Why Muscle Matters More Than the Scale: Because Strength Changes Everything After 40

June 30, 2026

Elegantly Unhinged

Why Muscle Matters More Than the Scale: How Strength Changes Everything After 40

For years, many of us were taught that the key to health was eating less and doing more cardio.

But what if we've been focusing on the wrong goal?

In this episode, I'm joined by fitness expert Cindy Barbour for a conversation about why strength training becomes one of the most important things we can do in midlife—not just for our bodies, but for our metabolism, confidence, independence and long-term health. And Cindy would know—she not only teaches about getting fit for a healthy life, she truly embodies it.

We dish about why muscle matters, how to fuel your workouts, common mistakes women make and why getting stronger—not smaller—may be the most empowering shift you can make.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why muscle is your metabolic powerhouse
• How strength training changes after 40
• The biggest mistakes women make when trying to "tone up"
• Why eating enough (especially protein) is essential for building strength
• Cardio vs. lifting: what deserves more attention in midlife
• How to start strength training safely if you're new to it
• Why consistency beats perfection every time

Whether you're already lifting weights or just thinking about getting started, this episode will leave you feeling informed, encouraged and excited to build a body that supports the life you want to live. 

Because your goal isn't just to live longer. It's to stay strong enough to enjoy every year along the way.

Show Notes:

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Learn more about my Smart Mouth Nutrition Metabolic Reset program here.

For questions, contact: rima@smartmouthnutrition.com

Disclaimer

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or health routine.

Elegantly Unhinged is a podcast for women who look fine on the outside—but are doing deep, brave, disruptive inner work behind the scenes. Hosted by integrative and functional dietitian-nutritionist Rima Kleiner, this podcast explores midlife, body trust, nervous system health, nourishment, identity shifts and what happens when women stop playing small.

New episodes drop weekly.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Hello, and welcome back to Elegantly Unhinged. Thanks for joining us. And if you're new here, we're really glad you stopped by. Okay, so I have been so excited about today's episode because one, it's our first podcast guest, and two, we're talking about something that has become increasingly important as we get older, and that is muscle. Not because we're chasing a smaller body or because we're trying to earn our food, we're definitely not, but because muscle impacts nearly everything we care about in midlife: our metabolism, blood sugar, strength, energy, confidence, bone, um, heart, brain health, and our ability to keep doing the things that we love in the decades to come. And the truth is, many of us, especially women, kind of grew up believing that exercise was primarily about burning calories and losing weight, if we're honest. But the conversation changes in midlife. And the goal becomes about building and preserving strength, supporting our metabolism, and creating a body that feels capable, resilient, and strong.

Meet Our Guest, Fitness Expert Cindy Barbour

SPEAKER_00 1:29

And to help us unpack all of that, I'm joined by my friend and celebrated fitness professional, Cindy Barber. Cindy has spent her entire adult life inspiring healthy living and enhancing health through multiple platforms. She retired several years ago as a wellness director, a personal trainer, and a group exercise instructor. But it all started when she began teaching group exercise as an 18-year-old, and it catapulted her into a life of enhancing health by obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Sports Studies, becoming a master trainer for the YMCA of the USA, which gave her the ability to donate much of her time in the community, teaching, public speaking, and writing columns for several publications. One of her biggest, and she has many, attributes, is her infectious enthusiasm for motivating people to be more active. Her biggest passion is running. She has enjoyed a long running streak and has completed every event from the hundred-meter run to 24-hour races. She has been a pacer for many years, helping others achieve their running goals. As a certified running coach, her pacing duties have taken her internationally. And I can vouch for Cindy's running. I've seen her running many times in the community and have seen her pacing, where she left me in her dust at many runs. And all in

"It Doesn't Have to Be Epic, It Just Has to Be"

SPEAKER_00 2:48

all, she leaves people with just one quote: it doesn't have to be epic, it just has to be. So Cindy, welcome. I'm so glad you're here because you are, in my mind, truly the epitome of someone who embodies health and wellness. You not only teach it, but you live it. And I'm so excited we get to dive into the world of fitness and training with you.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Oh, I am honored, and I'm honored to be your first guest, and I'm honored to speak about the passions I have that I have carried for years and years.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

So, first, um, first, I want to say if you're here in North Carolina, you may recognize Cindy. I always think of Cindy as kind of this fitness celebrity. I remember talking to a friend in my driveway years ago, and you walked out, we said hi to each other, and my friend was like, Is that Cindy Barber? Knew you from the community training. And I remember seeing your picture on our local Lululemon walls because you were an ambassador for them for a while, I believe. So thank you for being here, Cindy. Okay, so today we're talking about why strength training matters more and not less as we get older. Some common mistakes women make when it comes to exercise, how to get started if you are new to lifting, and how nutrition and movement work together to support long-term health. So let's dive in. Are you ready, Cindy? I am.

