Ep 420: Consistency, Challenging Yourself and Enjoying Life to the Fullest With Lauren Bruzzone

Wonder what it takes to get fit and stay fit over 50?  Curious about going to the gym yet the idea of it seems overwhelming?  Lauren Bruzzone isn’t your typical life long athlete, in fact she found fitness at 55 years of age, she’s now on a mission to inspire those curious about fitness to take the leap and challenge themselves. In this episode of The Health Fix Podcast, Dr. Jannine Krause interviews Lauren Bruzzone on her coach Wesley James’ fascinating IG fitness posts, her journey to challenge herself, keeping her workouts interesting, stayinb fit for the long haul, keeping her brain engaged and never missing a chance to get some coffee.  

Resources From The Show:

• Instagram page – where Wesley James, Lauren’s coach features her amazing skills – @mrjamescpt – Instagram

Our Partners

Podcast Transcript

JANNINE: [Intro] Welcome to the Health Fix Podcast, where health junkies get their weekly

fix of tips, tools, and techniques to have limitless energy, sharp minds, and fit

physiques for life.

Hey health junkies, on this episode of the Health Fix Podcast, I’m interviewing

Lauren Bruzzone. I first came in contact with her when my husband showed me an

article that was written about her in the Epoch Times. Then I found Instagram,

stories that her coach was posting about her and her amazing athletic abilities

on Instagram and I thought this gal is 76 years old and she is keeping it real I

was impressed with her balance skills I was impressed with her overall fitness

and was like what does it take to do these amazing things she’s doing on

Instagram so we reached out to Lauren and we were lucky enough to get her to

say yes to come on for an interview. Lauren is a retired lawyer but she’s still working

a little bit on the side and she’ll tell you in the podcast some of her fun hobbies that

she has going on. She’s a fascinating lady and I was just honored to be able to just

have her tell us all about her story, what keeps her going and her words of wisdom for

Anyone that is looking into getting into fitness,

returning to fitness or just thinking about what it takes

to stay fit at 76.

All right, let’s introduce you to Lauren Bruzzone.

– Hey, health junkies.

I have Lauren Bruzzone on and we are going to be talking

about health, staying healthy, staying fit

and just having fun as we get older.

So Lauren, welcome to the health fix podcast.

LAUREN: Thank you, I’m enjoying being here.

JANNINE: Well, my goodness, we’ve already had such great chat so far,

talking about some of the things that you’ve come to realize over the years.

And one of the, the things that I always love to start my podcast out with

is getting a little background history, because if anyone’s seen you on

Instagram with your coach, Wesley James, they’re probably thinking like, whoa,

she can balance on dumbbells and do all kinds of wild stuff.

They must, they, they probably are going to ask me like, all right, well,

Has Lauren been fit her whole life?

Did she come out of the womb doing yoga and balancing?

Tell us a little bit of your history with fitness

and how things were for you growing up

in terms of activities and things of that nature.

LAUREN: Okay, well, no, I was not your basic athlete.

I was the kid that got chosen last

when there was teams on baseball or dodgeball.

I could not catch a ball to save my life.

I was small.

So I was generally the slowest kid on the block.

I was just not what you’d call an athlete.

I did do some dance.

Oh, little girl do dance.

That’s it. [inaudible]

But you know, I can’t say I really kept it up.

around…So there were whole chunks in my life

where athlete was not what was on the back of my T-shirt.

It was more like I’m trying to avoid the gym.

– I guess in my late 50s, maybe 55 or so,

I did start going to the gym

and most gyms have,

and I don’t mean this negatively,

but the classes for ladies

where you’re not heaving around much more than 10 pounds.

JANNINE: Yep.

LAUREN: Yes, one, that’s great.

It’s nice to be in a group.

So I started to get into it a little that way.

But again, not at the weight level.

More like, hey, it’s fun.

We get together, we do a little exercise,

we go out for coffee, all good.

So that happened.

And then one of the girls in class,

we all loved our teacher, but then she had an argument

with the gym and she left.

So, whole bunch of us were trying to figure out what to do.

One of the girls said, hey, there’s this thing called CrossFit.

Try that.

So I did.

Now, CrossFit is like, I’d say the next level up.

I mean, the nice thing about CrossFit is they do what they call scaled, so I’ll walk in,

I’m working with a 15 pound dumbbell. The guys are working with 45. Well, good. This is good.

