the ultimate beginner’s guide to strength training after 40 with mark breedon

[00:00:00] Emily Field: Welcome back to the Macros Meet Easy podcast. Today we’ve got a special episode that’s all about strength training, specifically how to start in your forties and beyond. If you’ve ever felt like strength training is intimidating or you’re just not sure where to begin, you’re in the right place. I’m thrilled to be joined by Mark  Breedon, an online strength coach, who’s been a huge asset to the Eat Lean community and the mastermind behind our strength training program.

[00:00:23] Emily Field: There, Mark specializes in helping women build their confidence in and out of the gym through strength training. His approach goes beyond just lifting weights for the sake of the scale. He focuses on helping women get stronger, boost their self-confidence, and most importantly, feel like a badass lifter.

[00:00:39] Emily Field: His mission is clear to shift the focus from exercise as a tool for weight loss, and instead use it to improve mental health, build confidence, and become stronger both mentally and physically. In today’s episode, we’re diving into the Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training in your forties, covering everything from the basic strategies to get started to mindset shifts, and how to stay consistent with your training.

[00:01:02] Emily Field: Welcome to Macros Made Easy, the podcast that takes the confusion out of tracking macros. I. I’m your host, Emily Field, a registered dietician that specializes in a macros approach. In each episode, I help you learn how to eat in a way that supports your health, body composition, and athletic performance goals.

[00:01:18] Emily Field: We’ll cover the basics of macronutrients, how to track for various goals, the role of macros in your health, and how to make sustainable changes to your habits. I’ve helped hundreds of people experience more food freedom and flexibility while navigating their nutrition. So whether you’ve tried macros and it just didn’t stick, or you just heard the word macros yesterday, I can’t wait to help you too.

[00:01:39] Emily Field: So Mark, obviously you work with a wide range of people and you have for the last. Several years, but you have landed in a niche of working with women in weightlifting strength training in their forties, and that is what we’re gonna talk about today. So can you tell me a little bit about what inspired you to specialize in strength training for women in their forties?

[00:01:58] Mark Breedon: Yeah, so specifically forties, in a weird way, they kind of found me as opposed to me niching down to them. The messaging I have for my coaching is often like. Looking beyond the scale, we’re getting strong for ourselves, but we’re not doing it necessarily to have a certain look. We’re doing it to feel strong, feel more capable in everyday life, building confidence in the gym.

[00:02:21] Mark Breedon: And it happened to be that I would say women in like the forties, fifties, tend to resonate more with that message. Than people in their twenties. That’s kind of an example. And I think the reason for that being is that when I talk about like, let’s train for health when you’re 21, you already have it.

[00:02:36] Mark Breedon: Yeah. So it’s not really one of those, it’s hard to have that as a motivating factor for them. Mm-hmm. And I was also 21 in that person too, so. That age group happened to resonate with the message that I was putting out there, and kind of over time it ended up being like I looked at the people I was working with and I was like, oh yeah, like almost everyone I work with is between 35 and 50, sometimes a little bit older.

[00:03:00] Mark Breedon: I. Very rarely under 30. That’s like a pretty unique person. And the reason they like training is kind of the reasons I like training, because I like that it gave value to myself beyond the weight on the scale. Right. That I was like, yeah, like maybe I’m a size whatever, or I look a certain way, but it also allowed me to build confidence about what my body could do.

[00:03:21] Mark Breedon: Like now I’m a person who can do these cool things and I’m capable of a lot more. Mm-hmm. I noticed that the women that I worked with, especially in that like, let’s call it 35 to 45, sometimes 50 age group, kind of felt the same. Yeah. They were like, you know, maybe they feel good about their body, maybe they don’t.

[00:03:40] Mark Breedon: But strength training kind of gave them a space to be like, oh, like here’s this really cool thing that I thought I could do that I never thought I could do that. Now I can. Mm-hmm. And yeah, it’s just a very unique experience. That is hard to explain to people who haven’t had strength training in their life.

[00:03:57] Emily Field: Yeah. Well, I do think it’s like an awesome collision when that happens, when you’re putting out a message and then the people will find you. It’s kind of like if you build it, they will come a little bit. Yeah. I mean, it’s very opposite of what maybe a business coach might say to someone. You know, you create a niche and then you advertise, or you target those people, but it’s such an awesome marriage.

[00:04:16] Emily Field: It happened the same way with my business, where you start talking about what you like to talk about and what really resonates and makes it makes you feel passionate and the people will find you. So I agree that motivation changes throughout your lifetime and it’s important if you are working with, you know, you’re finding yourself working with women 35 to 50.

[00:04:34] Emily Field: To align with those motivations so that they can stay engaged and you can meet them where they’re at. 

[00:04:39] Mark Breedon: Yeah. And it, it’s a very satisfying job as well, because it’s like the thing you’re passionate about is the thing they’re passionate about. So when they get a big win, you’re like, this is awesome. Mm-hmm.

[00:04:47] Mark Breedon: And then like, it’s kind of like, you know, like it’s something that you’re super interested in as opposed to like maybe working with someone who has like opposing goals to you, where it’s like you can be happy for them. Right. But it doesn’t quite hit. The same. Exactly. Yeah. So, no, I, I, I think it’s great and I’ve been doing this for years now, and it, it’s a great niche to be in.

[00:05:03] Mark Breedon: I, yeah, I really enjoy it. 

[00:05:05] Emily Field: I agree. It’s very rewarding to work with women that are about 10 years ahead of me. I just, I learn a lot from them and the, my wise, my wise sages and I learn a lot from them. They learn a lot from me, but. On that note, I’m curious what you would say, what are some myths or misconceptions about strength training you’re seeing in your clients that are probably in that 40 age group?

[00:05:26] Emily Field: What do you wish you could squash for? Good? 

[00:05:29] Mark Breedon: There’s so many, but the number one that I would say is that it’s not too late. I think sometimes strength training is often seen as like, oh, that’s what I did when I was younger, or that’s for athletes. Or some people will say like, I’m a mom now, or like, I’m in my forties, I’m in perimenopause.

[00:05:44] Mark Breedon: Like, you know, that was. Cool for young people, but not like so much for me and like I want people to know. Like that is absolutely not the case. I’ve worked with many, many people now who started in their forties and fifties became stronger strength training’s really cool. Where like even if you didn’t, this wasn’t your thing when you were younger, you can still improve and still get stronger and stronger than you think.

[00:06:06] Mark Breedon: So number one myth is that like it’s not too late. Mm-hmm. You can definitely still do this and you didn’t need to come from. An athletic background to really benefit from strength training. 

[00:06:17] Emily Field: Yeah. Or excel or find some real joy in it, in Excel. Mm-hmm. 

[00:06:21] Mark Breedon: Yeah. Absolutely. And I, it, it has such a value to the person, which we can talk about, like the value of strength training for people in their forties, but like it’s.

[00:06:29] Mark Breedon: Such a good thing to have in their life. And I don’t want people to miss out on like, oh, I didn’t do this when I was twenties or thirties. Now I can’t do it. ’cause I’ve, I’ve missed that opportunity where that, that’s definitely not the case. 

