How to Age Forward: Brain Hacks, Strength & Menopause Wins with PJ Glassie

PJ Glassey— with a degree in exercise science, creator of the X Gym, and author of Cracking Your Calorie Code — joins Michelle on the Midlife Magic Podcast to talk about the three pillars of thriving in midlife: the brain, movement, and community. PJ explains his 21-minute training method, his 16-type brain test and “brain training” techniques that make habits stick, and why treating your body like a personal experiment is the fastest route to sustainable results. We also dig into practical, compassionate ways women can navigate perimenopause and menopause (nutrition experiments, strength work, and identity-based mindset shifts), plus PJ’s take on visualization, longevity, and how the right story about aging rewires your life.

Listen for:

• PJ’s time-saving strength method that gets results in 21 minutes.
• How identifying your brain type speeds progress and prevents yo-yo changes.
• Honest, actionable tips for women in perimenopause/menopause: exercise, nutrition experiments, and relationship support.
• A mindset practice you can do daily (2–3 minutes) that helps you become the person who sustains healthy habits.

Here are the 3 steps to get the Brain Type Test for $1 (the lowest price Stripe will allow)

1. Click here for the options page
2. Select the BASIC test 
3. Enter VIP777 in the promo code box at the bottom of the checkout page, but please keep this secret because it's only for VIPs like you. 

And here is a short video to see the flow of the steps if needed: https://youtu.be/tJOKjI9diPQ

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:06

Hey everyone, I want to welcome you to today's episode of the Midlife Magic Podcast. I have a really special guest for you today, PJ Glassy. Now, PJ started personal training in 1987 and he successfully grew his business over the following 11 years, training clients in their homes and at local gyms. Now, with the help of these clients as test subjects, in arms with his degree in exercise science, PJ invented his multi-protocol concept and refined it through 1998 when he founded the X Gym. He's also the author of the book Cracking Your Calorie Code and the inventor of his brain type test, which helps people achieve health and fitness results much faster through specific brain wiring techniques tailored to their unique brain type. Please enjoy this episode. So I appreciate you being here, PJ. And I I think a really great place to start is I would love to hear a bit more of your story about how you got into the health and fitness space, what you do, what you love, and kind of what's what's really on your heart these days when it comes to health and fitness.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Sure. Well, it all started back in high school. So I was a um I was a skinny kid and I didn't want to be a skinny kid. So I started working out and got some muscle tone and thought that was pretty fun.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

And then uh continued to do that kind of as a passion, but I had a second passion, and that was kind of a psychology type of a thing. I I I tended to be pretty good at talking to people about their problems and helping them with them just naturally. And so then when I went to college, Seattle Pacific University, I started out as a psych major thinking I was going to be a psychologist. And then that was great, but I was also taking, you know, PE type classes, exercise science and those kinds of things, because that was also an interest. And then my senior year, I switched from psychology to exercise science. So I have a bunch of classes and training in both of those things. And they ended up combining to what I do now, which is the XGM. And it's a personal training studio and a small group training studio. And so I incorporate lots of brain science into the exercise that we do. And then the methodology that I developed for the XGM was a time-saving methodology. So 21 minutes twice a week, and that's equivalent to about seven hours of traditional training. So it's a huge time hack. So because of that, the biggest part of our bell curve of in our membership is 40 to 70 years old and about 65% women. And so one of my other, and so what I do is I just give the members what they want. And of course, they're busy people and they want a time hack, but they also want something safe. And those busy people are also at the age where they don't necessarily want to get jacked anymore, but they just want to look and feel fit and have functional fitness. And so that's what the XGM does. And those people also are um want to age gracefully and they want to be able to play with their grandkids and run around with them and you know, do really healthy, fun, active life stuff and have good health. And so that's a those are all huge parts of XGM. And being 65% women in that age group, we also have lots of menopause. And we're helping people um just with their health. That's our main goal. Because, you know, every woman has a different experience. It's all individual experience with menopause. And I'm just speaking from you know, working with so many, and they it depending on when it happens, how gradually it happens, and and how it happens, is part of it is just you know, luck of the draw, just and part of it is genetics, and then a huge part of it is their health. So healthy women tend to go through menopause later in life than unhealthy women, and it tends to be more gradual and it tends to be it tends to affect them less. And so just to help people get healthy is so huge and such a help. But then there's also the brain part of it, you know, and and and dealing with breaking your pattern and um coping and and and just being heard because you know, I yeah, I'm sure you've seen the movie The M Factor. Yeah, yeah, and yeah, that was fantastic, and a huge part of that movie was just that they they need to be heard, and especially by the medical profession, that there's you know something that can help them.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