How Cindy's Fitness Approach Changed in Midlife

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Okay, so I would love to start with your fitness journey because you've been doing this for a long time since you were 18 and you've had a long relationship with fitness. So, how has your approach to exercise changed from maybe your 30s and 40s to where you are now?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

I definitely train less aggressively now in my 60s, but I still love the good old fashion workouts, sweating, and it

"Exercise Done Right Gives You Energy, Not Depletes You"

SPEAKER_01 4:26

just gives you energy. Exercise done right gives you energy, not depletes you.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Yes, I love that. Absolutely. Yes. So very rarely do we think, I wish I hadn't done that workout right. Usually we're glad. Gives us energy. And I think that's a shift for a lot of women in midlife because I think a lot of us feel so exhausted and depleted, and we think exercise is just something else we need to do and maybe feel guilty when we don't do it. But really, if we start to think about exercise as a way to support and nourish us, which kind of brings us to my next question. Why

Why Strength Training Is So Important in Midlife

SPEAKER_00 5:00

do you think strength training is so important in midlife? I mean, it's important through all stages of life, right? But especially as we hit midlife, it really seems to be even more important.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

So much more important. We are losing muscle mass as we age if we're not doing anything to prevent it. Most people tend to be in a maintenance, so they may not be losing as much, but it's so important to gain that strength as we age so that you can do activities for daily living. Um, and besides which, menopause and speaking women, you know, it can hit people in their 30s now. And you're only one workout away from a good mood. It truly helps sort of even you out, helps balance some of the hormones, and it gives you structure. And I believe it also gives you confidence.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. You're one workout away from a good mood. That's perfect. Need to remember that. Um, and yeah, I I think that kind of speaks to the fact that strength training is more than just about looks, um, it's really about getting stronger and aging well.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Metabolically,

Gaining Muscle is More Than Just About Looks

SPEAKER_01 6:09

muscles are active in your body, whether you are lying on the couch, sleeping, floating in a pool, or just sitting around or casually walking. Fat is like your the cousin you can't get rid of out of your backyard pool. It is lounging there, drinking all your beverages and just hanging out. Muscle is actually responsible for everything. Your skeletal muscles are responsible for your insulin, pulling sugars out of your bloodstream so that you don't store sugars as fat. It is so important to keep that body moving and guessing what it's doing to help allay some of the aging processes. I mean, we're all aging, but what you can do to thwart that aging is what is most important.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, that's great. Yeah, and I think as we're aging, really some of the things that are playing into this is really that estrogen decline during menopause. And I think something that a lot of women don't know is that because we haven't really been told this and we're just starting to kind of hear more about it, but that we start to lose muscle mass naturally as we age, right? And that loss of estrogen during perimenopause and then into menopause is not helping, right? It's not helping us with building muscle, maintaining that muscle, that stubborn cousin fat that's you know hanging around the back pool is sticking around, right? Um, because of estrogen. One of the

Muscles Are Metabolic Currency

SPEAKER_00 7:38

things that I've talked about on the podcast is muscle being metabolic currency. So how are the muscles that we're building impacting our metabolism? Or are they impacting our metabolism?

SPEAKER_01 7:51

They most certainly are affecting our metabolism. And what I said earlier about the skeletal muscles, your skeletal muscles, which you work when you're working in different planes, um, and we'll get to exercise a little bit later, but I mean that can helps control your insulin sensitivity in your bloodstream. If you are have strong skeletal muscles, it's gonna continually need to be fed. So you're gonna continually feed sugars from your bloodstream into your skeletal muscles, which give it energy. It is not being stored there, it's being used for combustion to provide energy to the body. Whereas if you're not active, that's and you have extra sugars in your bloodstream, they're going to just go by the wayside and go to their little fat centers and and hang out. And that's what we're trying to avoid. That's we're not trying to be the best body figure. We're trying to be the strongest and the healthiest.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Yeah. Yes, absolutely. That muscle is really helping with that. That blood sugar, it's doing other things and just looking good. So it's it's working behind the scenes. Can I add one thing

If You Want to Build Muscle, Stay Hydrated

SPEAKER_00 9:00

to that?