[00:06:42] Emily Field: Yeah, I completely agree with you. And on that note, you know, if someone is brand new to lifting in their forties, where do you think they should start first, like, very first step?

[00:06:51] Emily Field: Maybe one through three. 

[00:06:53] Mark Breedon: So number one step is I think. Figuring out like why you’re gonna lift weights. Because I think sometimes people will say like, I should lift weights out of like guilt or shame and like that’s often like a not very good motivating factor or it’s fleeting motivation at best where like, I.

[00:07:09] Mark Breedon: You can’t wait for you to feel bad about yourself to start lifting weights like we need to find a good goal for you. Something that you would enjoy training towards or something that, like, why are we doing this? Mm-hmm. I think is kind of step one. And that can be, I think lifting heavy weights would be cool.

[00:07:26] Mark Breedon: Or it could be, I wanna set an example for my kids, or mm-hmm. It can be, I want to be strong both now and later in life. You know, whenever you know, they have to choose that answer for themselves. But if someone’s brand, brand new, we have to talk about like why you’re lifting weights in the first 

[00:07:40] Emily Field: place.

[00:07:40] Emily Field: Same with like a body composition goal, a performance goal, a weight loss goal. You know, in your darkest times or the times that you, you can’t rely on motivation to carry you through on that goal. You need to have something that’s really powerful about why you’re doing those actions. So, you know, always trying to tie it back to that bigger why.

[00:07:58] Emily Field: And you’re kind of exploring that sounds like with your clients or. You know, if somebody’s thinking about starting a strength training, that is great advice. Trying to find something that’s a deeper why has kind of emotional meaning so that you know when the going gets tough, which it will, how can you stay consistent with it?

[00:08:13] Mark Breedon: Yeah, absolutely. And it’s like when people talk about like motivation versus discipline. The people who stick with training truly are, they have a good reason to train. They like training. They found training. They like, they have a program that they’re seeing the results like three to six months from now.

[00:08:31] Mark Breedon: Like they’ve improved, like there’s a clear ROI on the effort. Mm-hmm. And also they’re just like, okay with making mistakes along the way. I think that’s like a big one as well. Where as a new lifter, it’s kind of easier to. Fall off. Mm-hmm. Or like it’s easier to kind of like you gave it six weeks and then you had a bad week and then you quit.

[00:08:50] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. Where the people who stick around are the people who. Had a bad week, but they’re like, okay, like stuff happened, life happened. It is what it is. And then they get back to training, you know? So like we can talk about discipline all we want, but like really, if they have those four things, those are the people who stick around.

[00:09:07] Mark Breedon: Yeah. Like those are the people who more than any, you know, inspirational Instagram post or motivational quote that. Yeah, it’s that those are the real, yeah. Would you say that 

[00:09:16] Emily Field: the next logical step is to find a trainer that’s aligned with that inner deeper why? Or is it the program? Because you know, obviously we live in a world where we can ha, we have access to a lot of free information and you can find no shortage of strength training, one-off workouts, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, you know, things like that.

[00:09:38] Emily Field: What is the logical next step for that person if they’re motivated, they want to get started? 

[00:09:42] Mark Breedon: So I think the no shortage is almost a bigger problem. You know, I could look up 20 different fitness influencers and they all give me 20 different pieces of advice and they all sound real smart and they all got abs.

[00:09:53] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. And rip muscles. And I think that the fact that we don’t have a shortage is actually kind of the problem. Where now people almost have too much information and feel like they’re doing things wrong. Right. Or feel, and that that ends up being kind of honestly a big challenge just to. The time that we’re in, in general.

[00:10:10] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. I think it helps to have some kind of guidance either at the beginning or maybe you wanna go to the gym for a little bit and then get someone to help you out. ’cause I think it takes out a lot of that guesswork. I think you’re, you’re just gonna see results faster and it becomes much more clear on Okay.

[00:10:27] Mark Breedon: Like, maybe, I don’t know the ins and outs of strength training yet, but like I’m working with. Insert trainer, they’re helping me out. I’m getting stronger. They’re kind of giving me the roadmap to get better. And also they’re helping you troubleshoot along the way. Yeah. Where you can find free workouts everywhere.

[00:10:43] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. Like if that’s what truly all of you need is like a workout plan, like you can just like jump on really Chad JBT right now and it’ll like. Put one out for you and second. Mm-hmm. It becomes more difficult when you’re trying to, like, something didn’t feel right or you’re not sure if this is the right exercise for you, or I’m gaining this much strength in this time.

[00:11:02] Mark Breedon: Is that good or bad? Like just a lot of questions will come up. Yep. And. This is really where a trainer comes in, is able to answer those questions, let you know you’re doing a good job. If you have an off week, they can answer those questions and they can be like, oh, you know, like is is this an off week?

[00:11:17] Mark Breedon: That was just an off week, or is this like something that we actually need to change? 

[00:11:20] Emily Field: It’s almost like having a north star, having your blinders on to all that extra information and narrowing your focus with one person or one program. I completely agree. It’s like, it’s just why would you hire a nutrition coach?

[00:11:33] Emily Field: We’re there to help you filter the incoming information that you have and to be an expert in your program personally, because everything else online is generic and it’s not specific to you. So I agree. Like helping hand in the beginning, just having that laser focus with one person blinders on North Star.

[00:11:51] Emily Field: That makes a lot of sense. 

[00:11:52] Mark Breedon: Yeah, it just, it makes things, and you feel better about your training. ’cause if you’re constantly looking for new workout programs. It’s like, yeah, you gotta work out for the day, but you’re always kind of second guessing if this is the right training for you. Whereas like if someone makes a program, like for Emily as kind of an example mm-hmm.

[00:12:09] Mark Breedon: Like this is like this was made with you in mind. Right. You can feel a lot better that the work that you’re putting in. Is the right work. And like I said before, the people who stick around with training are the ones who improve over time. Mm-hmm. Like the ones who don’t stick around is they went to the gym for six months and they didn’t get stronger and they’re like, this is stupid.

[00:12:28] Mark Breedon: And then they end up doing something else. Like that’s, so if you want people to stick around. Having the right program for you makes that a lot easier. 

[00:12:35] Emily Field: Yeah, I hear you. And on that note, you said, you know, sometimes people are looking for, especially in nutrition, they’re used to somebody laying out a plan for them or doing it perfectly.

[00:12:46] Emily Field: Like that piece about like, I don’t wanna waste my time, I don’t wanna spin my wheels, I’m new at this, I do want to see results. So sometimes we can get in this like cycle of like, is what I’m doing perfect enough? Is what I’m doing enough? And so that leads me to my next question. What would you say is like too much when starting strength training at this age?

[00:13:06] Emily Field: If we have an age caveat for it. And how would you see yourself helping clients balance, pushing the limits? Challenging yourself, but also respecting recovery too. 

[00:13:17] Mark Breedon: Yeah, for sure. So if we’re, if we’re talking about someone who is totally new to lifting, they can improve on. Two times a week, 30 minutes to 45 minute workouts can be at home or in the gym.

