Stay Strong, Age Well: Mobility & Flexibility Over 60

Hello, and welcome to Boomer Banter, where we bring real talk about aging well, and I'm your host, Wendy Greene, and I am so, so glad that you are here. So you know that you don't wake up one morning and realize you've lost your flexibility.

I mean, you might realize it one morning, but it does happen slowly, right? So slowly that you barely notice. So do you ever do this?

Like, you know, you should be doing some stretching, but you don't feel like it, you'll do it tomorrow. Or you planned to go for a walk, but you dawdled around in the morning, that extra cup of coffee, and suddenly it was too hot out.

Tomorrow will be better. And then you realize you're always looking for the elevator instead of taking the stairs.

Or maybe you tell yourself that exercise is too hard or it's too late to start. Or maybe you think, I'm doing fine. I don't have any problem right now. I'll deal with it later. Well, you know what? You're not alone.

We've all had those thoughts. But what if later shows up sooner than you think?

I believe that protecting our mobility is the key to protecting our independence, our joy, our freedom. So much rides on us being able to stay mobile and flexible.

Today on Boomer Banter, I'm joined by Steven Perrine, executive editor of AARP the Magazine and AARP Bulletin, and we'll talk about the muscles that matter most as we age, simple steps to stay strong and flexible, and how to have a powerful conversation with your future self, the one who's counting on you to show up today. And if this episode sparks something in you, if it gets you thinking about your own health, I'd be so grateful if you'd share it with a friend.

Leave a quick review or hit that follow button. It helps more than you know. And let me tell you a bit more about Stephen Perrine.

He has been an author, editor, and publisher on more than two dozen New York Times bestsellers, including the Whole Body Reset, a nutrition and Fitness Guide for People at Midlife and Beyond, and sits on My Kitchen Shelf.

Steve is a special projects editor for AARP the magazine, and he has appeared as the health and wellness expert on the Today show, the View, Good Morning America, and numerous other media outlets. His accomplishments are numerous, and rather than going on about all he has done, let's welcome Stephen Perrine to the Boomer Banter podcast.

Hi, Steven.

Hi, Wendy. How are you?

I am terrific. I had my walk this morning.

Limber and loose. Are we limber and loose today?

I am. I walked. I did a good 45 minute walk this morning. I feel great. Yeah. So I want to start with why we're talking today.

And it all came from this February, March issue of aarp, the magazine where you did a series on fitness related to the muscles that matter most as we age. So, Stephen, what excited you about this series?

Well, this was an idea our editor in chief, Bob Love, came up with. And as we talked it over, we were talking about when we think about fitness and exercise, we don't necessarily apply it to the idea of real life.

We think, oh, I need to lose weight, I need to get those shredded abs. I need to look better in this T shirt or this dress or what. Have you ever reunion coming up? We think about it in the immediate.

We don't think about is that exercise today, the biggest payoff is going to be five or ten years from now because that's when our bodily systems are starting to kind of draw back and slow down a little bit. And I like to think that, you know, late 50s to mid-60s is sort of the make or break moment.

That's what separates those who have been, you know, paying attention to their bodies and taking care of themselves and exercising from those who haven't. Because it's the point where things start to break down. You get up out of a chair and you make a noise.

You go to get out of bed and it's like a little slower. You know, the dog breaks free of its leash and you can't run after it.

That's how a lack of exercise begins to impact our lives and it begins to take away quality of life.

The next thing, you know, into your 70s and your grandkids want to play and you get a rest or it's time to carry in the groceries, but you got to wait for the teenager who lived next door to come over and help you because you can't carry them yourself.

So we see this a lot and it's really about, you know, fitness today, I think for people our age is really about staying fit and active today, but also ensuring that we can be fit and active in the years and decades to come.

Yeah, and it, and it does surprise us sometimes.

You know, like I, I used to do yoga all the time and I would sit with, you know, in that yoga pose with your legs crossed and even on the couch, even in chairs. That's how I sat. And I said to myself, I'll never have a problem with that because that's how I always sit. My muscles are used to that.

