Bernie Borges [00:00:00]:
Hello, my midlife friend. This is Bernie Borges, your host of the Midlife Fulfill podcast. And this is episode 173, a takeaway episode from episode 172. My conversation with Alan Meisner. You know the drill in takeaway episodes. I summarize key discussion points from the previous episode, and then I hone in on one key takeaway that I wanna emphasize to you. And then I issue you a challenge to consider on the topic. First, let me begin by reintroducing you to Alan Meisner.
Bernie Borges [00:00:31]:
Alan started out with a corporate career in accounting here in his master’s degree and then his CPA designation, and he worked his way to being a vice president by age 39. He was an internal auditor. And if you know anything about internal auditors, it’s no wonder that Alan says that while he was good at it, he found himself to be the most hated person in the company because, let’s face it, nobody likes auditors. Now, despite his corporate career success, he found himself to be miserable. And then when his daughter, who was very athletic, invited him to watch her compete in a CrossFit competition, He said that he didn’t consider himself to be a spectator dad. He wanted to participate. But there was one problem. He wasn’t fit enough to do it.
Bernie Borges [00:01:22]:
Alan realized that he needed to make fitness a priority so that he could be the person that he wanted to be. Now hold on to that thought because I’m gonna come back to it in this takeaway episode. Now let me summarize the 3 key discussion points from my conversation with Alan on episode 172. Number 1, invest in your health now for a better future. Alan says we’ve got to recognize the importance of small but impactful investments in our health. Things like regular exercise, good nutrition, quality sleep, stress management, and just overall self care. These practices lead to a higher quality of life down the road. Number 2, be mindful of movement patterns.
Bernie Borges [00:02:09]:
Alan says that poor movement patterns can lead to muscle imbalances and increased risk of injury. He says it’s essential to self assess and then correct any physical issues that resulted maybe from prolonged sitting or what he calls tech neck or even past injuries so that you can prevent long term consequences and maximize your independence as you age. And number 3, find ways to integrate activity daily. He says, make the most of your time by incorporating movement into your daily routine. Whether it’s things like doing push ups at your desk or utilizing adjustable desks at work as Alan did, or making small movements throughout the day. Just find ways to stay active and prioritize your physical well-being. Now as I pondered my main takeaway from this conversation, I struggled with just one takeaway. And if you’ve listened to the Midlife Fulfill podcast for a while, you know that fitness has been a priority for me for more than 40 years.
Bernie Borges [00:03:17]:
I’m in my sixties. By the way, I have age pride. Anyway, I’m in my sixties, and I have had a committed fitness routine since age 24. So this is where I decided to land for my takeaway, and that is making fitness a priority. During episode 172, I shared a story. As I often do, I share personal stories on these takeaway episodes. Here’s the short version. Last October, I flew from my home in Florida to Pennsylvania to help my son move.
Bernie Borges [00:03:52]:
He and his wife, they’re a young couple. They have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. So a lot of the moving fell on my son’s shoulders. Now he hired a moving company to move all the furniture, and then he arranged for 3 of his buddies to help him move all the boxes. But on moving day, which was a Friday, his buddies couldn’t help him before 5 PM. So he was in a pickle. So I flew up on Thursday. And then Friday morning at 8 AM, we drove a rented truck to the home that he was moving from, and we got to work.
Bernie Borges [00:04:26]:
Now the house that he was moving out of was a 2 story house, and there were boxes and toys and all kinds of stuff on both floors. And we ended up filling the truck with all these boxes, all these toys, tools, junk, just various home items. You know the drill. Right? Well, the whole day was comprised of going up and downstairs, in and out of the truck, up the ramp, carrying boxes, and all this other stuff. And other than a lunch break, a short lunch break, we just inhaled a sandwich. We did this all day long until about 4 PM. And then we drove to his new home, in the truck, of course, and his buddy showed up there to help unload the truck. Now, as I shared with Alan in episode 172, I had no trouble with any of this physical activity.
Bernie Borges [00:05:18]:
I didn’t need to stop to catch my breath. I didn’t need to slow down. I didn’t need to carry lighter boxes. I didn’t struggle in any way all day long. And the next day, I wasn’t sore. Why? Alan explains it by saying that I have trained for tasks. I love that. I’m gonna use that going forward.
Bernie Borges [00:05:42]:
And, yes, I will attribute it to Alan Meissner. Anyway, he says that we shouldn’t view a commitment to fitness as a chore or even as working out, which is kinda weird because I’ve always thought about my routine as a workout routine. He suggests that we should make fitness a priority so that we can do the things that we want to do or need to do because, and here it is, of who we want to be. And I share Alan’s conviction that I don’t wanna be a spectator dad at any age, which is why I helped my son move even though it meant flying from Florida to Pennsylvania. Hey. It’s my son. Now another way that fitness serves me well is when I do yard work at home. Sometimes the yard work in fact, often, the yard work involves lifting equipment, trimming equipment, shoulder level, and even above my shoulders.
