Coaching Women in Midlife with Amber Toole

In this episode, Dr. Erin Nitschke and Amber Toole discuss the myths and misconceptions surrounding perimenopause and menopause. They explore the importance of credible information, the role of nutrition and exercise, and how to empower women during this transitional phase of life. Amber shares her personal experiences and insights, emphasizing the need for education and support for fitness professionals working with women in midlife. The conversation highlights the significance of strength training, proper nutrition, and understanding hormonal changes to promote health and well-being during menopause.

Connect with Amber:

https://www.instagram.com/ambertoole/

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Fitness Education Online for the U.S. and Canada. I am your host, Dr. Erin Nitschke, and I am here with someone I dearly love. And I've seen her present and speak, and I am connected with her on social media and I love her work, Amber Toole, owner of the training tool. And she is joining me today to talk about myths and misconceptions of perimenopause and menopause, which is a topic that is so important for all of our fitness professionals out there who might be approaching that midlife shift point in their lives, or those that work with women who are in that point of life. And there's so much information out there and so much to consume. And it's information, but it's not all credible. So Amber is here to talk about what really is credible and what is just noise. So before we dive into our questions, I'm going to turn it over to Amber so that she can give us a little bit of background on herself, where she is, the work she's done in the space, how long she's been in the industry, and why this topic is important. So, Amber, thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Thank you, Erin. I was so excited when you asked me to be on your podcast. And I feel very honored that you asked me to speak about menopause. This is something I am very passionate about. I work with a lot of women during perimenopause and postmenopause. And just to give you a little background of myself, I have actually been in the industry for over 30 years. I started out when I was in high school teaching group X, which back then we called it aerobics. And so I fell in love. I worked in a gym in my little tiny town of Vidalia, Georgia. And my love started there. Loved PE and health. That was my favorite, you know, the classes in uh high school. So I went on to college. I got my degree in physical education and health. And I did teach high school for eight years. And I remained in the group X space. And I finally decided that I wanted to do something different. I wanted to go back to my fitness roots. That's what I really loved and what I was feeling pulled toward doing. And I got my personal training certification. And so I started personal training people before and after school. And I would teach school in the middle of the day. And so I just leapt out there and started my own business. My parents thought that I was crazy. They were like, What are you doing? And I just started out as, you know, working in local gyms and in-home personal training. And then I had I have grown that now to a team of nine. I have a fitness studio and a reformer Pilates studio. And my certification, unlike anybody who's been in fitness for a while, I've got five million, but I'm an acertified personal trainer. I am a Stot Pilates certified Matt and Reformer instructor and lots of other things that I've done. And I also, how we met kind of through the presenting world, I present for SCW Fitness Education. So I love what I do. I'm passionate about it. And I just can't wait to talk about menopause with you.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

I love it, Amber. And yes, like I've said, Amber and I met, gosh, I don't know, right after COVID, maybe. Was it like 2021, somewhere around there? Um connected ever since. And I deeply respect the energy with which you bring to this conversation and the authenticity that you share. And I think that that's something that's really important for not just the fitness professional, but also for the way in which they work with their clients and in a way bringing this conversation to the forefront so that we can dismiss the noise and really get down to what are the facts, what do they, what do fitness professionals need to know for themselves, for their clients? And how can we better frame the midlife experience and not have it be a decline, but maybe, maybe a time of growth. And I always say what I've realized about midlife is that for me, I just turned 45 a week ago. And for me, I think midlife has clarified for me what I'm willing to tolerate. And I think the real like beauty in the aging process is like, I know what I'm going to tolerate and what I'm not. And 10 years ago, didn't really want to tolerate it, but I did. So I think that's one of the things that's beautiful about the midlife point. And there's just so much negative noise out there. So I'm really excited to talk to you about kind of your perspective, your philosophy, and how we can really harness our potential in this time of life.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah, I think that's a great conversation to have because I do feel like so many women who are before us, because I'm postmenopausal. I just spent some time with one of my nieces, and she was saying that she was afraid to go through menopause. And I'm like, no, girl, I got you. You know, I can tell it does not have to be that way. And I know I too was afraid because when I first started personal training, the majority of my clients were going into perimenopause and or or were already postmenopausal. And so they scared me too. And and then I went through it and had a lot of the same issues that most of us have, but I feel like I'm coming up on my big birthday in just a couple of days. I turned 50. Now I went fully menopausal at 47. So I've been in, you know, dealing with this for a while. But I was just telling someone today, I feel strong and amazing. I'm probably the healthiest I've ever been. My health habits are in place. And for me, middle age has solidified the fact that I have to become the person that I want to be, the health person that I want to be. It is no longer this wishy-washy. It's like I have to have these habits in place and I have to do them. If I'm going to feel my best, and if I'm going to look my best, and if I'm going to perform my best, I have to do all of the things that I've been preaching all of these years. And I am right now, and I feel amazing. So it does not have to be a time of decline. We can be strong and steady and have amazing, wonderful lives now.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