Well, guess what? Even those muscles became tired when I tried to stand up and straighten out. And they're like, ah, you were sitting that way too long.

Why does that happen when we're so used to that, like, pose or something?

Well, it's hard to say. All of our bodies kind of age and change in different ways.

One thing that does happen is when you're, when your joints and muscles are extended for a long period of time, they, they get tired very slowly and subtly.

A friend of mine who is a chiropractor, I was talking to him about every once in a while, like I spend the day in my desk chair and I get up and I'm like, ah, what's up? He said, if you want to know why your back hurts, hold your arm straight out in front of you, palm up. Keep it out like that for a little while.

And if you do, over time, eventually it's going to get a little sore, it's going to be a little tired, you're going to get a little ache and pain up and down your arm and the crease of your elbow. Keep holding it like that and you know that when you bend the elbow back, it's going to be sore a little bit.

Well, we're doing that to ourselves all the time. When we sit slumped in a chair, we're actually extending our back, causing it to be in this state of like mild stress.

Sit there for half an hour, an hour, two hours. Then when you get up, of course your back is cranky. So that's part of it.

Part of it is just simply that we're not aware of how we're stressing our body through the day.

And then the other part of it is that we need to be extra attentive to stretching, to making sure that we preserve our flexibility because that's one of the first things that diminishes as we get a little older.

I'm glad you said that about sitting because I was curious. Like I said, I did my 45 minute walk this morning and then I'm going to sit at my desk most of the day.

Do I still get the benefits from the walk or, or, you know, they've said sitting is like the new smoking. Right. Didn't the surgeon General say that like it's a bad for you?

Yes. If you're sitting the wrong way, but sitting for long periods of time is, you know, it is bad for you. Right. It is like the new smoking.

That's why taking short breaks, getting up and moving around a little bit, trying to get up about every 20 minutes. Maybe try to get up from your chair and just move around for a couple of minutes before you sit back down. That's important.

But all exercise is going to be beneficial to you, not just in the short run, but in the long run.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, Good, good. So I'll keep walking, and I will get up.

So I said in the beginning, Stephen, that we don't wake up one day and find that we've lost our flexibility. But when we realize that and we're not as flexible as we once were, what do we do now?

Well, it's always harder to get it back than it is to maintain it. So that's number one. If you notice you're getting a little bit less flexible, now is the time to act and start making some changes.

So in this issue of aarp, the magazine, we looked at some of the common things that people like to do or want to be able to do as they get older and how strength and flexibility can impact that if we're not taking care of ourselves. Classic one is reaching to the high shelf to get those plates down or putting our luggage in the overhead compartment on the airplane.

As we get older, our shoulders get stiff, and many people, majority of people really over 65, can't reach their arms straight up over their head. And, you know, this isn't that big a deal because we've really cut down on stagecoach robberies over the past hundred years.

But still, there are times when you need to raise your hands over your head, right? Like as I described. So, you know, we have a. We have an exercise called controlled articular rotation.

I love that exercise.

It sounds fancy, but really, if you've ever seen Pete Townsend play guitar with that windmill arm, that's really all we're talking about, right? You're keeping one arm down, and you're keeping the. Moving the other arm around you like this, up and over and then back.

And really doing that on a regular basis. A couple times a week, two sets of 12 circles with each arm will really help prevent the.

The ligaments and the tendons and the joints from stiffening up and cutting down your ability to move those shoulders.

And it feels good. So. So that's one. I want you to go through a couple of these. So that's reaching up high, right? And if you. If you can rotate your arm, and if it.

If it hurts or it pops or rotate it maybe more, go slow. Slowly slow.

If you feel like you're stopping, then, okay, go to that point and then stop.

Okay.

Next time you do it. See if you can go just a little bit further. Right. So one of the things you want to do is try to push each time just a tiny, tiny bit further.

It's the same thing with any kind of weight training. Right? Progressive resistance. You lift this amount, the next time you try to get just a tiny bit more.