Bernie Borges [00:06:40]:
And, look, I admit that lifting anything above my shoulders for more than a few minutes at a time takes some effort, but I can do it. And recently, I pressure washed my pool cage. It took about 3 hours, and it was work. But no problem. I’m fit for the task. And, you know, when my wife and I go kayaking on the waters of Tampa Bay, we usually paddle in one direction for about an hour. Inevitably, on the 1 hour return paddle, we always run into either wind that we didn’t have on the way out, or sometimes the weather has turned on us and it causes the water to get rough, and it makes the return paddle trip considerably more demanding than the trip on the way out. I don’t know why this happens.
Bernie Borges [00:07:28]:
It just seems like it always happens. It’s kinda gotten to the point where we just expect it to happen. Anyway, it is no problem. We are both fit for the task, and the best thing is we have no soreness the next day. Why? Because fitness is a priority for me and for my wife. On episode 172, I share that the 2 most common reasons that people in midlife don’t exercise regularly is either they just don’t want to, or they say they have no time. Now I have long lived by the motto that if you believe you can, you’re right. And if you believe you can’t, you’re right.
Bernie Borges [00:08:10]:
When it comes to fitness, it all starts with your why. You have to have a reason. Otherwise, you won’t make it a priority. You won’t say to yourself that I can. So your why should be your why. My why isn’t your why. You need your own why to make fitness a priority. So I’ll share mine.
Bernie Borges [00:08:34]:
I have 3 whys. Number 1. I know that fitness is good for my health. In fact, I’m often told at doctor appointments that my resting heart rate is like that of an athlete, and I’m in my sixties. Number 2, I wanna be able to do the tasks that I need to do, whether that’s helping family or friends move or pressure washing my pool cage or going kayaking on choppy waters. I wanna be able to do all of it. And number 3, I wanna feel good. And I admit this one is selfish, but, hey, there’s no shame in that.
Bernie Borges [00:09:09]:
I feel good by being fit, and I like how it feels. The bottom line is I don’t need to search for motivation to make fitness a priority. These three reasons are all the motivation that I need. So my challenge to you, my friend, is how do you prioritize fitness? If fitness is already a high priority for you, that’s great. Help me spread the word because we both know people who don’t make fitness a priority. You heard me say in episode 172 that 60% of Americans don’t do the bare minimum requirement of exercise. That’s pathetic, and it saddens me. Now for those who say I don’t have time to prioritize fitness, while I respect that your circumstances are unique to you, I wanna challenge you to think about the I can mindset.
Bernie Borges [00:10:01]:
1st, start with your why. But I want you to think that maybe you can get up 30 minutes earlier to work on your fitness, or maybe you can park farther away in every parking lot that you encounter so that you have to walk more. Or maybe you can walk the stairs rather than take the elevator. Or maybe you can take 30 seconds. Yes. 30 seconds to do wall push ups or squats. When, you say, Whenever you can find 30 seconds in your day. And here’s the thing.
Bernie Borges [00:10:38]:
Once you begin to find these little moments in your day to prioritize movement for the sake of fitness, you’re gonna get hooked. And don’t be surprised if you discover more ways to squeeze more fitness activities into your routine. Your future self will thank you for doing this. Hey. Before I close out this episode, let me remind you to take my fulfillment survey. I am partnering with Udemy, a leader in online education, to produce groundbreaking research. And you can participate in this research anonymously by completing the survey, which is linked up in the show notes for this episode. Hey.
Bernie Borges [00:11:18]:
I wanna thank Alan Meisner for joining me on episode 172 on this important topic. And I wanna remind you that you can watch my video recording with Alan on episode 172 on the Midlife Fulfilled YouTube channel. That’s also linked up in the show notes page. Hey, my next guest episode features Clara Capano. Clara has a methodology that she calls legacy. In fact, it’s spelled clarady. Of course, it’s a play on words. And you’ll hear all about it on episode 174.
Bernie Borges [00:11:53]:
Don’t miss this episode. And, hey, if you’re a new listener, welcome, and I invite you to hit the subscribe button on your podcast player so that you don’t miss this episode as well as future episodes. You know what time it is, my midlife friend. It’s that time when I remind you that if you’re 80% fulfilled, you’re doing great. And if you wanna know how I know this, download my scorecard. I’ll see you on episode 174. I’ll see you then.
