[upbeat music] Make exercise your new job. Yes, it's harder in your 30s and 40s and maybe 50s if you're still working and you have a family to commit to exercising every day. At that point, you do as much as you can.
But when you are retired, your new job is to maintain your body and exercise every day and start to eat a little healthier. So, so that's, you know, that's something to think about, too.
Like, you would get up in your 40s and take a shower and go to work.
Well, now you get up and you work out, and then you take a shower and you eat breakf- you know, so you do all of those, you just incorporate it into your life.
Welcome to For The Long Run, the podcast exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong and motivated. I'm your host, Jonathan Levitt.
Through personal and professional connections in the running world, I have the privilege of getting to know some amazing athletes.
I've always been fascinated by the psychological aspects of running and what helps people to achieve success, however they define it, and this podcast is aimed at exploring this and much more. I hope you enjoy.
We are psyched to announce a new partner of the podcast, Lauren Daniels.
Lauren is a realtor helping buyers and sellers in the greater Denver and Boulder area and beyond, and has been a good friend of mine for a few years now.
When I decided I wanted to buy a place in Boulder and put down roots here, I was completely overwhelmed by the home buying process.
Lauren was already a good friend, so when we first talked about home buying, I felt a huge sense of relief.
She's a neighborhood expert, has an incredible attention to detail, available for any and all questions, and made what could be a very difficult process super easy. And now we've got a beautiful home in Boulder.
It's close to the trails with a big backyard for Alfie and views of the Flatirons. So if you're even considering buying a home in the area or anywhere, I highly recommend working with Lauren.
You can reach her at ldaniels@milehimodern.com and let her know we sent you. That's ldaniels@milehimodern.com.
Thanks so much to Lauren for supporting the podcast and helping us continue to grow, and for all those miles together.
Going on four years now, For The Long Run has continued to grow with the help of listeners like you and sponsors that believe in what we're doing.
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There's a link in the show notes, and you can go to goodr.com/ftlr, which is valid for any product on their website. This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp.
Here at For The Long Run podcast, you know we love to talk about the bigger stuff and the deeper stuff and get down to the nitty-gritty of what makes life interesting and beautiful.
And while a lot of what we talk about on this show is about our physical capabilities, a big part of what we believe in here at the podcast is doing the internal work.
The more we can do the internal work, go to therapy, and get the support we need, the better we can show up for our communities, our families, and as athletes.
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Welcome back. I have Sarah Dimmick joining me on the podcast today. Sarah, thanks so much for taking some time to chat. Hi, Jonathan. Thank you so much for having me. Of course.
Uh, the first question is, is one that I believe it looks like you're prepared for, but here we go. Who is Sarah? Well, um, I am founder and co-owner of Physical Equilibrium.
It's a boutique personal training gym located in New York City, and we also have a location in East Hampton as well. So I've been a personal trainer for over 20 years now, and I have my business partner.
Her name is Sarah also, so we're Sarah and Sarah. We've been working together for a very long time, since 2006.
And so we've been growing our business, personal training, nutrition, triathlon, running coaching, uh, Pilates.
We specialize in post-rehab personal training, so taking clients from injury, referred from their physical therapist or doctor, back into the gym, teaching them how to work out with their injuries, how to get stronger, how to not re-injure themself, and, um, they're really in it for the long haul, so just like you- It's, uh- In it for the long run...
For The Long Run. Yes. [laughs] Yep. Exactly. Very cool.
And that's, you know, we, we really promote longevity in athletics and sport and, uh, trying to help people figure out what they really like, the types of movement that they like to do, um, their nutrition, other wellness.
And look, people are gonna get injured. If you're an active person, even if you're not an active person, you're gonna have an injury sometime in your life. So how do you come out of that?
How do you get back into the gym? How do you get back into your routine, into your sport, into your activities of daily living? Um, so that's really what we specialize in.Very cool.
So your background was a professional dancer before getting into, uh, endurance and fitness. I'm curious, what did that transition look like and, and why fitness and triathlon and endurance? Yes, exactly.
So I, I graduated with my BFA in dance from Florida State. And where else do you move to be a dancer but New York?
And I moved to New York with $2,000 and two suitcases on the Amtrak train, did the starving artist lifestyle, lived in a studio apartment with three or four people.
Um, but someone gave me very good advice when I was trying to figure out what I was gonna do to pay the rent as a dancer, and somebody said, "Look, you have so much knowledge in movement and teaching people how to move their body and proper form and technique," so they said, "You should be a personal trainer.
It's, you know, it's easy to get into. You'll be really good at it." So I took their advice, and thankfully I did because it really blossomed into a great career.
Like, I, I also definitely was, uh, dancing a little bit, but as I got more into fitness and personal training, it's, it's very...
It's like teaching, so you- you're giving back to people, and you're teaching people how to become better, um, themselves and also how to overcome injuries and do things they never thought they could do before.
So it was a very rewarding job, plus I started making money at it, and, um, after a while I thought, "You know, maybe I should just go into this full time and see what happens."