I love that because again, so much of that noise out there is not so much a death sentence, but kind of like irrelevance. There's this undertone of uh women in this like midlife point are kind of irrelevant. You're aging out, or you know, those types of things. And it's just simply ridiculous. It is. We need to sh change that narrative. And I love that you started out by saying, I feel strong and I'm the healthiest I've ever been. And also, if you're going to look and feel and perform your best, like keeping our sights on the longevity of it and what that actually means and the things that we do now set us up for success in the future. So this point in life is really about wisdom and like the race is just getting better because you're getting stronger and you're performing better. But to do that, we're kind of playing by a different set of rules, physiologically. There are things that change. And I think that's where people get confused. I know certainly it was it's confusing for me going through that perimenopause kind of stage. Like I was telling you before the show, my hormones are like in a group chat without me. And that can be really, really frustrating. So I think it's important to normalize that this is can be a very frustrating time, but it doesn't have to be the decline, like you said. So I want to dive into my first question for you and capture for me what are some of the biggest myths that you've heard, maybe that you previously thought, and that maybe you hear clients say about either perimenopause or menopause. And why do you think they continue to persist or why are they so pervasive?

SPEAKER_01 8:01

So it's interesting that this was your number one question. And I thought, oh, there is so much out there. The first thing, yeah. The first thing that came to mind was that it's a scary time, you know, that you're, and I actually hadn't written down what you said. It's the end of a woman's vitality. Like this is it. You can't bear children anymore, and you just get thrown to the side, you know, men want younger women and whatever. You've all the crazy stuff that we think as women. The other thing that now this drives me crazy, and we're going to tell I'm going to tell you a little bit of a real life story, but that you're doomed to have this minnow belly, you know, the minnow belly. Okay, you're doomed. I'm like, not necessarily. Part of that is a choice. And then part of it does have to do with hormones. And this is my other big thing that I hate. Stop talking about balancing your hormones.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

What is that? What is they are meant to be work in opposition of each other?

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Yes, your hormones, your all of your hormones, not just your sex hormones, but all of your hormones. One time I heard it described this way, and I love this. They're like a symphony. So they play together, right? And they fluctuate, like you said. And listen, you are in perimenopause. Right now, your hormones are like this. Oh they're like all over the place. It's a circus up in here.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

It really is.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Yes, they're high, they're low, they're who it's like, and that is the whole point about perimenopause is that the it's a wild fluctuation of your sex hormones. And then then the decline happens, and it's like then you, you know, have nothing left, right? And we we will talk about, I know, hormone replacement therapy, but you know, there is the possibility that you can replace your hormones and get, but listen, your body makes some estrogen and in things like your body fat and such as that, but your eggs aren't gonna make you're not making any more eggs. That's it. Like the the hormone balance is not going to happen. So, all of these coaches out there that are like, eat this to balance your hormones. I'm like, Will you stop it? That is just bull malarchy, you know. Stop trying to sell that to people. It's not, you're not a hormone therapist, okay?

SPEAKER_00 10:27

No, unless you are an endocrinologist. But yeah, stop trying to say, like, I see that all the time. And I don't know what I did to my algorithm, but it's literally like eat these foods to balance your hormones. And I'm like, this is such trash. This is garbage. And this is why the consumer is confused.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Yep.

unknown 10:46

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yes. Or take this supplement that's going to balance your, it's gonna decrease your cortisol. I'm like, no, there's things you can do to decrease your cortisol. You don't need to take a supplement for that.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah. And speaking of cortisol, like I kind of, I kind of feel bad for cortisol because I I feel like it gets such a bad thing, it's always cast in a negative light. And it's like, cortisol is, yes, it's a stress hormone, but it's so necessary and it's supposed to rise in the early morning. Like it's like our body, like natural caffeine. Like it's supposed to keep us alert. And like if you're ever confronted with a bear, it's supposed to act, it's doing its job. So when it rises, it's okay. When it's chronically high, that is an issue. And that is something to be concerned about. But it's like it's just kind of put in this sort of bucket of bad. Cortisol's bad. And it's like we we need to, we need to kind of take it out of its little box and talk about the appropriateness of that cascade of how that works in the body. And so I kind of feel like cortisol's like sitting alone at the cafeteria table and everybody's mad at it.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yes. And here's here's the thing that I think that if you are coaching perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, or if you are one and you happen to be listening to this podcast, you need to understand something about cortisol. So here's what's really interesting. When you were in your menstruating time period, your estrogen and your progesterone helped to keep cortisol under control. Once we lose that, once they decline, cortisol gets to, if you want to say it gets to run rampant, basically. It ramps up, it is higher. This is true. But what we need to understand when we're trying to coach women through this time is that you can control that. You don't have the hormones that were the buffer for you anymore. This is why everything that you do needs to be bringing down the stress in your life. And I don't just mean stress errors, I mean everything you do. So if you undereat, if you over-exercise, which aren't a lot of women doing that during this time because they've gained weight and they're trying to use old ways to lose it, which doesn't work anymore. All of these things are compounding to increase your cortisol. Your job as a perimenopausal and postmenopausal female is to do all of the health habits, implement all of those to decrease your stress levels and bring the cortisol levels down. It was easier for you when you were a menstruating female because you had the buffer of the hormones. All of your bad habits and your the things you got away with before, you are not going to get away with now at this time because your cortisol levels are already higher because they're not being buffered by your hormones.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Right. Like they don't have that counterbalance. And I like the way you explained that. And I think, yes, that's another myth too, is just move more and eat less. And and not understanding that when we're underfueling for a long period of time, like you're you're not recovering, that cortisol remains high, you're not able to perform at your best, you feel like crap, you're not sleeping well. Like the the body needs fuel. And I will say, you deserve to eat even on days you don't move. Like, can we get beyond that like myth that, well, I didn't exercise today, so I better just have breakfast? That just like sends a shiver down my spine. Cause it's like, no, you you you deserve to eat. You need fuel. And so that is something I see a lot of women going to that side of the pendulum is well, it worked for me in my early 30s, and it's like I could just like dial it back a little bit and everything was fine. But the body then perceives now in this stage of life that it's not safe. And of course it's going to shut things down. It's going to slow the metabol metabolism, it's going to keep cortisol high. It perceives a threat. You're not safe, you're not metabolically safe. And so your body is actually really smart and is responding to that chronically high stress, is like, okay, I know what I need to do because the bear is chasing you. And that's how it responds. Like we're all, we're all built that way. So it's it's basic, it's basic physiology and biology and the way that we're structured. And I see that mistake being made a lot is I'll just work out a little harder and I'll eat a little less. And then we get into the like nutritional deficiency issue, which is not good for bone health. It's not good for muscle protein synthesis. And then it's just again this cascade of problems. And yeah, you could get away with a lot when you were younger, right? And then it's like somebody just jerks you up short and you're like, okay, the rules have changed. I'm still a person, but the rules by which I need to play in order to perform my best are completely different. It's a different, it's a different game at this point.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

