The Farmer’s Health is the Key to Farm Success

The episode focuses on the crucial link between a farmer's health and the business operation. We dive into how acknowledging personal well-being can create a thriving farming business. 

• Importance of asking for help and shifting mindset toward delegation 
• Recognizing the demands of physical and mental health on farmers 
• Discussing personal experiences and approaches to health issues 
• Emphasizing the necessity of running a farm like a true business 
• Discussion on the significance of consistent exercise and nutrition 


Until next time, it's a good day to have a great day! 

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:14

The Farmer's Greatest Asset podcast. We believe the farm's greatest asset is the farmer their knowledge, experience, mind and health. Welcome back to the Farmer's Greatest Asset. Podcast I'm Dr Leah.

Speaker 2 0:46

And I'm Jesse Farmers have a tough it out mindset. There was a point during your injury where you didn't have the option of whether or not you asked for help, because you needed a lot of help. So that was like you had to learn to adjust and take on the help, and I've seen that shift in you. Now you are a much better manager and have the ability to delegate better and allow other people to help you. How has that changed your farming operation and you as an individual?

Speaker 1 1:21

Well, you would always tell me to work on the business, not into business. As farmers, I think we're just big kids and we just want to play. We just want to play with tractors. So we always just put our head down and we want to and I love doing it. That's the other thing I love. I love driving tractors in a combine. But I I did realize I need to allow other people to do it, so that allows me to work on the business and it's okay to let other people do the work, do the busy work.

Speaker 2 1:49

Did you always feel like that?

Speaker 1 1:51

No, feel like what.

Speaker 2 1:53

Like it was okay for other people to do the work.

Speaker 1 1:56

No, I always thought I had to do it.

Speaker 2 1:57

Why do you think?

Speaker 1 1:58

that is, I was told I had to do it. So you had I mean to me, you had a limiting belief that said, you had to do the work well, because we're always so proud that we were hard workers, but I, I was literally told I had to do. It can't farm and not and hire somebody just to do your work for you.

Speaker 2 2:16

But it's also that pride that we take in it, that I did it right, you know.

Speaker 1 2:22

But also look at I wrote it one time while journaling about the paul harvey story. And so god made a farmer and we all love that poem so much. We were so proud that the superbowl played or the ram used that during the superbowl. Because we're just such hard workers, sometimes pride is a bad thing. Too right Like you're too proud. It's okay to let other people do some of the busy work and then you can focus on the business and let the business thrive and expand the business, because we need to run our farms like a business.

Speaker 2 3:00

And we have learned somewhat the hard way of what can happen when you don't run your farm like the business that it is.

Speaker 1 3:09

So all of the driving the tractor stuff is I love it, but it's a busy work, you know. So it's you're not handling the business while you're driving the tractor, even though we all have the auto steer and Bluetooth headsets on our phones and whatever, and we're making business calls, but we're still not focusing on the business, and then we're just beating ourselves or working so hard, working ourselves to the bone that then the business side fails, but then so does your health mental and physical and it's all just kind of the snowball effect.

Speaker 2 3:47

So what changes have you made to improve that within our farming operation and within your personal life?

Speaker 1 3:55

I'm still struggling to give up some of the tractor duties and the combine duties, combine duties, but trying to empower our employees to take a leadership role and empower them to take care of the farm that and your personal, I'm able to focus on some of the business, realizing we need to run the farm like a business.

Speaker 1 4:18

We hire a tax professional, we hire a insurance agent. Why don't we hire somebody to market our stuff and run it like a business? So it's seeing, all those things are actually really important and then by allowing utilizing somebody else to do that stuff, I'm not so beat down. When I come home, I probably still come home some days. When I come home, I probably still come home some days. And you guys, I saw it and you even told me you guys would just be like, oh, look out what kind of mood is dad in. When dad comes home, we'll see what kind of mood he's in and if things are flying across the room when he comes in, look out what. I'm trying to personally not do that, but then just not being so wore out, so mentally drained, so physically drained, we don't have to do it all well.

Speaker 2 5:13

It has also freed you up for this project and although farming is your love and passion, it seems that now you have a higher purpose and you're really blooming. And this is it's freed up. The delegation is necessary to free you up to do more of this type of work so we can help agriculture and agricultural families.

Speaker 1 5:43

So I'm learning. We're all a work in progress, so I'm learning to delegate those things and let people do some of the busy work so I can focus on myself, focus on this, and then help other people learn to focus on themselves and let some of the other busy work go to somebody else.

Speaker 2 6:00

It's okay to pay an hourly employee to come work for us so how I see it is it's it's breaking a lot of generational beliefs that the farmer has to have their hands in everything. Farms used to used to be smaller and less efficient and that worked and our fathers. It worked well for our fathers. But for our generation to move forward and for us to carry on these family legacies. That's not going to work, at least it's not working for to continue. That. It's not going to work for our farming operation.

Speaker 1 6:46

Well, so you look at our fathers. The amount of dollars that are on the table now versus when they did, it are like way more.

Speaker 2 6:55

Probably almost tenfold.