[00:13:28] Mark Breedon: With the right program, they can improve on that and it’s like a manageable amount of enough recovery time, enough limits, and they, they can improve for actually like quite a while on that. Mm-hmm. Once they’re into training. I’m not gonna say two times a week doesn’t work. But the, the progress can be a little slow.

[00:13:45] Mark Breedon: Once they’ve made it a habit, moving it to that third day a week does allow you to see progress a lot faster, in my opinion. And so motivating too. Motivating for sure. And that kind of gives you, I. Enough training days, but also enough rest days. And it also lets you live your life, right? Where I think is also important, where like you’re in your forties, maybe you have kids, maybe you don’t, maybe you’re deep into your career, the gym is not your life, and that’s fine.

[00:14:10] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. Like that’s kind of the, and you know, two to three days a week gives you that. Like, I’m clearly improving, but fitness has not. Forced me to sacrifice other aspects of my life. Yeah, you want that balance as someone in their forties. You’re not here to like live fitness. Like you often see on Instagram.

[00:14:30] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. And like how reinforcing could that feel? You know, if you’re like seven, eight months, nine months into this and you can look back and say, I average two to three days per week at this new skill, that feels really uplifting. And so when you appear at the gym, you’re fully recovered, you can actually lift heavier weights.

[00:14:48] Emily Field: And then if you have a great program or great trainer, that means they’re progressively overloading for you and you’re. You’re excelling and you’re, you know, pushing past what you thought was your limit. And Yeah, I agree. Like just that two to three day threshold sounds like it’s the best place for a beginner.

[00:15:03] Mark Breedon: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And even like, people can do three forever. Like there’s people who do three. You know, I’ve worked with clients like my client, Kara is, you know, she’s 50 now. We’ve worked together for like three years. She’s. Trained three times a week, basically since the beginning. And like now she can do a pull up.

[00:15:20] Mark Breedon: Now she’s dead lifting in the two hundreds. Like now she, and you know, like we’ve never had to make that fourth day happen. Mm-hmm. Like, it’s always three worked great. She kept getting stronger. And so like, if you have time for more, like that’s great, but three does work for a lot of people. Mm-hmm. Like, it doesn’t, it’s a really great 

[00:15:35] Emily Field: message for people to hear because I even at, I just onboarded.

[00:15:39] Emily Field: Several new clients this week, and one of the main questions was like, so what am I supposed to do with my sixth or seventh day? I’m like, girl, you can talk. Live your 

[00:15:48] Mark Breedon: life. 

[00:15:50] Emily Field: Yeah, 

[00:15:50] Mark Breedon: yeah. Relax or, yeah, like it’s, I’ve had that too where they, they come from bootcamps or classes or whatever they’re used to hitting that daily class, and then, mm-hmm.

[00:15:59] Mark Breedon: When I give them the three day a week program, they’re like, okay, so when is the rest of the program going to be done? And then it’s like, we have to, but then they get stronger and then they’re like a little confused because they’re like, I’m working less and I’m getting better. And then there’s like, it’s like a, 

[00:16:14] Emily Field: the shift blown to work.

[00:16:16] Mark Breedon: Yeah. Yeah. It’s just like, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. I’m supposed to work as hard as possible to get results. Yeah. 

[00:16:21] Emily Field: Right. 

[00:16:21] Mark Breedon: So. Yeah, 

[00:16:23] Emily Field: so I’m curious if you have any comments about how aging, specifically we’re talking about women in their forties and fifties who are likely going through some hormonal shifts.

[00:16:31] Emily Field: We have fluctuating estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, but also like joint health concerns. How does aging change the approach to strength training in your forties versus maybe when you’re in your twenties and thirties? 

[00:16:43] Mark Breedon: Yeah, so if we’re talking about like people in their forties, perimenopause is gonna obviously be a lot more common.

[00:16:47] Mark Breedon: And with that comes a need to focus more on joint health, muscle building, strength building, et cetera. Because if you don’t, the rate that those become worse is a lot faster, right? Than people in their twenties and thirties technically. It starts in your thirties, but really like how much it falls is slower.

[00:17:07] Mark Breedon: Forties because of perimenopause is like the reason why it tends to deteriorate faster. So for anyone training in their forties, if you like. Yoga, Pilates, running, all that jazz, like that’s great and you should pursue those things. But I’m kind of of the mind that there should be some strength training in your week to week.

[00:17:28] Mark Breedon: Because if you don’t, people become more frail, you know, higher risk of osteoporosis when they get into their fifties, especially as like they might be entering menopause at that point. And then perimenopause is kind of like the first start of that. Mm-hmm. Where if you don’t have strength training in your life.

[00:17:45] Mark Breedon: You’re definitely at like higher risk of fractures falls, you lose muscle faster, which we could talk about like. Why should I care about muscle? Because it’s very, very important for life. Like it’s not, I don’t wanna make you a bodybuilder, but definitely having muscle on your frame is an important health thing.

[00:18:04] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. And becomes significantly more important. In your forties where like in your twenties and thirties, you might have had enough muscle just through genetics or life to not notice any problems. Right. But you will start to notice problems in your forties. 

[00:18:17] Emily Field: Yeah. I mean, the motivation has changed to maybe playing to that and understanding that your hormones will be better off with more muscle.

[00:18:25] Emily Field: So maybe puts the importance of engaging in a strength training program even more important in their forties and fifties. 

[00:18:30] Mark Breedon: Yeah, and you become. More capable, more independent. Like you don’t need to, you know, if you have more muscle in your frame, that means you’re able to do more things safer, right? Like you’re able to go hiking with your kids or if you wanna keep being a runner mm-hmm you can definitely still do that.

[00:18:46] Mark Breedon: But if you don’t strength train and run running’s pretty high impact on the joints. And that’s so if you just run, you might start to notice some issues with like your knees or your hips. But if you strength train even just a little bit, that concern goes away a lot. 

[00:19:01] Emily Field: I’ve seen that with clients where that’s their joy.

[00:19:03] Emily Field: Is that running and they want to do it into their seventies and eighties, but you’re saying the cheat code really is adding that strength training will keep you running because you’re strengthening the muscles around those joints. You’re keeping your joints healthy. Maybe you’re lowering the. The capacity or volume of that running to allow for more strength training where it’s only gonna help keep you running if that’s your joy, for example.

[00:19:23] Mark Breedon: Yeah, no, that, that’s a great example. I mean, I work with like a few, like marathon runners. They like to do five or 10 Ks kind of thing, and they strength train so that they can keep. Running. Mm-hmm. Where like, you know, like what really holds back progress is getting injured while running. Yeah. And then you can’t run for a long time.

[00:19:38] Mark Breedon: And so for them, they like lifting weights, but really they’re runners. Right. But the strength training allows them to keep doing the thing they like doing. 

[00:19:46] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. 

[00:19:47] Mark Breedon: That’s the reason they work out or they lift weights. 

[00:19:49] Emily Field: Yeah. Any specific mobility or flexibility? Programming that you put in for women in their forties and fifties that maybe like longer warmups or building a better baseline or, you know, is there anything that you can see that is specific to mobility and flexibility as you age that we should be concerned about?