So that's what I did, and I ended up opening my own personal training gym and, um, just kept growing it from there. What was the leap like, decide to do it full time and, and sort of betting on yourself?
Well, I was working at a big chain gym, and I was also dancing.
And at that point, after a few years of doing both and realizing that I wanted to pursue more personal training, as I started pursuing that more full time, I had some opportunities in media.
So I had a client that was working at Self Magazine and a client that was a producer on CBS News.
And so those people were getting me little spots of media attention, um, and the big gym that I was working at was not really interested in promoting me in that way.
And so I kind of just was like, "Well, I'm gonna take the leap. I'm getting this press. Uh, what if I just keep promoting myself? I think I can work harder for myself than for someone else." So that's what I, I did.
And so I... You know, I said, "I can always go back and work at a gym, but let's try this on my own and see if I can do this myself." So that's what I did, is I transitioned to a personal training gym.
A lot of my clients followed me there, and then as I grew, then I hired teachers, instructors to work for me and then just kept growing and growing that way. Very cool.
Um, I wanna dive further into the aspect of promoting yourself. It's sort of like a, a necessary thing to do, and people are bashful or embarrassed to do such a thing.
And we live in this world where there are so many sole proprietors and individual contributors and people who live off of referrals and this type of earned media, uh, exposure.
So I'm curious for you, have you always been comfortable with that kind of activity, and, and what sort of guidance do you have for people who might be listening who are like, "Yeah, I have my own business.
Yeah, I'm a coach. Yeah, I'm a... And I suck at promoting myself, but I know I need to do it." Um, so what, how do you feel about that?
Well, I mean, I really enjoy going to networking events where I don't know who I'm gonna meet there.
So whether it's a group of other professionals within the same kind of services, like massage therapists or physical therapists or doctors or even just a women's group. Um, the...
Like, I went to this financial tech women's group because my friend leads it, and she's like, "Just come because there's gonna be a lot of people who could be your clients there."
And just, you just talk to people, and in fitness, everybody likes fitness or running or triathlon or lifting weights or something, or somebody's injured, so they like to tell me about their injury.
So it's a very easy conversation starter. And then I, I don't do a hard sell. I always do a soft sell, and, you know, "Come and see the gym. I'll give you a free class."
Or, um, another great way is to work with a charity group, so we do that as well for the New York City Marathon and also the Five Borough Bike Tour. So we team with a charity.
We give our services back for free, and people who want more come to us for personal training or for coaching individually for excelling at that particular race or event, 'cause they want extra on top of what we give them for the charity team.
You know, or they find us for nutrition or something like that. So, you know, maybe if somebody already has a coach or a personal trainer, they come to us for nutrition or they come to us for Pilates.
So we offer a lot of different things that people-- we can bring people in in the fold too.
But, um, I think it's just, you know, go- getting out and talking to people, meeting people at parties or events, networking, 'cause you never know who you're gonna meet and you're gonna start a conversation with.
Totally. The opportunity for collaboration or growing a business or, like, one-to-one-equals-three scenario is so fascinating, and there are so many opportunities out there.
And the way I see it is just like get a bunch of shots on goal, and, you know, baseball players, if you're, if you fail 70% of the time could go to the Hall of Fame.
Basketball players, if you, if you fail, you know, 40% of the time, you're a pretty good free throw shooter. It's just like people expect to be successful all the time with pitching, and it's simply not the case. Like,
I do this with the podcast, and, you know, it takes-I don't know, I've probably sent 50 to 75 pitches in the last month to gear up for 2023, and you know what I do with my day job, it's, you know, uh, if you're converting 65 to 70% of people, it's [laughs] you're, you're really good.
And then we look at, you know, people who f- like they're afraid of rejection, and I think the people who are open, who, who are able to most successful are ones that are, are comfortable with rejection and comfortable with like putting in the reps in order to get there.
Yeah, and I... We're also, we turn down clients sometimes if we don't think it's the right fit too. So you know, obviously we want to try to please everybody and try to bring everybody into our business.
Sometimes it just doesn't work out.
Sometimes that person is really far away, and there's just no way we're gonna be able to commute to them, or it's just not gonna work out for them to commute to our gym, so it's just not gonna work, or, um, if somebody's a super difficult case and it's over what we can do, of course we're gonna have to refer out to a physical therapist or a doctor, like we can't fix them.
So um, yeah, so there's, there's lots of scenarios that sometimes it's not the right fit for a specific client.
And yeah, we get leads in all the time, people looking for personal training or Pilates or nutrition, and they ask us our rates, and we tell them the rate, and it's too expensive for them, so hopefully they find somewhere else that fits their budget.
So we, I mean, we have different options for other things. We have online programs. We have some recorded videos. We write programs for people.
So we have different options that way, but also, you know, we're looking for the right fit of clientele as well.
And so I think as you grow and if like we've been doing this for 20 years now, it's, you just know that like certain people stick and then other people...