Speaker 1 6:58

So that alone is stressful, and then having to deal with that amount of money anymore that is on the table you got to focus on not losing that whole table well, just putting your head down. Doing the hard work doesn't get you through it anymore right, you have to be hustling.

Speaker 2 7:23

You got to do more than just farm. You got to do more than just the work.

Speaker 1 7:27

And the work is all the mindset and the health, the physical health as well.

Speaker 2 7:32

Right, well, and there are very few farming operations that are just row crop only or just cattle only, or just cattle only. There's always a side hustle.

Speaker 1 7:50

There's always another business, if not three or four or ten. Well, it seems like the big successful ones all might have a lot of row crop acres, but they have another big side business.

Speaker 2 8:01

Trucking company or bulldozing, or something, yeah, so that's been a big growth opportunity, I think, for both of us this last year. What we've been focusing on is how to run our business like a business and to be okay in ourselves to allow our employees to actually do the work without us.

Speaker 1 8:25

Right, it's still hard to do because they're not going to do it exactly how I do it.

Speaker 2 8:32

Or as fast.

Speaker 1 8:33

Or as fast, but it's also I'm learning. I'm not giving them my clear expectations, so I can't also go over there and like this morning. We went over there and things were not how I would have left them overnight, but that doesn't mean that they weren't successful in what they were doing the day before. So I just have never given them my clear expectation of, at the end of the day, if the planter's there I want to put away, and they left it sit out last night.

Speaker 1 9:04

But, I never told them my clear expectation, so it's learning those little things also to, just because that's the way I do it. It's in my head because that's the way I would do it. We have to learn to manage ourselves and our people better.

Speaker 2 9:18

Well, and some of it too, is if you still have that belief that you really do need to be there, you are not going to communicate the expectations. So then it just continues to reinforce that you need to be doing it because they're not doing it how you want it done.

Speaker 1 9:36

Or when they don't do it, how I would do it, and then I just go over there and do it myself. Can I tell myself, well, it won't get done right unless I do it Right. I mean, how did that just sound? Because that's what I used to say and I'm still working through it. Working through it, and um went to a speech where um joe leathers, the four sixes ranch manager, and that was his biggest advice Let them fail, but when they fail, let them learn from their failures.

Speaker 2 10:15

as well, I'm trying to get through that yet. So you are not the only one that struggles with that. I, too, struggle with that, and primarily with our children and the house. I'm getting better about voicing what my expectations are, and trying to let them figure out how to meet them is probably the difficult part.

Speaker 1 10:36

Meet your expectations, correct.

Speaker 2 10:38

Right, but I can't do it all on my own either.

Speaker 1 10:41

As much as I have grown in the last year and a half, two years, and as much as you have grown we're still working through it. Sure, it's a struggle, more so, some days a struggle, some days not such a struggle, but it's still a work in progress. We're human.

Speaker 2 10:58

We're like onions. There's multiple layers About parfait I like parfait.

Speaker 1 11:02

There's multiple layers, well, parfait.

Speaker 2 11:03

I like parfait, oh shoot. That is our, you know, digression back to our kids' animated movies. So there's a lot of physical toll of farming. It's a very physical job in, you know, in spurts, but there's a lot of back pain and joint pain and just pure exhaustion. Why do you think that farmers ignore their health until it's too late?

Speaker 1 11:35

For me. I felt well, I can handle it, or we're manly. Whatever, we can power through this.

Speaker 2 11:44

So why do you ignore your health until it's too late? Because I think that the pain, it's symptoms not only of the physical but also the mental. So why do farmers tend to ignore the pain until they need to have a joint replacement or they need to have back surgery or they have to take time off because they have a debilitating problem?

Speaker 1 12:18

I think sometimes we think well, we're active, we're outside working all the time, we're active, but that doesn't take the place of actual exercise.

Speaker 2 12:28

What do you mean by actual exercise? What specifically so?

Speaker 1 12:32

stretching is very important. So actual exercise, I guess going to the gym and doing some resistance training is key. Doing some resistance training is key Cardio work so treadmill, bike or something is key. But prior to all of that is stretching. So when you do the stretching you need to continuously build muscle to support the joints and support your whole body. To build muscle you have to do resistance training, but to actually build that muscle you have to stretch to build that muscle.

Speaker 2 13:08

By resistance training you mean lifting weights. Lifting weights.

Speaker 1 13:12

It could be. You know push-ups, you know dips in a chair. It doesn't always have to be weights, or a weight machine could be bands, therabands. But there's also other exercises pushups, you use your own body weight as resistance.

Speaker 2 13:29

Herpes, mountain climbers, other calisthenics.

Speaker 1 13:32

Right, all that stuff. It's very important because just because you're outside and active, that doesn't take the place of cardio, resistance, training and stretching. So to have good health or good joint health and good joint stability, you got to have strength. But to get that as well you have to stretch. So both the stretching helps build the muscle, building the muscle helps support the joints, and then the cardio is just to burn some calories but also get your heart rate going, get the blood pumping.

Speaker 2 14:07

Exercise your heart, build your heart muscle. Yeah.

