Your Health is Your Wealth

Show Notes In this episode of More Living with Jim Brogan, host Jim Brogan welcomes Andrew Henderson, owner of Fitness Together in Knoxville, to discuss practical fitness strategies for adults, particularly retirees. Andrew shares insights on building lasting fitness habits, debunking myths like needing hour-long workouts, and emphasizing strength training, consistent movement, and proper sleep. He encourages listeners to start small, find enjoyable activities, and prioritize internal health markers over scale numbers. The conversation highlights how physical fitness directly supports independence, confidence, and overall quality of life—reinforcing Jim's core message that good health is essential to truly enjoying retirement. Automatically Transcribed With Podsqueeze Jim Brogan 00:00:02 You're tuned into more Living with Jim Brogan, broadcast live from the Brogan Financial studios at Newstalk 9087, where old fashioned values, expert knowledge and genuine understanding come together to give you the retirement straight talk you deserve. Jim's a former National Advisor of the year recipient and a financial educator, and he's here today to talk about how you can live out the best years of your life. Jim and the Brogan financial team have been helping retirees and retirees across the southeast for over 20 years in their pursuit of financial independence. You can reach them during the week at 865862 6800. So sit back, relax and get ready to learn because More living with Jim Brogan starts now. Jim Brogan 00:00:45 Hello East Tennessee, welcome to More Living with Jim Brogan, where it's all about living the best years of your life, your way. As you listen to Newstalk 987 w KCRW. You know, we all know we should exercise more. We should eat a little bit better, get more sleep, and take better care of ourselves. But knowing it and actually doing it are two very different things. Jim Brogan 00:01:11 And you know, your health is your wealth. So today we're going to make fitness simple. No crazy diets, no impossible workout routines, and no guilt, just practical advice that can help you feel stronger, have more energy, stay active as you get older, and hopefully enjoy life a whole lot more, which is really the central theme of this show. Living the best years of your life your way. Our guest today is my good friend Andrew Henderson. He is the owner of Fitness Together here in Knoxville. We're going to talk about what really works when it comes to getting healthy, and just as importantly, how to make it last. Andrew, it's great to have you with us. Thank you for coming in for calling in today. Andrew Henderson 00:01:55 Good morning Jim. Thanks for having me. Jim Brogan 00:01:57 Yes, sir. Andrew. Tell us a little bit about your story and your background. How did you get into fitness and and talk about starting up fitness together? I guess it's been what, 20 years? Almost. Andrew Henderson 00:02:10 Yeah. next year will be 20 years for the North Shore location. And the Farragut location was actually opened up 20 years, this year. So. Yep. It's been it's been a long ride. I can't believe it's been that that long, but, So, yeah, to answer your question, Jim, you know, I came to Knoxville, probably 30 years ago or so to start grad school, and, I was a starving graduate student and, took a little weekend class and personal training and started just by putting flyers up around campus and training people at the rec center or at apartment gyms and, you know, got hired on by a local gym and spent ten years there. I found that I really liked helping people. That's why I originally came to the sports psychology program, was to help others. But I found that personal training and fitness was really a way that I could do it in a hands on way for people who were already motivated to make a change. And so I've been the personal trainer for over 30 years now, and, it's about on how to do and, you know, I'm really fortunate. Andrew Henderson 00:03:14 We've got four studios, close to 20 trainers, over 300 clients in Knoxville. And, it's been a blessing. Jim Brogan 00:03:22 Well, you say it's the only thing you know how to do. I'd say you know how to run a business, too. Andrew Henderson 00:03:27 Yeah, well, I learned I learned that along the way, for sure, with some help. so. Yeah, you know, but I think because I had the background in training, I kind of knew how to look for other talented trainers and helped them develop. And, so, yeah, it's all part of the package for sure. Jim Brogan 00:03:45 So after working with so many different people over all these years, Andrew, what have you learned about why some people succeed at getting healthy while others struggle? Andrew Henderson 00:03:56 Well, that's a great question. I think a lot of it has to do with how mentally committed they are to to truly becoming healthy and realizing that shortcuts don't work in the long run. and also, I think having the support system around them, you know, having a family that encourages them, having a accountability. Andrew Henderson 00:04:18 Accountability. but but really understanding that, you know, the time and money that they spend in their fitness is truly an investment to add on quality and years to their lives. it's a certain mindset where if we can help them to create the habit of exercise and the discipline to do it on the days that they don't want to do it. those are the people who really get the most out of the program and who really are able to flip that switch and make that lifelong change. Jim Brogan 00:04:46 Andrew, what do you think most people get wrong about fitness? Multiple Speakers 00:04:53 I think some people. Andrew Henderson 00:04:55 Think it's something that they, they, they need to. To do