Growing Younger - Health & Fitness Podcast for Over 40's

Send us Fan Mail A new piece of research came out earlier this year and pointed a finger at the fact we already knew. That is... The majority of people in a traditional gym environment fail ... or stop coming after the first few weeks. But the rate of failure surprised even myself. What's really interesting is this study also looked at the reasons why people dropped out. They outlined 2 main...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we briefly talk about a new study that looked at exactly how much strength training you need in order for you to get noticeable improvement in muscle strength. You see, too many people mistakenly think that they need to hit the gym at least 3-4 times a week to see a change in their muscle strength. This new study reveals that it's not true. You can actually ac...

Send us Fan Mail These days many people have hectic, busy lifestyles. A lot of people that we speak to struggle to fit in gym workouts during the week. So their only option is to jam all of their exercise efforts into their weekends. In this podcast episode we delve into the question whether doing all your workouts over the weekend gives you the same health benefits as spreading them evenly during...

Send us Fan Mail Turns out the aging process is not gradual and uniform they way we assume it to be. According to the latest study from the Stanford University there are 2 distinct aging "spurts" or spikes during your lifetime that age you a lot quicker.  Are you about to enter one of these 2 accelerated-aging phases? Listen to this episode to find out as well as discover what you can do...

Send us Fan Mail In today's podcast we explore the evidence behind the question of whether diet (zero-sugar) sodas or diet soft drinks are actually safe for you? Many people use diet drinks as a safer alternative to sugar-loaded fizzy drinks in an attempt to cut their sugar or calorie intake. But are they actually healthier? We discuss the latest scientific research on the topic and the main...

Send us Fan Mail Do you get days when you cannot find motivation to exercise? Sometimes you are looking for any excuse to skip the workout. Sometimes you just feel plain lazy... We know that in order to get results, to get to your desired goals... consistency is the key. So how do you maintain consistency when you often struggle to find motivation to keep going?  In this episode I will share with...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I share my own experience with strength and gym training.  You see, it's a common belief that when you turn 40 everything turns into custard, your body refuses to co-operate and basically starts falling apart. There is generally quite a bit of fear involved with getting older especially when it comes to your ability to maintain a good training intensity and ge...

Send us Fan Mail Metabolism... so many people give it as an excuse for not managing to shed those excess kilos. Everyone seems to want to speed up their metabolism. Problem is many popular ways of speeding up metabolism are either a complete hoax or at best pretty insignificant to be a game-changer. Most people overlook this one sure way to boost your calorie-burning capacity. And it's proven...

Send us Fan Mail Most people are well aware of the multiple benefits of physical exercise for your physical health.  Lower blood pressure, reduced excess body weight, decreased cholesterol, improved sleep, higher energy levels... the list goes on. However, the effect of exercise on your cognitive health is less well-known. In this episode I will explore the proven effects of physical training on y...

Send us Fan Mail Today we are going to talk about gout. In my experience many people who have gout don't fully understand the condition and how to manage it effectively. That's why we are going to discuss this condition today and I will explain exactly what happens when you have gout, who is most at risk, why it hurts so much and how to best avoid the painful episodes. You will also disc...

Send us Fan Mail Today we are going to talk about 5 common weight-loss myth that cause false hope and consequently frustration among many people wishing to lose weight. Some of them are so entrenched into what we take for unquestionable truth as a society that you might be shocked to find out that they are in fact false. The problem with these myths is that people place their trust, time and effor...

Send us Fan Mail Today we are going to deep-dive into the most common cause of lower back pain in people in their 50's. I will explain what happens in your spine when this type of injury occurs and what movements and activities you should try to avoid. I will also focus on the subject of keeping up with your fitness routine while you're recovering from back pain. I will discuss a few str...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I'm going to debunk one of the biggest weight-loss myths there is.  So many people start their fitness journey with the words "I want to get rid of my fat tummy" or "I want to lose the gut" or something similar. It's a great idea, however can you actually target a specific part of the body with your fat-loss efforts? Can you laser focu...

Send us Fan Mail In this interview you will hear the story of one of our long-time members, Noa.  She talks about how she managed to achieve her fitness goals (particularly building muscle strength), the role of goal-setting in this process and the ways she kept herself motivated on this journey. This story can be especially encouraging for those of you who don't feel comfortable in a normal...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode I'm going to discuss the topic of what exercise or physical activities you're allowed to engage in after a knee replacement.  Quite often this area is not covered very well in the pre-op discussions with your surgeon and many patients are left guessing as to what physical activities they need to avoid after surgery. There are some important distin...

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode we talk about carpal tunnel, a condition that causes persistent tingling and numbness in the palm of your hand and fingers quite often in the middle of the night or other times. We discuss exactly what causes carpal tunnel, why it's more common among women going through menopause and most importantly what you can do about it.  We also touch on the subj...

Send us Fan Mail Today I'm going to cover why cramps become more common as we age. Cramp can be really annoying and cause substantial disruption of your life... whether it be waking up at night with painful calf cramps or getting hamstring cramps when exercising. Most importantly you will also discover the time-tested strategies that have helped our clients get relief from cramps over the yea...

Send us Fan Mail Today I use my experience in physiotherapy to reflect on what the best strategies are to minimise the risk of sustaining an injury while doing physical training after 40. Let's face it - if you are active, which you should be, and exercise regularly injuries are a question of when , not if .  However, it makes sense to do everything in your power to minimise the risk of suffe...

Send us Fan Mail Today we are going to look at some interesting numbers. What is the current life expectancy in New Zealand and how do we compare to the rest of the world? But perhaps even more importantly we look into the quality of life or disability levels for older adults in this country. You see, for most people living longer doesn't mean much if you're really not enjoying the last...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I will hopefully be able to change your paradigm about weight-loss.  I address the frustrations that so many people have about trying hard and failing to lose the weight they so desperately want to shed.  I am putting things into perspective... and we take a quick historical detour in terms of how our bodies evolved over the millennia. Once you hear what I have to...

Send us Fan Mail Can you really overtrain or over-exercise after the age of 40? Today we explore the subject of doing too much or too soon or both. How common is overtraining after 40 and what are you chances of suffering from this problem? We will also discuss who is most likely at risk. You will discover various types of overtraining and the potential health problems associated with it. We delve...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode I will ask Gavyn Berntsen, our personal training expert with years of experience working with people over 40 some important questions about physical training and exercising for people with hypertension. It's important to note that Gavyn also completed a certificate from the Functional Aging Institute. We will discuss the proven benefits of fitness training as...

Send us Fan Mail Today I use my 20 years physiotherapy experience to shed some light on the subject of exercising with a shoulder injury. You see, shoulder injuries become increasingly more common after the age of 40. However, not all shoulder injuries are the same... you may have a rotator cuff problem, frozen shoulder, arthritis... the list goes on. So is it safe to carry on exercising with a sh...

Send us Fan Mail Today we explore the situations when the push to get on the fitness path comes predominantly from the partner, not from the person who needs it.  I reflect on many of our experiences with this type of scenario. I discuss whether this can work and give my recommendations for when your partner needs help in the fitness department but is reluctant to do anything about it. If you&apos...

Send us Fan Mail A new piece of research has changed the way we understand motivation, particularly motivation in fitness. Motivation quite often is the major obstacle stopping you from achieving your desired goal. All of us have had days when we just "don't feel like it". We may put our exercises off till tomorrow... and, of course, tomorrow never comes. So how do you get yourself...