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Absolutely. What and I know we're gonna go into what women do wrong, but one of the biggest things is that if you're dehydrated at all, all bets are off. You're the sugars in your bloodstream are just going crazy because it's just trying to keep the body at a at a homeostatic rate. So people who are needing to help gain muscle and soap have to be hydrated sufficiently, which most Americans are not. And if you're thirsty, that is way too late. It is before that that you really need to work. Everyone talks about the protein amount. Water amount is really important because everything is affected by water levels in your body. We're 72-73% water. And if it's not sufficiently, your body's gonna not do anything like burn fat. It is going to just be in defensive mode.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

I love that because um we tend to think of maybe muscle's not doing as much behind the scenes as it actually is. And the water piece, the hydration piece is huge because I think a lot of times we just think it's important to stay hydrated, but we don't necessarily think about why. And so thinking about it from a muscle perspective, the fat perspective, I mean energy levels, right? But like even beyond that, if you're not fueling up, which we'll talk about, and you're not hydrating, you're not maximizing your efforts, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:25

No, yeah, you know, and of course, digestion is a huge thing with that as well. Uh we heap toxins around in our body. So if you're properly hydrated, you're eliminating on a regular basis. And that is huge.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Yes, flushing those out. That's a great visual for why it's important to stay hydrated. I um know you've worked

Common Workout Mistakes

SPEAKER_00 10:44

with a lot of people in your career, and I'm guessing there's probably some things you've seen over and over that maybe, I don't know if they make you cringe, but some things that maybe you're like, oh, that's not right. So what I'd love to hear what some of the biggest mistakes are that you tend to see people, especially women, making when it comes to exercise.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

My quote of it doesn't have to be epic, it just has to be I see women sometimes killing themselves in the gym, but they're not doing all the other pieces. The exercise is just one piece of it. I see so many of them underfueling. So it they're over training because they're underfueled. I see people thinking that they have to go so many days to the to the gym or outside, or and that's not necessarily true. Rest days are super important, sleep is super important. Um, neuromuscular adaptation occurs in the first two to four weeks, but really you don't see visual change for six to eight weeks. And that's you know, we're sort of in the now mentality. I want this now. We can Amazon things now. We can, you know, stream a movie now. So I think that when you have that six to eight weeks before you see any appreciable gains is is difficult for people to swallow and to hang on to. And of course, there's the 21-day habit or 28-day habit, whatever it's gonna take to get you consistent. So those are the biggest mistakes I've seen, or they're overtraining and they're so sore they can't brush their teeth the next day because they can't lift their arm or comb their hair or sit in a chair or walk downstairs. So there's a lot. I've seen a lot.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

So maybe some of the ways to address some of those things are the hydration, like you mentioned, that helps with the recovery if they're overtraining, and then the underfueling we'll talk about. But it sounds like that rest day really important for helping to train. So, kind of thinking

Strength Training vs Cardio (Hint: There Can Be Too Much of One of These)

SPEAKER_00 12:46

about schedule-wise, I feel like a lot of clients I see are doing cardio and they're doing it pretty religiously and they're going hard at it, or they're strength training, but a lot of times the two don't meet. And for a lot of clients, whether they've been doing cardio for years and they are continuing to do, but maybe they're not seeing the the results that they used to see when they just did cardio, or you know, some people are just focusing on the strength training, not realizing that cardio peace is important as well. Is there such a thing as too much cardio? What's a good balance between the two?