for a certain amount of time they need to lose £20. Rather than they need to become a healthier person who exercises for the rest of their life. I think they look at the short term goal rather than understanding. They have to change their who they are as a person. In some ways, they have to become a person who exercises and eats healthy in order to lose the £20 and not gain it. Andrew Henderson 00:05:22 And more importantly, you know, be healthy for life. I think some people get fixated on on fads and gimmicks that come and go, rather than really buckling down and committing to to do the things that that we know work in the long run. Jim Brogan 00:05:36 You know, you mentioned the scale. I want to lose X number of pounds. Should we stop making the scale? The star of the fitness conversation. Andrew Henderson 00:05:45 Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, there is an argument to be made that people who are overweight have higher risks for certain diseases, and we don't want that. But I think sometimes people get so hung up on the number on the scale that, they get discouraged too quickly if the number doesn't move. I think we look at things like blood pressure, body composition. blood lipid profiles, really true health indicators. Whereas the number on the scale can fluctuate up or down just 2 or £3 in a week due to water weight, due to, you know, time of the month for certain women. Andrew Henderson 00:06:22 So, you know, the number moves up and down on the scale. but what what we really need to focus on is the internal health. lean muscle mass, strength, flexibility, your heart health, your lungs, all the things that are going to allow you to be a healthy weight, to have to come first before we worry about the weight itself. Jim Brogan 00:06:42 I think that's extremely. Well. Say it. I mean, we know we have a in the United States. We have an obesity epidemic, but it's the other things. The focus just on the scale can really lead us and can lead to things like food disorders and all kinds of things. And and we'll get into fitness here before long, here in our next segment. But how do you know? How does someone know when being a little out of shape is actually starting to affect your quality of life? Multiple Speakers 00:07:14 I think, you know. Andrew Henderson 00:07:15 Because you're no longer able to do or no longer enjoy the things that you used to do. You know, for example, we have some clients who play tennis. Andrew Henderson 00:07:25 And so, you know, when they're so sore that they can't play the store for a week after they play a couple of matches of tennis, that's not good because they're less likely to want to do it again. Or people who are out of breath now by going up and down the stairs. So those are little signs, you know, maybe maybe your jeans don't fit anymore. so you don't feel quite as good in your clothing, and I think it can kind of turn into I think sometimes people get discouraged by that. And they. And then it becomes a bigger problem. I think that the key is to hey, if you are an extra £10, let's let's nip that in the bud. If you are out of breath when you're going up and down the stairs and that's not normal, let's do something about it now before it becomes a bigger problem. Don't don't let don't let it snowball. Jim Brogan 00:08:09 Andrew, when we talk about fitness, you know, the federal physical activity guidelines recommend that adults aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, plus muscle strengthening activity at least two days per week. Jim Brogan 00:08:25 And that sounds like a lot. But when you really break it down, 150 minutes is roughly 22 minutes a day. So, Andrew, if 20 or 25 minutes a day can make a meaningful difference, why do we get why do so many of us still believe we need an hour in the gym? Multiple Speakers 00:08:45 I think I think people are. Andrew Henderson 00:08:49 To their own fault, perfectionists. They feel like it has to be the perfect workout. They have to get everything done. I think part of it's that I think part of it is, education. People still don't do the math. They think 150 minutes a week, but they don't break it down like you just did in daily, daily amounts of exercise being 20 minutes a day. I think sometimes people use it as an excuse because, you know, for a lot of people, exercise is hard. It can be uncomfortable. and so that's their excuse. I think there's so many different reasons. is there to break it down, to get points to bring up, though? Jim Brogan 00:09:26 Andrew, is there an age when it's too late to get stronger and significantly improve your fitness? Andrew Henderson 00:09:33 No, absolutely. Jim Brogan 00:09:36 Don't really need to say any more to you. yeah. And actually, and I know you're not a doctor, but, and I'm not either. but we've had we have doctors on the show, and, and I just attended a conference, in California. And it was for financial advisors. But the topic was your. One of the topics of the keynote speaker was your health is your wealth. And he was an expert on brain health. And, you know, we know from Doctor Jeff Johnson, who's been on our show that you can reverse cardiovascular disease. And this doctor says we can we can reverse we can make the brain younger as we age. That's so refreshing to know that at any phase in life we can make positive impact. Andrew Henderson 00:10:24 Yeah, absolutely. We have a lot of clients who don't even start. Wait, they've never touched a wait before, and they're coming in in their 70s and sometimes even in their 80s, and they're still getting stronger. They're working on their balance. They're able to go out and do things that they weren't able to do, you know, for years. Andrew Henderson 00:10:39 So no, you know, the the honest