It is. And you have, I mean, I can talk all day about nutrition, but you at this point now have to make the decision. If you want something different, you are going to have to become a totally different person. Your life is going to revolve around consistency and showing up and doing the things that you should have been doing or we should have been doing for a long time. Yeah. And you know, people like us in the fitness world, we probably were doing some of the things that we needed to do. Sure. But I will tell you that even myself, as healthy as I am and as many great health habits as I had in place, I was not where I needed to be to go through perimenopause and menopause. I really had to lay the hammer down and really organize my life so that everything I was doing was bringing that cortisol down and making my body feel safe. And I tell, just explain this to my group nutrition coaching people that I have. I said, you are going to groundhog the day, groundhog day the heck out of it. Like every day needs to be pretty much the same. You get up at the same time, you eat breakfast at the same time, you do your workout at the same time, you know, and you have consistent meal times, consistent workout, consistent sleep and wake schedules. This is how your body becomes a machine to where you don't even have to think about it anymore. Doesn't get so hard. It isn't hard to keep the weight off when you're doing the things that you're supposed to be doing consistently every day, day in and day out. Whether it's raining, whether you don't feel good, whether you know you had a death in the family, whatever it is, you have got to keep that consistency going.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, absolutely. And consistency, I think, is the biggest tool in the toolbox is committing to that consistency. I like that you phrased it as groundhogging because every day should look the same. I mean, of course, there's variability in little things here and there, but when you look at a picture over the course of a week, those days need to look very similar. So I like that that's an analogy people can connect with. I want to ask about the symptomology of perimenopause, because I, at least from what I hear and what I understood back in my 20s, like hearing about perimenopause and menopause, and like, well, what is this thing? And it's like hot flashes get the biggest, I guess, uh, stage time, the most stage time. Like it's it's everybody's gonna have it, and this this is the number one symptom. And as I've gotten older and as I've studied this, and as I've worked with women, and I myself am in this phase, this pocket of time in my life, that's not really accurate. So let's talk a little bit about the symptomology and not just physical. And I think sometimes that information out there is like lists the physical, but fails to acknowledge or emphasize the emotional and mental pieces as well. And also the nutritional changes that need to happen to set us up for success so that we can groundhog ourselves and make everything consistent. So, symptomology-wise, let's talk a little bit about what are the symptoms.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

My goodness, there is a long list. And you know, 80% of women experience some symptoms. I'm like, who is this 20% that doesn't have any? You're lucky. I don't know any of them. I don't either.

SPEAKER_00 19:30

And what did they do differently than I've done?