Well, we also live in New York City, so [laughs] you know, gyms are like a Starbucks on every corner too. So though the pandemic kind of thinned us out a little bit, but, um, you know, the business is coming back too.
For sure. So I'm curious, you're a marathoner. You've done a bunch of half Ironmans. How does your experience in endurance sport translate to your ability to be good at what you do on the business side of things?
Is it something you've thought about as well?
Um, I think that just, you know, following a program, time management, uh, all of those things come into play when you're an endurance athlete, when you have your own business, and it's just like another thing that you have to focus on and get sleep and eat correctly and follow a program, but also listen to your body too.
So that's... I, I always did and have been doing triathlon and running events for fun. So you know, I was a dancer. I was not, I was not a runner.
[laughs] So I got into this much later in life and kind of just experienced it for fun.
I got into triathlon because I wanted to learn how to swim, uh, laps and learn how to swim really well because I had a lot of older clients who had arthritis or hip problems or back problems, and there was only so much we could do on dry land.
And I kept telling them, "You need to get in the pool. I'll take you to the pool. We'll go do some exercises in the water." And there was a lot of resistance, "Oh, I don't wanna get my hair wet.
I don't wanna go to public pools. It's too cold," blah, blah, blah, this and that.
And I thought to myself, "When I'm old and I have no joints left, I'm gonna make sure that at least I know how to swim laps, and that's something I'll always be able to do."
So I got into triathlon because I wanted to learn how to swim, so I ended up hiring a triathlon coach, um, because he was one of the first people that responded to me when I was looking for swimming lessons, and he was the one that signed me up for a triathlon very quickly.
He said, "You need a goal. Pick a goal. Pick a race. Do a sprint. You can do a sprint." So he convinced me to train for that. I did that.
And then you know how it is in endurance sports, you kind of, "Okay, I did one race. Okay, I think I could do it again. Let's do it a little bit better. Let's do it a little bit better."
So I guess I'm kind of a perfectionist, whereas like I knew that if I put in a little more time, I could do a little better.
You know, I'm a middle-of-the-pack athlete, so it's not, I know what my limitations [laughs] are here.
So um, but I, uh, you know, there's always something you can work on, get better, learn, um, train differently, train smarter.
So you know, that captivated me for quite some time, you know, in the triathlon and running world. What was the first finish line like that, let's say, a finish line that took you more than three hours to cross?
Okay, so that was probably, um, an Olympic or a definitely half Ironman is, is over three hours for me. [laughs] That must do really well. So [laughs] but, um, I, I just gradually kept building up, building up.
I think it was earlier in the maybe second or third year I had been doing just like sprint races, and I remember I finished, like, you know, one of the sprint races, and my boyfriend at the time looked at me at the finish line.
He goes, "You don't even look tired." And I was like- [laughs]... "Oh, okay." And so then, you know, I thought, "Okay, I'm gonna try an Olympic distance." So I started doing Olympic distance, and then I started doing,
uh, 70.3s. Actually, I think I did the Escape from Alcatraz first, and then I went and did 70.3s and marathon and then went back, um, backwards a little bit 'cause then I was like, "I think I just need to get faster.
I'm not gonna keep going longer and longer." But yeah, some of those, um, those endurance sports, I mean, or longer endurance races, you know, I was a dancer. I was never... I was horrible at the mile run in high school.
I couldn't run. When I first came to New York, I remember trying to run with a friend the lower loop, which is like 1.5 miles or something, and I was dying.
Um, but I had clients in the gym who were marathoners, and I thought-Man, let's see, like, let's see if I can do what they do, or at least build up and run more than one mile.
So I remember running, getting up to three miles, and then three miles to six, and then getting over six miles, and then I was like, "Oh, okay, this is how you run a marathon.
You just have to keep progressing, and you're gonna get- your body's gonna get there. You just have to slowly push it to go further and further." I love that. It's like the reestablishment of what's normal, right?
Like, you originally couldn't do more than a one and a half miles, two miles, three miles, et cetera, and then you look back, and you're like, "Wow, I wouldn't get dressed for, you know, a mile."
Like, I- I ran four miles on Friday, and it was so cold that it actually took me longer to, like, get dressed for the run than it [laughs] took to do the run. Yeah. Like, that's not hyperbole.
It actually took longer than the four miles.
But the point is, like, that used to be a long run, and that used to be, like, something I would psych myself up for, and- and now it's, like, a regular weekday run is eight to 10 miles, and that's just, like, that's my normal.
And it's one of the things I love most about the sport, that it's this, like, constant reestablishment of what- what normal and acceptable, and you just, like, keep raising the bar and raising the bar and raising the bar.
And eventually, you know, the- the [laughs] bar is really high and in a really cool place.
Yeah, and you know, now, um, you know, I'm in my mid-40s, and it's about the warm-up, and it's about conditioning, and it's about strength training, and it's not necessarily about the run or the, you know, putting it all together, the pieces.
It's all about is your body able to handle what you're going to put it through? And then the recovery afterwards as well, smart recovery, sleep, nutrition, hydration.