answer is, is the longer you wait, the harder it can get. Because we've got other ailments and, our hormone levels especially, you for men, we lose testosterone. It can be harder to build muscle, but it's not impossible. And you can still make a drastic improvement in the quality of your life at any age. If you're willing to, you know, just dedicate a few minutes a day towards it. Jim Brogan 00:11:02 Absolutely. You know, I'm Andrew, Monday, two days from now, I will be 57. And I'm going to have to admit, over the last 3 or 4 years, the, the, the importance of health. And I've always I mean, I've been working out with, with you and, and with your trainers at fitness together for almost 20 years now. So I've always taken health seriously, but it's really starting to be driven home because, you know, you have ailments that come up and things here and there. So for those of you listening, you know, you may recognize yourself in this conversation and know it's time to make a change. Jim Brogan 00:11:43 But where do you begin? So we're going to get to our first break. When we come back, we're going to dive in with Andrew about how we get started, if it's been a while or if you have been doing some but need to do more, how can you stay more disciplined? So stay with us. This is more living with Jim Brogan here on Newstalk 987. Jim Brogan 00:12:05 Welcome back to Newstalk 98. Seven's Brogan Financial Studios or Jim Brogan is coming to you live with important news and advice to help you achieve your dream retirement. Get ready to learn and live. Here's your host, Jim Brogan. Jim Brogan 00:12:19 Welcome back to More Living Here on Newstalk 987 Wookey I'm Jim Brogan, we're with you every Saturday, 9 to 10 a.m. and again from 3 to 4 p.m. and we're visiting with Andrew Henderson today. He is the owner of fitness Together. They have four workout studios here in Knoxville, one on one training and small group training. I've been I've known Andrew for almost 20 years. 19 years, I think it is. Jim Brogan 00:12:45 And, he's become a friend over the years, does a great job at investing in the health of our community. And Andrew, if someone has not exercise regularly in, say, 5 or 10 years, what should they do first? Andrew Henderson 00:13:01 I think, you know, I think the first thing is just to start with, you know, it depends if you have some health issues I always recommend go get a physical if you're dealing with some things and make sure that everything's, you know, working as it should. But then, you know, I think the starting easy, I think people try to do everything at once. And that can be a trap because you tend to get overwhelmed. And then why not not doing anything but find a routine that that's too easy to quit. So that might be walking, you know, around the block, start small. Maybe it's a push up every morning. maybe it's sitting up and down out of your chair five times. Just start to move. if you find that it's still a struggle, then, find a partner that you can do it with. Andrew Henderson 00:13:45 I think accountability that you said earlier is really important, especially when you're getting started again. The goal is to create momentum. when you haven't done anything for 5 or 10 years, you've got inertia. That's a lot of inertia to overcome. Jim Brogan 00:13:58 It is. Andrew Henderson 00:13:58 You need to just get moving first, get the car back on the road, get the ball rolling, and so start small. Just any any movement will help create that momentum. And then, you know, gradually allow that to become more and more of a true workout routine. Obviously it's personal trainers. We specialize in working with people who have been sitting on the bench for for years for different reasons. and so what we like to do is do a full assessment first, just to make sure that we understand the body and that we don't put it in any positions that could that could hurt the body. it also allows us to show progress with the clients when they get started, but with or without personal training, my advice would be just find something that you enjoy doing or that you can at least tolerate doing. Andrew Henderson 00:14:44 And start with that as your first habit. Jim Brogan 00:14:47 Andrew, if I could only give you 20 minutes a day, what would you have me do? Andrew Henderson 00:14:54 20 minutes a day. So three days a week we would do some kind of strength training exercise, probably a squat or a deadlift for your lower body, push up or some sort of a press for your upper body, shoulders and chest and some sort of a pulling exercise, like a row, a pull up or a pull down the strength in the back of your body. and I would do that every other day. On the days in between, we would do some sort of, cardiovascular exercise, biking, elliptical, walking at a brisk pace, and then, on the seventh day, I'd have me do just a nice, gentle stretching flexibility program to keep everything loose. So three days a week of strength, three days a week of cardio, and one day a week of stretching. that would be a that would be my first suggestion. Jim Brogan 00:15:41 You know, you mentioned stretching. Jim Brogan 00:15:44 you know, we look at strength. You mentioned resistance training. Certainly cardiovascular. You know, cardio, exercise, flexibility, balance. As we get older, does one thing become most important? Andrew Henderson 00:15:58 Well, different people have different needs. We're all we're all unique. I feel like strength is really probably as we get older, the thing that becomes the biggest issue and strength can, can drive things like balance, strength can balance, drive things like flexibility. They really all work together. You know, we're designed as a system, not not individual parts, but a system of muscles, of of