[00:20:07] Mark Breedon: Yeah, so I, I would say like when I’m working with someone one-on-one, for me, mobility and flexibility work is always specific to. The individual where there’s some great people, they’re 45, don’t really have any mobility or flexibility challenges, and so it’s not a big part of their program because it’s not an issue on their end.

[00:20:24] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. There’s also some people that as they strength train with a full range of motion, actually become more flexible in mobile, so we don’t necessarily need a ton of mobility work because as they learn to squat deeper or as they. Learn to do a full dumbbell row range of motion that like, actually their flexibility improves as opposed to getting worse.

[00:20:45] Mark Breedon: I like general trends. There’s not like, I would, I would not say there’s like one like mobility drill every 40-year-old should do as kind of an example. I think it’s, it’s very usually a 

[00:20:55] Emily Field: sweeping recommendation is not what you’re going to get from us. 

[00:20:58] Mark Breedon: Yeah. I, I was trying to think if I could think of an example, but honestly I think it’s like.

[00:21:01] Mark Breedon: Okay. Like you have a mobile shoulders. Okay, then we can add some stuff. But if your shoulders are fine, then like we don’t need to unnecessarily add more and we can warm up with lighter weight of the exercises you’re currently doing. Mm-hmm. Like, you know, it’s one of, one of the best warmups you can do is if you’re gonna do a heavy squat that’s warmup is lighter squats, right?

[00:21:23] Mark Breedon: Like, and just warming up into that and like getting your body, it’s very specifically warming you up. For the exercise you’re about to do. Mm-hmm. And so I would say to answer your question, like mobility, flexibility would be on like a case by case basis. 

[00:21:36] Emily Field: Yeah, and I kind of almost like hearkening back to that point about there’s too much information.

[00:21:40] Emily Field: Sometimes somebody could talk themselves out of weightlifting or strength training because they think that they don’t have the body for it ’cause they have injuries or they have frozen shoulder or they have flexibility or mobility issues and they might be targeted by a particular program or trainer.

[00:21:55] Emily Field: Because of that limitation when in reality, you know, just moving through the motions like you just described at a lighter weight is really all they need. And just getting started is gonna improve everything. 

[00:22:05] Mark Breedon: Yeah. It’s, it’s kind of one of the unfortunate things about online now is that I feel like.

[00:22:09] Mark Breedon: Every aspect of a human being can now be seen as like a condition or illness where it’s like, if you don’t have perfect shoulder range of motion, well this is now frozen shoulder and now we have to do the 10 exercise warmup drill before we can do anything. And it’s like, if you just put this person in a regular upper body program, that would be fine.

[00:22:29] Mark Breedon: They’re, but they don but they don’t know that. But like they got this, the scary fitness guru telling you you’re broken or whatever. Yeah, I just say especially like in your forties, like this is. Everyone’s a little bit different, but like for the most part, people in their forties, the limitations are not that high yet.

[00:22:45] Mark Breedon: 50 sixties can be like a different story, but forties it’s like you don’t see a ton of like, your injury is so bad we can’t let you do certain things. Yeah. Kind of thing. Like that’s pretty, it happens. There are people who like that, but it, it’s not super common yet. 

[00:23:00] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. That’s good to hear. So I wanna talk a little bit about like a woman’s motivation and mindset, especially in this time.

[00:23:06] Emily Field: And I know that it’s a very tired argument to hear that, you know, I’m worried about lifting weights because I don’t want to get bulky. Um, but it is still a very common concern and it’s something I still hear despite having decades and, you know, decades of research should not support that. And time and time again, we’re trying to debunk that.

[00:23:25] Emily Field: So, you know, if somebody comes in saying something like that, they’re kind of having a hesitation. They know they want to, they see themselves lifting weights, but it’s still kind of stuck in the back of their mind. How do you help someone reframe that concern? 

[00:23:38] Mark Breedon: Yeah. So, no, I, it really is one of these myths that just will not die no matter what cockroach.

[00:23:43] Mark Breedon: But yeah, I just won’t, won’t diver. I, I think the first question I like to ask them is like, when they say being bulky, what does that look like specifically? Mm-hmm. Because sometimes that’s. A bodybuilder or a CrossFit athlete, which no offense to the person, like you don’t have the genetics for it. And like even if you wanted it, it probably wouldn’t happen.

[00:24:02] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. Just ’cause you’re looking at a top 0.1% genetic build at that point, which I think reassures them that like, okay, me going from 10 pound dumbbells to 20 pound dumbbells is not gonna be the moment that I suddenly have cap shoulders like a man, or like, it’s just like, it’s not really. How it works.

[00:24:21] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. But I think really understanding, when they say bulky, I want to know as specific as possible what they’re referring to. Because oftentimes we can talk about like, okay, this is what you meant. If you wanted that, here’s the things we would have to do. And you start to realize we’re not gonna get anywhere close to that kind of training.

[00:24:41] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. Like, it’s just not, we’re we’re, don’t worry. Like, and then it kind of reassures them like, okay. I can have dead lips and squats in my program and I’m not gonna be worried about having this look because we’re not gonna do the 12 things. I would need to have that look anyways. Mm-hmm. And really, like a lot of the bulky looks online are often a combination of genetics and.

[00:25:04] Mark Breedon: Performance enhancing drugs. Mm-hmm. And so if you don’t take steroids, we’re probably gonna be fine. 

[00:25:10] Emily Field: Yeah. And I would say that like, I mean, that’s a really good point. You want to get drilled down. Like what is their vision for what bulky looks like? ’cause bulky in my mind, probably looks different from your mind versus their mind.

[00:25:20] Emily Field: I mean, to the point. I do wanna have a, a little bit of an asterisk here because when we do start lifting weights for the very first time, it’s a very new stimulus for you. It is normal to feel puffy, it’s normal to feel a little bit inflamed. Your clothes feel a little bit tighter in different areas, especially in the first like month to three months.

[00:25:38] Emily Field: And so, you know, having a coach, really kind of a testament to having a coach and being able to bring that concern to one person so that. You know, you can see past that place. They know where you’re going and they have vision for you a year, two years, three years down the line. And they can maybe talk you out of that space because it is a temporary feeling.

[00:25:57] Emily Field: I don’t know if you could speak to that at all, but like I will acknowledge that when you’re doing a new stimulus, things are gonna feel a little bit different in your body. And sometimes people inappropriately assign that to like, oh my gosh, I’m going down the wrong path. I’m getting bulky. 

[00:26:11] Mark Breedon: Yeah. So I, I think that’s fair, especially at the beginning where you, you’ll see larger changes, I think like that’s totally fair to bring up.

[00:26:19] Mark Breedon: You still wanna validate the concern as well as just kind of explain, hey, this is pretty normal for the first couple months. Mm-hmm. And that like, it’s not that you. Secretly got into a bulk that you didn’t know about, or that the weights were maybe too effective that kind of like, Hey, this is pretty common.

[00:26:36] Mark Breedon: As people lift weights, they can often hold more water. Mm-hmm. Especially if you’ve changed your diet at the same time to maybe have more carbs. Part of having more carbs is holding more water, and that’s like, that’s not a bad thing, but that mm-hmm. Could make you feel a little bit more puffy. And I think just.

