it to look like. If you're already well versed with a barbell, then put a little bit more weight on the barbell than you normally do and do fewer reps as long as the movement is safe. But I would say two to three times a week, lift something that's heavy for you. And then I would say when you're doing cardiovascular exercise, make it something with a purpose. So it doesn't have to be like we said, you know, I gotta go out and do 30 minutes of riding the bike or an hour of riding the bike or the stairmaster. It can be just make it different. Do something a little different than what you're doing. And again, I would try to shoot for short, intense bursts and go a little harder. As long as you're in a safe environment, see what happens. Like Let's see if you can push a little harder on the bike or a little harder on that run or a little harder on whatever you're doing for yourerobic activity or your walk, whatever it is. But I think just pushing a little harder and then letting yourself rest and say, can my breathing come back down? Can my heart rate come back down? Am I able to recover? So I think that that's An important thing. And then I would say, you know, trying to get rid of that whole idea of your weight, the scale, your biceps, those sexy muscles we were talking about, right? Start thinking about can I get off the floor without using my hands? Can I carry something heavy? you know, what is my capacity? Could I go on a trip with these super active people that I know? but don't judge yourself so hard. Test yourself and see, like, okay, well, can I get off the floor without using my hands? I don't know. But if I can't, then that would be a good goal. Stephan Esser MD: Right. I love it. Well, those are three very tangible things I'm hearing. Kind of lift something heavy two to three days a week, give your cardio purpose. And then, as you said, test yourself, right? To kind of evaluate kind of where you are. And then then you have a goal to target as well as you're building yourself up for the next 30 years. So, well, Jen Dieter: That's right. Stephan Esser MD: we're excited to see where you're gonna be in 30 years and see you'll be setting Jen Dieter: goodness. Stephan Esser MD: you'll be setting the world records for that age division. So I have Jen Dieter: That's right. Stephan Esser MD: no doubt. So hopefully I'm around 30 years and I can cheer you on and see the successes and be inspired as well. So well, Jen Dieter: There we go. Stephan Esser MD: thank you so much for joining us today. All of Jen's contact stuff will be at the bottom of the page here with the and and resources that she has. She's awesome on social media and other places and on the web as well, a bunch of really worthwhile information. So, Jen, thank you so much for joining us today and for your encouragement and inspiration. Jen Dieter: Thank you, my pleasure. Thank you for having me. Stephan Esser MD: And that's it for today. We look forward to having you join another edition of the NHA Today podcast soon.