nerves, of health. It all works together. So it's really hard to separate one from the other. A stronger person will probably be a better balanced person. A better balanced person will probably be a more flexible person. So, I love exercises that address 2 or 3 of those things at once. So we're really covering a lot of ground. Jim Brogan 00:16:43 Yeah, that was one of the things when I first came to see you years ago is you do a lot of functional training. Jim Brogan 00:16:52 So it's not just how big can I make my bicep? It's functional training that mimic things you do in real life, bending over to pick things up, pushing things, things like that. And that's been very worthwhile for me. talk about the importance of sleep, because I think that gets undercooked in our health. And I'm learning as I get older and I'm exposed to more and more things and deal with more and more things. Sleep becomes more and more important. So can you talk a little bit about sleep? Andrew Henderson 00:17:23 Yeah. And you know, I'm not too far behind you. I'm 54, so. And I noticed in the last five years sleep has been harder to get at least good quality sleep for me. so, you know, sleep really is when our body repairs itself. Both. Both mentally and physically. if you're not getting adequate sleep over time, I think you're really going to you're going to suffer. I think, you know, cognitive decline has been shown to be linked directly to poor sleep, being ill, feeling stressed. Andrew Henderson 00:17:53 If sleep is really. I think you're right that that is the pillar of health that is most overlooked and might be the most important. If you're chronically tired, you're going to make poor nutritional decisions. More likely, you're not going to have the energy to exercise. You're going to have brain fog more likely to have accidents. It really, really has a huge impact on the rest of our life. so, you know, a couple of tips for sleep. I think exercise can help you with regular sleep. I think putting down the phone an hour before you go to bed and not looking at screens has been shown to be helpful. finding a meditation or a breathing technique that helps you kind of calm down and relax. I think Americans are more stressed than ever, and that can really impact our sleep. Things like alcohol become more detrimental to our sleep, so try not to drink before bed. Avoiding caffeine. You know, maybe after 12 or 1:00. All these little things can work together to either help us sleep better or worse. Andrew Henderson 00:18:52 Dark rooms, cool rooms. We could have a whole episode just on sleep. Jim Brogan 00:18:57 Yeah, I'm I and I've just learned recently that the screen time. iPad or something like that is actually more can disrupt us more than watching TV. That's a little bit of a distance away. And I learned from a doctor that I've spoken with recently that, you know, when we have the screen close to us like that, it almost makes the brain feel like the sun is coming up. So it's just it's just kind of one thing after another. But, you know, I just, I, I think sleep is one of the most important things we can focus on from the things that I've been learning. what are 2 or 3, Andrew. Simple exercises or activities that almost every adult would benefit from doing regularly, let's say weekly. Andrew Henderson 00:19:47 I think first is walking. if you can jog, then jog. If you can walk them, walk if you like to hike. But just moving. You know, we were designed to move, not to sit at our desks. Andrew Henderson 00:20:00 so that would be my first recommendation, I think some sort of a lower body exercise to help your legs stay strong. Squats, deadlifts. Lunges. Climbing up and down stairs. You can do those with no equipment, just body weight. Or maybe a light dumbbell. in some sort of an upper body exercise to give your arms and shoulders and your core strength. So push ups are really hard to beat because they do train the core. They train your chest, your shoulders, your triceps. If I can add a fourth one, then it would be some sort of a row. You could use even a resistance band anchored around the bedpost, but something where you're pulling back or using your upper back muscles. And that's really important for a lot of reasons. But to keep our back strong, to help with posture, with our shoulders, especially with the technology that we're exposed to all day and the positions that it puts us in. Jim Brogan 00:20:51 You know, you're mentioning a lot of things that don't require a lot of fancy equipment. Jim Brogan 00:20:55 Can you expand on that a little bit? Because I think that's sometimes where people get tricked up a little bit. Andrew Henderson 00:21:01 Yeah. You don't need much. you can certainly invest thousands of dollars, but, you know, for about 100 to $200, you can have a nice, set of home equipment. And that's really all you need. you know, listen, gravity has been around forever. That's all we need. You know, we've had very fit people who never had all the machines that we've had access to. So it's simple, you know, there's about 6 or 7 different movements we should be able to do squatting hinging from the hips, which is like a deadlift, some sort of a lunging, pushing things, pulling things and then pushing and pulling things over our heads. If you do those things on a regular basis with light weights, resistance bands. that covers about 95% of what you need to do. Jim Brogan 00:21:47 You mentioned sitting. You know, many Americans spend enormous portions of their day sitting, were at work in the car, watching television on our phones. Jim Brogan 00:21:57 You know, someone can exercise in the morning and still spend most of their day remaining pretty sedentary. So if I work out for 30 minutes and then sit for 8 or 9 