Okay. Another one that I really liked, Stephen, because I do get low back pain from walking too much or standing too much, even more so.

And I saw in the article that a lot of times that's because of stiff ankles. You don't have the flexibility in your ankles. So talk about that one. That was really interesting to me.

Yeah. And very simple, really. And as somebody who, you know, I sprained my ankle sliding into third base in softball.

Were you safe?

Summer? No. But also, why am I sliding into third base at your ankle? What am I doing? I don't know. Anyway, sprained my ankle. But. And.

And so that's an example where you want to, you know, rebuild that strength and flexibility. And it's simple.

Just sit at the edge of a chair, extend your one foot out in front of you, and simply move that ankle down as far as you can, let it stretch a bit, then curl it up as far as you can back and forth, a couple sets of 12 on each ankle.

As that feels comfortable and you're getting stronger, you can take a towel and kind of drape it over your foot to add resistance, and keep doing that as you build strength and more flexibility. But the ability to run is really impacted by ankle flexibility. Hip pain is often caused by ankle.

Flexibility, which surprised me when I read that.

Yes. So it's your foundation. Right. It's really important to pay attention to. To the foundation of our bodies. And that's the feet and ankles.

Yeah. Yeah. That was a good one. And I do that almost every day now because I don't want low back pain. And then.

And the other one that I found really surprising because I think I told you before he came on. As I was looking through some of these exercises, I thought, these look too simple, but they're subtly strengthening, you know, like the.

The one with your. Your grip strength. Right. And all of us. I'm. Anybody listening, nod your head, say, yes. All of us have trouble opening lids.

They're tighter than they ever were. It's not us. It's. The lids have gotten tighter, but we can do this exercise and open them better. So tell us.

And this is. It's super simple. You just take a small hand towel, put your arms straight out ahead of you like this. And you just crunch that towel up.

So you're bringing it up into your hand until you've got the whole thing in your hand. You squeeze it. Now let it dangle down again. Move your hand sideways so your thumb is facing the ceiling. Do it again.

Turn your hand over so you just palm up and do it again.

So you're scrunching that tall up, but you're doing it from different angles, because that's working your hand, wrist, and forearm in different angles.

And you definitely will feel it. It's a good one. That's a really good one, right?

It's very surprising how small and subtle movements, like curling up a tall with your hand or flexing your ankle back and forth an hour later, you're gonna be like, whoa, I really, really feel that in my muscles.

It's true. It's true. And you're right. You know, it's not like you lifted 10 pounds or did a bench press or anything. It's. It's amazing how you feel it.

So this builds flexibility and mobility, right? Is there. Is there a difference? I mean, how would you talk about that?

Well, I think of mobility as everything, right? Can you walk for distance? Can you move quickly if you need to? Can you outrun the tsunami? Can you. Can you, you know, if.

Catch the dog who runs away, right?

If your grandchild is running right at you and you're holding a cup of coffee, can you dodge them gently without spilling the coffee? All of that is mobility. Can you get up and down the stairs? Can you carry in the groceries? Can you reach the item overhead?

That's all about mobility, and that's really, in a lot of ways, what determines our quality of life. There are a lot of things that can impact quality of life.

One of the first things is whether or not we can continue to do and enjoy the things that we. That give our lives meaning.

Yeah, I. I agree. I think it's so important. And one thing that seems to be very difficult for a lot of people is this whole idea of getting started, right? We.

We know what we should be doing. So are we lazy? I mean, what is it? That is. What would you say? How would you help us get started?

There are a number. Number of things that interfere with our. With going and doing the things that are healthy for us.

And one of them is that, you know, again, if I could go to the gym, come back in an hour and have shredded abs, that'd be great. But my guess is I won't have shredded abs after this workout or after 500 more workouts, it's just not going to happen.

Not anymore. Right.

But, and so when you talk about, well, what is the value of exercise? Well, a lot of it is about how well your life is going to be in the future. That can be a difficult prospect to understand as well.

So one of the things you can do is just future cast. Imagine yourself in 10 years. Where are you going to be? What are the things that you're going to want to be doing?