You know, all of those things come into play, and they, you know, it- it really affects you as you get older, those little things.
So as someone who is an expert in the space and a professional in the space, what does your warm-up look like?
[laughs] Well, it's a lot of mat work and band work and core activation, you know, shoulder engagement, shoulder scapula stabilization.
So probably 10 to 15 minutes at minimum on the mat with the foam roller, bands, light free weights, something like that. Um, joint mobilization. So yeah, a lot of that stuff. Ankle, feet, core, glutes, shoulders.
And do you do a cool-down as well? Yeah, I would do a cool-down. You know, I would say I try to...
I- I'm not as diligent as doing that, depending on the time, but, like, definitely if I have 10 minutes, I'll get on the mat.
Even five minutes before I shower, get on the mat, stretch or, you know, roll out some of the things that I need to roll out. You know, we- we take Pilates in our studio. I also do yoga sometimes.
So I mix in different modalities as well.
So if someone's listening, and they're like, "Ugh, I can't believe I'm listening to another conversation that's telling me to do prehab and activations, and I still don't do it," um, what would you say to that person?
I think that they could do three exercises. I think anybody could do three exercises. You could do a glute bridge.
You could do some sort of core stabilization and some, like, you know, heel taps or a plank or, you know, some sort of plank, straight arm, scapula something.
You do those three, I mean, if you're gonna go down to one, I would do, like, bridges, glute bridges. Do double leg, single leg.
Uh, you know, that's gonna be, you know, if you're gonna just do one- Activate the glutes... yeah, yeah, especially if you're somebody who sits at your desk all day. Yes, as many of us do, unfortunately.
I was watching a, uh- an episode of Shark Tank, and the product that was being pitched was a chair that mimics, I don't know, standing or activation, and it- it- it activates all of your vertebrae at the same time while you're sitting.
And I'm like, "I need this."
[laughs] The chair was, like, $2,000 [laughs] But, um, yeah, I mean, especially with how so many of us work from home and, you know, are on- on our butts all day, um, definitely, definitely need that transition time between running and- and sitting, uh, so frequently.
I think about, like... It's funny, I had this realization, um, so on- on Saturday or, no, Sunday, I ran for an hour, then I came home, and I took my dog for another 10 minutes.
And it's just, like, a funny concept that the dog was sitting there not doing anything, and then all of a sudden he's running. [laughs] Should I have helped him warm up? Should I have done some doggy stretches?
Um- I don't know. I'm not a dog physical therapist. [laughs] So I do not know. Maybe you should ask the expert on that one. [laughs] And he's sitting right over here.
[laughs] He'd probably like to be featured on this episode of the podcast, but, um, no, Alfie was- did just fine. Um, okay, so talk to me about strength training and your f- your thoughts on- on strength training.
Well, I think it's essential for everyone. Um, yeah, we pro- that's the thing that we promote in our gym the most is strength training.
So building the core, building your foundation, that's where we start with everybody. We have specific... They're almost like rehab exercises that we start with on the mat, almost like prehab exercises with people.
And some people, that is their workout because they are deconditioned, and that's all they can handle, and they haven't done anything, or they're injured. So that's where they start.
And then after that, we build them up, and we want them to be doing squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, bench press of some sort. So pressing and pulling, squats, deadlifts, all the big movements.
Um, and then you can get fancier from there. Then you can do single leg exercises and more plyometric stuff, more dynamic things, depending on what their goals are.
So but we really work on-On teaching people how to build a strong foundation, work those smaller muscle groups that maybe they aren't familiar with, rotator cuff, abdominals, glutes, hips, calves, ankles, you know, all, everything, um, and integrate them all into movement.
So that's kind of our core mission here.
And as people get older, they lose muscle mass, and that's where you see the best results in changing people's bodies, and getting them stronger, and keeping weight off, and preventing injuries, is strength training.
I find that any time I listen to a podcast where strength training is discussed, I, like, recommit doing it for the next six weeks. So hopefully that, that stays here with me. [laughs] Yeah.
Uh- I mean, this is a great time of year to do it with endurance athletes.
It's the off-season, people might be rehabbing injuries, or you think, "Oh yeah, like, I think, you know, on those long runs my hip flexors were really bothering me."
So go back and figure out how you can get stronger in certain areas. Or, "Oh, my calves are always bothering me," let's strengthen your feet and your ankles.
Um, so, you know, working on your core, working on your posture, all of those things. Maybe you need a little flexibility, maybe you need to add some yoga in. Um, so it just depends.
I would say look at your past season, see where, what things were failing in your long runs. Where did you feel it first? You know, when you went on those 10, 12, 15 mile runs, what was, what was coming off the rails?
And then work on that for this off-season, and transition that into your increase in mileage as you bump up in the spring. And, and I think you're gonna see results.
I mean, I've done it with a lot of my athletes, uh, that I coach on TrainingPeaks that are injured, or maybe they've had this little thing, we've gotten them through the races, but it's always that one chronic thing.