Speaker 1 14:10

And get the blood pumping to the muscles. So the other thing is getting to the gym. I don't know why I don't go all the time, I just take the easy route, I guess. So getting to the gym is a whole other aspect. But when I do get to the gym I like to obviously first stretch, do 15 to 20 minutes on the treadmill, start out at a leisurely pace, get loosened up, but every two minutes increase the speed. If you want to stay at the same incline, that's fine.

Speaker 1 14:38

But you got to get to a point where you're pushing yourself within you the middle of the 15-20 minutes so say minute 10, you're pushing yourself and then you can kind of back it off every two minutes after that as well, but then, when you're done doing your cardio, I like to stretch again and then go to some resistance training, whether it be free weights, weight machines or some your own body weight resistance, all that kind of stuff, whatever resistance training you're going to do. And I like to do focused exercises. So one day I like to do chest and tris, another day I like to do legs, so that could be quads and hamstrings.

Speaker 1 15:16

And then the next day I'd like to take a break in there. You got to give everything a rest and then. So, basically, day four, you're on back and bys and then day five you're back to legs, so like hamstrings and glutes, glutes. So you're not doing, you're not trying to do every single muscle group every day, because more or less, that muscle group needs time to rest and repair. So, as you're building that muscle, you're tearing that, that muscle fiber. It needs time to rest and repair. So, as you're building that muscle, you're tearing that muscle fiber. It needs time to repair. And that's where the muscle building comes in and tearing that muscle, but letting it repair and build. So it needs time a week in between, more or less, to do that. And then stretching Everybody forgets the stretching. I stretch three, four times, or the whole workout. I'm stretching.

Speaker 2 16:06

So I think, on top of that you and I have had conversations about this I think that the three types of exercise that you have brought up just now are vital. So that is the stretching, weight training or resistance training, aerobic activity, meaning you're getting your heart rate up, like you said. So you need to have you know, you need to get above 120, I mean at minimum get your heart rate, it's your heart rate going above 120 and maintain it yes, and that you can easily test, and on whatever machine you're on most of of them

Speaker 2 16:43

will collect that for you quickly and get your hands back off of it so you're continuing to push yourself.

Speaker 2 16:49

I also think that we as human beings are not meant to be sedentary and sitting around, and so getting out and walking is very important. So if you can be outside walking around, try and make that as part of your normal routine every day. So in the agricultural community, especially in the spring and the fall and even a lot through the summer, if you do a lot of hay, you're in a tractor a lot all day long. You need to get out of the tractor. You need to get out and walk around and not be sitting in that seat for hours upon hours a day. So, whether you get out and you walk around a little bit, stretch out your muscles those are going to be very important things that you do. 10,000 steps does not replace a workout, but the whole concept of getting out and moving 10,000 steps or 7,000 steps, whatever you want it to be that day, increasing your activity from a sedentary lifestyle is also very important in your overall health and well-being.

Speaker 1 17:53

Right when we're sitting in the combine all day for two, three months at a time. So this year we started the Chuck truck and that gave us the opportunity to get out, get up and move around, because sure, we stop, we might go to the bathroom or whatever, but that Chuck truck you and the girls would bring food out, so it was good healthy home-cooked food, and you made sure that it was actually healthy food, real food, real food.

Speaker 1 18:22

But that gave us the opportunity to get up and walk around and get the blood flowing again, because just sitting there all day long isn't good for you, so moving is good for you. So then, the 10,000 steps is amazing, that's awesome, but that doesn't replace resistance training, though, either. Correct.

Speaker 2 18:44

Right, I think all four of those types of workouts are vital for health. Awesome, but that doesn't replace resistance training, though, either. Correct, right? I think all four of those types of workouts are vital for health, and you might not be able to get them every day. That's not how life works for everyone, and, instead of shooting for perfection, it's so important to make sure you're getting your resistance training in and your aerobic activity and stretching, and to just be as active as possible, but you need to have three to four episodes I shouldn't say episodes.

Speaker 1 19:16

Three to four. Three to four days, that you're.

Speaker 2 19:19

Days, three to four times a week, that you are going and weight training or resistance training and really pushing yourself to build that muscle. So as we get older, we are losing our. We are losing muscle as we get older, especially women, but for men too, you lose muscle. If you are actively trying to keep it, you it is going away and that is when disease comes in and it becomes vital to your health and longevity for you to to maintain your muscle mass and and build it Like. There are so many people out there on Instagram that are in their seventies starting weight training and changing their lives. So I definitely recommend it is never too late to get started.

Speaker 1 20:08

Right. Best time is now.

Speaker 2 20:11

So, that being said, this is going to be a challenge for both you and I. This year, I have I'll start with myself. I have told myself that my health is non-negotiable, and I have started a weight training program and I have gotten off of track a couple of times. I know what my excuses are of why I'm not going to the gym. How do we make our health a priority within our life and support each other when we aren't meeting the goals that we know we need to be meeting? What are your challenges?

Speaker 1 20:49

The challenge is getting to the gym and, like I said, I take the easy route out and I do need somebody to hold me accountable. So the biggest challenge is just doing it getting there.