hours, what can I be doing throughout the day? Andrew Henderson 00:22:11 I would definitely recommend getting up for walk breaks, for stretch breaks, you know, every 30 to 60 minutes if you're able to, you know, you can do squats from your chair. You can continue to do little mini workouts throughout the day. You know, do some arm circles, do shoulder shrugs, tap your toes as much as you can, you know, try to get, try to move, you know, however you're able to do it. We were designed to move, not to sit. Sitting is probably the number one cause of lower back pain because we're not we're not in the position we were designed to be in. Jim Brogan 00:22:45 We're visiting with Andrew Henderson. He's the owner of fitness. Together they have four locations here in the Knoxville area. Become a good friend over the years. Jim Brogan 00:22:53 We come back. You know, we know in many cases we know what to do. The problem is getting ourselves to do it. So when we come back, I want to talk about some of the excuses we use and how we can overcome those. I also have my dollars and cents segment. What is the most overlooked area in retirement planning today and what can you do about it? This is Jim Brogan. You're listening to More Living Here on Newstalk 987 W Cokie. Jim Brogan 00:23:20 Welcome back to Newstalk 98. Seven's Brogan Financial Studios or Jim Brogan is coming to you live with important news and advice to help you achieve your dream retirement. Get ready to learn and live. Here's your host, Jim Brogan. Jim Brogan 00:23:35 This is more living with Jim Brogan, where it's all about living the best years of your life, your way. And you know your health is your wealth. The number one thing we can invest in is ourselves and our health. We're visiting with Andrew Henderson today here on Newstalk 987. And we're talking about he's the owner of Fitness Together. Jim Brogan 00:23:53 We're talking about how we can get over those hurdles. in a in a second. I want to get into motivation, myths, excuses, things like that. Before we get back to Andrew, however, it is time for dollars and cents. Multiple Speakers 00:24:08 Want to be sure you are getting the most out of your retirement for all the years of your retirement. That's the primary goal of Moore living with Jim Brogan and our dollars and Cents segment, where we provide you with an important financial tip that will help positively impact the quality of your life and retirement. And now, here's Jim with this week's dollars and cents tip. Jim Brogan 00:24:32 What is the most overlooked area in retirement planning today. And to me, in my opinion, it's no question it's income planning. And now why is that? When you retire and and what is income planning? I mean, income planning is or involves things like when should you be drawing your Social Security? How if you're married, how does the spousal election and spousal benefits and potential widow benefits down the road? How does that affect all that? How do you take your life savings and convert that into stable income? That doesn't depend on the stock market in the short term, but yet can grow in the long term? We know the market is the best way to keep up or beat inflation in the long term, but we get no short term stability. Jim Brogan 00:25:23 So putting all this together can be very challenging. And if I could name one reason why, the biggest thing is we take on a new risk when we're retired, you know, a 62 year old who's going to work for eight more years and a 62 year old who's going to retire in a year. More than likely could not be any different in terms of what they need from their financial and wealth management plan, because one of them is about to enter a distribution and income phase of life where he or she's going to need to start withdrawing money from their life savings, whereas the other one's going to still wait eight more years. So, you know, the risk we take on when we retire and really when we get close to retirement is what I like to call market timing risk. In the industry, we call it sequence of return risk. You know, specifically when are the good years in the stock market and winter the bad years? When do they happen? What if they happen in that last year or two right before retirement? Do you still feel like you can retire? Actually, it's even more harmful if you get significant decline and realize that significant decline in the market in those first three or 4 or 5 years of retirement. Jim Brogan 00:26:38 The problem is we don't have any control of those things. None. We don't know what the markets are going to do the two years before we retire. The first five years of retirement and markets are choppy and volatile. We know that given time over 15 or 20 years, markets have beaten inflation. But when we retire or get ready to retire, the timing of the good years and the bad years becomes much, much more critically important. And we don't have control. So we need a plan in order to manage that. How do we have some stable income in the short term? That does not depend on the stock market, yet have growth of income in the long term. So I want to invite you to my next class at Palace Happy State Community College. It's through there adult and community outreach and it is a one night class. Retirement income and in retirement. Excuse me. Retirement income planning. And it's a week from Tuesday. It's Tuesday, August the 25th. It's one night, two hours, 630 to 8:30 p.m.. Jim Brogan 00:27:46 It's at the Hardin Valley location. Easy parking, easy in and out. And I'm going to cover all the things that I think as much of the stuff as I think you need to know about income planning. in two hours, I'm going to talk about tax planning. I think our tax situation, is as important as it's ever