But I love I love all of this. I love there's so many things I want to like talk about, but the first thing was the the brain. I teach group fitness classes, and the mind is so powerful. Yeah, it is so I always tell my my members, especially when we're in tough parts of our class, and I'm like, so much of this fitness thing that we do, it's all between our two ears. Yeah, it's the things that you say in your head and what you're telling yourself. And if you tell yourself some different things, you can feel a different way. It's that whole saying what you think affects how you feel, what you feel affects what you do, and what you do affects your results. Um, and it's and it's so powerful. Um, so let's obviously I want to talk about women and the menopause and what you're kind of hearing with the women that you work with, but I would love for you to talk about your brain brain hack.

unknown 6:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Well, yeah, there's there's a brain type quiz that I brain type.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

And then that determines which of the 16 brain types you are. And then, based on that determination, there are specific brain training techniques that are assigned that are probably going to work really well for your particular brain type to literally rewire your brain to make health and fitness achievable easier and faster. And that's the basic reason behind the brain type test.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:39

And it took me years to develop it, but it all came from, of course, my psychology background, but also thanks to my mom who put me into the um the brain science, more into the brain science. I've always been a research nerd and I've always been, you know, voraciously devouring research on exercise science and nutrition and health and brain stuff. But in the year 2000, she was diagnosed with early onset at Alzheimer's. And so I I focused more on the brain science than you know, hoping to help her.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

Back then we didn't know enough about Alzheimer's. So she she I couldn't really help, and nobody really could. And so, you know, she passed in 2005. But thanks. Um, but I never stopped studying it. And I've learned a lot since then, including it can even be reversed and prevented. And so all of that brain science research helped me develop the brain type test where I can more specifically and more custom help people individually, because the main problem is that most people don't know how to talk to certain people. And especially with personal trainers, a personal trainer will have their own opinion on what somebody needs to do with their diet and their health and blah, blah, blah. Well, that's because that trainer has found, because they're kind of their own biohacker, and they found over time what works for them. And so then they mistakenly assume that's gonna work for everybody else. So then that trainer gives them. That's why so many trainers have different prescriptions and opinions. And, you know, they'll they'll type up their PDF of what's worked for them and they'll hand it to their client and say, do this.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:34

And there's an 80% chance that's not gonna work for that person, especially mentally, that they just won't be able to cope or just do it. And so then they come back to the trainer and they say, I don't know why I'm struggling, if there's something wrong with me. And the trainer goes, Yeah, you just don't have enough willpower, suck it up and just do it. But they don't realize that that person has a different brain type than them.

unknown 8:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

And so the stuff that they recommended for them isn't making sense to them because that's not their brain wiring.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:04

So that's why a lot of trainers and coaches use the brain type tests with their people to understand them better and then learn and then know how to talk to them and more importantly, how to help them change their brain wiring.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

So then they think differently and act differently and get their goals, achieve their goals faster and easier.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Yeah, yeah. I love that you work with the with the brain too, because I I know I have been in the fitness industry for a long time. I myself have dieted for decades. And I'd always thought it was such a it was more of an action thing of what do I need to do? I need to do A, B, and C instead of about what do I need to think or how do I think about it. Um, and then when I hear you talk about a trainer giving someone a PDF, it's I think a lot of trainers do this, and I I have to remind myself too with some of my clients is uh I need to start with them where they're at. Like I am, I am you know 10, 20 years into fitness. Some people are at a day one. And it's hard sometimes to remember what day one feels like when you've been doing it for 20 years, when you're comfortable in the gym, when you feel like that's like a second home and people are terrified to just open that front door at the to get into a gym. So I think it's you're doing a really amazing thing because when you it's all it's all in the mind. And when we can start re-rewiring it, like you said, and speaking to people in different ways and connecting them with that in that different way and working with them, um I think that's what's gonna create lasting results because that that change is more likely to become permanent.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Which is really cool.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Yeah, and it's only permanent if the brain changes as the body's changing.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

Otherwise, it's a yo-yo.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So explain that.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