Speaker 2 21:01

Is it hard to go to the gym right now. So many of you don't know this about Jesse, but he was actually a competitive weightlifter in high school. And is it hard going to the gym now because your injury I mean you had a lot of muscle wasting, yeah, from your injury and you still have a lot to I shouldn't say a lot, but you have, you have deficits, that is it hard to go because you can't lift like you used to be able to.

Speaker 1 21:32

Because you were going. I wouldn't say that's what makes it hard to actually go. But while I'm there, so because of the way I used to train when I was a competitive weightlifter, I wanted to max out and I can't. I can't do that. So I have a hard time retraining myself to not try to train like that, like I used to. Even in college there were days I would I'd work out twice a day and it was. I tried to max out all the time. That's a struggle and it was I tried to max out all the time. That's a struggle.

Speaker 1 22:04

I would love to do squats. I could do just squats, but when I go to do it like I wanted to squat 650 pounds, like I used to multiple times, but I know I can't do that, so I avoid doing the squats. So then I go to just the leg machine. I started out kind of lighter but then I kind of was like well, shit, I can do more, and maybe it was starting to do a little too much, maybe it was just a little too soon, I don't know.

Speaker 1 22:30

But yeah, so that's a struggle, for sure, probably deep down. It is because I'm avoiding going, because I'm not where I used to be.

Speaker 2 23:05

So in that I hear a little bit like that is part of your identity that you maybe need to release, like am I really weight training if I can't max out? So I mean in hearing that of course you're weight training.

Speaker 1 23:08

And of course you're at a much different point in your life right now.

Speaker 2 23:09

So overcoming I is that is a definite, definite obstacle. That has just come to light. Yeah, um, because I could. I could almost sense that about you, because you were like really wanting to go and then it was like you're very much in resistance to going and it makes it easy to be like I just don't have time right now. I'm busy.

Speaker 1 23:25

That's the excuse, right, or I would like to go actually first thing in the morning and I'm up early enough to go to the gym at 4.30. Like I was up at 4.30 this morning.

Speaker 2 23:34

Yeah, we should go to the gym.

Speaker 1 23:36

I just didn't go. You fell asleep on the couch, or whatever, so the tv was on.

Speaker 2 23:45

so then, I go out there and I grab my phone. Well, here I am, hour and a half later, two hours later, I could add a workout in.

Speaker 1 23:48

We don't realize how much that phone sucks, sucks us in. That's just an excuse. So then the other thing is is I can't max out one. Not that I need to max out, but I can't push myself like I used to. You know, this winter we started going right after the first of the year, right before the, the first year, whatever it was, and I benched some free weights once this year and I couldn't, hardly, couldn't, hardly do it because of my wrist, because the other thing for me when I trained, it was all about having the correct form. So when you're, when you're lifting, you really should learn correct form, because that's how you build the muscle as well and not hurt yourself. So my form isn't correct. I know it's never going to be perfect, but because there's no such thing as perfect, so that's kind of that's another obstacle that I just need to get over it, well, and maybe you need a little, a little, wrist strengthening before you can really delve into something like that.

Speaker 2 24:38

Maybe you still need to strengthen that wrist. Well, I need to work on that mobility and range of motion and I get it Like if I put myself in your position, I wouldn't want to have to be dealing with the deficits that you have experienced, and I would want them to just be gone so I could be myself again.

Speaker 1 24:57

The thing is, I'm avoiding it and it'll just continue to get worse.

Speaker 2 25:00

So what can we do? What can I do to help support you in that? Should we set an alarm, get out there and just get up, and at five o'clock every day we're going to the gym, whether we slept the night before or not, right?

Speaker 1 25:12

Probably the first week or two may suck, especially if you don't stretch properly. But you started going and you were going pretty hardcore there for a little bit and we would always have the discussion about proper stretching and you stretched, and stretched, and stretched, and even doing yoga is good. But your comment was, man, I stretch and I don't hurt, like I like I used to.

Speaker 2 25:34

Yes, and thank you for point for bringing that up to me. Yes, stretching changed my weightlifting. Like the thoughts that I had about weightlifting like, oh, I just don't want to be sorry, you know, like the first few weeks you start weightlifting or even just a workout, it's like, oh, I'm just so sore. But then I actually started stretching every muscle group for 30 seconds two to three to help hold it for 30 seconds each, like before, so I would.

Speaker 2 26:07

I would actually get on the treadmill for two to three minutes and then I like just walk leisurely to get my muscles warmed up, because it was cold outside and then I would get off and I would stretch all of my leg muscle groups 30 seconds, hold each muscle group 30 seconds each leg, and then I got back on and did my aerobic workout and then I would also do it at the end and whatever muscle groups that I that I worked like that I did weight training in and I actually had very little soreness at all.

Speaker 1 26:40

You did the stretching before and after each.

Speaker 2 26:43

Right, I did at the very beginning and then I did it at the very end.

Speaker 1 26:46

Right, the stretching is so important.

Speaker 2 26:49

Well, the stretching helps build the muscle too Right, which most people don't actually realize.

Speaker 1 26:54

That's why people hurt after working out, because they just don't stretch. You don't realize it, but that stretching is just as important, maybe more important than the actual workout itself, which is why yoga is so powerful or so effective, and we, as men, don't want to do yoga because it looks weird, but we probably should do more of it because yoga is a lot of stretching, it's all stretching and it's a lot of actually resistance training as well you're just using your own body, right I?