This is the right way to exercise. So I did that for a little bit. And then

I could not do pull ups to save my life. Still can’t. I’m getting better. Nice problem.

And one of the trainers who rented space at the gym saw me

and I must have been saying something like,

please God, I just have one pull up.

I mean, you know, is that so much to ask.

So he said, well, why don’t you start working out with me

while I’m doing a class?

I’ll give you exercises.

And it helped, it really did help.

And then, that’s Wesley James.

And then I started working out with Wes,

and he started giving me the odd stuff,

like the atomic sit-ups,

which is when you have a big plate,

and you’re on the floor, it’s behind you,

and then you literally take it over your head

and you get into a standing.

– And no, it didn’t do that the first time.

As a matter of fact, I’d trouble getting the plate on my head

the first time.

It’s takes a while.

It takes practice.

But it kind of feels really good the first time you get it.

JANNINE: Absolutely.

LAUREN: Yay me!

I got it.

So that’s what– and West is not a machine person necessarily.

He’s more a bodyweight and balance stuff.

So he started working with me and we did start doing some odd things. I mean you

know let’s get your feet on one BOSU your hands on the other and let’s see

if you can do a push-up answer the first time nope I had trouble getting feet on

the BOSU but you worked on it a little bit your balance gets a little

better your strength gets a little better and eventually you get a push-up.

But is it the greatest push-up in the world?

No, but it was better than it was.

I mean, we were talking before, and I was saying,

the thing about exercise, especially at our age,

is just do it consistently.

And if you want to improve, I mean, I’m all for,

if walking around the block is your thing, that’s good.

JANNINE: Yeah.

LAUREN: Better than sitting.

– I don’t know what happened if you’re saying,

hey, I’d like to see how far I can get,

have a little fun with this.

Push yourself just a little bit.

I mean, that thing where I’m on four dumbbells

and I’m doing a pushup.

– I must fall on off that thing about a hundred times.

JANNINE: (laughing)

LAUREN: And I still will fall off.

Occasionally everybody says,

oh, are you afraid of falling off?

Not really, I have had plenty of practice.

Thank you.

And it’s all six inches, it’s not really a big deal.

I mean, that I will say, like a lot of folks say,

I was doing something on a rig and I had a band

and some I said, well, you know, what if you fall?

It’s like, well, I’ll stick my foot out

and I’ll put it on the ground and it’s my foot away.

All the stuff that Wesley has juke me doing.

There’s an exit strategy.

There’s a, what if you fall?

Answer, you put your knees down and there you are, you know,

or you stick your leg out and there you are.

None of this stuff, it may look impressive,

but none of this stuff is really dangerous.

I mean, the worst that comes, that happens,

especially when you’re doing a pushup,

you put your knees down and now the floor.

Okay, moving up right along, let me try it again.

– So, no, not your basic athlete.

Just somebody who keeps trying to choose stuff

if that makes sense at all.

JANNINE: Absolutely, no, I love it.

I love it because it gives you something

to look forward to, a challenge, you know,

and a lot of this stuff,

thinking about the exit strategy and the fall plans,

I think a lot of people look at it as negative going,

like, oh my gosh, what if you fall?

Well, think about how that translates into real life

in so many different ways.

LAUREN: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I know the stuff

that Wes does with me is great on my balance.

It’s every once in a while or something weird will happen

and I’ll just say, yeah, whatever.

You know, the thing snaps and all of a sudden I’m like this

and he’s saying, yes, you got your balance.

Good girl.

So, all good.

JANNINE: It’s huge because of course, you know, we start thinking as we get older, you know,

if I fall, what happens?

We know data on hip fractures and women in particular, it’s not great for outcomes.

So having a coach that understands balance and it’s kind of challenging you at the same time,

it’s, it’s fabulous, it’s fabulous.

Now, of course I’m curious, have you had any of your friends join up with you?

So any of the folks that were at the gym with you, when you moved over to working

with Wesley, did you get anybody else to come along?

And is anybody else still hanging out and working out?

LAUREN: You know, no, they all kind of split up,

but it was more geographic problem than anything else.

A lot of the women that I was working with

either moved away or moved to a different part of Connecticut.

I mean, I will say, you know, sort of foot note

on, if you’re choosing a gym, choose one that’s close, you don’t need the extra

problem. You know, and if it’s going to take you 40 minutes to get to the gym,

you’re not going to go. You want the gym that’s 15 minutes away if you manage it.