been. You know what? How what do we make of the federal debt and the deficit spending? And what are the long term implications of that on on our paycheck, on inflation, all these things. So I'm going to get into all those ins and outs, including Social Security election, how to structure income. if you want more information. Again, it's Tuesday, August 25th, 630 8:30 p.m.. You can go to confidence with retirement confidence with retirement.com and you can click to register again. It is with Pelosi. State. Their course fee for the class is $39. You take care of all of that with Pelosi state I'd love to see you. Then again confidence with retirement.com Tuesday August the 25th at Pelosi State Community College. Multiple Speakers 00:28:57 That's our dollars and cents segment for this week. You can find this week's dollars and cents segment and others by visiting Brogan Financial. Com. Jim Brogan 00:29:10 Please check us out online. We've got a wealth of information there. You can follow us. You can. And when you follow us, what does that really mean? It means you're going to get our blogs. You're going to give our we send out a newsletter every two weeks with links to a lot of the content that we're creating at Brogan Financial, including many of our radio Much of our radio content. So do check us out at Brogan Financial Comm. We're visiting this week with Andrew Henderson. He is a fitness trainer. He owns Fitness Together of Knoxville. I've known Andrew for a long time. Your health is your wealth. And, Andrew, we a lot of times we know what to what to do or kind of what to do, but but the problem is getting ourselves to do it. So I'm going to give you four excuses, and I want you to give me the answer to my excuses. Jim Brogan 00:29:59 Can we do that? Andrew Henderson 00:30:01 I don't know, Jim, before is not many, but let's see what you got. Jim Brogan 00:30:05 Let's see what I got. I don't have time. Andrew Henderson 00:30:10 everybody gets 24 hours a day. that would be my first response. you have to make the time. You have to make it a priority. If it's important enough for you, you'll find the time. Jim Brogan 00:30:22 Okay, here comes another one. I'm too tired. Andrew Henderson 00:30:27 You'll be amazed at how much more energy you have if you just get into the habit of exercise. I guarantee you you'll feel better after you're done exercising and you'll sleep better, which will help you be less tired. You'll make better nutritional decisions, which will give you more energy, and you'll be efficient throughout the rest of your day, so you'll have more downtime to rest. Jim Brogan 00:30:47 Yeah, there was a day. I gotta admit, Andrew, it was probably a week and a half, two weeks ago, and I had a workout scheduled with your trainer, one of your trainers, and man, I was so tired I did not want to go. Jim Brogan 00:31:00 And I was like, I'm going to feel so much better. And I already had the session on the books, so I had that accountability. I went, and I mean, at the end of that session, I was so tired at the end of that day, and at the end of the session, I had so much more energy. Okay, here's another excuse. I'm too old. Andrew Henderson 00:31:21 no, you're not, you're you're too old not to Not exercise would be my rebuttal. Jim Brogan 00:31:27 That's a great rebuttal. Andrew Henderson 00:31:29 Yeah. yeah. The older you get, the more important maintaining your strength is because we are going to naturally lose it. Otherwise we lose flexibility, we lose strength, we lose lung and heart capacity. So the older you get, the more serious this becomes. If you want to have a good life and enjoy the the hard work that you've put into your retirement planning, you have to have the health to do it. You're not going to walk around Europe if you're £100 overweight and have no leg strength. Jim Brogan 00:31:59 All right, here's my last one. I hate working out. Andrew Henderson 00:32:05 well, you're probably doing the wrong workout, then. Jim Brogan 00:32:08 I think that's a great word. Andrew Henderson 00:32:10 I think you need to find something you enjoy doing. Maybe it's pickleball, maybe it's hiking, maybe it's walking. I would change the word workout. I'd get rid of the word workout and maybe change it for movement. let's focus on movement. You know, For thousands of years, humans didn't go to a gym to work out. They moved, they gardened. They, they did their daily chores. Find things that get you moving first. And, once you start to be more open to the idea of doing some gentle strength training exercises to help complement that. But just focus on moving doesn't have to be complicated. Jim Brogan 00:32:46 I love that because anybody can say I hate working out, but if you substitute the word moving in there, I mean, who's going to say I hate movement? Andrew Henderson 00:32:56 Listen, I've been doing this for 30 years. I've been training for 30 years, and I don't love going to the gym and working out. Andrew Henderson 00:33:02 It hurts. I'm sweating, I'm sore. But I do it because it's a discipline and because I know it's worth doing. But when you're first getting started in creating that habit, find something that you don't hate. Change yourself physically first, and then your brain will follow your body's lead. But you got to start moving. Jim Brogan 00:33:20 All right, I'm going to have a couple things here I want you to tell me, are these fact or fiction okay, fact or fiction? You need to exercise for an hour for it to really count. Andrew Henderson 00:33:31 Fiction. Any movement is better than no movement at all. In fact, it might be better to do a daily dose of 20 minutes a day than to do a 1 or 2 doses of an hour or two. I like the idea of consistency over perfection. Jim Brogan 00:33:46 And