[00:26:49] Mark Breedon: Being aware that might come up. Mm-hmm. And then so when it does, it’s not like, oh my God, what happened Like six weeks of Yeah. That, that, I think that’s how I would deal with it. 

[00:26:57] Emily Field: Yeah. Like troubleshooting from the beginning. Yeah. Yeah. You already commented on this, you said, you know, your, the biggest misconception of people starting lifting in their forties is that it feels like it’s too late.

[00:27:10] Emily Field: And I’d love for you, ’cause I know you do have these clients, I’d love for you to comment on, you know, maybe some example clients, some of your older clients that really put that myth to bed. How old are they? What are they doing? What could you expect out of maybe even your fifties, sixties, seventies, if you’re starting in your forties?

[00:27:28] Mark Breedon: Yeah, so let’s talk about Jill. Jill listens to the podcast as well, so hi Jill. We’re gonna talk about you now. Jill is, she’s on her forties, she’s in her fifties. She pretty much started lifting weights as a 50-year-old. Mm-hmm. Did some lighter stuff, but like nothing really to write home about. She was doing two and a half hour workouts with not a lot of results.

[00:27:50] Mark Breedon: And if anything, it made her worse where it was a ton of effort, but too much effort and the wrong kind of effort. Hmm. We started working together. She started training, I think it was three days a week at the time, and Jill’s now 55, Jill can do pull up for reps. She recently deadlift 200 pounds. She squats 1 35 for reps.

[00:28:11] Mark Breedon: Like, I think she’s a little bit higher than that now. She loves the gym. It’s like one of her favorite things she’s ever done. She tells me all the time that like, you know, now she can do things she didn’t think she could do before. Mm-hmm. Like now she’s doing five Ks with her daughter and now she’s, you know, talking about being able to go on long hikes and feeling more capable around the house.

[00:28:28] Mark Breedon: And she started at 50. Mm-hmm. So that was her, like, that was, so if anyone in their forties who’s like, it’s too late. This person might have 10 years on you. And like, it drastically changed her life. And she’s pretty inspirational actually. Like, I love talking about her, um, on every podcast because I think a lot of people do feel like it’s too late.

[00:28:48] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. And even she, she’s talked to me where like, she often gets. Has other friends who felt like it was too late and now they’re starting to have health concerns and they’re getting weaker, and she’s like, I’m getting stronger. Yeah. Like I’m feeling better, like I’m feeling better than I did five years ago.

[00:29:03] Mark Breedon: So anyone who feels like it’s too late and there’s, we could talk about so many examples. We could talk about Kara, who I mentioned before, who was like training in her forties and now she’s stronger. I think she deadlifted 2 50, 2 55. 49 years old. Yeah. As like kind of an example, I had a client who was 40 named Samantha, who actually competed at a power lifting meet.

[00:29:25] Mark Breedon: Wow. As a 40-year-old squat in two hundreds, benched 1 35 Deadlifted, almost 300. Mm-hmm. So like, you know, 40 years old, I don’t believe, had a. Ton of training experience before that as well. Mm-hmm. It’s definitely like, strength is great. Strength is great. ’cause like there are certain athletic things where if you didn’t start early, it’s a real uphill battle.

[00:29:46] Mark Breedon: Gymnastics is like a, an example of this where like 

[00:29:49] Emily Field: you’re never gonna get it like just by a couple days a week. You’re never gonna get gymnastics starting at 50 if you didn’t have that already. Maybe, 

[00:29:57] Mark Breedon: yeah. Like maybe if you were, no, that gets, that’s not how gymnastics works, but like strength training really.

[00:30:03] Mark Breedon: Like people start later. I. Can still get very strong. It still changes their life and they didn’t necessarily need to come from, you know, like I was a D one athlete in college and now I’m strength training. Like a lot of these people were. Yeah. Like they, they didn’t have necessarily that like athletic background and mm-hmm.

[00:30:20] Mark Breedon: So it’s definitely not too late. Strength training’s awesome. Where like you can kind of start whenever and if you have the right program and you’re doing the right training, like you can improve, but 

[00:30:29] Emily Field: you’re gonna see benefits almost 

[00:30:30] Mark Breedon: any age. 

[00:30:31] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. 

[00:30:31] Mark Breedon: I wanna give one more example. An old client of my name’s Sue.

[00:30:35] Mark Breedon: On her 65th birthday deadlift two 10. 

[00:30:38] Emily Field: Oh my gosh. Go sue. 

[00:30:40] Mark Breedon: So I was like, I was like, this is awesome. I’m not two 

[00:30:42] Emily Field: 10 right now. 

[00:30:43] Mark Breedon: I told everybody 

[00:30:44] Emily Field: Yeah, 

[00:30:46] Mark Breedon: like that was so, and um, she did train before, but she didn’t train kind of strength style. And when she started with me, I think she deadlift like 100 and now she’s doing two 10.

[00:30:57] Mark Breedon: Like it was kind of amazing. So anyway, so it’s 

[00:30:59] Emily Field: not too late. I think that’s 

[00:31:00] Mark Breedon: enough examples, but like if you don’t have to. Yeah. I mean, thank you for 

[00:31:02] Emily Field: coloring those details and I really love that you say, you know, you’re obviously giving examples of what they can do in the gym, but to the listener who’s like, I don’t care about pull-ups.

[00:31:10] Emily Field: I don’t care about deadlifts that none of those numbers like mean anything to me. You’re always so good about talking about what that adds to their life. So I mean, if you wanna color in any more of those details, you know, not just the physical, but the mental and emotional benefits they’re seeing from starting strength training, I’d love to hear your comments there.

[00:31:28] Mark Breedon: Oh yeah. Like no, it absolutely translate. To their everyday life. They’re more confident in life. I think they’ve also, one of the things I like about strength training is this is like, especially true as women, where often there’s like too much focus on their aesthetic. Yeah. Or like you’re, and in some areas like solely defined by like how you look or you can kind of feel like that where mm-hmm.

[00:31:45] Mark Breedon: Strength training gives you this place where like. I’m not just like a person who is X level of attractive, like I’m a person who can do cool things. Mm-hmm. I’m a person who can pick up my kids and I am, can go for walks, pain free, or like I feel good in my body, not because I have the right look of the time, but also because like I can do whatever I want in life now.

[00:32:08] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. Like I can do. Any hobby I wanna pick up, if I want to pick up a sport, I have the strength for it. If I want to be a runner, strength training lets me do that. Like basically strength training is like whatever you want to do in life strength training is probably going to help that 

[00:32:24] Emily Field: I could not agree with you more.

[00:32:26] Emily Field: It’s kind of one of the things I, I mean, I look at my aging mom and my in-laws that are aging and you know, people around me that are in their fifties and sixties and what. They wish they could do, and I just feel so different from those people. I, I completely agree with you. Just keeping your body healthy through strength training opens all the doors.

[00:32:47] Emily Field: It at least doesn’t close any, you know, I mean, no, definitely not. My interest will make sure those doors are closed, but I’m not interested in an activity. But if there’s something that comes across my desk that I want to do, I want to be confident that my body can handle it and that I’m not gonna injure myself, you know, confidence in your own skin, not from the aesthetic.