You know,

JANNINE: that’s a great point. That’s a great point. Cause a lot of people will find like the

trendy gym, right? Or the flashy gym or the one with the best discount. But like

you said, the one that’s the most convenient is going to be the one that

going to be able to consistently go to? 

LAUREN: Yeah, and again, that’s the real trick of this thing.

Pick something and do it consistently. I will say, and this somebody told me maybe a year ago,

I wish I’d known it earlier, get yourself a notebook and start writing down what you’re doing.

And then, you know, about a year later, you go look and say, hey, you know, I’m getting better.

still not an Olympic caliber, but getting better. That’s good. So that is a worthwhile thing to

get yourself a notebook from Target, as cheap as possible. 

JANNINE: That’s awesome. What are you charting?

What do you chart? Do you chart your workouts? Do you chart? I did, you know, different things

you’ve done. How do you track? 

LAUREN: I’m terribly and consistently, but right now I’m working on

some strength moves. So I’ll track like today. I’ve been working on my bench press,

because this was terrible. I just wasn’t getting down far enough. So I’ll put something like bench

press, 55 pounds, 25 reps. So it’s not, let me put it this way. I don’t think any scientific

group would want my notebook, just not enough data. But I can look back and say, yeah, you know,

yeah, I was jumping on 18 inch box and today I got a 20 inch box. Okay, there was 18 months in

in between, I’m saying it was fast.

But okay, I’m moving forward.

You know, it never hurts, it really now.

Hey, and how much can a notebook cost you?

We’re trying.

JANNINE: Yeah, yeah, I mean, it’s definitely free.

And you know, when it’s your own data,

it’s, I think you can tweak it to what you like

to look at and what you wanna see.

And I think you mentioned something really important.

18 months to do something.

I think a lot of folks are stuck in this.

We need to do things really fast

’cause we’re keeping up with someone else.

Have you found that sometimes it’s tempting

for your mind to wanna kind of go faster

or try to mimic someone else in the gym or someone else?

LAUREN: All the time, I usually like 30 years older

than anybody else in my class.

And you know, it’s like a look at some ladies in there.

with this one, I think, who could, I think she was cleaning 60. And I’m just like, I would love

to do that. But that’s okay. Because when you listen to yourself doing that, you say fine,

I’m where I am, which is well, like 35 or 45. Boy, that’s 60 sounds good. Well, maybe I’ll try

adding two and a half pounds and seeing if I can do that. And it’s a goal, a very long-term goal.

But, you know, again, I am all for people who, if they find the groove and stick to it and they’re

still moving, go for it. However, most of the scale of board, yeah, to have a little bit of a goal,

and it’s nice to look back in your notebook and say getting better maybe the speed of the glacier

and you know Antarctica getting better 

JANNINE: Hey one step out of time i think it’s it’s fun because

we were talking before we we hit record learn that you’re saying like okay i’ve got all these

short-term goals and and then there’s the long-term goal and i think this is a great place to start

talking about the long-term goals which i have to agree i have the same long-term goals as you

I don’t want to end up in a nursing home. I don’t want to end up with anyone taking care of me.

So share with us some of your long-term goals, because I think a lot of folks might resonate

in this case. 

LAUREN: And I’ve been telling people this for like a long time. My long-term goal

is I’m going to get to the bathroom by myself when I’m 90. And that’s my long-term goal.

No, I got a lot of short-term goals that will probably get me there, but that’s what I want.

Maybe your long-term goal is, or maybe your short-term goal is I want to get out of a chair without

needing help. Okay, good goal. I want to pick something up off the floor and not worry about

falling. Really great goal. Now, back off it and say, all right, so what do I need to do to

get there and then back off that a little bit? So give yourself a lot of small little goals.

Are you going to get to your final goal? I don’t know. But you’ll be better than if you weren’t.

JANNINE: Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Have you ever had any injuries along the way, Lauren,

with anything or? 

LAUREN: I’ve been, people ask me that and, yeah, especially since they hear

I do crusted and they say, oh, you’re breaking things all the time and stuff. No. I did overuse

my knee, maybe about two years ago. That was absolutely my fault. I’ll tell you this story

cause it’s, don’t do this. I was trying to get a little bit better running. Never

going to a marathon, get a little bit better running. That was going really

good. One week I did 200 meters three times. Next week I did 400 meters three

times. Then a classic CrossFit, you know, the thing, as I say, they scale it. The

– The high thing was run a mile and it was run the mile twice.

