Podcast: Strength Training Secrets for Women Over 40: Expert Tips from Diana Chaloux-LaCert

Transcription of Podcast

Dr Orlena: Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to Fit and Fabulous with me, Dr. Orlena. Today, I'm excited. We have a guest. We don't have guests very often, but when we do, they're super special. , Diana, welcome, welcome. I'm going to ask you to pronounce your surname because I don't think I can manage it. And first of all, I want to find out, tell me about your surname.

Diana: Well, it's, it's Chaloux-LaCerte, so very French, as I'm sure you can figure out. And Chaloux is, is my maiden name. LaCerte is my, is my husband's name. So, and they're both French. . So when we got married, it was, it was a little bit of double French there.

Dr Orlena: Today we are talking about fitness and fitness specifically for women over the age of 40. Hooray, hooray. One of my favorite topics. Before we start, how about you introduce yourself and tell people a little bit about why you're so passionate about this topic?

Diana: Oh, well, thank you for the opportunity.

Diana: My name is Diana Chaloux-LaCerte. I live in Kansas city, Missouri, and I own a company with my husband called hitch fit. We do online personal training globally and have worked with thousands of people 15 years. Just celebrated our 15 year anniversary of, of running that business. We have a gym in Kansas city, Missouri, where we train clients one on one and have a team of trainers there.

Diana: I've been in this space for, for over 20 years of, of helping people with their fitness transformations. I'm, I'm 46 years old. So probably over the last six or seven years, the bulk of my clientele has over 40 women in their forties, fifties and sixties.

Diana: So for me as a woman in my, you know, mid forties now, I understand completely the importance of, of taking care of our health and our strength and the impact that has on every other aspect of our lives. I've seen it for myself personally, and I've seen. it for clients who are just going through all of these different phases.

Diana: That's why I'm so passionate about it is because there are, there are answers and there are things we can do within our lifestyle to make these phases of our lives so much easier in so many ways. And so I just want women to know that so that they can step into these phases without fear of, you know, what's happening in their bodies and taking control of it.

Dr Orlena: first of all, congratulations on having an amazing business. And secondly, yes, I totally echo your enthusiasm. And I always think a lot of people say to me, oh, I don't have enough energy to exercise. And I'm like, wait, you've got it wrong. The whole point of exercising, it's to give you energy.

Dr Orlena: Like of course you don't have ex energy before you exercise. That's why we do it. But taking a step back and you sort of talked a little bit about this, I'd love for you to really just talk a little bit about those benefits because I know that a lot of people feel they don't have time, why should they bother, but really and truly it is an important, it's one of my pillars of healthy living and it is super important.

Dr Orlena: It's more important for women over 40 and yet it seems more difficult for women over 40. Let's go with the benefits to start off with.

Diana: Well, the, you know, a lot of people see, like we work in a lot in transformation, so people see what happens on the outside. And that's great. That's kind of the icing on the cake, but the benefits of a specifically strength training, they go so much deeper than that.

Diana: And so for women, as we. especially over the ages of 40, when we're going to start having deterioration in lean body mass, you know, issues with bone density loss, all of those things can actually be combated with strength training. For one, it's, it's, it's not just, yes, our bodies are going to look better.

Diana: That's, that's how we're going to have shape is through strength training. But it's also just the integrity of the lean body mass and maintaining and even building it. I've seen women building muscle in their forties, their fifties, their sixties. There's not like a. Deadline of when we can actually build lean body mass if we're strength training and consuming enough protein and doing these things in our lives the lean body mass will help improve metabolism for women going through hormonal transitions and perimenopause and and reaching menopause It will help with the fat loss that they're hoping for it will help combat the the gains in fat through those times because that's a One of the major things that can help with with making sure our metabolism is also protected and going beyond, you know, preventing osteoporosis.

Diana: There are studies that show that that strength training can

Diana: pension process. And then the mental health aspect is one of the hugest things that I think that is missed out on the benefits of strength training when it comes to. Fighting against anxiety and depression, how strength training releases you know, molecules into our bodies that impact our brains and literally act as antidepressants huge, huge, not just for what are on the outside for everything that's going on on the inside to

Dr Orlena: Perfect.

Dr Orlena: And I think as well, like just looking at the longterm and thinking about later on in life, like, you know, when we get to, I know it feels like forever away, but thinking about when we get to seventies and eighties and falls, it's a really big problem when you get to that age, where, but when do you start stopping that from happening and the answer is like now in your forties and fifties, you want to be building up that muscle so that.

Dr Orlena: If you do fall when you're older, and hopefully you won't, but you have the strength to be able to stop yourself from falling, and then all of those horrible consequences don't happen. So just, just another.

Diana: Yeah, another huge one, huge

Dr Orlena: one. Yeah, exactly. And so you talked about building muscle, and this can feel a little bit daunting for people thinking, wait, what do you want me to go and spend hours and hours in the gym?