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Like, yeah. So I I want to give you a little story, a personal story about myself, and then I'll go through. I have a whole list that I want to read through, make sure that we talk about these. For me, in my life, what happened is now here I am in the space that I'm in. I did not know, so I I have a feeling it was somewhere around like 38, 39 that I started going through perimenopause. So I had, well, we're just gonna get real personal listeners. So I have endometriosis, so I've always had issues with terrible cramps and periods that were just, you know, my cycle was always off. It was never normal. So I was used to that. But going through perimenopause, the first thing that happened to me dealt with my sleep. I used to be such a great sleeper. And all of a sudden I was waking up at like one and two o'clock in the morning, and my brain was like, you got all this stuff to do. And I attributed that to being a business owner because I was growing my business during that time and I was so obsessed with like growth and all the things I needed to do. I was very busy. So that's what I thought it was. Well, come to find out later down the line. I'm like, oh, that's what was wrong with me. It was that was the beginning of my perimenopause. Then I started having these horrible menstrual psychologists to the point where it was never like anything I had had before. It was very, very heavy. Well, when I said something to my doctor, I thought it was just my endometriosis. They're like, oh no, you know, maybe you have fibroids, something like that. Well, then I went through this period where I would not have a period for three months and then I would bleed for an entire month. And I'm like, this is not normal. And the doctor's still like, you're not in perimenopause, blah, blah, blah. So my biggest thing was I want to tell you, please find someone who is certified through the menopause society that has that extra level of training because my OBGYN did not listen to me at all. I mean, I came in, I am like, I bring my notebook. Yeah. Had I had mapped out all of my periods. I had it all on a spreadsheet. And I'm like, this is not normal. Oh, you're fine, you know. So I got no help at that point. And then the other thing that my ear, like, I would be like, oh, it feels like something's in there, right? Really itchy. Didn't find that out till later that that's a part of. Declining estrogen. So, so many things. And I did notice like a change in the way my normal body smell was. I was like, what? Who is oh my gosh, that's me. You know, it was like, what's happening? So these are the things that I experience. Also, rage. I didn't realize that that's what it was, but rage to like I one day I remember being in the car and I just got so mad at these people in a parking lot. And I'm like, I'm just gonna run you over. This is not rational. Like, I don't want to go to jail, you know. But so, but listen to all of these things because I had some, and then I was like, let me look up all of the symptoms. Oh, and by the way, the other thing is when I went to the doctor, this is what they said. They said, Are you having hot flashes? I said, Well, sometimes I feel a little warm, but I don't know that that's really a hot flash. Are you having night sweats? Those were the two things they asked me about. I have not had a night sweat at all. My hot flashes were not what a lot of my friends experienced. Like I felt it. I felt like I just want to take my clothes off. That's what it felt like to me. I didn't, I didn't sweat, like none of this. So, but that's all they asked me about. Nothing else. But listen to this list itching ear, an onset of allergies, new allergies, a change in body odor, anxiety, depression. A lot of women experience this, and all they do is throw them on antidepressants instead of looking at, you know, oh wait, maybe you're going through something here. Electric shocks, like you feel like something's happening in your body, tingling, things like that. That's your neurons misfiring, by the way, because I looked it up to to find out what it was. Incontinent, that happened to me as well. But yes. And it's not just because your pelvic floor is weak. See, I started thinking, oh my gosh, I need to do something about my pelvic floor. It has to do with the estrogen. Increased UTIs. I also experienced that. Irregular heartbeat or heart palpitations. I had those. Thought I was dying. Like, oh, I'm having a heart attack. Yep. Digestive issues, joint pain, hair loss, a sensation of something like crawling on you, numbness, pins and needles, those kinds of sensations, muscle pain. I had that, brain fog, insulin sensitivity decreases. This is this is something that's a little deeper, but with all of the changing of the hormones, our insulin sensitivity decreases. And then that makes it harder for our body to to regulate our blood sugar. So some women start to have like issues with, you know, feeling like they're gonna pass out or dizziness or things like that. So this is, I mean, who talked to me about any of that?

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Nobody. No one. Because the Western medical model is are you hot? And if you say, I mean, sometimes, oh, you're fine. Like, I think one of the things that for our pros listening, one thing that's super helpful is create like a checklist for your clients of symptomology. Yeah. That can be something they can use to go to their PCP and to um to emphasize your point, like finding somebody who's versed in it, because there's just not, there are resources out there. And every guest I've interviewed on any podcast, be it this one or another one, and the topic has been women's health. It has been don't take no for an answer and go find somebody else. Like get because I think that's a great segue into another question I have for you. Because one of the other myths is that it's an inevitable that you will suffer. Kind of like a whole menow belly thing. Like, is this gonna happen? It's just what it's just just the thing. But there's that belief and that information that it's inevitable you're going to suffer. And there's that belief. So we adopt it. And then how much of that do we like bring on ourselves because we're like, well, this is just a time where you suffer. But let's talk a little bit about like what is the help out there to manage some of these symptoms and how can we best direct our clients to get that help or educate them, I guess, too.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Well, the first thing a lot of people, I think, start to look at is the hormone replacement therapy. And I will just be honest with you, way back before this all started, I and I even said this to my gynecologist, I said, listen, I'm gonna ride this out. All right, I don't, I'm not taking stuff, I'm gonna do it, you know, whatever. And then I started reading research, and then you find out, like, well, without these hormones, now my brain is affected, my heart is affected, my bones are affected. That became really important to me that I wanted and muscles too, that I wanted to protect my body and my systems. So as I looked into that, I changed my mind about hormone replacement therapy and I chose to go that route. And I don't think, you know, this is something that is very personable, personal. I think that you need to be well educated about it. You need to speak to your medical professional, you need to decide what's best for you. But for me, I was like, hands down, give it to me. And I will say the progesterone has helped me with sleep, which was my number one concern. And I am so thankful for that. And then, you know, the estradiol keeps me from I said look like an old hag, but you know, it keeps a little some of the age-reversing things in there. But also remember, I said I had chronic UTIs during perimenopause. So I'm like, give me the estrogen, and you can even, they can even give you the cream to use if you don't want to use it systemically, then you can use that to help with the urinary tract infection and the the incontinence, you know. So there's a lot of help. And you should know those options and you should speak to your doctor about that. I'm not a medical professional, so I can't tell somebody what to do as far as I can only tell you what my experience has been. But the other thing that I think is really important and probably I feel like helped me to not have as bad of symptoms is what we've been talking about, is having those health habits in place. So look at what you can do to support your body to feel good during this time. There are going to be changes. You are not going to be like you were when you were 20. I think we have to let that go. You know, I don't mean you have to just be like, give up, I'm not gonna do anything, but we have to understand we have grown and matured and our bodies have changed, and we can embrace this time and make it our best time. Not, you know, I'm not gonna look like I did when I was 20, and that's okay. But you know what, Doc on that? I'm gonna be the strong old lady in the gym. That's what I'm going for. So this is something you strength training, you know, I've done that, gosh, since I was in high school, I built that. So it's like just keeping that strength, staying strong, staying balanced, like really working on all of the physical attributes of being strong, not just to work out to look, you know, no, it's no longer for me like to be sexy in a beta suit. Although I would like that, I also still want to be strong and not break a bone. So there you go. That's important too.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Yeah, I love that, Amber, because it is now this perspective. And I think more important that it's it's like not about the aesthetics. It's like, what do I do now that improves my longevity and that allows me well into the future to do the functional things that I need to continue to do to live independently. Cause that time will come. And so now it's like with your clients, it's really important to emphasize that muscle-centric health, that that resistance training and how that improves longevity. Because I think a lot of times clients are on this cardiocentric kind of message, you know, like I just need to burn the calories. And so I'm gonna hop on this treadmill or stairmaster or whatever for 45 minutes. And there's nothing wrong with cardio work. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But the focus needs to be more on like let's put down the lightweights and let's really lift and let's lift hard and progressively overload because that's gonna pay off our muscle loss. And as we know, like once we're in our 30s, like that muscle can start to decline. And then you you add shifting hormonal landscapes on top of that, and then it's like compounded. So we have to do the things to mitigate the loss of what is that lean protein. Because if we lose that, we'll start losing, you know, bone health and all of it. It's just a complete cascade. And I find that that's a misconception with people is like, well, I'm gaining weight, so I need to do more of like I need to run further. And hey, if you're a runner, no hate. Like love on your run, that's great. But really, let's pick up some heavy weights and gut it out in the gym and get some get some muscle built or at least preserve what it is that could have the potential to be lost. And I think that's something that's really important to educate your clients on and not just tell them to do it, but to talk to them about why it's so valuable and what it does for the body. Cause I think there's that kind of misunderstanding that like I don't really need to do, or I can do light weights and tone and that kind of business. You got to lift those weights. Wake up.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