Now, but things were going good.

So I said, I can do this and it was like, now, oh God,

it was really, it was an overuse injury.

So my knee was sore, but not something I broke

or did take any things or something.

I apologize for this.

But there is a guy on YouTube called,

let me get this right, knee over toe guy.

JANNINE: Oh, one of those.

LAUREN: [inaudible] for people with knee problems.

Due to a couple of his exercises, another one.

That one took me about six months, but now I’m fine.

JANNINE: Nice.

LAUREN: Of course, he’s still doing his exercises

at this point, it’s like a religion, you know, but.

– So yeah, have I hurt myself?

– Yes, mostly from stupidity.

As I said, I should have known not to go

from 400 meters to two miles.

– Good.

– But it happens.

JANNINE: Oh, it does.

LAUREN: And you say, “expletive deleted,

“expletive deleted.”

Now, what am I gonna do?

To strengthen whatever it was that I worked out on?

I mean, I will say, if you decided you liked the weight

kind of thing, you really–

I’m not going to say get a coach.

But at least go to a gym where they’ll

show you the right ways to do it.

Because you can whack yourself up if you’re picking something

up wrong, or go too heavy.

Don’t go heavy.

Go lighter than you think.

for the first four months and if you feel good,

fine, picks up something heavier,

but don’t match yourself.

– This is a, this is not a sprint.

This is a marathon, it’s not even a marathon.

It’s more like the trip to Bhutan.

We’re in it for the long term.

JANNINE: And I think that’s something important to think about

because of course our egos get in the way.

I did CrossFit for many years

And of course, I was like, oh, well, RX is this.

I’m going to do that.

Yeah, boy, you know, you learn the hard way.

And for those of you who are not inclined to do CrossFit or whatnot, it’s OK.

I don’t think we need to even think about that.

I think just lifting weights, like you said, you know, just not, you know,

thinking to yourself, it’s a, it’s a journey.

We’re not trying to win the marathon right away and out of the gates.

It’s, that’s where people do get injured.

And it was one thing I noticed that you had mentioned, like,

use common sense, you know, when it comes to fitness,

just in general too.

LAUREN: Yeah, I mean, we’re slow but steady.

It’s really a good idea.

JANNINE: Now, 

Lauren, have you had any friends of yours

that you’ve got to work out with you,

that you have as workout buddies,

or have you created kind of your own social group

within the gym?

LAUREN: A little bit of both, ’cause within the gym,

I have people that, you know, I know,

and you say hello to, and you chit chat a little bit,

and you get the warm feeling that I’m part of a group.

So I have that.

I have a couple of folks that I do work out with,

but you know, it depends on their schedule and my schedule.

And that’s good, but that’s on top of,

you have to be consistent.

I am consistent going in the morning.

I am consistent working out with Wes.

If one of my friends calls me and says,

hey, you wanna go for a three mile hike

or you wanna go to the gym and work out a little bit

and then we’ll go for coffee.

Coffee is important.

God bless caffeine.

I’ll say yes, but it’s kind of,

there is my baseline.

And then as things come up, yeah, why not?

JANNINE: Absolutely, absolutely.

Where do you like to hike?

What’s your favorite spots for hiking?

I’d love to hear about this.

LAUREN: My girlfriend and I, we just walk around Stanford.

JANNINE: Really?

LAUREN: Stanford.

It’s pretty hilly, surprisingly.

I didn’t realize that when I was driving it.

When you’re walking it, you notice that it’s much more.

So it’s pretty hilly.

It’s pleasant, we’re never that far from home.

So, you know, one of us said, uh, I’ve had it.

We can either walk home easily or we’ll get a Lyft.

I mean, you know, that’s, that’s why it’s there for like, uh,

normally we walk for an hour or an hour and a half and we go get coffee.

And of course we’re talking the whole time.

So– 

JANNINE: You know, the whole concept with the blue zones,

you folks have been talking about it over and over like socialization,

meeting up coffee.

Like you said, you have to, you have to have the coffee.

God bless caffeine.

You know, I do find that the more you find your group,

you can socialize, you can get your coffee.

You just deepen the relationships.