[00:33:04] Emily Field: Side of things, but more from the ability side of things is just a gift that keeps on giving. 

[00:33:08] Mark Breedon: Yeah, it’s huge. And I think like also just having, you know, as people change, we can’t really guarantee people will look a certain way, even as trainers. Like it’s just, you know, and also I. What is the preferred look has changed throughout time, right?

[00:33:21] Mark Breedon: Like if you just look at advertising from the nineties or the 2000, like it’s just like the quote unquote ideal woman is like very different from that time, right? And that you can’t really decide what beauty standards are gonna be in 10 years, but in 10 years you can. I. Put the effort in, in strike training and like, you can feel capable, you can feel confident to do whatever you wanna do in life.

[00:33:41] Mark Breedon: And like you said, it’s not that you have to do all the things, it’s that you now get to choose all the things, 

[00:33:46] Emily Field: but the activities aren’t being limited by my body. You know, it’s more by choice. You 

[00:33:50] Mark Breedon: Yeah. You, you can’t like, oh, I can’t do that thing because I’ve got a bad hip or a bad knee, or like, so you had to say no to the thing you actually wanted to do, which like, mm-hmm.

[00:34:00] Mark Breedon: Becomes much more part of the conversation in your fifties and sixties. And strength training just lets you be like, Hey, like you wanna pick up hiking in your fifties? Cool. You get to do that now? Mm-hmm. Or, you know, pick up dodgeball, or you just wanna be able to keep up with your grandkids. You know, now, now you get to be able to do all those things you want to do.

[00:34:18] Mark Breedon: And so if it becomes, yeah, I, I use big numbers as an example of getting stronger, but really it’s like the quality of life. Because you can lift those big numbers. 

[00:34:28] Emily Field: Yeah, I mean, you’re, like I said, you’re really good at putting the both of those things in the same sentence, which reiterates the message for the listener, so I really love that.

[00:34:36] Emily Field: We did talk a little bit about the minimum effective dose for strength training. You said about two days a week for a beginner is completely fine, but adding that third. We’ll progress you even farther when we’re talking about like balancing strength training and your real life careers, kids caregiving, your elders, things like that.

[00:34:55] Emily Field: Is there anything else you would add there? Is it like a upper body, lower body, full body split? Is it like full body all three days? Like. Can you give a recommendation on that from the minimum effective dose? 

[00:35:06] Mark Breedon: Yeah. Without making this question its own podcast episode, I would say that aim to train each muscle group twice a week.

[00:35:13] Mark Breedon: Okay. Now, so what that looks like, and I would say that’s like, you can do one, but the progress is really slow. And if you go from one to two, even if it’s the same amount of work, it just, you improve a lot faster. Mm-hmm. Two days a week. What that means is that you’re basically doing two full body days.

[00:35:30] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. And then for three days a week, I think for most people, having one day that’s lower body, one day that’s upper body, and then one day that’s full body works really well, and that can be kind of like a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. Mm-hmm. That doesn’t necessarily have to be, but I would say that I work with people who are training three days a week.

[00:35:48] Mark Breedon: That’s very often the. Split that we’re doing. Mm-hmm. Um, and the workouts are still, you know, 30, 45 minutes, maybe like an hour tops 

[00:35:56] Emily Field: kind of thing. That was my next question. Yeah. Because sometimes people get really bogged down by, well, this workout only took me 45 minutes, but if there was an effective program, it doesn’t matter.

[00:36:04] Emily Field: You know, the fact that you’re 60, 90, maybe 120 minutes in the gym is kind of a problem in my opinion. Yeah. You have no balance then, you know, then you are making sacrifices in your everything outside of the gym. 

[00:36:16] Mark Breedon: Exactly. Yeah. You know, if I was in the gym. 90 minutes each time, or like, I’ve heard stories of, I saw a post that was like, if you’re not in the gym for two hours, you’re not trying hard enough.

[00:36:24] Mark Breedon: Oh my God. It’s like, I think I would die. Like I don’t, like I don’t even think I would. And you’re young. Yeah, I don’t, yeah, I’m 32. Like I don’t even know what I would like. I don’t think I could handle that. And I’m like a very active gym goer, so No, I, you shouldn’t judge a workout by like how long it takes.

[00:36:41] Mark Breedon: You should judge a workout by. Am I stronger than I was three months ago? Mm-hmm. And that’s kind of like the way that I would measure it is like, oh yeah, I am lifting more weights than I was before that At least tells me your workout was good enough. Yeah. But yeah, like most programs I make, I would say are anywhere between like four to six exercises, not including warmups per workout.

[00:37:02] Mark Breedon: That’s. Generally the range. Mm-hmm. Just very quality over quantity. Mm-hmm. Very like, you know, like when I put an exercise in, it’s not just to make you work hard. It’s like we are putting in this exercise because it will improve this strength for you specifically if you’re intentional about if exercises you do.

[00:37:22] Mark Breedon: You don’t need a lot of exercises. 

[00:37:25] Emily Field: Yeah. 

[00:37:25] Mark Breedon: To get better. 

[00:37:26] Emily Field: I completely agree. I mean, that’s the, I mean, you say it to my clients a lot, you know, if you’re seeing a program seven to 10 exercises, it’s far too much. Mm-hmm. You know, that like sweet spot, like, did you say four to six exercises? A, a workout? 

[00:37:40] Mark Breedon: Yeah. I, I would say, yeah, I would say four to six.

[00:37:42] Mark Breedon: I think once you’re getting to 10 as well, there’s only so many ways the body moves. Mm. And at some point you’re doing. Basically the same exercise with a slightly different, you know, it’s, it’s kind of like if you’re doing barbell back squats and then you do dumbbell squats and then you do hack squat.

[00:38:00] Mark Breedon: It’s like, well, they’re all like pretty similar movement patterns. Yeah. So we can probably get a, you know, we’re 

[00:38:05] Emily Field: fatiguing the muscle a lot and probably, you know, really impinging on recovery and we know. That muscles are not built in the gym. They’re broken in the gym and everything that you do outside of the gym with your food and your sleep and your rest is what actually builds them.

[00:38:19] Emily Field: So yeah, to your point, having like less is more here, 

[00:38:23] Mark Breedon: less is more. And you can only produce so much stimulus per workout. But you can keep producing more fatigue. Mm-hmm. And I think that’s where like junk volume comes in, is that maybe those first four or five sets were really beneficial. But the set 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 are adding more fatigue, which will make it harder to recover.

[00:38:46] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. And don’t provide more strength. Yeah, so that’s, you’re just, you’re just, you’re working real hard, which is great, but we wanna work smart as a priority. 

[00:38:56] Emily Field: I love that. So one of the biggest things that I see when women are coming into my programs, when I hear that what they’re doing in the gym, or that they’ve been active for maybe a several years and they have some form of strength training, it’s that there.

[00:39:08] Emily Field: Lifting the same weights every single time they go to the gym. They’re picking up the same 15 pound dumbbells, the same 20 pound goblet, kettlebell, something like that. And just kind of repeating that forever and wondering why they’re not getting stronger or seeing changes in their body composition. Can you elaborate on any more, you know, common mistakes that you might see with beginners or people that have never had a structured strength training program?