Are you going to want to be chasing your grandkids around the yard? Are you going to want to be. Go on a walking tour of Venice? Are you going to want to, you know, whatever, be able to mow your lawn?

All of those things.

Yeah. Go, you know, go fishing, what have you play golf.

Right.

So imagine your. Imagine future you 10 years down the road and you didn't work out.

You didn't exercise, you didn't stretch, you didn't do the things that future you need you to do to be able to have fun later on in life. Future you is going to be so mad. So imagine a conversation right now with future you.

And please explain to future you why it is more important to watch the next episode of Naked and Afraid than it is to go out and take a brisk walk for 40 minutes.

Yep. Right. Your future you is going to really be upset with you for sure.

Future you is going to be like, I don't even remember who won. Naked and afraid.

That's right.

And I sure wish I could pick these groceries up.

And I love that tip because you know, seriously, all of you listening, if you sat down for a moment and imagined yourself having that conversation, I mean even talk to yourself in the past, you know, your 40 year old self and say, how come you didn't keep going with all that stuff? Now I have to build it up now. 80 year old you is going to be like, man, you've really let me down. So I, I love that tip, Stephen.

I think that's great.

And it's not that we're reasons why this.

Yeah, no, it's one of the reasons why we want to do this story that specifically talked about the activities that you may want to engage in as you get older and specifically the exercises and the stretches you can do today to ensure that you have that quality of life going forward.

Yeah. But you know, there's some of us that, you know, we've been injured, we have pain now we're afraid of, of getting started.

I mean, what would you say to those people? I mean, they may be talking to their 80 year old self, but their 80 year old self is saying, yeah, I know you were in pain.

How would they get started?

If you're suffering from chronic pain, you should start by consulting with your physician and say, okay, this is what is, this is what I want to do. This is what's limiting me. And from there there may be a number of solutions. Physical therapy might be a solution.

Exercise therapy such as yoga might be a solution. Some kind of pain management program might be a solution. Even surgery might be a solution. But you need to get sort of an expert to consult with you.

But you really think about it like more like goal oriented. Right? Talk to your doctor not in a complaint about what's wrong with you way, but in a goal oriented way.

I don't, I have knee pain and I want to be able to run a 5k next year with my, you know, granddaughter who's going to be, you know, joining junior high track team. So tell me how I can, what do I need to do to get this knee in shape for that?

That's a good point. Right.

Like we have a trip coming up to Spain and there's a lot of walking up and down hills and that's one of the things that motivates me now besides my 80 year old self. But that motivates me to continue walking on hilly terrain. You know, we do have some hills around here and, and I think that's good, have a goal.

Okay. What is your favorite form of workout?

Well, I'm more of a gym rat.

Okay.

I, I, you know, so I do go to the gym and you know, I pick things up and put them down and I try to integrate sports into my life as much as I, I can. So spring and summer and fall, I play softball.

I also play tennis, which I think is really critical because almost every form of exercise, whether it's running, swimming, biking, weight training, is a forward and back exercise. You're only moving in one direction. Sports like tennis, volleyball, even pickleball to a less extent.

They have you moving in all different directions, sideways, backwards, sometimes. And that is a really important part of one's fitness component as well.

It's not enough just to be doing the rope or here we are going down the road running again, but to be incorporating dynamic movement into your day, you know, whenever you can. So I do that and then I do some running. But I try, I tend not to run slow, slow and jog. I tend to, to do more interval training.

So I'll run at a fast pace for 20 seconds, and then I'll walk for 20 seconds and I'll integrate that in. Because I want to be able to accelerate. I want. If. If.

If my grandkid runs out in front of the car or my dog gets away from me, I want to catch that beloved one and stop them and get them out of harm's way.

Right. That's a really good point.

And when you were talking about the sports, you know, a lot of times when we talk to people about exercise, they say, find something you enjoy. So probably it takes a little less motivation to say, oh, I'm gonna go play, then I'm gonna go exercise. Yeah, yeah.

Do you do stories like that in the magazine?