And with that being said, of course, I’m going to be like,

okay, where do you go for coffee?

Everybody’s going to want to know now.

What’s your favorite coffee drink?

How about that?

LAUREN: Probably latte.

I kind of try to keep away from the sugar stuff, just under principles, but a good latte is

good. I will drink espresso, I’ll drink regular coffee, I’ll drink lattes, I’ll drink cappuccino,

but if I’ve been walking and I’m going to justify the calories, and I know you cannot

out exercise a bit of diet, but you can tell yourself you can for the extent of a latte. So

I do that. 

JANNINE: I love it. I love it. What else about your diet? You know, I think people are probably

curious. Like, Lauren, what’s typical for you for like a regular day? What kind of foods do you

gravitate towards? Like, if you have three foods you could take to an island, what would you take?

I know I’m asking lots of questions, but I’m thinking folks are probably interested. Like,

Like, what does she eat?

What does she do to fuel herself?

LAUREN: Okay, fair enough.

Let’s go back just a little bit.

JANNINE: Sure.

LAUREN: In the middle of COVID,

I had some blood work done.

Just, you know, the, okay, here we are.

Let’s do the blood work once a year.

And my cholesterol had gone up.

So my doctor said, eh, it’s like not good.

It was 242 or so, which isn’t that good.

And she said, “It was much lower.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop it.”

So when I tell you what I eat,

in back of this is the,

really try to avoid super process foods,

’cause I am kind of convinced,

I know the science, they’re back and forth.

I think it’s the trans fats that are the worst.

There’s some controversy about that

whether you have to throw away all cholesterol

or I’ve tried to do both.

So I’m gonna tell you what I eat,

but that’s in back of my mind.

– Incidentally, my cholesterol is 180 something right now.

So I’m good, it works.  

JANNINE: Nice.

LAUREN: I eat a lot of chicken.

– I have to like it, you know?

I think that’s one of the tricks in your diet.

Like I will eat salmon and every once in a while.

Not my favorite, but it’s good for me.

So I’ll eat a little bit, but mostly chicken.

What do I take to the desert aisle?

A whole bunch of chickens.

JANNINE: Got it.

LAUREN: And then I’m like a lot of fruit.

I try to, you know, switch it up during the winter.

It’s like oranges and apples and bananas.

And frozen whatever, like frozen mangoes,

you’re good, frozen blueberries, you’re good.

JANNINE: Yum.

LAUREN: And you pretend the ice cream is good, you know.

Yeah, there’s a little bit of pretense going on.

Hey, whatever.

And my vegetables tend to be either like salads,

like spinach salads, or I’ll get one of those mixed bags

of vegetables from Costco and roast them.

And then I put them in little baggies and freeze them.

And boy, does that make a fast dinner?

’cause you just pull it out and microwave it.

And I throw some soy sauce on it,

’cause I kinda like it, but probably.

So now, does that mean I don’t eat ice cream?

Does that mean I don’t eat cake?

Oh, heck no.

But I have come to realization, you know,

once every two weeks is kinda good.

No, Thanksgiving, I’m crazy.

Hey, but from now to Christmas,

I’ll be not eating cake, not eating ice cream,

not eating cookies.

Popcorn is really good.

JANNINE: Ooh, that’s one of my favorites.

LAUREN: Not. 

JANNINE: How do you like it?

LAUREN: Yeah, not this stuff in the boxes.

The one where you buy a big container

and you look at the contents and it says popcorn, stop.

and in a sense, and you, you air pop it in a microwave, it’s fun.

It’s, you know, mentally you think of it as a treat, it gets

around the, I want to chew something, even though I’m not hungry.

So popcorn is a nice little, um, let’s fool myself kind of thing.

And it’s very, also, if you do it that way, no trans fats, no cholesterol, and you would be surprised how much popcorn there is in 100 calories.

It’s like, it’s a lot of popcorn.

So, but you got to get the one.

Whatever the container says is the only ingredient is corn or popcorn or whatever.

JANNINE: Makes sense. No, that’s great advice great advice because yeah, I’m not really sure what’s in microwave bagged popcorn these days

LAUREN: Stuff that’s I can’t pronounce. Yeah, that’s it’s much safer corn. I can pronounce

If you there’s an old saying if you can’t pronounce that you probably shouldn’t be eating it

JANNINE: Yeah, I have to say that’s one of the ones I live by for sure if I if I can’t pronounce it

I don’t know what it is

I’m gonna I’m gonna step back and say that there’s– 

LAUREN: Not ever not never. 