SPEAKER_01 13:18

There is definitely so much as too much cardio. Um, what I used to tell people all the time, because I would see certain people, they were not my clients, but I would see certain people at the gym all the time where you're familiar enough that you have casual conversation and hello, how are you doing, and so forth. And there would be people who would do the same machine, the same time, the same intensity, day in, day out. And you know, they're they're like, I know you're a trainer. Why am I plateauing and not moving the needle? And my biggest thing was, well, your body is so smart that it knows what you're gonna do. So it starts firing less muscle fibers to execute that exercising, which is the big thing because you want as many muscles as possible to because that's one burning calories, two, creating a difference in your body, and three, it is it is a different feeling when you totally work the body out and not just a few muscle groups. Um, so that's my biggest pet peeve is too much cardio.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Too much cardio. Okay, so there is such a thing, and it's really um just kind of staying in that same lane, continuing to do the same thing over, working the same muscles. I mean, I think that that is fascinating. The part about your body gets is smart, constantly trying to find that homeostasis rate. It sounds like your body kind of gets in a rut, and you're not again, it's really not maximizing your efforts because you're doing the same thing and you're underutilizing your muscles. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

And let's get to the muscular component of that. We have people who are intimidated to go

Yes, You Can Do a Push-up

SPEAKER_01 15:01

to the gym, but to get an effective workout, you don't need to go to a gym. You can exercise at home. When I first started teaching years ago, there wasn't the internet, there wasn't on demand, there wasn't free everything, there wasn't YouTube. Nowadays, uh Pinterest, whatever, whatever is gonna make you start something is what is gonna be helpful for you. It doesn't, it even if it's an upper body day and you're like, I probably should have worked lower body, no, it's fine. Do something. And if you feel intimidated, hire a trainer for a few sessions. Um, I used to do that often where I knew that you know we were not gonna be working out one-on-one. I was writing programs for them. We would meet once a month and I would give them workouts for the next month just to make sure they were doing everything safely. Sometimes I would just have them video it and send it to me. Um, and you'd be surprised the few minutes here and there of doing something, whether it be squats, lunges, wall sitting, push-ups. And back to push-up, people are like, Well, I can't do a push-up. Well, pretty much everyone can do a push-up. You can start with your hands high on the wall, then you can start to lower the hands on the wall, then you can elevate your hands on the on a stair or the second stair and do one. Um, and I love it when people are on the floor. If they can't do a push-up, that's fine. Get all the way down on the ground and push your body back up. Just resist the earth and come back up. And eventually you will be able to do a push-up. Whether it be on your knees or full military style, you can do push-ups holding dumbbells so that it takes pressures off your wrist and hands. There's just so many ways you can do something. I always say the commercials when we we're streaming everything now, so there's not a lot of commercials. But my kids and I used to get up and do squats and wall sits or a plank while we were waiting for the commercials to go off, and then we could sit back down on the couch together. But just like little things. It doesn't have to be 30 minutes. It doesn't have to be, it's whatever you can get in. Just keep your muscles guessing.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Yes, yes, I love that. Fit it in where you can get it in, right? So, what I'm hearing is we should be strength training. Party is important, but we can do too much of it if we're doing the same thing over and over, um, and we're not adding the strength training. Is there like an

How Often You Should Strength Train for Your Healthy Future

SPEAKER_00 17:30

ideal amount of like days per week that we should be aiming for? Or is there a rule of thumb with strength training in midlife?

SPEAKER_01 17:38

There is. Depending upon how long you're gonna work out and how much you're going to fatigue your muscles, I mean you could work out sufficiently two to three times a week, or even one to two times a week. It's what you're gonna be consistent at, is what is most important. And I always had this quote with clients, and I could always tell how our sessions were gonna go because I always started out when I first met them saying, Well, we invest in our in our financial future, so now we're gonna invest in your healthy future. And if they laughed or agreed with me, I knew we were gonna get along swimmingly. If they looked at me, I was maybe I might not be the right trainer for you. Let's see this, and you know, you have the option, I can refer you to someone else because I am very motivated and I am very um, I do have an infectious personality, and I will get you moving. And so I just think that every for every person there is a plan, whether it is in their home, at night, in the morning, on TV, just from Pinterest, just from things that they've seen written down, um, from websites, whatever, whatever they're gonna do and stay consistent and try to be consistent, is it? And every day is a great day to push reset. Every hour is a great day to push reset. So people tend to punish themselves for not getting things done. Ah, I got busy, didn't get it done. Well, that's fine. You what are you doing in the next three minutes? You know, you're waiting for your coffee to brew, you're waiting. We're always waiting for something. So make yourself useful. Do some squats, do lunges. Um, I used to do tricep dips from the countertop. I'd have my feet on one side, and I mean, it's just whatever's gonna make you have fun with it and want to do it.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