I think we certainly covered it. We're. AARP is a big sponsor of pickleball tournaments around the country.

Oh, is that right?

Yes. And we've certainly made that a real big focus for us.

Okay.

But I think that that's. It's. What's really important is to have fun, regardless of what kind of exercise you like to do. So get a nice. This is a big great tip.

Go and buy yourself a nice workout outfit that makes you look good. Right. Like, there's nothing like wearing like, an old gray T shirt and you're like, in the. Underneath the harsh lights and it's winter and you.

You're pale and you're washed out and you're slumpy looking, and I don't want to go and, like, be seen like that, you know, But. But if you have an outfit that you wear that makes you feel good and makes you look good, you're going to be more likely or more comfortable in it.

Making sure you have the right shoes, the right equipment. It's a worthwhile investment just because, you know, you feel it gives you confidence, and that's really important.

Yeah, I love that. I love that tip. Because you definitely will feel better about yourself. And the shoes make a huge difference.

Right. And also, just showing up is a lot of it. Go to the gym and just say, I'm gonna go to the gym.

And if you don't feel like working out when you're there, fine.

Lay down and do some stretches, you know, touch your toes a few times, see what other people are doing, play around with a couple of pieces of equipment you haven't played with, and go home. Right.

It's not the greatest workout, but you were there, you did something, you got familiar, you felt comfortable, and it's easier the next time you go.

It is. And then also I found going with a friend, you know, because first of all, it makes you accountable. Right.

You know, your friend's going to be there waiting for you, and you kind of encourage each other that way. So I think that's also a good idea to go with a friend.

Going with a friend, betting a friend, I'm gonna put $5 in the kitty, and you are, too. And whoever goes to the gym more this month wins the kitty. Or pay yourself a dollar or five dollars every time you go.

And at the end of the month, maybe you got, you know, maybe you had 50 bucks that you can now use to buy yourself a present.

There you go. Yeah, there's all kinds of little tricks that we can use. What about balance? I did. I don't think we talked about that in this.

In this particular article. I know you've done plenty of others about that. But what about balance as we get older?

Yeah. So balance becomes an issue as we get older for a number of different reasons. We start to lose sensitivity in our feet. Right.

So we don't feel the ground quite as accurately. Our eyesight can diminish particular if we wear it, particularly if we wear multifocal lenses like progressive lenses.

As those prescriptions get heavier, sometimes it becomes a little bit harder to see steps below us or our feet. So it's easier to lose balance. Then hearing can also alter balance.

So there are a number of things that are kind of coming together to make balance more difficult. And then there are the muscle imbalances and strains and injuries that we're dealing with. All of these add to fall risk.

That's why I think staying strong and flexible is critical. You can do balance exercises, but I think strength and flexibility exercises are going to give you more bang for your buck.

Oh, okay.

When you do, when you do exercise, what I would say is try to exercise one side of your body and then the other side of your body. So rather than pushing a barbell over your head, push a dumbbell over your head than the other side. Oh, why is that people doing?

Because it just helps your body train itself to balance.

Oh, brilliant.

Sometimes you'll see people doing what's called a farmer's walk, which is where you grab weights and you walk with them and you. And it's an abdominal exercise. But don't grab a weight in both hands. Grab a weight only in one hand.

Do your walk keeping your torso upright, your stomach braced, your head forward. When you get to the end of your walk, put the weight in the other hand, turn around and walk back.

You're forcing yourself to keep that balance to keep that center line even though the weight wants to pull you off. And that's, again, a great way to really work on that balance and make sure that you have equal strength on both sides.

The leg press is a great machine. A lot of people do it. I do it one leg at a time. I don't do two legs. I just do one leg and then I do the other leg.

So you don't sit on it, you stand.

I sit on it. With a leg press machine, for example, you sit, you put your feet up. Most people will push with both legs, Right.

I'll use a lower weight and push with one leg. And then when I've done, say, 12 reps with that, I put the other leg up and do that. That way I know both legs are balanced.