JANNINE: Yeah

LAUREN: [Inaudible] But you know,

not once a week probably 

JANNINE: Yeah, yeah, no, I– I would agree with you on that

I would agree with you on that sounds like moderation is key here. 

LAUREN: Yeah, yeah, and

It makes the whole thing much easier because it’s not I will never eat

Ice cream again. It’s like, okay. I know what I’m having for Christmas already. And it involves

vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge. 

JANNINE: Ooh. Yum. 

LAUREN: That’s three weeks away. We’re all good.

JANNINE: You can look forward to it. I mean, I think there’s something to be sad about looking

forward to and really enjoying every bite of something you like or whatever it may be

favorite holiday treat or something of that nature. I agree. 

LAUREN: Yes. Yeah, there’s a reason

when we give presents, we wrap them. There’s that moment of, oh, oh, oh, something fun is coming,

something fun is coming. It’s not quite here, but it’s coming and I’m enjoying this. I feel like

or a golden retriever. 

JANNINE: I have one. So I’m laughing because I’m like, yep, exactly.

Oh goodness. So I kind of did a little homework on you, of course, and saw that you are a retired

lawyer. And of course, in my mind, I’m going, okay, you go from a world of busy, busy, you know,

keeping up with things. And now, you know, you’re retired. You’ve got the gym, you’ve got your

your social events where you’re meeting up for coffee

and you’re hiking around Stanford.

My next question is, what other hobbies do you have?

What are you doing?

What else are you doing during the day?

What kind of things do you have also on your plate right now?

LAUREN: Okay, well,

UCONN, Stanford is like three blocks away from me

and they have this great

and I’m gonna regret this ’cause now everybody’s

be doing it, but there’s a senior audit program that is incredible. Yeah, I think you have to be

over 65. You do definitely have to be a senior, but for 15 bucks, you can go to a class and

listen to the lectures. You have to buy the books, so the total is a bit more than 15. But actually,

I think it’s up to three classes for 15 or 16.

– Wow, I know, it’s like now.

And for me, that’s perfect

because it gives a little structure to my days.

I mean, I’m trying to learn French.

Language is not my forte, my forte’s math.

Trying to learn French.

JANNINE: Very cool. 

LAUREN:  Trying, is the operative word.

But a couple of times a week, I’ll walk over there

and I’ll take my French class and then I’ll bring it home

and I’ll do my homework.

And it’s kind of fun.

I mean, I’ve taken other classes.

I took an economics class.

Took several math classes.

As a matter of fact, I taught

some semesters.

but they decided they prefer full-time to part-time.

So a whole bunch of our part-time folks

didn’t get to call back.

So it’s like darn.

But so I’m going to the class and enjoying it.

I kind of have my class picked out for next semester.

I’m thinking of physics with calculus.

JANNINE: Ooh, wow.

LAUREN: Yeah, I know.

One semester I did multivariable calculus

and I kind of walked in and I said hi, I want to audit

and the expression on the teacher’s face was like,

what the hell?

JANNINE: Oh, yeah, physics with calculus.

when I took that.

That was probably one of the hardest classes

that I took in school.

LAUREN: That’s why I kind of want to go back to it.

I know it’s going to stretch me a little bit.

I will say it’s a little tricky going back

when you’re in college, when you gotta be there.

And secondly, there’s kind of an end game.

JANNINE: Yep.

LAUREN: I’m taking this and I need good grades

so that I don’t have to be a Walmart greeter all my life.

JANNINE: Yeah.

LAUREN: And that’s not there anymore.

So it’s a little bit of a different mindset,

but it’s still fun.

And I mean, just ’cause I’m taking weird classes,

the more traditional audio classes, American history, civics, transcendental poetry, I don’t know,

JANNINE: Wow. 

LAUREN:  You know, you take them because you know nothing about them maybe or you took it but it’s

been forever and you really enjoyed it when you took it. So yeah, that’s I guess that would be

my kind of hobby. 

JANNINE: I want to be 65 so I can do that. I want to take classes. I’m a lifelong

learner. So I’m thinking even now for my dad since he loves history. Like, I wonder if in Illinois,

we’ve had something by him that he could do. I’m going to have to look this up.