Dr Orlena: And then I'm going to look like What's his name? Arnold Schwarzenegger, but with a bikini on. Like, is that what you're talking about? Tell us a little bit about what we have to do.

Diana: Well, I think one of the, one of the common myths is that you're going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, look like a bodybuilder if you're lifting weights.

Diana: Like, it's not going to happen. It's like anybody. So for women, and I feel like we're Gaining some progress, debunking that myth, but it's still like so widespread. And it's like, when you see someone who's a bodybuilder to that level, it didn't happen by accident. Like I've been in the fitness industry first.

Diana: And in that world of competing, there's never been a bodybuilder that like was like, whoops, I woke up and I gained all this muscle. And for women, especially, we don't have those levels of testosterone that men have. Like we're not going to suddenly be proof. bodybuilders.

Dr Orlena: I just have to, I just have to take a pause and talk about testosterone because I think a lot of people don't understand that testosterone is a big thing.

Dr Orlena: My son is six, he's 15 coming up to 16 now and he lies on his bed doing nothing as far as I can figure out and he is stronger than me and I'm like, wait, there's just no justice in the world. It's all thanks to that little Mr. Testosterone, isn't it?

Diana: Yes. Yes. Yeah. Well, and the thing is like, I think a lot of times women don't realize like we have testosterone to, we just don't like, and we need to have testosterone, but it's not going to be as high of levels as, as the men are going to have.

Diana: So we're not going to be producing like lean body mass, but it is in those. Large of quantities, I guess is one way to put it, but the lean body mass, like you mentioned earlier, like it is so critical for so many things and if we're lifting weights, it's going to actually make your body smaller and leaner.

Diana: A lot of times women come in and they're like, Oh, but when you're eating in alignment, when you're eating lines up with your strength training. The only time women get bulky when strength training is if they are lifting weights, they may increase lean body mass, but they're also still overeating. So then they're still gaining fat weight too.

Diana: I've seen that happen where women think, Oh, it's the weights. No, it's because you're overeating. So if you put a little bit of muscle on, you're still increasing fat too. And that's why your body is getting bigger. But if you're not over consuming what you're expending, you're going to actually have a smaller, more compact, leaner body.

Dr Orlena: What do you recommend in terms of like how much? Weightlifting people need to do.

Diana: Minimum I would say for women is like two days of the week. I would, I would say three would be a really sweet spot for most people. If you're more advanced, like I know women that strength train six days of the week.

Diana: But I would say at the minimum, just at least if you're getting in two days of weights per week, you're gonna get a lot of great benefits. And I think for the mental health piece, and a lot of women are so stressed out with their, with whether they're, they're business women or it's where their family or their jobs, like having it more frequently, not only helps with the muscle integrity and the bone density, but it also helps with just the stress and the mental health piece of it too.

Dr Orlena: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And how do people stop? Because I know ideally everybody would go to a gym and they would have you right around the corner and that would be fabulous. They'd have a personal trainer who would help them. But the reality is so many people are busy and it's really easy to buy weights now and we can have them at home.

Dr Orlena: Like, what are the options available to people?

Diana: I mean, nowadays there's so many options and I would say probably of our clients globally, at least 50 percent of them just do their strength training right at home with really minimal equipment and body weight. You don't need, like, if the gym is an environment that is affordable for you, that is located close to you, that you will commit to, that helps you stay more committed.

Diana: Great, but you can also do these things right at home. You don't need a lot of space. You don't need a lot of equipment. And even if you, whether you, if you can afford to hire a coach, hire a coach to teach you how to do it. If you can't, we have so many things available. You can literally go on YouTube and find beginner level workouts to do at home with.

Diana: Just body weight. It's not a lack of resources at this point. There are resources. Even if you have a tiny square of your home and just your body weight, you literally can look that up on YouTube for what you can do for some strength moves. Some people need just more accountability and more structure, which is where coaching comes in.

Diana: And again, just figuring out what's doable for you, whether, you know, we, there's a big price difference for us between our online training versus one. It's like just figuring out what's going to, but what's going to work for you because it's an investment in yourself too.

Diana: Not just in your health for the present, but your health for the future.

Dr Orlena: I always think, you know, actually being healthy and leading a healthy lifestyle actually buys people, like on average, obviously it's difficult to say for individuals, but it can buy you 10 years of life and you think, oh my goodness, again, it's the same thing that starts now, not wait 30 years and then do it all.

Diana: Yes. Yes.

Dr Orlena: You talked about how ideally people want to be doing exercises three times a week. How long do they need to be doing those exercises for?

Diana: it's not a one size fits all. If you take someone who is very sedentary and just starting out, maybe you're going to start a little bit less and you may be starting with just movement. You may be just starting with walking, but I encourage you to get into the weights. I would say on average, if you're training three days of the week, it's probably around 45 minutes.