So, as people, if if someone does have the discipline to stick with the program and change themselves physically, so visually and also, you know, with muscle and body fat and all that kind of stuff, they get the results that they're after, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

If they don't change their brain as their body's changing, they're gonna yo-yo back to where they were because the brain is the boss.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:21

And the subconscious brain specifically is the boss of us, and it operates at about the level of a three-year-old. So anything that works on a toddler works on our subconscious brain. Luckily, our prefrontal cortex, I call it the parent brain, can train the toddler. So then, because the toddler is always in charge, the the PFC can train the prefrontal cortex, can train that toddler. So then the toddler will help us instead of work against us.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

Work against us, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

And that's where the brain training comes in and the rewiring comes in to help the prefrontal cortex, so we'd have the right tools to change the toddler, to train the toddler. So then the toddler's working with us, not against us. But that process has to happen as the body's changing. So as someone is, you know, losing the weight they want or gaining the muscle they want, and they're changing their brain at the same time, then when they get to their goals, their body's different and their brain is different. And so then they can stay that way and not snap back and yo-yo, because both have changed, but both do definitely have to change. Some people do this by mistake, inadvertently, but it's very rare. But people that know this and know how to do this then can not only stay that way and keep those results permanently, but they also get there easier.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Yes. Do you is this like when we talk to people about changing their identity where you want to like who is the person you want to become?

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

And we have to change your identity. Like when I I coach a local I coach at a local gym, uh, he he does a transformation challenge and I do mindset coaching for them. And I always tell people, you're in this for 90 days, but this doesn't just last 90 days. It's not like day 91, you go back to doing what you were doing and being who you were, because that's what most mostly happens. People can white knuckle it for 90.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Change their actions, habits, but not change themselves, which you're saying, you know, change the brain.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

But it's it's kind of like becoming that person you wish to become, right? A person who lives the lifestyle, who has the habits, and and all those things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Yeah. And you said the magic word is identity. And that's what that's what this brain training is all about, is to help people change their identity so then they automatically think and act like the person they want to be. And it can't happen overnight, but it can happen faster if you know how. And then when it does, then then you're stuck that way. You're stuck as a healthy person because your identity is different and you're thinking and acting differently.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

I love it. And when you say you're stuck that way, I'm like, how many people hear that and would be like, I would love to be stuck as a healthy person, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Let me stay there forever. And that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

Exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Yeah. That's really awesome. So let's talk about the women that you're you're seeing. You know, I think in the work that we we do, we're very lucky. We have a lot of conversations with people. And we get to hear a lot of stories, we get to hear what people are going through. And what, and I know menopause has been, uh, it's a topic that is much more um, we are much more open to discussing and and talking about and having conversations about. Uh, what are you hearing from the women that you're having conversations about how they're feeling, what they're experiencing, what their his like what their history's been, what kind of help they're getting, or are they do they know what to do? Are they feeling lost? Like what what's what are the conversations like?

SPEAKER_02 15:02

It's mostly they'll come to me, the first thing they usually say is, wow, I just my body's so different than when I was in my 30s. And or even 40s.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:17

And um, because that often late 40s is can be the trans transition period where they start to notice these changes. And and then that also they don't really know how to talk about it, and they're minimized by most of the medical profession, and who just basically says, yeah, it's just, you know, that's it happens. Yeah, you know, you gotta deal with it. And so, you know, getting the right help, but but most importantly, being heard because for some weird reason, our society just says, yeah, that that's normal, just suck it up and and deal with it. And in a decade or so, you'll you'll know how to how to get this out. But it's not how it should be.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Right.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