[00:39:34] Mark Breedon: I’ll talk about like the value of having a program, ’cause it kind of answers both questions. At the end of the day, your body needs a reason to change. That’s like the big thing. And that if you are doing the same workouts over and over again, eventually your body adapts and gets used to that, and then it has no reason to change.

[00:39:52] Mark Breedon: Where it’s like, we’ve already given you the amount of muscle you need for this, the amount of strength you need for this. Why would we give you more? So the reason why you need a program. And why it needs to change over time is because you need to continue to give your body new reasons to change. So if every week I’m doing 20 pounds and I don’t change it, then my body will never change.

[00:40:15] Mark Breedon: But if I start doing 25 or I start adding more reps, or maybe I add another exercise to challenge that muscle group, now my body is saying, oh, okay, like you’re doing more things now or newer things, we need to kind of give you. More stuff and the stuff being more strength, more muscle, because if we don’t, then you won’t be able to keep doing this.

[00:40:36] Mark Breedon: Mm-hmm. And so it’s basically like, this is why random workouts don’t really work because it’s, you’re not really telling your body to improve on anything because every. New exercise is like a new surprise challenge. Yeah. It’s kind of like, um, imagine you went to school and they only taught you science and the next week they only taught you math and the next week they only taught you English.

[00:40:56] Mark Breedon: And then it’s like, well, you’re not gonna really be good at any of them by the end of it. Yeah. But if you, you know, do science week one and then week two, and then week three, and you learn more and more, you’re just gonna get better at science. And strength training is very similar, where like good deadlifters.

[00:41:14] Mark Breedon: Deadlift opt. Mm-hmm. Like that you want, and you want a program that is constantly challenging your deadlift ability. 

[00:41:22] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. You’re saying that a structured program is probably a non-structured program, or random workouts or winging it on your own is probably one of the bigger mistakes beginners are making.

[00:41:34] Mark Breedon: Yeah, I, I would say so. Mm-hmm. I think random workouts are fine to explore new exercises mm-hmm. And see what you like. But in terms of improving, um, there’s just no one I know who’s very strong, who goes into the gym and tries random stuff. Yeah. And that is like, it’s just like, like everyone I know who’s like, oh, like you can deadlift 300 now.

[00:41:56] Mark Breedon: Like you had a, here’s your. Spec you have, like you’ve written down your sets, reps, exercises, um, it can definitely still change over time. Random workouts just don’t get the results that you would want them to get. 

[00:42:08] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. I, I see it all the time and that’s why I love having you as a resource for Eat to Lean clients.

[00:42:15] Emily Field: So just for fun and just thinking kind of future, I’m curious, what is one strength, PR or personal record that you think every woman over 40. Could shoot for or aim for, not aesthetics ’cause that’s not the business that we’re in. Mm-hmm. But for more like life 

[00:42:30] Mark Breedon: strength training should make day-to-day tasks easier.

[00:42:34] Mark Breedon: Like you should notice, you know, a common one I hear is like, I can bring all the groceries in at once now. Mm-hmm. It’s like a common life where like, this is only you. You had to do two or three trips. Now you’re just doing one big one and bringing them in. I think that’s, or whatever your thing is in life, whether it’s picking up kids, like you should notice that the strength training you’re doing.

[00:42:53] Mark Breedon: Is making day-to-day tasks easier. Easier. Like Yeah. Like whether, yeah. And that, that, that’s gonna be different for different people. ’cause some people have kids, some people don’t. Some people mm-hmm. Are runners or going hikes, but like that. Should be clear. Mm-hmm. Where like I started strength training and now six months later, things that were hard are now at least less hard, if not hard.

[00:43:16] Emily Field: Yeah. So I 

[00:43:16] Mark Breedon: think like that. Yeah. And 

[00:43:18] Emily Field: there’s no one exercise that’s gonna do that. That’s a really good answer. ’cause the question was framed as like, is there one exercise? But no, to your point, like it’s kind of like the full volume of it all and then the increased confidence in yourself that is making for that to happen.

[00:43:32] Emily Field: I hear a lot, you know, a client might say like. I just didn’t even think about it. You know, like when prior to strength training, they might have had to align their body and their hips and their feet and their knees in order to pick something up to make sure they didn’t tweak their back or their hips or something.

[00:43:46] Emily Field: They don’t even think about it anymore because their body moves so much better, or they feel so much stronger in all positions, not just when you’re perfectly aligned and you brace and you’re ready for, you know, whatever’s coming your way. 

[00:43:58] Mark Breedon: Yeah, and that’s like the, the fact that you don’t have to think about it is also a good sign.

[00:44:02] Mark Breedon: That’s one less. Thing where you’re like, okay, I just have to lift this heavy thing. Okay, I gotta brace myself. Where now you just do it. 

[00:44:09] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. And 

[00:44:09] Mark Breedon: it’s just physically and mentally less work. 

[00:44:12] Emily Field: Yeah. So, you know, we were kind of talking before we got online about, you know, kind of where we see the strength training industry going.

[00:44:20] Emily Field: We can comment on what we were talking about if you’d like, but where do you see or hope to see the conversation around strength training and aging headed in the next five to 10 years? 

[00:44:30] Mark Breedon: I think in the next five to 10 years. Do you wanna talk about GLP ones here? Is that conversation For sure. I mean, that’s a good side 

[00:44:35] Emily Field: note.

[00:44:36] Mark Breedon: Okay. Yeah, I think so. As like those drugs become more popular, I think we’re gonna see that is the way people will lose weight in the future. I. And less so about the training, and then trainers will have to become more strength and muscle building oriented I think. So you’re gonna see, I think these are good things in the next five to 10 years, I think you’re gonna see more people in strength training that are in their forties, fifties, sixties, that see the value of it.

[00:45:01] Mark Breedon: That strength training is gonna become less of like a young person’s game where like now it’s just, you know, your mom does it, your grandma does it like everyone does. Like it’s kind of gonna be, that’s where I think. We’re gonna see in the next five, 10 years. And I think the people who only care about weight loss or aesthetics might be training less as these GLP drugs become more common.

[00:45:26] Mark Breedon: Some will join because of the drugs, and I think like there’s a interesting conversation there, but there’s a lot of people who train solely to change their body and if there’s literally a pill that can do that for them instead. Mm-hmm. I know which one I would pick if that was my focus. Mm-hmm. That’s kind of where I think strength training is gonna go.

[00:45:45] Mark Breedon: It’s gonna be a lot more about quality of life. It’s gonna be a lot more about just feeling strong. Mm-hmm. And we’re kind of already seeing where women putting on muscle is becoming like more socially accepted, where I think like. 10, 15 years ago that was kind of like, you’re like weird if you’re like a worker who wanted to like have a muscular upper body, where now I feel like we’re just, we’re seeing more of that and like that’s fine and acceptable and like even encouraged.

[00:46:08] Mark Breedon: I think we’re just gonna see more of that. 

[00:46:10] Emily Field: Yeah. And we, you know, we talked about like, you know, some of the downfalls of having so many options through different media types, but one benefit that has happened through the proliferation of social media is that you are seeing a lot more body types and maybe you didn’t realize.