Speaker 2 27:21

I would say it say it's something that you could help incorporate into your workout plan, but you'll build more muscle weight training than you will doing yoga. Like to me, doing yoga on your non-weightlifting days would be something of benefit.

Speaker 1 27:38

Yeah, so those four days should be cardio and some sort of resistance training. That doesn't mean that you can't do seven days a week, five days a week, whatever. I think you need a good rest day in there regardless. But if you do four days of cardio, resistance and good stretching and then you throw in a day or two of yoga or just some other nice walks outside, Go on a hike. Absolutely Just. The fresh air and the sun outside is not only refreshing, it's powerful.

Speaker 1 28:08

Nature is powerful especially when you're looking at all of the blessings around you that God's giving us.

Speaker 2 28:13

Another thing that I noticed for myself, because I have a lot of lower extremity edema or swelling. I've really started focusing on edema or swelling. I've really started focusing on edema. Is swelling right? I really started focusing on stretching my feet and ankles pump that ankle, yeah, and and the mobility within them, like I noticed, like I, I am 50 and I noticed how i're not supposed to tell anybody? I noticed how immobile and how sore my feet and ankles are, especially like when we take long car rides. That really got me.

Speaker 1 28:54

So that's a perfect exercise in a combine or tractor to sit there and move, pump your ankles it gets the blood flowing down there again.

Speaker 2 29:02

Yes, and making sure that you're wearing shoes that are the appropriate width to allow for expansion in your feet as you're there all day, and not cram them into shoes. That'll also change how your feet function, and if you're not stepping well, your whole body can be off.

Speaker 1 29:23

So the other thing thing, what creates all that swelling? One you're sitting, but the food, salty food, processed food, which is what farmers live on candy bars and potato chips, and mountain dew energy drinks and ham lunch meat sandwiches, two vaping we can just keep going on right, I need to get to the gym we both do so.

Speaker 1 29:46

Here's what maybe will hold us accountable. We you hold me accountable for going, I hold you accountable for going. It's going to be a challenge for us to get back on and record something and be like okay, on february 26, wednesday, we said we're going to start working out on a regular basis. Again, we're gonna have to hold ourselves accountable with the, with podcast. I'll be very specific about a regular basis again.

Speaker 2 30:03

We're going to have to hold ourselves accountable with the podcast. I'll be very specific about a regular basis. That does not mean like I go once or twice a week. We are going to go. We're committing to four days of weight training a week with aerobic activity and, of course, stretching.

Speaker 1 30:15

Here it is, it's official. Now we're trying to hold ourselves accountable. So then I kind of think about Henry. Last year we went to Mount Pleasant and bought a membership and he started going on a pretty regular basis and you and I could see the progress he was and he was driving up there on his own and working out and doing a good job, and then all of a sudden he quit. It's like well, I don't see any difference, do you remember? That. So we don't see it in ourselves immediately, because we want immediate results.

Speaker 2 30:44

I mean.

Speaker 1 30:45

I am so instant gratification.

Speaker 2 30:49

I'm totally going to share a story on this. I kid you not One week in to my working out regularly, one week in like. So that means what Four workouts. I was like a little disappointed that I wasn't seeing any changes. Like it's so ridiculous we are. I am so needing like instant gratification, but I am only telling. I'm voicing that because I know I'm not the only one that thinks that. So here is the reality. Do not expect your body to look any different for the first four months or longer, or longer four to six months.

Speaker 2 31:29

It is not a, it's not a sprint, it is a marathon and and really be be doing this for your long-term health because once you get to 40s and 50s. I mean really we need to start talking about longevity.

Speaker 1 31:49

Well, right, and you may not even see a physical difference in your appearance. You just may not. But that doesn't mean you're not having positive results, because we also got to deal with the edema, the swelling in our bodies, and that's dealt with. Food and hydration, essentially Right.

Speaker 2 32:07

And stress, so that has a lot. And so then it's all of it, like you can't change one thing within your body and think that you don't have to work on all of it In myself. I have to also think, like why am I choosing to hold on to all of the swelling? Like, what do I really need to rid myself of? I have years of toxins. I mean I was a Tang and Kool-Aid kid right. So much Kool-Aid, so much Kool-Aid, so much Kool-Aid and popsicles.

Speaker 1 32:40

Cereal, cereal.

Speaker 2 32:42

Fruity bubbles oh my God. And tricks oh my gosh. Tricks are for kids, right.

Speaker 1 32:53

We've been brainwashed and lunch meat sandwiches, I mean like the lunch meat sandwiches.

Speaker 2 33:00

Like in the food glue. So like I know I have a lot to let go of. So it's like I I don't know why logically I can say it is going to take me years to get all of that out of healthy living, of of positive mindset, of decreased stress and really focusing on my health. It's going to take me years to get the 50 years of toxic out of my life.

Speaker 2 33:35

So if I can do that in a couple years, you got to be in it for the long game. It can't be the instant gratification.