I'm not cheating with my stronger leg. And that's, that's a lot of what happens when you're using both arms or both legs at the same time. You cheat with the stronger one.

And that, again, can hinder your balance.

And that makes a lot of sense because one of the exercises in this edition, in the February March edition, is the walking with the weights in one hand and then walking with the other hand that was carrying your groceries. And you have to remind yourself, as you start with that first step, I do. You do kind of feel yourself pulled to one side.

So you have to remind yourself, stand up straight, tuck in your tummy, and yeah, I think about that as balance.

And when you practice carrying, picking up and carrying heavy things, it is much safer for you when you pick up and carry heavy things, because if you're not used to it, it's easy to go and bend over and pick something up and you're not thinking and you go to pick it up and boom, you strained your back, you've hurt your shoulder. Whereas if you're regularly going to the gym, then your body is sort of like, oh, I know exactly how to pick up something heavy.

And you're engaging your hips and your core and your legs and your butt and everything else.

Yeah.

So I really think it's very much a safety. It really helps prevent injuries.

Yeah, I think it's a safety thing, too.

And do you think that, like, if you haven't worked out in a long time or if you have some pain, that maybe starting with a trainer would be a good idea so you learn how to do all of that correctly?

I think start using a trainer is terrific.

I think it's great, you know, if you haven't worked out in a long time, or if you're new, I don't know that you necessarily need a trainer forever, but for the first six weeks or so, somebody to really establish a program for you.

Yeah.

And then you can always go back to it. I'm bored. I'm not getting the results I want. I'm not motivated. You can go back to a trainer and say, all right, let's try something new.

Okay. Yeah. So I. Are there trends in aging and wellness that you think we're not paying enough attention to right now?

Well, I think the, the trend that is really starting to bubble up now is protein. And it's something we talk about extensively in the whole body reset.

Yeah, you do, right.

So. So the USDA guidelines for, for protein are honestly lower than what older people need.

One of the challenges that we face as we age is that our bodies really, really change. Like, not just like we gain a little weight around the midsection. Right. Like, there are a lot of changes that happen in our bodies.

One of the things that happens is something called anabolic resistance, which means your body has difficulty turning the protein you eat into muscle. So your body is constantly breaking down and rebuilding muscle tissue. And so my 17 year old daughter has a glass of milk that's 8 grams of protein.

Her body immediately goes, let's turn this into muscle tissue. If I drink a 8 ounce glass of milk, my body, my body goes me.

Because it's not enough to overcome the natural anabolic resistance that I've developed as I've gotten older. That's why we lose. If you make a muscle, if you make a muscle feel your biceps. Right.

That bicep represents about 5% of your total skeletal muscle mass. That's how much the ever average person loses every decade after age 30.

Wait, say that again. Say that again.

So that bicep. Yeah, bicep muscle you just flexed, that's about 5% of your total skeletal muscle mass.

Okay.

Every. That's how much you lose every decade after age 30.

So by the time you're age 50, you've lost two biceps worth of muscle because of anabolic resistance. Because your body is breaking down muscle faster than it can rebuild it. The way to overcome this is to eat higher levels of protein.

It's almost like there's a button, and the button says rebuild muscle. But as we get older, you got to press the button harder to make it start.

So how much protein do we need?

We need 25 to 30 grams of protein at every meal, including breakfast. Breakfast is the most important because the average person eats if they eat breakfast. Eats about 10 grams of breakfast of protein for breakfast.

So you're having like a coffee and a Danish. Maybe there's an egg, maybe it's a piece of toast, maybe it's a donut. I don't know. It's not enough. It's not enough. We eat plenty of protein.

The problem is we eat about 60% of our protein at dinner.

Right.

We need to spread it throughout the day. So generally 25 grams for women, 30 grams for men. It really depends.

If you're a ballerina or a linebacker, you might need a little less or a little more. But that's generally where we look to. To fall.

And at every meal.

And every meal.

And what about snacks? Like, are nuts a better snack than, say, carrots or an apple? Because they give us protein.