No, that's great. I love the investing in your healthy future, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:42

We invest in our financial future, but we don't invest in our healthy future. It's gonna do you no good to have collected all this money if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Absolutely. I love that. And I can definitely attest that you you you have a very infectious personality and enthusiasm. Okay. Would love to chat for

Fueling Your Body for Workouts

SPEAKER_00 20:03

a few minutes about that underfueling piece. I mean, this is the area I'm really passionate about, the food, the food piece. So, what does supporting your body and fueling up for workouts actually look like nutritionally?

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Well, listening to your your podcast on proteins, I loved it by the way. But it there was something I wanted to add to it because there's something that my husband and I do every day, and I think I didn't tell him for the first week we were doing it, I was putting collagen in our coffee. It's completely tasteless. But it was another 20 grams of protein in the morning, and with eggs and yogurt or what our protein shake, we were getting 40 to 50 grams of protein at breakfast, which is phenomenal. Um, so I was, you know, and the fiber, I loved how you talked about how important fiber was. Um and I just think that there is a marriage of proteins and fiber that really help. It comes with, you know, you're satiated, you're not hungry. You are um you're doing the best for your digestion to have that fiber and not just pure protein. And I am not a big proponent, it just depends on what I'm doing. I usually don't pre-work out anything but water or an electrolyte, not zero sugar electrolyte, like noon or liquid. I beat there's a there's a ton of them out there. Um and so that is basically what I do before. If I'm gonna go running early in the morning, sometimes I'll have half of a banana and I'll have a spoon, a tablespoon of either almond butter or peanut butter, but that's basically about it. And I usually take some if it's gonna be a long run, I do take some fueling gels or chews with me on the run. Um, everybody's different. I have had so many running partners over my lifetime, and I have I have friends that I could run 20 miles with, and they wouldn't need a thing, you know, besides some water. And then there's me by mile 11. If I haven't had any more chews or goo or something electrolytes, I have a lot of fast twitch muscles. I need that nourishment, and I was bonking on runs, and it you know, it takes a while for you to figure out some bodies just need more fueling than others, some bodies may need more than. What I take in the morning before a long run or a workout, oatmeal, you know, steel cut oatmeal, things that you can do that you support your body's exercise.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Okay. So listening to your own body, kind of um gauging how you're feeling. Are you feeling fuel during workouts? If not, maybe you need to fuel up a little bit more. Um, and again, something small doesn't have to be large. We want to replace the glycogen and we want to fuel up with some protein to really help with muscle building after strength training. Any recommendations there?

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Make sure it includes protein, carbs, and fats in it. I usually have avocado toast and a banana or Greek yogurt. I, you know, I love the zero sugar yogurts when possible. Um, but if you have just worked out a long time, take those carbs. If you are craving English muffin, have that English muffin. Uh I don't believe in food as a weapon or or a punishment. You know, I do like to pay the piper. If I'm on vacation, vacation, Cindy, is a lot of fun. A lot of fun. I will eat and drink what I want. And I will come back and I will reset because every day is a great day to reset. Because what are they going to put on my epitap? I stayed strict my whole life. No. I want them to say that I had fun. I knew how to have fun. I knew how to live, but I knew where my parameters and my limits are. Uh so I think that's most important.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

That's great. Anything else that you can think of, Cindy, that we didn't cover that you'd like to add? Ooh.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