Speaker 1 33:42

It's taking you 50 years to get to where you're at. If it takes you two more years to make, you get another 50, 75 years Right.

Speaker 2 33:53

Right, right.

Speaker 1 33:54

Two years in all actuality is just a little portion of your life. To make your life so much better.

Speaker 2 34:02

So I haven't worked out in the last week and a half. In the past I would have just given up Like, oh, I told myself I would do it and I'm not doing it now. So I just did it again. This time it feels so different to me because I've decided this is my year to make my health non-negotiable. So we had, we had some, some things we had to go and do and we've been gone and out of town and I could have worked out. And so this week I was like I'm starting back on Monday but I have not had the energy. So tomorrow, tomorrow, babe 5am.

Speaker 1 34:42

We're going. Yeah, we need to go, it'll be good.

Speaker 2 34:44

It'll be great. It'll be a good day to have a great day.

Speaker 1 34:47

What did we start? How did we start 2025? What did you say Alive in 2025?

Speaker 2 34:53

Be alive. Be alive In 2025. Thrive, thrive, not just survive.

Speaker 1 35:01

A lot of people have been saying that and that's beautiful, it's amazing, it's time to thrive.

Speaker 2 35:03

And so what if it isn't a perfect thing? Like your workout doesn't have to be perfect.

Speaker 1 35:09

There's no such thing as perfect.

Speaker 2 35:10

Just go Right. You know there was one time I went and we were going to go watch Henry in a fitting competition in Des Moines so we had to leave really early and I knew I only had like 30 minutes. So I got my weightlifting done. I did not do a full 30 minutes of cardio Like I try to do all the time and it was not. I got my. I got it in. It wasn't perfect but I did it and I did something and it was a lot more than I would have done if I had I not gone. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Speaker 1 35:44

I think for me. A lot of times I say, um, I hurt so much I'm not going to go. You know, it's just all those excuses. Or we say, wait, I don't have time. Back to what I said earlier. If it's an hour a day for two years, so it takes, I say, two weeks to create a habit. Some people say more, whatever, but it takes two weeks. And if you just do it and make yourself do it that an hour a day for two years or even two weeks to create that habit, and if you gain, how many years can you gain right, Eat healthy and just how many years can we gain by just an hour a day?

Speaker 2 36:18

Never thought of it that way, but so I will say too nutrition becomes very important as well. Nutrition will take more time than working out.

Speaker 1 36:26

Eating right is hard and meal prepping is key. It's also hard, but it's key, and finding good protein sources is key.

Speaker 2 36:33

Yeah, so that would be another thing that really should be a focus Protein, good protein, and making it more, you know, like what God made.

Speaker 1 36:45

What do we always say? If God gave it to us, it's bound to be good. What's natural is better for us? Put good in, you get good out.

Speaker 2 36:51

But meal planning will be very important. Just you know, I try to have either myself or the girls or Henry like cook meat ahead, so on the nights where we're super busy we can get that out and have something faster to eat and that we really like to do a lot of before we get into the field. Now we are guilty of eating out quite a bit.

Speaker 1 37:15

I was just going to say. We're traveling to all this volleyball and we always get Chick-fil-A or Raising Cane's and that stuff is so bad for us.

Speaker 2 37:23

It is so bad. For us it is, so we think it's chicken and it's good, but that's the other thing we we're going to come up with the list of good bad better or bad, good better best.

Speaker 1 37:32

Yeah, there you go. What is actually what is actually worth eating out there that's healthy for us? You know it's hard. That's where the meal prepping we've probably lacked out here recently it, just it takes a lot of time.

Speaker 2 37:43

I mean you have to put a solid couple of days, yeah, a couple of days for a family our size, you got to put a couple days in I watch my college buddy, chris.

Speaker 1 37:52

He's a personal trainer in chicago and he has sundays or his meal prep days, so he grills chicken and all the other sides and puts them together and he's just a single guy and it takes him a day just to meal prep. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 38:05

I don't know about the families listening, but we eat two plus pounds of meat per meal at our house.

Speaker 1 38:13

We're lucky enough, we get a lot of protein, right? Well, we have enough of our own protein in our freezer. So in that aspect, it's easy for us, easy.

Speaker 2 38:21

Yeah, we have it available, but we you know I don't buy chicken at the store we have whole chickens that we have to break down and process, and that too is important in the long run, your health is health is wealth right in the end.

Speaker 1 38:34

That's what.

Speaker 2 38:34

That's all you got or don't have right and wish you did right, and you can't buy it. You just got to work on it but it's never too late no.

Speaker 1 38:45

The best time is now just to start, and sometimes that's all you got to do is just start and for two weeks you just focus hard on going and create that habit, and that's what I haven't done lately.

Speaker 2 38:58

And I Jesse says two weeks. I actually believe you need to give it three months and it feels like maybe that's an overwhelming thing and you shouldn't do that. But I worked out regularly for a month and now I haven't worked actually for five weeks and now I haven't worked out for a week. So again, it's not the end of the world, though I mean right, it's about putting your health first, making it non-negotiable because you are important to you and your family and the world.

Speaker 1 39:33

God's got a plan for all of us. And who are we to not stick around? And, you know, carry out that plan because we're not taking care of ourselves to be able to do that.