You do. And let's talk about the cardio piece because this is something that you need to be able to coach as a fitness professional. So remember back when I talked about the cortisol and and listen, I'm not hating on cardio. We have to keep our heart healthy, all right? You do. However, if you are doing cardio because you want to lose weight, you're already in the wrong head space because fat loss is going to come from your nutrition. A number one all the time, cardio. If you are a perimenopausal or postmenopausal female, remember your cortisol levels are up. You are trying to lose weight. So you go out and you run or you sprint or you do CrossFit every single day, and you are doing all of this cardio-based work, you're raising the cortisol levels even more. And then if you're not sleeping well, up they go. And then if you're not eating enough, it's even higher. So ditch the cardio mindset around weight loss. It is false. That is not how you're gonna lose your menopause belly. And I've lost 18 pounds through menopause, and I can tell you it came from consistently doing all the things and my nutrition. So when it comes down to it, you've got to get your nutrition under control. Now, if you love cardio, like my head trainer Heather, that uh works with me at the training tool, she loves cardio. She loves to run, she loves to do races. She is perimenopausal where you are in this life. So we worked out a schedule. She does three heavy weight training days. Actually, we work out together. And for us, that three days works well. We do kind of a mix of full body in those three days. She likes to run, so she picks two to three days out of the week to go for a little short run. I don't love cardio, so I don't really do it. But if I were to do it, I might do a hit, you know, because here's the thing you don't need to do all this really super long cardio. You need to hit it and quit it and get out. 10 minutes. And it doesn't, yeah, it doesn't need to be every day. You know, do some jump training for your bones, do some sprint training, you know, some on a bike or on a treadmill or outside, whatever you want to do, but make it short. But like you said, your focus needs to be that strength training. And then we do a little hit or a little whatever one to two days of cardio for your heart. And of course, you're going to do your mobility work for your joints. So it's a perfect little combo there.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

Yeah. And I I want to touch on like the sprint interval training for pros out there listening. Look into the research on sprint interval training, particularly for your clients in this phase of life. And like Amber said, you do not need to do 20, 25 minutes. Make it eight minutes and you go hard at like an eight or nine on an RPE of one to 10, and then you back it off and have a recovery period, like a decent recovery period. And then you go hard again. It does not need to be this 20, 25 minutes and an hour of cardio or anything like that. Absolutely not. Do some sprint interval training a couple days a week, you know, tack it on to the end of a workout or something like that. But there is great value in doing that. But like you said, shifting that mindset from this cardiocentric. Like let's make it more of like the border or like the decoration on the outside. Let's refocus the entire picture on muscle building, muscle health, and that strength component and sprinkle in a little bit of cardio here and sprint interval training here. Walk, let's still get our steps in and mobility is really important. Like get your steps in and doesn't always have to be 10,000. Like you can you can get six to seven thousand in and that's good. But yeah, backing off of that cardiocentric message, I think is one of the hardest things because we know in a resistance training session, it's not as metabolically demanding as say going on a five-mile run. And so, of course, like mentally for our clients, they're like, but I'm not burning enough. Ah, but the payoff though, the payoff is you build that lean tissue, you reduce that fat mass, and you subsequently increase your resting metabolic rate. That's the payoff. It just takes time to build it, but it can be done, even in that menopause state. So it again goes back to like really educating your clients for sure on what that means and how cortisol intersects with all of it as well.