And there should be, I don't I still don't know why there's not more discussion about this. It's not a taboo topic or anything. It is normal, it is part of life, but it should be something that that should be more openly discussed. And there should be more, you know, groups and and get-togethers and and professionals that that understand this, and just to be able to get it out is huge because otherwise, if you're keeping it in, that's that's very stressful. And there's also the unknown where you feel like you're on your own and you have to research all this for yourself. And so then you get on Google and there's just so much information, and so much of it is conflicting information that then it becomes overwhelming. And then a lot of people will just give up. And those, I don't just know what to do. It's just so overwhelming, and there's no one really to hear me. And so they come to me and they say, Yeah, it's just different, and I don't know what's going on because I haven't really changed anything in my life, but my body's sure changing. And so what the heck? And then what my response is is, yeah, that's that's I hear this all the time, totally normal. I can help you with this. And what we need to do is to figure out how to hack yourself. You're gonna become a biohacker, you're gonna be doing your own experiments, you're gonna be keeping journals, you're going to be tracking food activity. Because, yes, you are becoming different. It is normal, but we can do this and we can figure this out to minimize and to work with it instead of just feeling helpless and not knowing what to do. Because the people that feel helpless and not know what to do often will pick worse habits. And then it spirals down because now all these changes are happening, but they're doing the wrong things at the same time. But if they could be heard and have somebody's help and become their own, their own lab and biohacker, then they can figure it out. Because just like the trainers that hand people PDFs, there's no PDF that I can hand out to all the women that come to me with with these issues because all of them are different. And they all have a different road because of what we discussed, you know, the the cards they've been dealt, the genetics and their lifestyle. But what we can what we can hack and do something about is the lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 18:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

But we got to figure it out because you're different from everybody else. And let's just let's just go down this road together and we can and we'll do that. And some experiments that we're gonna try aren't gonna work, yeah, others are gonna work, but with enough patience and diligence, we'll figure it out.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Yeah, I love that approach. You don't hear many people talk, like this is how I talk with my clients, but when you see people on social media selling their program to women in perimetopause and menopause, they sell one size fits all. I love what you're saying is you have to experiment. You have to see what's what works for you, what doesn't work for you. You have to be willing to like to just kind of, I always say kind of dance with it and kind of play with it and see how like how your body responds. You know, the other day I had this, I had this little analogy of I wish more people treated themselves the way a company runs, where a company, like you know, a brand new company doesn't really know what they're doing, they're figuring it out, they're willing to fail, they're willing to learn, try new things, they're collecting data. That's an important thing, right? They're collecting data, they're gonna go over their data to see how is this company running. Oh, not too effectively. Okay, what do we need to change?

SPEAKER_00 20:03

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

But I think a lot of people feel this this road, I I I sense often resistance to tracking, to collecting data to be working, right? And and I don't know why we became a species who feels like we don't need to have structure and systems and do to in this health and fitness space. We do we have structure and systems in our relationships, in our jobs, in our friendships, and a lot of the things that we do, but when it comes to our health and wellness, a lot of times it's just a free-for-all. And I don't know why we all I know I thought it was it was okay to do that for a long time. I recognize different, but yeah, it's it's really it's really interesting. So I love that you really give people the truth. Like you have to be honest. This is gonna be experiment. We're gonna see what works. Because everybody's body's like a we are all our own personal experience experiment.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Totally.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

Right. So I love it.

SPEAKER_02 21:03

Yeah, and there shouldn't be a fear of the unknown either. Yeah, because it should actually be exciting in a journey, because all humans go through lots of different phases in life. This is another phase, and this should be just as exciting as when we learn to walk, as when we started going uh going like for women, you know, when they start menstruating.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:27

That shouldn't be something weird or scary. It should be something really exciting because here's a new phase, and cool. Let's let's see how let's find out how how fun this is gonna be to navigate. Same thing with menopause. It's cool, this is happening. So let's just it's gonna be really super fun and exciting to see how to navigate this because everybody changes. We're never the same person from birth to death. We change a lot along the way. And if we can look at it as an exciting phase. Phase and journey to figure out will become better after it. Each phase we can become a better person and a happier person, and menopause is one of those phases.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

I love I love that. As you were speaking, I think, okay, you get your menstrual cycle, all these different phases. We never had, sure, there was the uns, I think a fear of when is my first mensy's gonna come. You have that, but then you just accept, you move along, you explore, you track your period, you do all of those things. If you want to have a baby, what do we do? We start tracking our menstrual cycle. Like you kind of hone into it a little bit more, you track ovulation, you get pregnant, you're excited, you don't you're there is so much unknown, but you navigate it with this like this excitement. And yes, I'm sure there's there's always a bit of like fear of the unknown in ways, but more excitement than anything. And it's really interesting as you say, I never thought of it in this way that because you know I'm in perimenopause. I never number one, I never thought about it when my body was starting to change. I I I started to, when I gained 25 pounds, started to blame hormones, but never never said the word perimenopause in my head. Never thought man, I just thought all my hormones are changing, and this weight is obviously due to my hormones and not anything I'm doing. Right. Because I think a lot of us women get to that point. They do what you said your clients do, is they're like, My body's changed. I don't know how this happened. I'm sure when they get really honest and they start collecting data, they recognize how it happened, right? It's it's it's the habits and the lifestyle.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