And then in the off-season I can give them certain exercises to do. I tell them to do them, and then the next season, those, those things don't bother them at all. Yes.
I was having a ton of, uh, psoas and hip flexor issues, and a massage therapist and chiropractor I work with, um, they're out of PR Labs here in Boulder, they basically begged me to start deadlifting.
And I bought a hex bar and some weights and did a, a consult with a former roommate of mine who's a strength coach, uh, and athletic trainer, and he walked me through it, and started doing it properly.
And go figure, the psoas and hip flexor issues went away, and had a pretty strong season of- Yeah... training. And it's like, it's always the first thing to go, right? It's like, "Okay, I'd rather just run more miles.
I'd rather just rest. I'd rather do a double, or it's either run or not run," versus [laughs] doing the accessory.
But I've found that some of the healthiest training blocks and strongest blocks come with, with that accessory work built in there. So
if someone's wanting to start and get started with strength training, what are your three steps or three suggestions of, of how to do that, how to commit to it, when to do it? Kind of a...
Someone comes to you and says, "I'm pretty dialed with my, with my training. I run this number of miles a week, I have a coach, but I, I always have these little niggles, and I wanna stop that."
How do you, how do you, um, attack that? Address that? Yeah. We start, we start with those basic foundation core movements, so activating the glutes, bridges, clam shells, other planks, side planks.
Um, then getting into the shoulders and the deeper core muscles, spinal stabilizers. Let's look at your balance, right to left side. What's your flex- hamstring flexibility like?
So we kinda get into all of that, do a little assessment, but make people move and see how their movement is, and just teach proper form, and then just dial it over and over.
I would say, you know, two times a week minimum. If somebody's willing to commit three times, then you can kind of split it up and focus a little bit more on certain things.
And depending on how much time they're going to commit to you, if they're running, like, four or five times a week, I would like them to do two strength trainings a week, or we break it into shorter, like, half-hour blocks, and they do that before or after their runs, depending on what body part it is and what kind of training block they're going through.
Um, you know, how tired and how sore their legs are might dictate how hard to go on the strength training for their legs. But just like periodization for endurance sports, you have to periodize your strength training.
You can't just keep going more and more, and heavier and heavier, or you can't just keep doing the same thing. You have to peak and taper it.
You need some de-load weeks, and you need some weeks where you do some different stuff and mix in some different things. So it's very similar to endurance sports, it's just a different modality.
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It helps other people find and enjoy the podcast too. Thanks so much. Is it a good market to buy a home in? What about to sell a home? What even goes on in the housing market? How do you even keep track?
Well, good news for you, you don't have to know all the answers if you're interested in buying or selling your home, because you can just work with the best realtor around, Lauren Daniels.
Whether you're thinking of buying or selling your home, Lauren is your go-to. She treats every client with care and helps make what could be a very scary process, dare I say, fun.
Lauren helps you get organized and stay on top of important deadlines, and guides you towards the right home for you, instead of pushing you towards something that doesn't feel right.Even if you're not ready yet or you're not in the Denver or Boulder area, we highly recommend following Lauren on Instagram because she's always sharing great information about the housing market.
Give her a follow at lauren.in.colorado on Instagram. And if you're already ready to start the conversation, give her a shout at ldaniels at milehimodern.com and let her know we sent you.
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Thank you for that. Uh, switching gears a little bit, uh, one of the topics that we talked about prior was, uh, living and training with the challenges of New York City. Uh, I've never lived in New York.
I've been to New York. Uh, it's definitely, it definitely has its quirk.
Um, [laughs] talk to me about the, the love-hate relationship and the challenges of endurance training in, in a city compared to, let's say, we're in Boulder and- Yeah...
you know, you can run and run and ride and ride for miles, and the pools are outdoor pools and luxurious. Heated outdoor pools. Yeah, so- [laughs] With the mountain views. Yeah.
Yeah, New York is not like that, and as a triathlete, you're gonna find, unless you literally live next to, like, Asphalt Green on the Upper East Side or down in Battery Park or right by Chelsea Piers, like, we have a couple, like I just mentioned, a couple of great pools.
But if you don't live near any of those, it's very challenging. You know, so a lot of the pools are, like, 20 yards long. [laughs] Like, it just really sucks for, for trying to swim any kind of distance.
Um, so you have to be, one, you have to be a little smart with it. When I was training more seriously for triathlon, thankfully I picked up swimming pretty quickly, and I was okay at it.
It wasn't, like, my weakest sport, and once I'd built some endurance, I had confidence in the water, so I didn't have to go and train in the pool three days a week.
So I would pick one day, and I would go, and that's my, like, long travel day up to Asphalt Green or to wherever, what pool ever I was swimming in that, that training block.
And, you know, go at 5:00 in the morning or 6:00 in the morning and you swim because, again, most of these pools aren't open, you know, real hours because they have- 5:00 AM, yeah...
kids classes in there in the afternoon and then adult classes. And so it's, there's, you know, you don't have just lap- There's pee everywhere... you don't have lap swimming all day every day.