I know that we talked about

Muscle Matters More than the Numbers on the Scale

SPEAKER_01 24:14

we talked about fueling and we talked about all of that. We did not talk about, let's talk about weight. Okay. We didn't talk about weight. We did not talk about weight. Um, I'm a big proponent of not weighing myself very much. Um, occasionally I will to check in just to make sure my expectations are realistic. But unless you're under a doctor's supervision and they want you to weigh yourself every day, try to get off that scale. Muscle weighs three times as much as fat. So don't go by that. Don't and I think people sometimes get on the scale in the morning and that creates their mood for the day. I think it adds extra stress and anxiety. And I don't, I just think women at this age, I will gain and lose six pounds just in water weight alone any given day of the week. I will eat clean and then all of a sudden there'll be more water. What is that? Maybe my body is trying to fight off an infection, so it needed more water around to run through the bloodstream. You know, there's so many different things. So don't try to lose that stress. Lose that stress. It's about staying healthy. What is that? Um, the famous woman's rugby player, Elona Meyer. I don't I'm I'm sorry, I'm butchering her name, but Elona is a I I love that she is so in shape and she is um what we consider thicker than normal Olympic athletes. And she is rocking that body, she is rocking Instagram. I I she's disrupting, like you, uh your famous tagline, disrupting. And I just love it.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Yeah, that's that's a great message because um I think a lot of us do get hung up on numbers. I see a lot of clients when they come to me, that's kind of why they seek out a dietitian, probably why a lot of times they're seeking out a trainer, like they have in their mind a number, something that they think that they should weigh, something they feel like once I weigh that, I will have met my goal, I'll feel good, you know. That number is influenced by so many different things, and really the goal is how do you support your body? How do we keep it strong? How do we uh fuel and build our bodies so that we are living our best lives, you know, now and for the the next decades ahead. I know when I'm when I am strength training and doing the cardio is when I feel my best. Um, so even beyond the way it looks or what's going on behind the scenes, but knowing I feel better when I am doing the workouts. So I think a lot of times just focusing on how do I feel, how can I support my body?

SPEAKER_01 26:54

Absolutely. And secrets from someone who's been running consistently since

Persistance + Psychology are Keys to Exercising

SPEAKER_01 26:59

they were 10 years old, that first half mile is horrible, no matter how many times, no matter how in shape, no matter anything, until your body gets adjusted to what you're doing. It is, I I I sometimes question have I been a runner my whole life because this is bothering me? And then you start to get into it, and then you start to feel better. So people think it's hard, but your mind is, and that's that psychological piece. Don't get down because of the weight, don't get down because something's hard. Your your mind, if you can trust in your mind, your body will follow what your mind tells you and dictates to you. Truly. If you need any sort of backing on that, watch a marathon or an ultra marathon where these people are running anywhere, the marathon 26.2 or 250 mile races, you will see that is not their mind talking because they have learned to turn off that psychological piece and just let their body do it. Yeah, our bodies are incredible. And we can do great things. It's like when the car is on the child and the mother can lift the car up to save the child. Your body has a lot of aptitude that you may not realize that you have.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Well, hearing you say that running, even the even as long as you've been doing it and as well as you have been doing it, hearing you say that sometimes it's even a struggle to get started, that's that is very inspiring because it's hard. And so I think persistence is really something I'm hearing come through a lot from you, Cindy, is just don't give up, stay persistent. And if you miss it one day, it's okay. You just pick it back up when you when you have a minute that same day or the next day. One thing I want to reiterate was the six to eight weeks from the time that you're starting a workout routine, really not even necessarily seeing the changes in your body for six to eight weeks. I think that's really important for people to hear. People tend to, well, I'm not seeing any changes and give up. So really want to stay with it, be persistent. I guess if you had some

Mindset Shift from Exercising for Weight Loss to Exercising to Be Strong

SPEAKER_00 29:20

tips for people, especially women, to shift from this idea of working out is about losing weight to building strength. Is there one takeaway that you would give to women to really kind of get into that mindset? Let me give you my mindset.

SPEAKER_01 29:36

I have six grandkids. And knowing the that I have the ability to get out and play, get on the ground, pick them up, no, and the oldest will be eight in another month. And knowing that I can do all the things with them, that is my motivation to keep on moving. Um, and you know, whether you're in your 30s or 40s, it's never too early to start training for your elder years.

SPEAKER_00 30:05

Yes, that is perfect. Yes, never too late and never too early to start working out, working toward building that um healthy future. Yes. You mentioned, yes. Before we wrap up, I do want to ask

Cindy's Latest Adventure, Hiking the (Entire) Appalachian Trail!

SPEAKER_00 30:20

about something that you just finished, Cindy. Recent hiking adventure. I would love for you to share with listeners because I think it's super inspiring what you just accomplished.