Yeah. So so talk to me about what you do for women in this transition phase and this new phase in their life.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

Yeah. Well, if they're a next gym member, that helps because now they're going to be working out. So we we talk to them a little bit more about frequency and you know, like if they're group training, which classes and you know, how can we make this work with your schedule kind of a stuff? Because regular exercise, in my opinion, is number one is moving and getting the right kind of exercise and the right kind of frequency. So it's safe, it's building muscle. Strength training is huge, but also getting that heart rate up and down for the cardio benefits.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:21

Because exercise is also the number one thing that you do for improving your health. And so then once we get that nailed down, we talk about how to make that an automatic habit. So it's just part of your routine, it's just like brushing your teeth, it's just something that you do. And we're doing the brain training to change the identity so that they become the person that this is what I do. And then getting them to do active stuff outside of XGM2 that's really fun. So they're enjoying being active. And that would also ideally include being outside a lot because there's really something to be said for being out in nature and doing active stuff in nature. And, you know, my sister is I'm I'm 59 and she's a couple of years older. And, you know, so of course she's dealing with this. And she goes through, she calls it well, the term is called forest bathing. But so going on walks in the forest. 200 years ago, we all did it every day because we we just lived in the forest and there not many concrete jungles like we have now. But so and and forest bathing is so huge. And hiking and things out outside is just huge for mental and physical. But so getting that down, and then we talk about nutrition, and we're hacking that based on experiments. There's no perfect diet, there's no one diet for everybody. Some women take taikido really well doing menopause, and that can be one of the more common. However, that is also the hardest one to do. And so a lot of people need to phase into that.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:13

So I start people on if if they have, if they already have diet habits that they need to be breaking or changing, we'll start out with the Mediterranean first, because that's the easiest to do, in my opinion. And then as they get good just at doing a diet, that Mediterranean is easiest for that. And then if they can get to that point where they are doing it really consistent, then maybe we've already found, maybe we got lucky, maybe we found the diet that works for them because the Mediterranean could be a perfect diet for lots of people. But if it's not quite working, then we can try something else. We can tweak it, we could do a modified Mediterranean, or we could maybe switch to paleo if they think that might be a good idea, and then just keep progressing. And eventually, maybe they might end up on keto, but that might not be the right diet for them, too. And the reason that I say I usually recommend it last for most generally for most people, is because it is the hardest diet to do because keto is kind of unforgiving. I mean, if you're gonna do it, you have to do it 99 to 100%. Because if you do it 98%, it doesn't work very well.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

Right.

SPEAKER_02 27:36

Not a lot of wiggle room where there's there's more wiggle room with the Mediterranean. Those are really the two main things is you know, let's get your exercise habits nailed down and let's do some brain training, change your identity and work on the nutrition stuff, because those together are going to be the two most powerful things for your health. And then when you get those down, we can talk more about the brain stuff and relationships and you know, all the things because we're pack animals. And so having really good relationships is important. So, in of course, in in this, because I'm I'm this age, I'm a man, but I'm the same age as the women that are going through this. And I have one grandkid, the other one, he's two, and the other one is coming this week sometime, next week at the latest, and that's my first granddaughter.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 28:34

And so those things are mentally so important. And when it we're when any of us, male, female, doesn't matter, are going through life phases and changes, it's important as pack animals to have really good relationships with our friends, with our family, and mentally that is huge. That's enormous.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:00

And I also work with people with um that are helping to be people with dementia or that have dementia themselves because of my mom. I have a lot of experience in that. And that is also one of the top things is relationships. But just having a rich and full life is so important. And that's a huge part of that as well. So those are really my top three things is the strength training and the cardio, you know, the exercise, and then nutrition and then relationships.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

Yeah, I I love that because it's not a piece that people will generally talk about. Usually it's nutrition working out, but the social aspect is a key piece to our our happiness and our longevity.

unknown 29:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:47

And speaking of longevity, you messed that you mentioned it earlier, and it's been kind of a hot topic on my mind as I am, you know, switching my thought process over my years of working out and exercising from trying to be in a smaller body to being in a stronger one. How do I want to feel in the decades to come? What do I want to be doing? I have my dad is uh 77. I just gave him the book Longevity, and he's loving it from Dr. Peter Atia, and he's talking about it with his friends, and his friends want to borrow this book, which I think is amazing. But it's really and I and I see and I hope we can all look at our parents as an example of how are they moving? What are they able to do? And what do you want to be doing at that age?