Diana: of strength training, 45 minutes to an hour, just depending on how quickly you move. But I say that people who are limited on time, you can get a lot done in 20 to 30 minutes. If you actually get in there and are really focused on what you're doing, don't take a whole lot of time chatting or being on your phone or, you know, with distractions.

Diana: If you can stay very Very focused in a 20 to 30 minute time frame that may be all that you need Initially if you're having issues with not being able to recover your breathing as quickly It's going to take you a little bit longer to get through those same things So there isn't a one size fits all of everybody must work out three days of the week for 45 minutes to 60 minutes It can be a progressive thing.

Diana: It's like just starting with what you can do and then working up from there or starting with what you do have available for time and doing as much as you can in that time frame as possible.

Dr Orlena: Perfect. Perfect. And now I know a question that so many people ask, they say, can I fix my arms? My arm's got a little bit of extra fat on them and I want to get it off.

Dr Orlena: What's your answer?

Diana: Well, first off, there's no such thing as spot reducing. , you know, a lot of times people, Women will be like, okay, I just want to do some exercises and get my arms, but I don't want all the other stuff. We can't really do that. And the other piece is though the shape of your arm is going to be a matter of how much muscle you have on it, but it's also going to be a matter of how much fat you have on it.

Diana: If you still have a lot of body fat, that Covering up your muscle, then you're not going to have shape in your arms. So that's why it's the strength training critical, but we have to get our nutrition habits in alignment, too. And then, you know, if you have been, if you have been overweight or are obese for a long period of time, that stretches your skin out in time.

Diana: We can build muscle, yes, but then there are times where it's like if you have, I've not taken care of your health for a really long time. It's not like that's, you know, it's not like skin is going to magically, you know, come, come back up. Now we can make improvements, but I also want people to be realistic with, with what's possible to do with your body if you haven't been taking care of it.

Diana: If you want, if you're younger and you want to prevent that from happening to begin with, get into strength training now. And then maintain those lifestyle habits so that you don't get into that position later in life where you're like, now I'm unhappy with it. If you're already there, I, there's just, there's no deadline for when you can start this though.

Diana: No matter where you're at 50, 60, 70, 80, I have, our oldest client at Hitch Fitness is, is 90. Wow, that's amazing. It's absolutely incredible. There's no like, Oh, it's too late for me. Like if you want the, the benefits, there's no deadline, but just also be realistic with, you know, what you, what is doable with our bodies, you know, especially as we age.

Dr Orlena: Perfect, perfect. Now I have a question for you, a vote question. Which side of the fence are you on? So I always say to everybody, you should be doing exercise and movement that lights you up. It should be fun. It should be enjoyable. One of my clients PT said, Oh my goodness, this is not supposed to be fun.

Dr Orlena: It's supposed to be hard work. It's supposed to be punishment. Which side of the fence are you on?

Diana: Oh, man. Okay. I would say I may be in the middle of the fence on this one, because I think for like for cardio training, I think like my clients, I'm like, whatever you want to do for cardio, maybe that's a class, maybe that's sports, maybe whatever that looks like you do the thing that you enjoy when it comes to weights and strength training, even if it's not like, Oh man, I love weights.

Diana: Some people don't love strength training. That's the one where it's like, it's a do it anyway and either get a coach so that it's more enjoyable for you or get into a group class where you're, where you're in a group setting. But even if you don't enjoy that piece, you still got to do that piece.

Dr Orlena: Okay.

Dr Orlena: But so you can enjoy it if you do enjoy it. It's not like it has to be.

Diana: Yes. Yeah. And then change. And that's a mindset thing too. It's like, if you work on your mindsets and focus on the benefits and the community, and like your mind is going to shift even as far as your opinions on that go.

Dr Orlena: Perfect.

Dr Orlena: Perfect. Thank you so much for spending some time with us. Do you have any last words of wisdom for us?

Diana: I mean, I just, again, I just want to encourage, like, women, please, like, take, start taking care of your body now. If you're under 40, start now. If you're in your 40s, start now. If you're in your 50s, start now.

Diana: If you're in your 60s, like, start now. Like, don't put it off. It will, it is such an absolute game changer for how you will look. Live and experience the rest of your life and your health. So it is, it's so worthwhile. And I'm, I thank you for the opportunity for being able to share about it. And just hopefully it sparks something in someone listening that they will take those steps and start making those changes.

Dr Orlena: Perfect. And where can people find more of you and your resources that you have?

Diana: Yeah, the best place to find me is at our main website, it's hitchfit. com, and you'll find my email address, you'll find social media links, you'll find all of our online personal training options, all of that information is right there on that main page.

Dr Orlena: Perfect, fabulous. And I will leave a link in the show notes as well so people can just click that to find you. Thank you so much.

Diana: No, thank you.

Connect with Diana

You can find Diana at HitchFit