Speaker 2 39:42

We are the temple.

Speaker 1 39:43

We are God's temple, all of us. You know who are we to not go out there? And we have to take care of ourselves so we can go out there and do god's work serve humanity right, we're all god's children. That was a big moment for me good.

Speaker 2 39:56

So what is a challenge you would put out there to our audience?

Speaker 1 40:01

well, I'm challenging myself, so I'll challenge everybody, everybody to just go out and start a workout plan. Start by the start going.

Speaker 2 40:09

Specifically you mean either weight or resist. Like weight training slash resistance training. Right when I say workout, yes, that's that's just second nature to me.

Speaker 1 40:19

but yes, resistance training. So cardio for 15 to 20 minutes every every workout, stretching before and after and resistance training. And if you have to go Google or chat GPT a workout, that's what you got to do. Or reach out to me, I can do it. I'm not great at it but I would happily do it.

Speaker 2 40:40

I would argue that I think you are great at it. I think you are. You know exactly what to do. I haven't done it for so long. You're right, reach out.

Speaker 1 40:50

I would happily do it. But yeah, go four times a week Workout, cardio, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch.

Speaker 2 40:55

And you don't have to join a gym. You can do it at home. Right, you can do it with dumbbells, you can do it with kettlebells, you can do it with resistance bands.

Speaker 1 41:12

You don't have to start out huge to start. That's, that's the challenge. To just start four days a week and I like to do monday, tuesday, thursday, friday. That's just me that way. I have two days workout, a rest day, two days workout and then the weekend.

Speaker 2 41:21

Now that doesn't mean go out and just throw it all away on the weekend, because that's the other thing we we might do a lot of good during the week working out.

Speaker 1 41:28

Then we go throw it all away on the weekends by overindulging in.

Speaker 2 41:32

Sugar Right Carbs.

Speaker 1 41:35

I do that every day, so that's my challenge. Other challenge for myself is I'm doing better at it and watching. I haven't had a soda for a long time. I haven't had a candy bar for a long time Not that I haven't had candy, but candy bars were big for me what about oatmeal cream pies? Now I want an oatmeal cream pie. Oh shit, it's your fault if I go and buy an oatmeal cream pie tonight.

Speaker 2 42:01

Whatever, you are a much stronger individual than that, so he let me back up.

Speaker 1 42:07

That was a. That was a big thing for me. We call it the huffington store. It's just a gas station, local casey's kind of right. I would. I'd say I'm just gonna go get a cup of coffee and I'll, I'll run out. Well, it always ends up I'll walk by that damn oatmeal cream pie.

Speaker 2 42:23

I buy that the oatmeal cream pie taunted you it just jumped into your hand.

Speaker 1 42:30

So if you have that vice of whatever it is, you go and buy a monster and a can of chew or mountain dew or whatever.

Speaker 2 42:40

Pick one thing yeah, start by not stopping okay, go big or go home.

Speaker 1 42:44

I guess don't go to the gas station.

Speaker 2 42:46

Well, it's just a habit that you have to overcome. So, instead of going and just not buying, one thing like that is counting on your willpower to hold you accountable. Instead drive by the gas station, fill your car with gas, don't even walk in.

Speaker 1 43:07

So that was the other thing. I didn't have to go to the gas station at all. We have a gas barrel here at home I know I would literally make a point of driving 10 minutes it was out of the way. The lottery tickets go buy the lottery ticket, not the oatmeal cream pie see, your wife isn't as stupid as you think she is. When we win that lottery, you're going to be happy, but I have quit going to the gas station.

Speaker 2 43:39

I just so that is.

Speaker 1 43:41

that is the biggest challenge. Yes, just quit going to Casey's, quit going to the gas station, whatever. Now, if you got to get gas, pay the pump don't go in. Make that habit first and then come back and we're going to start to work out. Let's do that together.

Speaker 2 43:55

Can I give my two cents? Don't drink your calories. I would almost argue that the oatmeal cream pie is better for you than the Mountain Dew.

Speaker 1 44:04

Probably.

Speaker 2 44:05

It is probably less calories, and when you are slowly drinking the sugar, you want it more and more and more. So don't drink your calories. If you can't drink black coffee, then find another caffeine source, and a monster is not good for you.

Speaker 1 44:26

Your heart's going to explode someday.

Speaker 2 44:30

Don't mix it with alcohol either.

Speaker 1 44:32

That's really.

Speaker 2 44:37

It's just pure insanity, we digress. So, number one start your workout, your workouts, which means resistance training weight lifting Number two.

Speaker 2 44:51

it is all about consistency in your workouts. So you know what, if you have a down week, if you're not feeling well, if you got super busy, if you're out of town, whatever those reasons were for that week, let it go and start again and just make sure you're stretching, and you don't have to tell yourself about that oh, I'm going to be sore and I don't have time, and no, just go and be consistent and consistently.

Speaker 1 45:17

Go and show up for yourself if you're sore, you're not stretching properly. I honestly that's that is so true. I found that out that's the brutal honesty in the whole situation.