SPEAKER_01 30:31

Well, I am not a very patient goal setter. So for me to have set the goal when I turned 50 to hike the Appalachian Trail in its entirety in sections, 2,197.4 miles, I knew I could do it, but I didn't know if I would allow myself to do it. I really did it in nine years because COVID year they closed the trail. And yes, I could have gone out there, but they requested people not to, so I honored that. So it took me nine years, even though I and uh just finished on June the 5th, I summited, which was the day after my 21st anniversary with my husband, and it was yes, it was a celebration, it was full of emotion. It was it was a profound moment in my life.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

That's that's incredible, that's really inspiring. Nine years, you you conquered the entire Appalachian Trail. Did you do it mostly by yourself? Did you have company, friends with you? How did you manage that over nine years?

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Yeah, so I started with Dan. I he knew this was my bucket list, and he made that clear that he was not going to hike the Appalachian Trail with me by a few miles. And he did probably over 300 and or 400 miles with me. Um, I was not alone for most of it. Um, I did take some sections of Georgia and Tennessee and North Carolina. I took my my yellow lab, Miles to Go is his name, and he and I would go off and solo camp and hike together. Uh he is nine now, and although he could hike, I just could, he's not allowed in Maine at the Baxter State Park where I summited. So that last 85 miles that I did in the end of uh beginning of June was solo, and that was my first time sleeping alone, which was not as scary as I thought it was, but it was raining that the first night, so I think I felt like any bad animals didn't want to be out in the rain, so I'm gonna be okay in my little tent, which as we know is wrong. But again, it's not mindset. Yes, whatever your mind believes you will achieve.

SPEAKER_00 32:51

Yeah, 85 miles just in this last stent, just in a few weeks ago, right?

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Yes, and I did it in um June 1st, yeah, five days. So it was a it was a challenging number of days. It was very challenging with a big pack on. Um, do you remember the movie Wild where Reese Witherspoon put it on and fell backwards? Well, I didn't fall backwards, but I I hadn't had a full pack on in a long time because most of New Hampshire, and I I had two hiking partners that are fabulous, Davis and Jansen. Um the whites in Norton in New Hampshire tend to really make people quit. It is such a section that's so hard. I questioned my own sanity several times as I was precariously hanging on rocks trying to lift my body weight up. And so uh I give so much credit to the both of them for teaching me, guiding me, mentoring me. I read everything I can read, but when you get real life access to that kind of knowledge, it is I know I could survive out in the wilderness alone thanks to their guidance in a lot of the books I read. Oh, that's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

Well, congrats, Cindy. That's quite an accomplishment and very inspiring. So thank you for sharing that. That's great. So if anyone wants to follow along with your adventures, because you are

How to Follow Cindy, Miles To Go and Her Fitness Adventures

SPEAKER_00 34:18

always traveling and you are always um, you are always exercising when you're traveling and doing things like hiking the Appalachian Trail. So if if listeners want to follow along, what are some of the best places they can find you?

SPEAKER_01 34:32

Sure, you can find me on Instagram, Cindy Runs Miles. And you could say Run Smiles, but Cindy Runs Smiles. And on Facebook, it's Cindy Kearns, K-E-A-R-N-S Barber. Um, pretty easy to find on there as well. Great. I think that's about it.

SPEAKER_00 34:52

Okay, and we'll include those in the show notes for anyone that wants to follow along because you you always have great pictures of exercise and cute grandbabies as well. So thank you so much for joining, Cindy. I love this conversation. I think it's so important to have that reminder that strength training isn't just about how we look, it's really how we live and what's going to keep us living our best lives into the next decades. Um, and like you mentioned, playing with grandkids, playing with kids, carrying our groceries. One thing I tend to think of is I want to be able to lift my luggage out of the overhead bin by myself without any help. So the strength training really helps with that. Yes. Thank you. Yeah, a lot of great information to really help us show up fully in our lives and take advantage, maximize all of our workout efforts that we are already doing and some things we can start to incorporate even more into all of our listeners. We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you found it helpful, please share with a friend, workout buddy, um, or anyone who could use a reminder that it's never too late or too early to start building that strength. So, as always, thank you for spending your day with us. And until next time, nurse your body, support your metabolism and nervous system. And remember that health isn't about shrinking yourself, it's about building a life that's strong enough to hold you. Take care. Thank you. And thank you again, Cindy. Appreciate it. Thank you. It's really doctoring. And