we do know from Doctor Jeff Johnson, cardiologist, who's been on my radio show many times over the years, cumulative exercise matters. Parking further away at the grocery store. That accumulation through the day does matter. Jim Brogan 00:34:02 Okay, fact or fiction? Walking is enough exercise to make a meaningful difference. Andrew Henderson 00:34:09 That's complicated if you're not doing it, I thought that. Jim Brogan 00:34:12 I thought you might say that when you heard that one. Andrew Henderson 00:34:15 Yeah, that's not fair. If you're not doing anything, then walking is certainly a good step. If you're already walking, then I would challenge you to add on something more to work on. Your strength to work on, flexibility to increase the intensity of your cardiovascular exercise. But it's certainly a great start. Jim Brogan 00:34:32 Andrew. How can we create consistency when life gets busy? Andrew Henderson 00:34:40 schedule your exercise at a time when you're at least likely to be interrupted first thing in the morning. You know, maybe it's just ten squats and ten pushups in the morning. That takes literally a minute. But the key is to find a time and a plan that you can actually execute on. If the plan is too complicated or it takes too long, then you're not going to do it. So find something you can actually commit to. Jim Brogan 00:35:02 that's a great word I want to finish with the bigger pictures. We visited with Andrew Henderson this morning because ultimately it's not just about looking better in the mirror, it's about living better and feeling better. So when we come back, building a body for a better life. So stay with us. This is more living with Jim Brogan here on Newstalk 987. Jim Brogan 00:35:22 Welcome back to Newstalk 98 Seven's Brogan Financial Studios, where Jim Brogan is coming to you live with important news and advice to help you achieve your dream retirement. Get ready to learn and live. Here's your host, Jim Brogan. Jim Brogan 00:35:37 Thanks for tuning in this week for more living here on Newstalk 987. Wookey. Do check us out online Brogan financial.com. Also my upcoming retirement planning. It's an income class. Income planning for retirement is a one night class at Pillow City. State is a week from Tuesday, August the 25th, 630 to 8:30 p.m.. Go to confidence with retirement.com for more information. You can also click the link to register. You can also call Pella City State directly at 5397169539716. Jim Brogan 00:36:14 I'm sorry I said that wrong. 39617. We're visiting with Andrew Henderson. He is the owner of Fitness Together. Your health is Your wealth. And we're talking about fitness, nutrition, feeling better. Andrew, what is becoming physically stronger do for someone that has nothing to do with weight or appearance? Andrew Henderson 00:36:38 Wow. So many things. I think injury prevention jumps to the top of the list for me. A strong body is an able body. a strong body is able to be independent for longer, rely on other people, rely on other people less. And as we age, that becomes important. a strong body is a confident body. you feel good about yourself? a strong person sets an example for their kids. For their grandkids. Jim Brogan 00:37:09 Oh, yeah. Andrew Henderson 00:37:11 You know, it's not just about you. You know, we want to be a good example for those that count on us and look up to us. And I think committing yourself to staying strong physically is really important. I think, you know, if you want to take it to the spiritual level, some people will. Andrew Henderson 00:37:28 I think God gave us amazing bodies are incredibly intricate, and I think it's our duty to, you know, the body of the temple. It's our job to take care of our bodies. And so I think you're honoring your maker. If you want to believe in that, or you're honoring whatever it is that we came from, by taking care of your bodies. you know, it lets you feel when you're strength training, you're feeling the muscles that we were given to use. It really puts you back in touch with yourself. Rather than looking at a screen or just being bombarded with all the negative news. It focuses on what's most important, which is our own health. Jim Brogan 00:38:05 Yeah. You know, you said your body is a temple. Amen to that. that's something that I needed to hear today. And I think many of us listening probably needed to hear. Andrew, how can exercise affect things that we deal with every day lets things like energy, sleep, stress and confidence. You've touched on it a little bit, but talk about how that affects us every day. Andrew Henderson 00:38:27 I mean, exercise is one of the most powerful medicines you can get and it's free. exercise helps with cardiovascular health. It helps with skeletal health, bone density, strength. It helps psychologically so much, especially for younger people who are listening. If you have kids or grandkids, these kids are stressed out. the rate of suicide is higher than ever amongst teenagers. Exercise can help them relieve stress that can help them have confidence in themselves. it's it's amazing what regular exercise, nutrition and sleep can do for you. You know, I would argue that 80 to 90% of the medications out there are being prescribed because people are not exercising enough and are not eating properly and are not sleeping well. Jim Brogan 00:39:19 Andrew. What is one thing, one habit that someone that's in their 40s or 50s today can start with? That their 75 year old self will thank them for. Andrew Henderson 00:39:32 One habit. I think it depends on what I would say. just living a well-balanced life. I know it's not a habit, but finding 20 minutes a day to move, focusing on on sleep and hydration, eating healthy foods. Andrew Henderson 00:39:51 You know, I