So, um, so you have to, like, really time it, and that's where that time management comes into. Like, that's my swimming day. That's where I'm, when I'm going to the pool.
And then biking, like, the streets of New York are not conducive to cycling. Even Central Park really, it's, um, very hairy. It's, like, people get in crashes all the time.
To get any kind of serious riding, you have to go over the GW Bridge into New Jersey, and then you'll get some miles.
But, you know, depending on where you live in the city, it might take you an hour to get out to New Jersey to then start your ride.
So you have these very long warm-ups and cool-downs to, before you're going out to get any kind of miles in.
So a lot of the clients I work with have, have trainers, and they're gonna be working in their trainer, especially in the wintertime when the streets are just horrible, the weather is not great.
So, um, so a lot of training ri- trainer rides, and then you wanna transition.
Again, same thing, like, maybe you have your one long ride every week that you commit to on a Saturday or Sunday or whatever your day off is, and that's when you go out and do your outdoor miles.
Um, and running's a little easier in New York. There's a lot more options. I think, um, you know, now the West Side Highway's great. The parks are great. So you have a lot more...
Running is easier, but, um, triathlon is a tougher sport in New York. [laughs] But, um, I, I think you can make it work, and there's some pro triathletes that live here, ex-pros that live here. So, um, yeah.
Anything is possible. [laughs] Talk to me about the Hamptons in the summer and the difference in training the type of people that live out there and their motivation for exercise.
Yeah, I mean, I kind of, I kind of joke that the Hamptons is more of a resort workout crowd.
Like, I don't know if you've ever gone to, like, you know, nice resorts in Hawaii or wherever, and you go to the gym and take a yoga class or a water aerobics class, and the people that are there just really just are there to just, like, hang out and wanna go to the gym in the morning and then have their mimosas afterwards or whatever.
So it's a little bit different crowd. I mean, we now have a lot of clients that, that we've gained out there in the Hamptons. I've been training out there for about 14 summers.
So the pandemic was really instrumental in saving our business because we had established a good core clientele out there, and pretty much everybody from New York that we had worked with that had a house out there or the means to rent a house was out there.
And so the last couple summers were very busy, and we've grown and grown. We now have several trainers that we bring out for the summers. The, actually, the triathlon training out there is great.
So the bay is really nice to swim in. I swam with a client many, many mornings this summer at 7:00 AM, and I was just like, "This is amazing."
[laughs] And usually it can be choppy, but this year, every time we went, it was flat as glass, and it was gorgeous. And, um, so the swimming out there is great. The biking out there is pretty good.
You know, the roads can be a little challenging some- sometimes, but if you go early in the morning-You can have some good, nice long rides out there, and the running's great. So it's a great place to train, um, outside.
I don't know, I, I'm shocked when people tell me they go to a spin class out there, because I'm like, [laughs] "Why?" I mean, I guess because they're nervous to- Maybe they're outdoor spin classes... you know?
Yeah, they're not... Well, some, they were during the pandemic, they did have some outdoor spin classes. Now most of them are back inside, but, um, and maybe they're worried about traffic.
But yeah, I just, I can't really work out inside very much there except to lift weights. Um, even the yoga classes, they have some that are outside under a tent in the vineyard, and it's just beautiful.
There's just something to doing work outside. I, so I bought a bunch of weight training equipment, and it lives in the shed in my backyard.
And in the summer I just do it outside, and it's so fun to just be like barefoot on grass- Yeah... picking up weights, doing that kind of stuff, and it's like very primal.
And I, it's like a different feeling than doing it in a gym, like that a lot. [laughs] Yeah. I mean, I love to do yoga outside and by the pool, or weight train, and then yeah, jump in the pool or whatever.
What would you tell the version of yourself that moved to New York in 2000 with the two suitcases on the Amtrak train? Do you ever think about that, about how far you've come? I do sometimes, and it is pretty amazing.
You know, I think that sometimes it feels like it wasn't that long ago, but then I think about, or if you just scroll back in your phone and look back at pictures, you know, memories come up, and you're like, "Wow, that was a long time ago," or, "Oh, what happened to that client?
That client disappeared off the face of the earth," or, "What's that person doing now?"
And so yeah, it does put it into s- perspective of, um, how far you've come and, you know, when we bring new trainers into the company, you know, some of them have three or four years of training under their belt and, you know, I think, "Oh, what did I know when I was, you know, a kind of a new trainer just getting established?"
I mean, I think that there is a lot of great information out now. I think that, you know, with social media and the internet and people sharing all sorts of things, um...
And I even think that personal training and physical therapy have gone, um, much more focused, and people are really training smarter.
And so I think that there's a lot more information out there, and it's not just like meathead gym stuff. So I think the newer trainers- And there is a lot of that. [laughs] I mean, you can still get that.
Um, and like the trainers that are just our new trainers have access to a lot of different information. So, so yeah, I think it's, it's, um, it's interesting to think back to that, but, you know, I love this job.