SPEAKER_00 30:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

Um, and I think that's I I I would love for you to talk about your outlook on longevity and do you uh how do you incorporate it into what you do at the gym?

SPEAKER_02 30:45

Yeah. So again, it comes down to health, but yeah, it's one of my favorite brain techniques for this is visualization. So you are visualizing the life that you want in the future as it's happening right now. So if I want to be able to run around and play soccer with my grandkids when I'm 80, I'm gonna sit down, I'm gonna close my eyes, I'm gonna visualize that as the present tense of how amazing that is. And I'm gonna appreciate the joy that I'm feeling with being strong and being able to run around and to have all this fun with this quality time with people I love and just kind of bask in the emotions of how that feels in the present tense. And that's the fastest way to rewire your brain to change that identity because the brain doesn't know the difference between imagined and real, especially the subconscious brain, the toddler that we that we mentioned. And so, and the more you emphatically you can do that with emotion and imaging in your imagination, the more effectively it becomes. And so the toddler then becomes that person. And now you're making it's the toddlers helping you make decisions and actions because you're already that person before it actually happens. And so it's not a new concept either. It's nobody have invented it recently, it's over 2,000 years old. I mean, Jesus said this himself, said, imagine, you know, pray as if you have already received it. And so he's saying, imagine, and that's how effective it is. It's a very, very old concept because it works. It's just a matter of setting aside a few minutes to do it. It's not a big deal, and it's hard at first, but it's a skill that builds with practice. So the first time you do it, sitting down and imagining yourself in the future is tough. But it that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

And let it be tough because that's rep number one of a whole bunch of reps. And every rep you get stronger and better at it. So next time it's a little bit easier, and next time it's a little bit easier. It's just a matter of carving out the time. It only takes two or three minutes every day to do stuff like this. And it's not just this one technique, it's also the other stuff, the other healthy stuff that you're doing, just putting it as a priority so it's regular.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

Yeah. So you do recommend that your clients do visualization.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

And yeah, visualization is a very popular brain training technique. But for the people who are wanting to do the anti-aging stuff, I recommend that to most. I mean, of course, they're going to take the brain type test, and I'm going to help them with the the half a dozen brain training techniques that are assigned to them based on their wiring. And a lot of those are even variations of this, but visualization is the most common one I would recommend because it is a very common. And for predicting the future and making the you know, manifesting, if you will, the future, that's one of the best ones to do it.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

Yeah, that's really great. That is really awesome. So let's talk about this anti anti-aging. As you mentioned, anti-aging. And when you say um like age backwards with the right approach, what does that mean in practice?

SPEAKER_02 34:37

Well, of course, it's going to involve getting healthy.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:41

And making that as your as your main goal. But the research has also shown that it's your attitude towards aging that is just enormous. It's a huge factor. So if you go into aging with the same attitude as a life phase, like we talked about earlier, being excited about it, with expectations and anticipation of things are going to be better as I get older. I'm going to be smarter, I'm going to be stronger, I'm going to be wiser. I'm going to be able to help people with all this wisdom. I'm going to be kinder. I'm going to be more patient. You know, and that comes with age for a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 35:24

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:25

And how much fun I'm going to have and how much I'm going to be able to help my friends as they get older, too. And just looking forward to all the wonderful things that you picture you are in the present tense.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

And looking forward to it. So it's when you go to these blue zones, you know, you heard about the blue zones.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:50

It's their attitude that is, there's lots of different things between the blue zones. You know, there's certain threads that are connected between the blue zones, but they're they're quite different. But the one except there's no exception that the one main thread they all share is their attitude toward aging is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 36:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:10

They're looking forward to it, they're not dreading it.

unknown 36:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 36:14

And they know that they're going to be happy and they're going to be active, and they're expecting certain things out of it. Because anytime somebody is disappointed in life, it's because an expectation hasn't been met. And that expectation is typically set by ourselves for no really good reason.