SPEAKER_01 36:35

And it's really hard to coach. So women who are so used to the circuit training and running around and jumping and doing all this and never resting in between sets. This is something we do, uh we do a program at my studio called Stronger You. We do it like once a year, and our people love it. We have them track their weights and we take big long rests in between the sets. But you know, that's really difficult because people are like, why am I wasting my time? You know, you're my trainer. Why are we sitting here? I'm like, because you need to be able to do a heavy set, put those weights down, rest, come back. And I want you to do that same weight and those same reps. But if you do them back to back to back to back to back like that, you're not recovering and you're not going to be able to lift as heavy because you're wearing out your muscles. It's like I enjoy my strength training workouts so much more now that I do heavy and then I rest in between my sets. The only thing is I say to Heather all the time is I'm like, I'm getting too strong for my own good because I'll look at my record and I'll be like, oh crap, I gotta go get the 35s now. I'll be like, 30s, but I'm you know, I can press 35 overhead. And I'm like, that's impressive.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

Yeah, yeah, it is. That's badass. I like it. Right? That's awesome. I'm curious as we kind of like come to the end of our conversation here. So if you were to think about debunking one myth that our pros could use to empower their female clients to seek support sooner or address the issues that they're facing, like what would it be? And what should they know instead?

SPEAKER_01 38:20

So I wrote down three things for this. Uh, first off, learn about it before it happens. Don't be like me and learn about it afterwards, right? I think it's very helpful. And if you train younger women, explain to them how important it is to get all of these health habits in place and also to lift to build the muscle while they've got the hormones that are still helping them build muscle. Talk to your mom if she's in your life and ask her what her experience was. My my gynecologist did say to me, you typically follow the pattern that your mother did. So find out the age that she went through, what her symptoms were, just so you can kind of have a picture of what potentially could happen. And then also, I hear this all the time. I'm going to get my hormones tested. Understand that that is a screenshot. That is like a chicken in your day, right? At that exact moment. Hormone testing, there's certain things that they can look at, but you need to go in with symptoms. That is what is going to tell your doctor what's happening so much more than the hormone testing. And I kind of feel like I don't know if we have time or not, but I feel like we really need to hit on the nutrition because we didn't really talk about left.

SPEAKER_00 39:36

Sorry. No, left. It's actually, yeah, because symptomology-wise, like all the things that change, we said were physical, emotional, mental, but there's also these nutritional considerations. And we touched on it just very briefly about the blood sugar management and how insulin resistance can sort of start to get a little wonky in this period of life. So yeah, let's talk about the nutrition piece.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

So one, this is going to be a really big topic, and it's something I'm a certified nutrition coach, you know, with my degree in PE and health. I took nutrition in college. I've done a lot of studying and reading. I'm very much against, you know, thinking that you're going to supplement your way to health, that you need to follow these crazy fad diets. I'm very much that most people need help with the basics. Most people do not have the basics in place at all. Yes. Okay. So the quality of the food matters. We have to really start pushing towards the whole foods. And listen, you're going to have some processed foods. All right. My protein powder is processed. My Greek yogurt is processed. I don't kill the chicken. All right. My chicken is processed. So don't some degree is all processed. Yes. So don't get wound up with that. But you know, try to eat as much whole foods as you can and try to cut out the highly processed packaged foods as much as you can and fast foods and things like that. Eat to support your body without under or overeating. All right. You've got to find that. And for many women, you have been eating in a deficit for so long that your body needs to come out and be in maintenance for a while. This is something too. You need to work with somebody who understands how to go between those levels to help you with that. And these are the big, big things that I tell people. We hear protein, protein, protein. Protein is important, but most people don't realize they're trying to eat like protein chips and protein bars. You know, we need to have lean protein, chicken, turkey, seafood, fish, egg whites, protein powder for convenience, white pork. And I say white pork because bacon is pork, but that's not a lean protein. So we're looking at pork loin, pork chops. Beef, it's really hard to find lean enough beef, but you can find some lean beef, some skirt steaks, some things like that that you can incorporate if you like red meat. That needs to, we need to have probably somewhere around 25 to 30 grams of lean protein at each meal is pretty good to strive for. And then putting some into your snacks as well. The other thing that we need is fiber. Fiber is going to come from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are not bad. So for our women who are over 50, it's going to be about 21 grams a day. Lots of produce, fruits, and vegetables, but also your whole grains. Eat some bread, eat some pasta, eat some beans, eat some rice, you know, like get yeah, quinoa. Get some things in your life that are whole wheat, whole grain, if you can, because I know not everybody can, but get the fiber up that way. You've got to have those carbohydrates for your brain health to release the serotonin. So if you're one of the women that's experiencing anxiety and depression, you should not be low carb. Period, point blank, I don't care all day. Eat the carbs, the good ones. I don't want to say good because I don't like good and bad, but you know what I mean. Whole foods. Check your added sugars. Decrease your added sugar below 25 grams a day. This is going to be super important now because with that insulin resistance comes the ability or where your body tries to store those extra carbs, those sugary carbs, as fat because of where you are. So we've got to lower the added sugar. You no longer can go have ice cream every day and drink a fancy coffee drink every day that's pretty much just sugar and milk. You know, there's you really have to look at they can't have candy off of your work desk. I mean, these things need to be cut out and need to be an every now and again trick. And then the biggest one that ladies don't like to hear, but you need to say goodbye to alcohol. Alcohol is doing you no favors at this time. It is not, it's not helping you sleep better. It's not lowering your stress. It's actually working against you. So this is the time that you have to realize you can no longer eat and drink whatever you want. If you, I was like that in my 20s and 30s. I could. I can't do that now. So get those consistent meals in. Eat your lean protein, your high fiber foods, your heart-healthy fats, you know, some nuts, some seeds, those need to be very small, small, small, small serving sizes because of how calorically dense they are. But this is something that that will make a bigger change for you than anything else. That and lowering your stress and building the muscle. Those are main things for you to work on.

