You Don’t Wait For Motivation; You Create It By Moving (S1E4)

What if exercise stopped feeling like judgment and started feeling like support? We take a fresh look at movement as a daily practice that preserves capacity—strength for everyday tasks, balance for confidence, joint health for freedom of movement—and explain why consistency matters far more than intensity or perfection.

We unpack the emotional baggage many people carry around gyms and workouts and replace it with a kinder, science-backed frame. Drawing on research from Harvard Health, the CDC, the NIH, and the Mayo Clinic, we show how frequent, approachable movement improves cardiovascular health, stabilizes blood sugar, nourishes joints, sharpens cognition, boosts mood, and improves sleep. You’ll hear why midlife is the perfect time to pivot from chasing outcomes to safeguarding independence, and how muscle remains adaptive at any age when you ask it to contract and stabilize regularly.

Then we get practical. We map out a simple weekly rhythm built on three pillars: walking to regulate the nervous system and support the heart, strength to protect metabolism and bones, and mobility to keep ranges of motion accessible and pain lower. No perfection needed—bodyweight, bands, and short sessions count. We also take on the motivation myth. Readiness isn’t a prerequisite; it’s created by action. Start with ten minutes. Let neurochemistry work for you as movement generates momentum, momentum builds belief, and belief fuels consistency.

If you’ve felt stuck by all-or-nothing plans, performance pressure, or years of stop-start cycles, this conversation offers a clear path forward. Trade the question “did I do enough?” for “did I show up?” and let practice carry you. 

Follow the show for more tools to build sustainable metabolic health, and share this episode with a friend who needs a nudge to lace up today. Your next step: what’s one small move you’ll repeat this week?

Transcript

Welcome Contenders!

Redefining Movement

Why Movement Matters MORE after 40

Movement Builds Health--In and Out of the Gym

Movement, Mood, and the Brain

Motivation Follows Movement

The Three Types of Movement that Matter Most: Walking, Strength, and Mobility

Movement is a Practice, Not a Performance

CLOSE: Follow, Share, and Go Make Some Tea for Bedtime!