LAUREN: And now especially because during the COVID epidemic, a lot of schools were forced to go

online. And a lot of them say, Hey, this is a good deal. So I

mean, there are a lot of online classes now that are

available. And the senior audit things tend to be a little bit

more affordable. 

JANNINE: Yeah.  

LAUREN: I will say I prefer taking the walk.

And, you know, it’s me and a whole bunch of kids and the kids

say, we don’t know who this crazy lady is, but she seems

harmless and keeps giving us lifesavers.

So I guess it’s okay.

And it’s just kind of fun.

JANNINE: Oh, wow, no, I love that idea.

I’ve got a million things rushing through my head now.

How am I gonna figure this out for my dad?

My dad’s 87 and he just loves to learn.

So I’m thinking, wow, I didn’t even think about this.

So I think a lot of folks though,

I might be like, this is cool.

Now, yes, you might have some more folks in your classes now.

We’ll see what happens.

I wonder if you could get a discount from UConn

for the promotion.

We’ll have to see if we can talk to them,

get you some discounts.

LAUREN: Sounds like a good idea.  

JANNINE: I think so, I think so.

So Lauren, what’s, we’ve got the French,

you’re gonna learn French, we’re working on a pull-up

and we’ve got, we’re also working on possibly

some calculus here, you know, with the physics.

What’s next for you?

What are some of your other short-term goals?

Just so folks can kind of hear a little bit more

about you and your life and maybe inspire

a couple more folks to think about some fun things

they can incorporate.

LAUREN: Good question.

I’m lucky enough to be able to afford semi-exotic vacations

involved airfare.

So in the back of my mind,

and this year I haven’t planned anything,

but probably next year I wanna see if I could get to India,

just ’cause I think that would be something.

So I like to travel, I don’t do it an awful lot,

it’s like once a year and I’m happy.

I don’t know, I kinda, my days kind of get filled up.

You know how it goes?

– Oh, I forgot to, I do some consulting.

So that’s interesting.

I’m basically working with Corporation on its mobile apps

and the legal side of it, so I do that.

That’s not a lot, that’s as they need me.

And so it’s a little erratic, that’s kind of fun to do.

JANNINE: Yeah, well, if you’re looking for more consulting,

we’ll make sure we plug that for you on here.

Because your background, your background is the,

oh boy, now my brain just went on it,

but it’s, tell us, ’cause my brain– 

LAUREN: Intellectual property law.

JANNINE: Yes, yes, yes.

LAUREN: Yeah, a lot of my work is the license that you need.

There’s a lot of change in the law now

about the privacy regulations, what you can do with data,

what you have to tell people about.

And mobile apps are a little scary.

I mean, they’re in people’s hands and are going everywhere.

And you just wanna be careful about how you put them out there

and what you tell people about what you’re doing.

So yeah, I do that.

JANNINE: Nice.

I mean, it’s up-to-date stuff, which, you know,

huge, huge for a lot of people right now

in the digital space and trying, and so on.

Anyone and everyone can create an app now.

That’s a whole nother.

um thing that’s quite interesting. 

LAUREN: You really? And oh and then the way I think that we’ll put that [Inaudible]

people are still figuring that one out um but yeah anyone and anyone can create an app but you do

have to be a little careful um generally if you publish them on reputable sites like Apple or Google

They kind of look over your shoulder and they will say something if you’re doing something a

little bit dumb. But there are other ways you can publish apps and that’s the wild wild west and

you can’t get yourself into a knot. So you know you want to think about it. It’s not just hey let’s

whatever. It’s like, no, there’s laws, there’s privacy issues. Be careful. Anything.

JANNINE: Well, it’s important to think about these things and definitely I know that some folks who listen,

my podcast are fitness trainers, coaches, things of that nature and yeah, we’re marketed to all the

time for these different companies that have these blank, you know, templates basically for apps

LAUREN: Yeah, which is is fine. Just you got to be careful because especially with fitness. I mean,

depends what kind of data you’re taking from the people. And in one sense, I suppose as a trainer,

you want alot of that data so you can see how they’re doing and all that kind of stuff.

But you are running right into HIPAA and all kinds of regulations. So you should be careful.

JANNINE: Absolutely. It’s an interesting point for a lot of folks to be thinking about too,

who are on the other side, the consumer side of these data collecting fitness apps and things of

that nature. Does your coach have you using any app or is that your notebook? You’ve got your

solid notebook. 