SPEAKER_00 36:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:39

Well, we can make up our expectations and we can make up our story.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 36:44

The human brain is wired for stories. And so if we don't give it a story, it's going to make one up. And it's easier for the human brain to make up a worst-case scenario story than a best case scenario story. So that's why a lot of people fear aging and fear getting old and decrepit. And if they focus on that, on their fear the majority of the time, they're going to manifest that and they're going to become that old decrepit person. But if they catch themselves thinking those things and they say, oh, nope. And then they just say, Well, okay, there's a story that my brain just made up. So if my brain has to make up stories, and it does, let's make up the best case scenario story. And we're going to think about that now, replacing the worst case scenario story. And then the brain helps you manifest that happening. And then that's going to happen more likely than not.

SPEAKER_01 37:48

I really love that. I wrote down the word expecting because when you said that, I'm like, yes, people's in the blue zone, they expect things to be well and go well. And uh, and I'm sure you had countless conversations. I've had countless conversations with people who expect to get slower, to get weaker, to not be able to do things. They just they place they place these limits on themselves. Um I had a conversation with an older gentleman at the gym, and he he was just randomly saying, you know, I need to make sure I don't get my heart rate too high. And I'm like, Oh, do you have any heart conditions? Like a doctor told you not to get your heart rate too high, and he goes, No. And in my head, I'm like, your heart, I didn't want to, I wasn't working, I wasn't there as a fitness. I was just a member chatting with another member, so I didn't want to preach to him or say much. But like our our heart is a muscle that needs to pump. We need to make it stronger via it pumping. Yeah, but people automatically feel like I can't, I shouldn't, I need to be cautious, I might get hurt, I need to be careful.

SPEAKER_02 38:52

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 38:53

And then and it's it's like, no, you are so capable. You need to do all of these other things, yeah. So you don't do and what it is that you think is gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02 39:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:05

And and it the the the best way to to help somebody like that, what I found, is just to ask them why. You know, they say, Oh, I need to be careful, or I need to, I can't do that anymore. Why? Yeah, well, I'm getting old. Oh, who told you that? Yeah, where'd that come from?

SPEAKER_00 39:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

And people will get old if they say they're getting old, or if they say, Oh, I can't do that anymore, I'm too old for that, or I need to be careful, I'm getting older. When they say, those are affirmations. It's no different than the technique where you're, you know, you say good things about yourself. Yeah, I call them more like declarations because it needs to have more emotion when you're doing that technique than just a normal affirmation that you're kind of blindly saying to yourself. Because the you're programming your subconscious, you can program it to get old fast or you can program it to stay young. Yeah, it just depends on the words and the thoughts. And words are very, very powerful. So you have to be very careful what you think, but you even have to be more careful what comes out of your mouth.

SPEAKER_00 40:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:14

Because once it's vocalized with your vocal cords and it becomes a sound wave, that is way more powerful than a thought. Yes, we need to take our thoughts captive and stop ourselves with, you know, and change stories like we talked about, worst case to best case, but we really have to be careful what comes out of our mouth. So if we hear another person saying stuff like that, then we're doing them a huge favor by helping direct them around to, well, why do you think that way? Where did that come from? Who told you that? Where do you learn that? Kind of a thing. But in a loving way, not a condescending way. But it's just it to help steer them to help them think differently and then use different words. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

Yeah. I I think in the same space as we are trying to change the menopause conversation and like you said, not go into it with fear or to expect the worst, sort of feel like, oh, this is all downhill. This is, you know, the best is behind me. I take a approach aging in that in that same way. Where it's not this down thing, it's this, no, I can continue to get strong, I continue to thrive, I can continue to do the things that I love. Um, and just like with when you're teaching uh, you know, your clients how to, you know, improve their eating habits, you modify, you modify as needed. You you treat your body like it's the experiment and you make adjustments where necessary. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:40

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, how many, how many women would would, when they know that they're going through menopause, would say, Oh, this is great. This is really exciting. I can't wait to see how this is going to turn out and what a better person I'm going to become with this new phase of life.

SPEAKER_01 41:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:55

But they that's what they should be saying.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

A hundred percent. I hear you say it and I love it. And it changes how I feel when you say it. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I think I need to start getting my like I need to like re-listen to this and write down what you just said and have them recite this over and over, right? And and we need to just speak, speak that. I think us speaking it out to them, like you said, it changes the energy of all of it.

unknown 42:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:17

Yeah. Uh the two my two of the most favorite women in my life were my grandmothers.