Speaker 2 45:29

So start going for your workout Consistently. Go, don't give up on yourself, even if you slack up a little bit. Number three drive by the gas stations. Don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry. Yeah, someone challenged me you should go into Casey's and do like a good, better best on snacks. I was like you should just not walk in the store.

Speaker 1 46:02

Yeah, because the lunch meat sandwich, either from anywhere, is better, either. I have one word food glue.

Speaker 2 46:11

I guess that's two words. That's two words, babe. Bring on the fruit cups. Casey's.

Speaker 1 46:17

They're getting some healthy snack sections. What are some good things? Some beef jerky.

Speaker 2 46:23

I would say, if you're going into Casey's and you have no other options, some of them will have fresh fruit. So if they have a banana or orange, or apple, we should um, I would say probably, of all of the beef jerkies, I think the best tasting, probably least amount of crap amount of crap in. It is probably the old trapper original beef jerky. It's actually really good jerky that's usually what we will get, there is still, I mean it has nitrates in it, so it is not like the healthiest snack you could get.

Speaker 2 46:59

The healthiest thing you could do is like get your own sirloin. You know, get some sirloin steak and make your own beef jerky, and then you could carry that with you a lot of times you'll see some local beef snack sticks or something like that.

Speaker 2 47:10

Like those are generally decent, I mean they probably have nitrates in them as well, but that will be better than pretty much anything else you can get in there. There there is a popcorn that is done in coconut oil, and so it's coconut oil. It's popcorn, coconut oil, and so it's coconut oil.

Speaker 2 47:28

It's popcorn, coconut oil and salt that you can find in the health section of the grocery stores that I would buy bags of that and either put smaller bags and keep them in your truck or, um, I have not seen that at Casey's but uh, skinny pop would be probably the chip best choice at Casey's. Like, if you need something salty and crunchy, I would say skinny pop. It still has um seed oils on it but you aren't getting all the other crap too.

Speaker 1 48:05

How about just a gallon of water?

Speaker 2 48:08

Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 48:09

Like just go for a gallon of water. We tend to try to buy a gallon of water. Oh yeah, like just go for a gallon of water. We tend to try to buy a lot of water but skip everything else and just fill yourself with water, water would be good water would be great.

Speaker 2 48:19

That's the best the best at casey's. The best thing to do would be to have like a reverse osmosis or distiller or some type of filtered water with added back minerals that you get from your home and you bring in either glass or a very good stainless steel. That would be the best. If you're stopping at casey's, getting a bottle of water is better than anything else you can drink in that store so I said a gallon of water, because you can buy a gallon of water for two bucks 25 instead of the 24 ounce bottle of water for 239 go steal a coffee cup.

Speaker 1 48:58

They might charge you five cents for it. Who cares?

Speaker 2 49:01

so yeah otherwise there's, you know, it's all crap otherwise, yes, the rest of it is junk. True, and we, you know we are far from perfect. Yes, we stop at convenience stores and eat out of those when we are traveling, because you don't have time. But if you have fruit in the refrigerator that you can grab a couple oranges or a banana or some apples take that along with you. If you can have that and not get something else that isn't as good for you it will. You will be better off in the long run. It's about making those exchanges when possible. Um, of course, if you can eat a salad for your noon meal and then maybe something like digesting a salad of ranch on it.

Speaker 2 49:49

Digesting a salad at night becomes more difficult for your GI tract. But a salad, so a small salad at night. But having a salad as a meal is better for the lunch meal. So if you're going to go to Chick-fil-A, they actually have really good salad, so that would be a place I would stop even though the chicken isn't the best, the grilled chicken.

Speaker 1 50:14

I don't get the grilled chicken, but you guys say it's not too bad that Chick-fil-A. No, it's not bad, I'm sure it has like the fried chicken.

Speaker 2 50:20

I have heard rumor that there's like 54 different ingredients. I'm sure that the grilled chicken isn't much different, but again, when you are traveling and you have limited choices, that would be a better option than a sandwich and fries and again we say this because we're still navigating the course we're telling ourselves just as much as we're suggesting to everybody.

Speaker 1 50:46

That's what we need to do. We don't need perfection there is no such thing as perfection. Correct, so until next time yeah, that was good talk, good stuff.

Speaker 2 50:55

We would, if you liked this, make sure that you like and subscribe to the podcast. We have so many fun things coming up ahead of us and we'd love to hear from you all. So if you have any ideas on what you'd like to hear us talking about, feel free to message us and give us some ideas.

Speaker 1 51:15

We share the podcast.

Speaker 2 51:16

We are a wealth of. We have a wealth of information that we'd love to share with you and, um, yeah, share it with other people, other farming families that you think would benefit from this. Um, that helps us spread the word and we can help more of our agricultural community If there's anything you guys would love to talk to us about or hear from us about.

Speaker 1 51:39

Message us on all the socials farmersgreatestasset at gmailcom. Send an email. We'd love to hear your thoughts, what you'd love to hear about If there's a guest that you think we should have on something like that, or we'd like to be on the podcast reach out. We'd love to hear from everybody.

Speaker 2 51:56

So until next time. It's a good day to have a great day.

Speaker 1 51:59

It's a great day.