LAUREN: It’s my notebook and it’s really hard to hack. Let me tell you.

I’ve got to agree with you. My coach always gets on me for why I don’t enter stuff into his app

and I said, “Well, I’ve used the notebook for so many years. I’m just going to keep doing that

because only I know what I have.” 

LAUREN: That’s right. 

JANNINE: Oh my goodness. 

LAUREN: I can scribble all over and make

little lines connecting things and that’s very hard and most of it. 

JANNINE: Yes, that is so true. My doodles

are very cute too. So, you know. 

LAUREN: So, so, see? 

JANNINE: Yup. Yup. Absolutely. There’s still some things we

We cannot replace with AI.

I think that’s what I’ll say on that side of things.

So Lauren, my goodness.

We’ve covered so many different things.

I hope that folks have gotten a really good sense of you

and also understanding what it’s like to really

stay fit for life and look at the end game with all

of the short little tidbits in the meantime.

So tell us, we can follow you and check your progress

with Mr. it’s Mr. Wesley CPT or something. I was trying to think of his IG.

LAUREN: It’s Mr. James.

JANNINE: There we go. Mr. James CPT on IG. And do you have anywhere, of course, because if

you do want some more consulting, I’m always, I’m always happy to drop a plug.

If you have your website or anything for you, if you do need any more, if you’re

busier.

LAUREN:  That’s very kind, but the only thing you’re going to drop a plug, it’s get out there and exercise

folks, you’re going to feel so much better. 

JANNINE: Yes! 

LAUREN: I mean, see,

that’s the nice thing about I do not do social media. I just

don’t I’m on it enough. Thank you very much. You can watch me

do. Um, but the really nice thing from my sense is a lot of

times I’ll be reading some of the comments. And it’s like, I’m

So I do X and then I went back to the gym and I’m like, yes.

Thank you.

You know, I’m feeling really good about this.

Thank you so much.

So 

JANNINE: That, I mean, and that’s, you know, that’s why we wanted to bring you on the

podcast too, because I think it’s so important for that inspiration that you’re

giving and I love watching what Wesley’s got you doing.

If you could, you know, speak to anyone who, who right now is like, Lauren,

I see what you’re doing.

I know now from the podcast that you’ve worked up to that,

but I’m still trying to figure out, is it for me?

Should I consider getting into the gym?

I’ve moved a little bit throughout my life.

I would just love you to speak some of your words

of wisdom to folks, just as some inspiration.

LAUREN: Any kind of exercise is good.

If you don’t like the gym, that’s fine.

But one thing I will tell folks my age,

with a lot of them say, I don’t want to go into the gym

’cause there’s all these young Turks running around

and yeah, but go between 130 and 430.

A lot of us folks with white hair running around.

It will make friends and influence people.

So try it.

You know, if it doesn’t work, try something else.

There’s no one right answer.

It’s what you like.

and what works with your body.

But try it.

What have you got to lose?

Most insurance give you free gym memberships

to your basic gym.

Try it for a month.

You don’t like it?

Fine.

You try to put that in your notebook.

I tried X and I hated it.

And then the next line should be,

so I think I’ll try Y or C or whatever.

Try some or worse comes to worse,

you might meet the love of your life.

And you never know.

JANNINE: It’s true, it’s true.

I’ve seen a lot of gym relationships start up.

And especially, like you said, that one to 4 p.m. timeframe.

That is my, I love that timeframe in the gym.

It’s quieter.

LAUREN: A lot of the older people are there.

We’re a little bit more relaxed about the whole thing.

It’s like, yeah, you wanna use a piece of equipment.

go ahead, I’ll catch my breath.

Thank you, appreciate the break.

JANNINE: Yes, yes, it’s a good time to rotate folks in.

Oh my goodness.

No, so many good nuggets here, Lauren, I appreciate it.

I just appreciate coming on and taking the time

to chat with me because it’s just such an important topic

for me to inspire folks to keep moving

however they feel called to move.

LAUREN: And we all thank you for doing that

because everybody needs a little bit of a push.

JANNINE: [Outro] (upbeat music) Hey, fellow health junkie.

Thanks for listening to the health fix podcast.

If you enjoy tuning in, please help support me

to get the word out about the podcast.

Subscribe, rate, and review, and just get that word out.

Thanks again for listening.