As we age (men and women) should we train differently? Google search that topic and you will have 20 something year old coaches telling mature adults and specifically women to not do heavy weights, big compound movements, or hard cardio. In my opinion, as a coach of women for the last thirty years, this is fucking stupid!

Things happen, they affect us, we try to do better, sometimes we can’t. Sometimes we need help, sometimes we need community, sometimes we are scared. What I have found is, nothing matters if you’re not doing it with a little fear and a lot of guts. The most transformative times in my adult life have been when I was afraid to be embarrassed or fail, but doing it anyways, because in that place is where we become who we want to be instead of who we used to be. We have to move with the times, we have to re-adjust, we have to look off that cliff and say, “I’m not going to fall, I’m gunna fly.”  How can we fly if we don’t train our wings to be strong? To carry the burden of our shame and regrets and lift us higher than our circumstances and what has happened to us.

This may be controversial, but as a woman the threat to our safety is high regardless of the environment. We can stand on our soap box and preach equality all we want, but the bottom line is we are always going to be at a physical disadvantage. Simply being strong will not be enough to prevent threats to our safety. We must use our heads and avoid the danger before it impacts us. We need to become well rounded and this starts by listening to our instincts, trusting them and having the ability and knowledge to respond appropriately.

We care a lot about heart health and brain health. These two organs make the news daily, with organizations raising awareness all over the western hemisphere. I wish the liver had the same publicists as the heart and the brain.

As a former Green Beret and current Paramedic and athletic coach, even without a global pandemic, I find myself inundated with chaos – I think it is fair to say, in the past 2 years, most of us have felt that chaos more than ever. Chaos in my former and present jobs are beyond my control, as is true with anyone who pushes the limit of their being. By nature, to push our boundaries means to invite chaos into our life.