Well, another thing that is important to know is that as we get older, our levels of inflammation rise.

Oh, okay. Yes.

Best way to fight inflammation is to eat a wide variety of different plant foods. So are nuts better than a carrot? Is a carrot better than an apple?

The actual answer is nuts plus a carrot plus an apple are better than any of those individuals. Oh, so you want a variety of different kinds of plants. So that's beans, grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and as many different as you can.

The healthier you are. Studies show that people at in later life who eat the most fruits and vegetables retain the most muscle as they age.

And it's because those plant foods battle inflammation.

Wow. And that's a big thing that we deal with all the time, inflammation, Especially with arthritis and stiffness and. Yeah. Wow.

Most of the diseases of aging, whether it's diabetes or heart disease or arthritis or what have you, they're inflammation diseases. The reason we get them as we get older is because our inflammation. Inflammation rates rise as we get older.

So the more you can battle inflammation, the healthier you. You be.

Yeah, it makes, it makes sense as you explain it, you know, and yet I like, wow, that seems like a lot of food for me to eat. Nuts and carrots and an apple.

I know you want to lose. You want to lose weight, eat more food, but it's true. It's true. And the problem is Wendy. The problem is Wendy.

Yes, Stephen?

The majority of what we eat is not food. U.S. in the United States, 60% of our calories every day come from ultra processed foods, which are not foods.

Yeah, I had.

So if you ate no ultra processed foods. No. Basically anything that leaves orange crust on your fingers, if you could stop eating.

That, anything comes in a bag Or a box. Yeah, it's true.

In a bag or a box or what have you.

So there, there's so I try, I say eat as much as you can, honestly, eat as much as you can, but don't eat processed foods because you won't be able to eat that much of healthy foods.

They're really feeling, they'll fill you up. Yeah, yeah. I hope you all are taking notes on this. This is great.

Other topics that you guys might be considering covering in AARP and in future in future magazines. Can you share any of that with us?

We got an awesome upcoming story on how to run a mile without running.

Oh, I want that one.

It's literally a series of exercises.

You can do that that basically work the same, give you the same cardio boost and the same work the same muscles as running, but you have to run lovely.

I don't like.

That's gonna be fun. And then I'm working with the chef Bob Bloomer on a story about how he cooked away his previous pre diabetes.

Really? And it's a, that'll be an important.

Recipe filled cooking plan for getting, for reversing pre diabetes.

Oh, that's going to be an important one.

It's gonna be great.

Yes. Oh, great. I'm so excited, I'm so excited that you joined us, Stephen, and all the wise things that you shared with us.

I want to take tell people how they can find out more information about AARP and what's in the magazine and you can go to aarp.org magazine or and I didn't tell you I was gonna say this, or you can join.

AARP and then you can at any age, you don't have to wait till you're 50. And you can also pick up a copy of the Whole Body Reset Everywhere. Fine books are sold.

Yes. And it, it definitely teaches you a lot. And there are recipes in there too, so that's fun. Yeah. So I've been inspired.

I mean this has been very informative and I really appreciate you took the time to talk to us. So if you listeners have been inspired, please share this episode with a friend.

You never know who might need to hear this and they will so appreciate it. I've also been telling you about my friend Wendy Battles, who has the podcast Reinvention Rebels, which is a fun show and a fun name.

On that show, Wendy shares inspiring stories to ignite your courage, strengthen your self, permission, muscle and remind you that you are limitless. Because midlife isn't about slowing down, it's about showing up boldly and living life on your terms.

So look for Reinvention rebels wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe to her show, too. So one more thing before I let you go. Next week, it's my turn to share with you.

And as this month has been all about healthy living, I'm going to wrap up the month talking about the idea that feeling tired isn't just physical, it's emotional, mental, sometimes even spiritual. So we'll dig into some of the things that drain your energy and ways to restore more vitality to your life. Stephen, this has been great.

You are a joy to talk to. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Wendy. I'm so glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

My pleasure. And I, I thank all of you for joining us today and hope to you will come back next week.

Bye.