It's great. It's really fun. I joke that like, you know, I take a few days off, there's no fitness emergencies.
I mean, sometimes my clients text me if, especially if I'm coaching them and they're getting close to a race, some people will text me with last minute things.
But, you know, in general, I'm not getting called in for fitness emergencies, so I, you know, you can take time off. I had a fitness emergency in my last marathon, but that was for reasons with [laughs] Oh.
[laughs] Where's my fitness? [laughs] I'm kidding. Um, that's awesome. Yeah, it's cool to look back on growth and sort of realize how far you've come.
We're recording this on, on November 26th, and an exercise I like to, pun intended, an exercise I like to practice this time of year is think about where I was at this time the year prior, even just one year prior, and think of how far I've come or like what I'm doing now compared to where, like where I wanted to be at this time last.
And so if you're listening to this or watching this, pause and do that. It's really cool and really fun. But I, I love it, and it's like then forward and think about where you wanna be in, after 2023.
And like the ability to grow in that 365 day or 5 years or 10 years or whatever, like it's the, the reason that, the reason that you can do thing endurance is 'cause you just stack brick after brick after brick, and you just perform and you're consistent.
And that's how, you know, if you, if you wanna look five years out and be like, "This is what I wanna do," like that's how it gets done.
And so I guess like a reminder of from this time of year to, to think about those kinds of things and like look forward to where you wanna be.
So maybe it's incorporating strength training, maybe it's incorporating Pilates or working with a, someone who's an expert in nutrition or, you know, any of these topics that Sarah has talked of.
Now's a good time to do it, but it's not just because it's the end or beginning of the year.
It's, it's always a g- [laughs] it's always a good time to, to make a change and, and, you know, do something that, that your future self will appreciate.
So very long lead into the next question, which is you must see a lot of really cool, um, growth stories. I don't wanna call them success stories, stories of growth or, or experiences of growth with your clients.
What's been the most surprising sort of evolution or, or aspect of that kind of evolution that, that you've been able to be a part of? Well, I would say I'm thinking of two different types of clients.
So we have clients that come in with some serious injuries, whether they have disc herniations or rotator cuff tear, or maybe they've just come off of like a hip replacement or something, and so they're building back to their activity and their sport, or they're just trying to get back into shape.
So, you know, we see those kinds of people, and those are very rewarding because you see those people go from a serious injury, and some people cannot deal with that because it's, you know, some pe- especially endurance athletes or people who are used to working out a lot, Type A personalities, they don't like to be set back.
They don't wanna be- Right... you know-... told that they can't do something. No, you can't. Yeah So it's for us then our job is to figure out how to tell them they can do certain things.
So just because you have a disc herniation doesn't mean you can't work out. There's a lot of things you can do.
You just have to change some things, and you have to do things a little differently, and sometimes you actually get back to doing all the things that you used to do.
Um, but you have to continue to listen to your body too. So it's really teaching people how to work out a little more safely and effectively. Um, so that's one aspect of people who I- we really love to work with.
And then I would say like older adults who maybe fitness has never really been part of their life, or maybe, maybe they did play some sports growing up, but then they had a lot of time in their life where they weren't active, and now they're seeing real degenerative changes.
You know, hips, back, knees, um, arthritis, things like that that are really painful and, um, debilitating.
But again, just some small little things, just very gentle movement, uh, activities of daily living, stand up, sit down, squats, pushing, pulling, activating their core.
You know, and I'm talking people in their 70s and 80s that come to see us, and in a few months, like, they can move their body in a much better way.
And then they, and they say they get up in the morning, and they're not having as many aches and pains, and like that's, you know, that's quality of living for, for those kinds of people that, you know, we live in New York, they have to get up and down the subway stairs, or up and down into the bus, or a cab, or walk, or, you know, we're walking 5,000 to 10,000 steps easily a day just in, just going to run some errands.
So, you know, people who can't do that are very restricted in this kind of a city.
So to give them back those things, to be able to like go for a few miles, walk, and run their errands, and bring their groceries back, and not have to take an Uber, that's also very rewarding, I think, to us.
It's an interesting way to put it. It's like being able to do the things you need to do and feeling good enough to do it.
I listened to a podcast with Peter Attia, and he talked about the, like, planning for your last day and, like, sort of working backwards to ensure that your quality of life is strong enough you actually enjoy it.
Um, and I think there's, there's a movement towards this type of approach to health span and to fitness and less about elite performance and more about this, like, human performance.
Like, I want my body to work when I'm 80, 85, 90 years old. You know, you wanna be able to wipe your own butt. You wanna be able to have sex when you're 80.
Like, all these kinds of things that people take for granted when you're 30, 40, maybe 50 years old, and if you're backwards, you can, you can probably do it or give yourself a better chance of being able to do it.