SPEAKER_00 44:56

Yeah. And I think those are three really good pillars that our pros listening can apply in daily practice. And you might work with a client because they come to you for exercise and movement, but you also have an ability and you're uniquely positioned because you're a voice of influence and you're a knowledgeable voice to really examine all of those pillars. Like, what does the stress look like? We've got your movement covered, but what does the nutrition look like? Is it protein, healthy, fat, and fiber? What does that look like? And really dialing that in and doing an assessment with them in terms of where's your stress level at? You can do this during warmups. I love it when I'm talking to a client and it's the first three to five minutes, like, where's your energy at today? Scaled one to five. You know, and we're doing things and we're stretching, we're dynamically moving and those types of things, but asking them, like doing a check-in, what was this like for you this week? And so I think it's probably these pillars that can inform your practice and something that our pros can take away and really do an inventory of your practice. How are you working with clients and what are the questions you're asking them? And how closely are you educating them on those nutrition pillars too? And what does that look like? And what is my client misunderstanding or that I am overlooking? Because it is a different set of rules that you're working with with these women in this period of life. And it is really important to note that stress piece, the nutrition piece, and how they're moving, and more importantly, what they're what they're doing in that movement and the way the which ways in which you can coach them effectively on all of those pillars.

SPEAKER_01 46:36

Yes. And I think that if you are a fit pro and you get this down, you can help so many people. And if you're struggling to get clients, like having this piece and really having an accountability piece for them because education is big, but people need our accountability. So have a way for them to check in. You know, depending on your client, depends on, and depending on you as a coach, how you like to do that matters. But I have found weekly meetings via Zoom with a group, people who want to be in a group. I mean, that has been very successful for myself and for my clients. And it allows me to coach a larger amount of people, but I'm not, it takes up a lot of time to one-on-one coach people. So here I can educate them, we can go through, and then when they have questions, I can answer them. They don't all have questions at the same time. Right. So yeah, that group accountability is good, having some way for them to check in. You know, if you want them to do a nutrition diary so you can look at it. And this is what I always tell my clients too. I think it's really important for us to let people know we're not judging them. So I always tell them this is data. I can't help you if I don't know. So I am only looking at this through the lens of data. Okay, I see you had a coffee drink for breakfast. Let's talk about if you love that and you want to keep it, how can we level it up and make it better? You know, you're there to help them fit these things into their life. So that's what we're good at and that's what we can do. And so that's what they need you for. And I think that accountability piece will make you a better coach and will be means that more likely people will stay with you longer, which is nice in this business.

SPEAKER_00 48:29

Yeah. And it means their likelihood of success is increased as well because we're using data to inform the practice, right? We're we're always looking for evidence and and it does tell a story. But like you said, it it's so important for coaches to really be paying attention to that data in order for you to understand the story and put that into practice for your clients. And then also talk to your clients about what this says so you can help them notice patterns because sometimes it's just an awareness piece, right? Like, I didn't know I did that. Because it's like they're going through the motions. So I think that is the the other pillar of practice, right? Is like that accountability accountability piece and what does it look like for you and the clients you serve, and how do you better implement that in a way that's meaningful on both ends for you and your client?

SPEAKER_01 49:20

Yes, absolutely. Yeah, I think that's that's a great thing to help. And you know, people need help. This is such a confusing time. Thankfully, we are we're growing up in a time where people are talking about menopause and perimenopause more, and there's a lot of information, but like nutrition, there's a lot of confusing information. And people I love, I'm sure you've seen it too. I've had multiple people send it to me, but somebody did a really funny video and it was like, okay, so I'm supposed to lift heavy, but I also have to work, and then I need to do cardio, but I need to not do too much cardio, and then I need to eat a lot of protein, but I have to like count my calories, and it was hysterical. I was like, this is what it feels like to a normal person who's just watching all the social media stuff.

SPEAKER_00 50:06

And it's just this barrage that's just kind of like coming at you. So, Amber, my my last question for you is do you have any favorite go-to sources that our pros could lean into for learning more about the perimenopause and menopause journeys? Who are your favorites?