forget the exact number. I believe it's every 60 to 90 days. Or many of our cells reproduce themselves. And the quality of that reproduction of the cell is based on the nutrition that we put in. Those are our building blocks. So, you know. Jim Brogan 00:40:05 I think balance. Andrew Henderson 00:40:07 Eating healthy now is literally an investment in your body's health in the future. But I think would be the key. Jim Brogan 00:40:14 Yeah, I think balance I think that's a great answer. I mean, I believe in everything in moderation. It's hard to just completely eliminate things we love. I think balance is a great word. Andrew. You mentioned food, and I know we've just discussed this, this show. We've discussed fitness and really focused on that. But I heard a trainer years ago say once 70% of how you look, how you look and feel is what you eat. Can you touch on the importance of the food? and all these things? Andrew Henderson 00:40:44 Absolutely. I think nutrition is vital. nutrition gives us the energy that we need to exercise. Andrew Henderson 00:40:51 It gives us the building blocks to repair our muscles. and while we're, you know, recovering in between sessions. So I think a lot of people overcomplicate nutrition. You know, we've worked with our dietician, Heidi, and I like her philosophy quite a bit. It's, you know, fruits and vegetables should be part of every meal. focus on lean proteins, preferably. Or organic, especially if we're talking about animal proteins. alcohol and moderation. higher fiber. and keep it simple. Jim Brogan 00:41:26 Absolutely. I'm all about, you know, people talk about lifespan. I'm more interested in health span. You know, I don't want to just live to 85 or 90. I want to be able to do things at 85 and enjoy life. And we know that our fitness and nutrition today has such an impact on that down the road. If you could convince every person listening today, Andrew, to make one change to improve their health, what would it be? Andrew Henderson 00:41:54 I would encourage them to find an activity that they really enjoy doing that elevates their heart rate and that uses the muscles of their body. Andrew Henderson 00:42:02 I think if you can find something that you enjoy doing and look forward to no longer feels like a chore. It feels like something you want to do. For me, that's bike riding. So today I want to do a bike ride because I enjoy doing it. It's fun. So find something that's fun for you to do. And create social networks and create a lifestyle that may include that. Jim Brogan 00:42:23 Yeah. I think, doing physical activity that we enjoy, is a real key in all of this. Andrew, I know people know they should get started. It's like, oh, I'll start on Monday. I know the first step is often the hardest. What would you say to encourage people in terms of habits they can develop over? What is it, three weeks? You can develop new habits. Andrew Henderson 00:42:51 You know, I'm going to recommend the book if I can. we've read this as a team and it's called Many Habits, Smaller Habits, Bigger Results written by Stephen Guys. And it's really helped to change the way I think about exercise motivation. Andrew Henderson 00:43:04 And his point is, if you wait for motivation to come, you're going to be waiting for a long time because motivation comes and goes. To truly develop a habit you want to start with something that is so small that you can't fail. So for the author, it was literally doing one push up in the morning. That was it, one push up every morning. But then he turned into five push ups and then it didn't push up. So he created some momentum that that turned into a more, you know, complete exercise routine. So just find something that you can find a habit that's so small that you can't fail. Jim Brogan 00:43:36 And then yeah, you mentioned motivation. There's a big difference in motivation and consistency right. You mentioned motivation can fail. But consistency is doing the hard things and B and creating consistency. Andrew Henderson 00:43:47 You are not motivated to go to the gym. A few weeks ago after that long day where you. Jim Brogan 00:43:52 Yeah. Andrew Henderson 00:43:53 There was no motivation, but you had the accountability and you had the discipline, so you did it anyway. Andrew Henderson 00:43:58 And that's that's the difference, right? There's getting to the point where this becomes like brushing your teeth at night. You do it even when you're exhausted. Jim Brogan 00:44:08 Andrew, we are out of time. I've only got about 15 seconds here. How can people find out more about fitness together and get hold of you? Andrew Henderson 00:44:15 Yeah, we'd love the chance to chat with you. Visit Knox. Pick the location and one of us will reach out to you as soon as possible. Jim Brogan 00:44:24 Thank you. Andrew Henderson. He's with fitness together. Thanks so much, Tom, for taking time out of your busy schedule. Andrew Henderson 00:44:30 Hey, I enjoyed it. Have a great weekend, Tennessee. Talk to you soon. Jim Brogan 00:44:33 Thank you. Andrew. Today we've discussed your health because greater health provides for more living. So you can live the best years of your life your way. Thank you for tuning in. Have a great weekend. This is more Living Here on Newstalk 987 w Cokie. Multiple Speakers 00:44:47 The views expressed by Jim Brogan and his guests are not that of Cumulus Media. Multiple Speakers 00:44:51 Any discussion of financial, legal and tax planning strategies is not intended to be individualized advice and is general in nature. Always consult with your advisor for advice specific to your needs. This program's content does not represent a recommendation of any particular security strategy or investment by Jim Brogan or Brogan Financial, Incorporated.