[00:46:27] Emily Field: This activity even existed. Maybe you didn’t realize that this body type was attracted to you. Or like how that person lives their life and the capabilities that that person has is kind of aligned with you deep down. So one good thing that you could maybe say for social media is the accessibility of like different body types, different activities, showcasing like a value on someone’s like lifestyle that is, you know, becomes really attractive to you and you want to go chase that.

[00:46:51] Emily Field: So I think that’s pretty cool. 

[00:46:53] Mark Breedon: Yeah, I think. Fitness culture was often seen in the past as like you needed to have this look to be part of it and. You’re right, because of social media now we’re seeing like, oh, like, you know what, like this per, I, I don’t have like the fit look, but now I see people on my page who look like me, who are lifting weights and that kind of, yeah.

[00:47:11] Mark Breedon: Or Olympic 

[00:47:11] Emily Field: athletes having access to a phone and we’re, we’re getting to see their workouts. We’re getting to see them, you know, move throughout space, not just in their uniforms, but I think that’s really cool. And the. Back in the day, we would only have that access like once a year. And we’re kind of judging on their couple seconds of performance.

[00:47:28] Emily Field: But with the accessibility of social media, we’re seeing them, how they live their life, how they train, how they move through space, you know, that their bodies don’t look like that year round. Like I think that’s pretty cool. 

[00:47:37] Mark Breedon: You’re, you’re absolutely right. We’re just seeing like more transparency on like what people actually look like, which I think is cool.

[00:47:42] Emily Field: Mm-hmm. 

[00:47:43] Mark Breedon: As opposed to, like you said, where like you see them on game day and it’s like, that’s not really. That is a very small portion of their life. Mm-hmm. Like, that’s not how they, and like then you get to know them as people and realize, oh, they’re just like normal people like you and me. They’re not necessarily special or they’re not, you know?

[00:47:59] Mark Breedon: And I think that’s good because I think often people in fitness think that like fitness culture is for kind of this top 1% elite hustle people. And then the more people we get to know, the more you’re like, oh, like actually they have a. I have a lot in common with this person. Mm-hmm. And this person is really into fitness.

[00:48:14] Mark Breedon: Maybe I could be too. So I think that’s good. 

[00:48:16] Emily Field: Yeah, I totally agree. But if you want more on the GLP one conversation, mark and I will be having a conversation over on his podcast in the next several weeks. So stay tuned for that because I really am excited to dive into that and what we kind see for the future and how to combat some of the consequences that might come of losing weight very, very quickly on a drug like that.

[00:48:35] Emily Field: So. Little caveat there, but as we close this out, I wanna just ask you, mark, if there’s any piece of advice, like one piece of advice you wish every beginner knew before walking into the gym for the first time. They’re feeling nervous, they’re feeling uncomfortable, but excited, maybe anxious, excited, can sometimes be the same emotion, but is there something that you would say to that person as they’re walking into the gym for the first time, that you’d love them to know?

[00:48:59] Mark Breedon: Yeah, I, I would say for that first visit, the gym is going to feel intimidating. I don’t have like a secret, here’s how to make it not intimidating For that first time, the only thing I will say is that it. Definitely becomes less intimidating pretty quickly. Mm-hmm. Where like that first time might feel awkward, that second time’s gonna feel slightly less awkward.

[00:49:19] Mark Breedon: It’s kinda my experience that once someone gets like two to three weeks into training somewhere along there that they kind of realize no one really cares about their training and that gives them the freedom to be in the space and not feel uncomfortable. Mm-hmm. Um, that first time probably will feel uncomfortable.

[00:49:36] Mark Breedon: I would love, I don’t, I don’t have like a secret answer to that, but all I can say is that. It will become better. 

[00:49:43] Emily Field: Yeah, 

[00:49:43] Mark Breedon: pretty quickly. So I don’t want you to like, don’t give up too early because. If you hit week two or week three, you’re gonna be fine. 

[00:49:50] Emily Field: Yep. I mean, on that point, you know, everyone’s focused on what they’re doing.

[00:49:54] Emily Field: No one is looking at you. No one is judging your movements. No one cares what you’re doing. That’s a big thing. I think a lot of people are hyper aware of how they’re moving their body and what weights they’re picking up. And if they’re awkward, like maybe putting something back. Testing a weight and then putting it back and picking something else up.

[00:50:10] Emily Field: That’s so very normal. No one is looking at you. They’re all very consumed with themselves and looking at themselves in the mirror. 

[00:50:18] Mark Breedon: Yeah. Yeah. Everyone’s very, like, they got their headphones in, they’re doing their own thing, like they’re probably not even gonna notice you, but you don’t really realize that until you start going to the gym a few times.

[00:50:26] Mark Breedon: Yeah. So the, the first time feels like you’re on display and then you kind of realize you’re not. 

[00:50:31] Emily Field: Yep. I love that. Alright, mark, this is such an enjoyable conversation. Thank you so much for being here. I’d love for you to tell our listeners, my listeners, where they can find you and learn more about your work.

[00:50:42] Mark Breedon: Yeah, well, as, as always, like thanks for having me. I always appreciate these conversations. You’re one of my favorite creators online for sure. Uh, in a lot of ways, so I always appreciate having the conversation. But yeah, you can find me. Instagram is probably the best place to find me. It’s at training strong women.

[00:50:59] Mark Breedon: And I have a podcast as well called the Badass Lifter Podcast. Emily’s been on the podcast, she’s gonna be on the podcast again, which I’m excited for our conversation coming up. But I would say, yeah, Instagram, I’m on TikTok and threads and all that kind of stuff too at training strong women. But like the, probably the best place you can find me is Instagram.

[00:51:16] Emily Field: Perfect. And you do do coaching, obviously we referenced your coaching throughout here, so I’ll make sure to link your website on our show notes if you’re interested in working with Mark. He’s been a great resource to my clients. He provides the Progressive Overload strength training program that’s a part of Eat to Lean, so you can have training and nutrition guidance for four months that you’re with me.

[00:51:37] Emily Field: But a lot of clients will move on to work with Mark exclusively after we’re done with the nutrition part. They’ve got that confidence in their food and their macros and the mindsets kind of worked out, and then they can kind of move beyond that and really embrace strength training, which I love that you’re that resource for them.

[00:51:54] Mark Breedon: Yeah. Well, yeah, it’s my pleasure. And honestly, the people that come to the program and start work, like I, I enjoy working with them. Like there’s a lot of people that, they’re great. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So yeah, happy to help there too. 

[00:52:02] Emily Field: Perfect. All right, well, thanks so much, mark. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening to the Macros Made Easy podcast.

[00:52:08] Emily Field: If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the one you’re listening to right now to share it on your Instagram stories and tag me at Emily Field Rd so that more people can find this podcast and learn how to use a macros approach in a stress-free way. If you love the podcast, head over to iTunes and leave me a rating and a review.

[00:52:25] Emily Field: Remember, you can always find more free health and nutrition content on Instagram and on my website at emilyfieldrd.com. Thanks for listening, and I’ll catch you on the next episode.