Yeah, I mean, you don't need to run an ultra marathon when you're 80, but [laughs] But if you do, that's pretty damn cool. Yeah, well, that's amazing. You're in another league. But- [laughs]...
if you can, if you can hike up a hill three miles and do a three-mile hike and turn around and come back, like, that's pretty amazing too. You know?
So, you know, those are, those are the kinds of things that you wanna still be able to do, I think, as you get older. And so- Totally...
all of, all of that foundation work and strength training and, you know, just trying to keep your body as healthy as possible help. I'm off to see my grandma tomorrow in Florida.
She's turning 85 in February, and last fall she came to visit Colorado, and, uh, she was out parading around at 12,000 feet like an absolute boss.
And it's fascinating to see someone at her age just, like, not be willing to decline. Like, it's, like, simply not, it's not an option.
She does her walks, she does her, her fitness classes, and who knows how long that'll last? Like, you do things that put yourself in the best position to be able to do that, and, like, that's aspirational, and that's...
If I look forward 50 years, like, that's what I wanna do, and, um, maybe now be a little more motivated to do the squats [laughs] and the deadlifts after thinking about that a little bit more. Yeah.
You know, I trained this doctor who was writing a book while I was training him.
He was-- I was very nervous, um, because he was writing a fitness book, and he became my client, and he finally told me, he goes, "Well, I'm writing a book about fitness." And I was like, "Oh gosh."
One, he's a doctor, and two, he's writing a book about fitness. I'm mystery shopping you. And he's my client.
So, um, the book is called Younger Next Year, and so it's basically all of those things that we just talked about.
You know, things like keeping your body strong and eating healthy, and these are very simple things, but it's all things that are great, especially for maybe people who haven't worked out that much, and they're getting into their 50s and 60s, and they're looking at retirement.
And so his whole philosophy is, or was, unfortunately, he passed away from cancer, but, uh, his philosophy was make exercise your new job.
Yes, it's harder in your 30s and 40s and maybe 50s if you're still working and you have a family to commit to exercising every day. At that point, you do as much as you can.
But when you are retired, your new job is to maintain your body and exercise every day and start to eat a little healthier. So, so that's, you know, that's something to think about too.
Like, you would get up in your 40s and take a shower and go to work. Well, now you get up and you work out, and then you take your shower, and you eat breakfast. You know, so you do all of those...
You just incorporate it into your life.
And, you know, I think a lot of your listeners already incorporate fitness into their life because they're avid athletes, but, um, I'm talking to more the people who maybe have not incorporated fitness into their life, and that's something that they, they should, just like you brush your teeth, you need to, you know, exercise too.It's fascinating.
I've done a lot, um, I don't wanna say research, but polling of my audience, and not everyone is out there running ultramarathons.
There are a lot of people who are just getting into 5Ks and 10Ks and running for an hour and then these type of things, and it is so fascinating to see and hear how people approach fitness in different ways.
And for my 20s, it was all about run as fast as I possibly can, and that was the metric of success.
Fast-forward a few years, and I realized that, like, that as the metric of success is not a very long-term [chuckles] and sustainable approach to long-term progress.
I did a podcast earlier today with a guy named Andy Wacker. Andy's a 34-year-old professional trail runner, uh, and road runner, and his realization was very similar.
He just realized it earlier, that it was all about fun and, and it's all about making this crazy sport fun, and you get faster and you compete and you do these things that are sort of ancillary to the enjoyment and fulfillment of it.
And your, your take on make fitness a job or healthier job when you're retired is fascinating because it's like a different perspective around why you do it, right?
Like, it's useful and, and helpful in your 20s and 30s, and it becomes essential.
And you could argue they're essential at any age, but as you go on, it's more and more and more essential, and the m- magnitude of impact for doing it and not doing it is bigger.
And so it's sort of like why I started this whole podcast. It's like, it's not how do we win marathons, how do we break three hours, how do we break 20 minutes in the 5K.
It's like, how do we create habits that are sustainable for life, for the long run? Um, always be branding.
And, and what are the takeaways from high performers, from industry professionals, from people who are, who are doing it and doing it well? How can the rest of us learn from, from those types of people?
So I really appreciate your, your sharing of your experience, your background, the gamble you took on that Amtrak train and, and the, the journey ever since.
Yeah, and I would add to your for the long run and say that you need physical equilibrium, so, you know, you need the endurance, you need the strength, you need the recovery to balance your body and then train to transform.
So those are our taglines, so, um, if it's- And mental equilibrium, too. Yes. Yes, definitely. Mental equilibrium, yes. I love it. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat today, and, uh, we'll see you out there.
Okay, great. Thank you so much for having me. Of course. [outro music] That's it for today's episode. Like many long runs, it's sad when it has to end.
I hope you join in next time on For the Long Run, and in the meantime, happy trails. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean a lot to me if you shared it so that others can find it and enjoy it, too.
This podcast and the accompanying music has been produced by Brian Walters of Singletrack Sound. For the Long Run's logo was created by Vanessa Wolf of Sterling Wolf.
Show notes have been written by Ruby Wiles and is managed by Emily Holland. It takes a village.
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