SPEAKER_00 42:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:23

Because they were so amazing. And they had, by the time that they were helping me and being with me, they'd they'd gone through menopause. I mean, you never you never quit menopause, you're always in it. But they had gone through those changes, and they're that the the women that they were were just, I just can't say enough about how amazing they were. And it's they became more amazing than they were before menopause because of their attitude and how they embraced life and how they embraced aging. And they were just huge, amazing impacts on my life and were a big part of helping me become who I am.

SPEAKER_01 43:10

Yeah, what a blessing. It's amazing how it's trickled down, right?

SPEAKER_02 43:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

I love that. So let's sneak back to when you were talking about what you would do with women in this menopause uh stage of their life. So they're starting to implement um more movement, more exercise, making some modifications, experimenting with diet. What have you seen? Like what what kind of trans transition, transformation, not just even from not just talking physically, any kind of transformation that you see happen in for these women?

SPEAKER_02 43:44

Yes. So the main thing is with the health, there comes happiness. And then also there's the whole subject of how they look. And so they like how they They looked in their 30s and 40s, and they they don't like how they are becoming to appear and look in the mirror as they get into their late 40s and 50s. And so what my reply is all right, let's just put that on the back burner and focus on the health. And then once you have achieved optimal health, then see how you will see how you look. And that's how you're supposed to look. And so let's just put everything behind ourselves, forget about the 30s, the 20s and 30s. And because you know, when you're in your teens, you can you can do no wrong, right? You can your metabolism is sky high and the muscle tone and your body shape and everything like that. Well, we're not supposed to look that way for the rest of our lives. And so why expect that? So what I tell people is, I don't know how you're gonna look five years from now. But how about we just let go of that and we get to your optimal health, and then we see what happens, and then we'd be okay with that because when you're at your optimal health, your body is going to decide how it's gonna look.

SPEAKER_00 45:23

Right.

SPEAKER_02 45:23

But I guarantee you one thing, you're gonna feel amazing. And what the body does, it's gonna do, and that's fine. Now, it's modifiable with strength training because of the muscle tone and with nutrition, with the body fat and all that. But here's the bottom line: you're gonna look different, you're gonna look different at 50 and 60 than you did at 20 and 30. So, and that's fine. The only thing that matters is your health because if you're strong and you're healthy, you're gonna be enjoying life as you look different. But I don't know what that's gonna look like. You don't either. Let's find out together and let's just do it that way.

SPEAKER_01 46:07

Do you have any final like words of wisdom you want to share? Anything that's kind of sitting with you that you're like, I really want people to hear this or leave a final message for people.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Yeah, it's really about finding the right, as far as what we're talking about with aging and nomenopause and you know, male, female, getting older, it's finding the right support. Maybe that's a friend, maybe that's a pet, maybe it's maybe it's your own journal, maybe it's a spouse, maybe it's God, you know, reading the Bible, spending time with him. It's different for everybody, but is finding that so you're not alone because taking the aging journey alone is brutal. And we're not supposed to do that. We're supposed to take it with someone, and that I think is the most important thing is to finding that support person and finding your support and finding your own group. Maybe it's a tribe, you know, maybe you form your own group and it's it's a it's a dozen people that you're but we're pack animals, like I said earlier. And that is going to be uh very, very vital into taking any kind of life transition and and upgrading yourself as you take the life transition, and then with that support person, you're helping each other upgrade each other, and that's what it is. Every phase of life is an opportunity to upgrade and become awesomer.

SPEAKER_01 47:54

Yeah, that is such a great way to put it for us as humans, is like let's consistently upgrade. I really love that. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 48:02

But we can't do it alone, and we're not supposed to do it alone.

SPEAKER_01 48:04

Yeah, yeah, 100%. Yeah, that's really great. I you have given lots of great nuggets, PJ. I really appreciate that. I love too, and I just uh with full transparency, I love how as a male you're able to, you can see that you connect and understand what women are going through. I love your approach that you're working with people, not just their body, but you truly are working with the whole human that you see in front of you and especially their mind. It's it's really powerful the work that you're doing. So thank you for that. Thank you for sharing with us today and for your time.