SPEAKER_01 50:26

Oh my goodness. So, of course, I'm going to shout out my friend Melissa Lane. Yes, I mean Melissa was gonna come up. Yeah, there's no way to understand the science behind your body. You should always listen to Melissa Lane. I mean, even when I'm having trouble understanding something, or if I hear something I I don't know about, I'll ask her. I call her my big brain friend, but she has done a lot of recordings for different. I know she did one for you guys, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 50:56

And then you're next on the list for that PS, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 51:00

Okay, thank you. And then, you know, you can find her at scwfit.com if you come to any of the manias. She's there, but she is a wealth of information and she reads through the research and can really understand it and put that out there. I I think really I do a lot of reading and looking myself. And I know a lot of the heavy hitters, okay, so I'm going to be a little controversial. So a lot of the menopause heavy hitters that we see on social media do not get your fitness and your nutrition advice from them because, especially a very well-known doctor. Because I the thing is, she needs to stick to the hormones and her doctor stuff, but her her fitness and nutrition is off. Like, no. So you have to be really careful when you're listening to that. It's not that I don't think that, you know, she has some great ideas, but she's way off on the fitness and nutrition. Right. So that's where, you know, you want to look at the the study. And but that's the bad thing is there's not a lot of studies being done out there for us, right? Right. So we just we kind of have to filter through what we have at the moment. But I think that you can listen to some of those, the big, you know, there's like three big doctors that I've learned a little bit more about hormones from them. But what I do is I take their information and then I go and do my own searching to find out. You know, yeah. And if they ever quote any studies, because I will say a lot of them do put the studies up where you can find them yourself, the research studies. So I have actually pulled some of that so I could go and read it and kind of, you know, digest that myself. Because not so much them, but a lot of times people on social media will pull a study and they cherry pick the information, and that's not what the study said, but they use it to support their point. So you have to be really careful when people are are quoting research. You need to go look it up yourself.

SPEAKER_00 52:58

Yeah, I definitely advocate for that as well. Like, what does it say? Yes, this is this person's synthesis and interpretation of it, but go check it out yourself and just yeah, I always like lean into PubMed. I think Dr. Stacy Smith is also a very good source for some of that like research information.

SPEAKER_01 53:20

I want to say Stacey, I like her, but I will say you have to remember that she works with high-level athletes. Yes, right? And so when I look at like I've read her books, I watch her, you know, on different podcasts and such, I think she is very knowledgeable. I like what she talks about. And Melissa and I have had multiple discussions about information that she says, but I you have to look at the client in front of you. Yeah. So for instance, if you have a 52-year-old woman who's never worked out her entire life, who comes to you, there is no way you need to put her through anything in Stacey Sims workouts. You need to develop something for those people to build them up and remember who they work with and who you work with, because it's usually very different. And that's important too.

SPEAKER_00 54:13

You have to look at your client. Yeah, you have to contextualize the information. There's so much out there. But what of it applies to who you're working with in the moment and what are their skill levels, what are their needs, what are their past experiences with exercise? All of those things are really the bigger pieces of the puzzle. But being able to visualize that research and that information is critical. Otherwise, it's it's not gonna go anywhere and you're gonna burn your client out, or you're not gonna challenge them enough. Those either way, that could absolutely be the truth. So, yeah, do your research, look into PubMed, always lean into those sources and lean into other professionals in the space. And that brings me to ask the question, Amber, for our listeners. Where can they get in touch with you? What are the best handles? What are the best places to follow your work?

SPEAKER_01 55:06

So, because my business is the training tool, you will find that everywhere. There's an E on the end of the tool. So I'm on Facebook, I'm on Instagram, TikTok. I'm trying to think where else I am all over the place. You know, I put a lot of things out for my business. But for FitPros, I do have a Amber Tool fitness professional and mentor, fitness educator and mentor on Facebook. Yes. So you can find me there. And so I post anytime, you know, when I'm on a podcast, I'll post that there. If I present for SCW or any other companies, I put it out there. So you know, that's a way to follow me too.

SPEAKER_00 55:46

Awesome. I'm gonna check that out right after this because I didn't know you had that page. But yes, I do. That's awesome. Amber, thank you so much for this rich conversation and just sharing your knowledge, your passion, your honesty, and your own journey. I think it's something that is important for pros to do, but you also highlighted some really important pillars of the basics, what you need to help your clients get into place so that they're setting themselves up for success during this time and then the years to come. So thank you again for your time. I know it's like late where you are. I think it's like 6:15 where you are. So thank you for spending part of what should be your dinner hour with me.

SPEAKER_01 56:24

Thank you. No, I I appreciate you, Erin, and all the work that you do in our space is amazing. And I really was so like just humbled that you asked me to be here. So I appreciate that. And thank you to the listeners. I mean, this is you spent over an hour with us. And I mean, that to me shows that you know you care and that's so important. And I appreciate you being here. And Erin, you're amazing. I can't wait to see you again in real life so I can hug you.

SPEAKER_00 56:55

I know, I know. We absolutely need that. So, yes, it has already been far too long. But thank you for that. I feel the same way about your work and I am grateful that you took your time. And don't think I'm not tapping you for more interviews. I'll be here. Thanks, everyone. We will catch you next time on another episode of Fitness Education Online.