SPEAKER_00 0:00

How the health are you? Let's find out. Welcome back, contender. I am your metabolic health coach Isaac Sanchez. Thank you for joining me. We're daily contending for our health, knowing that we don't need to know all the science, we just need to know that what we're learning is good for us and that it works. That's how I hope to serve you with this podcast. And with that, I'm so glad that you're with me again today. Let's go ahead and jump right into this week's topic. As a matter of fact, we might be finished playing ketchup with late episodes. Um, this is the last week, I believe, so I'm feeling pretty good about that. The goal is that this podcast would go into depth on the content shared in the one-minute wellness reminder videos we would be sharing during the week. So I think we're there now. Uh speaking of which, this past week we moved the discussion to movement, fitness, motion, working out, all of it. So let's go ahead and continue that here. So lace up, let's move, maybe even sweat a little bit. Now, before we talk about workouts, programs, or routines, I want to reset how we think about movement itself. For many people, the word exercise doesn't land neutrally, it carries emotional weight. Sometimes it carries history, sometimes it carries shame. Uh it can bring out uh bring up images of gyms filled with mirrors, comparison, pressure, soreness, and expectations that once felt manageable but no longer do. Uh for some, it reminds them of a time when movement felt easier, when bodies responded faster, when recovery was quick and forgiving. And for others, it recalls cycles of starting strong and stopping quietly over and over again. Somewhere along the way, movement stopped feeling like support and started feeling more like judgment, like something you were supposed to be disciplined about, like something you were either good at or failing at. But movement was never meant to be a performance. And uh, you know, movement, it's not a test you pass or fail. It's not something you do to prove worthiness. Uh, movement is a conversation between your body and your brain, and that conversation is happening all the time. And when you sit for hours, your body receives one message. When you stand, stretch, walk, or lift, even briefly, it receives another. Now, I totally understand the idea of uh fitness or movement being an issue. I forever, uh, and I'm getting around this because of my wife who helps me with this, but I forever have just been um in fear of the site of the gym that has the free weights or the machines. I just go straight to the um the treadmill. And so that's starting to turn a corner now because of um her helping me. She really loves and enjoys the gym, knows her way around the gym. So I'm getting some help on that. All right, so it can be done. You can turn a corner, folks. Let's move on here. According to Harvard Health Publishing, regular movement supports cardiovascular health, joint integrity, blood sugar regulation, brain health, and emotional balance. These are not cosmetic outcomes, these are foundational systems. What matters most isn't intensity, it's the frequency. So movement movement is not punishment for what you ate, how you look, or what you skipped yesterday. It's nourishment for how the body is designed to function. So every time you move, even gently, you're reminding your nervous system that your body is safe to inhabit and safe to use. Now, that sense of safety becomes increasingly important in midlife when stress can uh has accumulated and recovery is no longer automatic. And this shift is how we see movement becomes even more important once we reach midlife. So as we get older, the purpose of movement quietly but profoundly changes. Earlier in life, movement often revolved around appearance, performance, competition, or pushing limits. Uh, there was an unspoken assumption that the body would bounce back, adapt quickly, and tolerate extremes. In midlife, however, however, that assumption fades. Movement becomes less about chasing outcomes and more about preserving capacity. Such a big, big, big uh perspective switch. It's about preserving strength so everyday tasks don't become exhausting, preserving balance so confidence in your body doesn't erode, and preserving joint health so pain doesn't slowly narrow your world, and preserving independence so life stays expansive instead of cautious. And this isn't about some distant future version of yourself, it's about now, folks. One of the most common beliefs about aging is that muscle loss and weakness are inevitable. That decline is often framed as just getting older. I'm just getting older. However, research from the National Institutes of Health tells a different story. Uh, we don't lose strength simply because we age, we lose strength because we stop using it. I I hope that's uh good news to you, okay? That we don't lose strength simply because we age, we lose strength because we stop using it. Muscle tissue is adaptive, it responds to demand at any age. Any age, my friend, that's good news. So when muscles are regularly asked to contract, stabilize, and support movement, the body responds by maintaining them. When they're not, the body reallocates resources elsewhere. Movement, especially movement that includes resistance, that sends a clear message to the body. This tissue is still needed. Excuse me, gonna need that. Leave that here. Okay. Uh so that message supports metabolism, blood sugar regulation, posture, joint stability, and fall prevention. It also supports confidence. When your body feels capable, your mind follows. I have noticed that in different aspects of my health journey. That as I lost weight, I didn't, I didn't fathom this. As I lost weight and felt my body differently and felt clothing looking and fitting better, it it changed things, it brought on this this optimism, this confidence. Okay, so it's a real thing, folks. It really, really, really is a real thing that your body feels more capable when it does that. Your mind starts to follow that. So now, joints benefit as well. Joints don't thrive on rest alone, they thrive on motion. Movement circulates synovial fluid, delivering nutrients and reducing stiffness. Avoiding movement often worsens the very discomfort people fear. So that leads us to an important distinction. Most people completely overlook. One of the biggest misconceptions about health is where it actually happens. Many people believe health lives inside workouts, inside scheduled exercise sessions, gym memberships, or structured programs. But much of health is built between those moments. Okay, so movement works cumulatively. Your body responds to patterns, not isolated efforts. One intense workout cannot undo a full day of sitting. And one low movement day does not erase weeks of consistent activity. So this is where everyday motion becomes powerful. Walking to reset the nervous system, standing instead of sitting when possible, stretching to maintain range of motion, changing positions frequently throughout the day. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regular, moderate movement significantly, key word significantly reduces the risk of chronic disease, even when that movement isn't formal exercise. That matters because it removes barriers. So you don't need to identify as a fitness person, you don't need perfect routines, you don't need to love workouts, you just need to move in ways your body recognizes as use. And that use tells the body to maintain systems instead of letting them degrade. And the benefits don't stop at the body, they extend directly to the brain. Movement is one of the most underutilized tools for mental and emotional health. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular physical activity improves mood, it reduces anxiety, enhances sleep quality, and supports cognitive function. Give me some of that. All of that. Movement increases blood flow to the brain and stimulates neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, chemicals that help regulate mood, motivation, and emotional resilience. So this is why movement often changes how you feel before it changes how you look. Isn't that interesting? Okay, before the look happens, it's the feel. I feel better, of course, then the look follows, of course. So, like after a walk, and I love my walks, stress feels less sharp, thoughts feel less tangled, emotional reactions soften. I totally uh am evidence of that. I love, love, love my walks. I may be going on another walk uh this afternoon, uh, this evening before I start like a little break before the next work I have to do. So I love my walks. Now, movement doesn't eliminate stress, but it increases your capacity to carry it. We've seen that a couple of times in the habits that we carry on for optimal health. So it increases the margin. Now, and margin makes better decisions possible, right? Isn't that great? We get that space, that buffer to be able to think a little bit better. Uh, and so that's a good thing. So, this is why motivation is often misunderstood. When someone says, I know I should move more, I just don't feel motivated. What they're usually expressing isn't laziness or resistance, it's discouragement. Can you relate to that? I can't. It's that quiet fatigue that comes from wanting to feel better, but not knowing where to start or not trusting that starting will even matter. That was me in the gym, steering clear from the machines from the free weights, right? I'm I'm I'm starting to move into that area now with some good helping help. Coaching is totally helpful. I'm so fortunate, as I mentioned, that my wife is there for me for that. So, motivation is often treated like a prerequisite. Okay, that means it's got to happen before, like something you're supposed to have before you begin. Like I gotta feel it before I can do it. Not not true. Uh, so motivation is rarely the starting point, it's the byproduct. Now, that may be different for some of you, but that's not typical, okay? Movement creates momentum. Okay, move first, it creates momentum, and momentum changes how the brain perceives effort. Once the body starts moving, even in small ways, neurochemicals associated with reward and focus begin to shift. And that shift doesn't just affect muscles, it affects belief. It's so powerful. So you don't suddenly feel motivated and then move, you move and motivation quietly catches up. I think that's super, super cool. So please note this that waiting to quote feel ready, that can keep people stuck for years. Is that the case for you? That was the case for me. Literally, anywhere from 15 to 20 years when I should have been moving, I was making excuses of getting home and saying, I'm just too tired. I've had a long day working with the students, I'm a high school English teacher, and just like I can't. I'm just I need just to sit here and rest and watch TV. I thoroughly was just feeling I'm not ready. I just can't. And and I got stuck. So I learned, and I'm glad that I learned. Readiness, readiness is not a feeling, it's a state created through action. Soon as I started to lace up and just start moving, one day I just said, just do it. I said, lace up and just get out there and walk. Man, once I got out there, um, that changed everything. So um, even small movement interrupts inertia, a short walk, a few stretches, standing up after sitting, too long. These moments, they send a message to the brain that something is changing, and the brain responds by lowering resistance. Okay, it's there to help us out. So movement creates clarity, clarity builds confidence, but confidence makes consistency possible, and consistency there's that word again, consistency, not motivation, is what changes health. So let's make this practical and simple now. One of the most overwhelming parts of fitness culture is the belief that you need to do everything and do it perfectly. Cardio, strength, flexibility, balance, recovery, programs, schedules, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That pressure alone stops many people before they ever begin. It stopped me. Maybe it has stopped you. But the truth, my friends, is far simpler. Most adults benefit most from a steady rhythm of walking, strength, and mobility. Walking supports cardiovascular health, joint motion, circulation, and nervous system regulation. It also lowers stress without overstimulation. Walking doesn't demand performance, it invites participation. So strength becomes increasingly important with age, not because of appearance, but because muscle is metabolically active tissue. Muscle supports blood sugar control, protects joints, preserves bone density, and reduces fall risk. So, so, so important as we age. So, strength doesn't require heavy weights, bands, machines, body weight, and daily resistance, they all count. Mobility keeps the other two possible. So joints that move well hurt less, bodies that move through full ranges of motion feel safer to inhabit. And mobility isn't about extreme flexibility, it's about access. The World Health Organization recommends a mix of aerobic and muscle strengthening activity each week, but emphasizes consistency over intensity. So you don't need to do all three every day, you don't need to do them perfectly, you just need to keep them in your life. And this is the message I want to leave you with today. Movement was never meant to be something you earn through discipline, punishment, or guilt. It was meant to be something you return to, a practice, not a performance. Performance that demands results. A practice builds capacity. Performance asks, did I do enough? Practice asks, did I show up? And this distinction matters deeply in midlife when bodies are changing and comparison becomes less helpful. So you don't need to start big, you don't need to start intense, you don't need to start perfectly, you need to start consistently, you need to just start. So 10 minutes of movement repeated daily sends a powerful signal to your body. Hey, knock knock, we're still using this. Please keep it available. Movement doesn't need to impress anyone, it doesn't need to look a certain way, it doesn't need to be tracked, optimized, or shared. It just needs to happen again and again. Now accountability is good. I totally recommend that. I have accountability. Okay, so don't I don't want to to send uh a wrong uh bit of information there, okay? But just you know, be sure someone's helping you, even if you're not just tracking it or you're not optimizing and counting everything. I believe that once you start doing it, you'll feel better. You're gonna want to see progress. And by looking at things and tracking, that will help eventually. But again, it just needs to happen again and again. Movement does. And the beauty of a practice is that it grows with you. What feels hard now becomes familiar later. What feels intimidating now becomes normal. So movement meets you where you are, and if you let it, it carries you forward. All right now. Well, listen, before you run off and take off, and I encourage that, whether it's to the gym or lace enough to walk out around the corner. Uh listen, if this episode helped you, please be sure to follow the podcast so you don't miss future conversations. And listen, if you know someone who could benefit from our weekly discussions on creating a lifestyle that maximizes our metabolic health, please share the podcast with them. Maybe you've been talking to a friend that's been wanting to get to the gym or just starting to take a walk. Have them listen to this so they get a little bit encouraged about how much it matters even when they start small. So, again, remember you can listen while mowing the lawn, doing laundry, now taking your walks or getting a workout checked off this weekend. Just take us along uh with you, and we'll be sure to keep your company. We'll be sure to help out. All right, friends. Thanks for hanging out. Be well, you know.