What happens when the workouts that worked for you at 25 suddenly stop working?

Leslie sits down with Laura Smestad, personal trainer, women’s fitness coach, and founder of Strong Sisters Slay, for a deeper conversation about strength training, perimenopause, longevity, and why women may need to completely rethink the way they approach fitness as they get older.

Laura has been coaching women for 25 years and now focuses much of her work on women 35+, particularly through perimenopause and beyond. She shares why endless cardio, cutting calories, and pushing harder aren’t always the answer, and why strength training, recovery, mobility, and sustainable habits are becoming increasingly important.

And no, you do not need to suddenly become a person who lives at the gym.

Laura’s philosophy is simple: forget “all or nothing.” What if you went all or something?

In this episode, Leslie and Laura talk about:

• Why workouts that worked in your 20s may stop giving you the same results in your 30s, 40s, and beyond
• The role strength training can play during perimenopause and menopause
• Why Laura calls strength training the “fountain of youth”
• Building strength for longevity, independence, bone health, and everyday life
• Starting with 15-minute workouts instead of trying to overhaul your entire life overnight
• Why recovery and mobility deserve more attention as we age
• The physical, hormonal, emotional, and lifestyle pressures women are juggling during this stage of life
• Laura’s “all or something” approach to creating sustainable habits
• Her 14-day challenge for busy women and the power of stacking tiny habits
• Why prioritizing five minutes for yourself can be more powerful than it sounds
• Laura’s current dissertation studying the effects of weight training on women in perimenopause and beyond
• Why she’s especially interested in studying vitality, not only strength or body composition
• How the conversation around menopause and hormone therapy has changed over the last two decades
• The importance of women advocating for themselves and asking better questions about their health
• Why trying something you’re terrible at can still be ridiculously fun, including Laura’s ongoing mission to become a surfer

Laura also shares why fitness at this stage of life has become less about looking good in a bikini and much more about having the energy, strength, mobility, and independence to keep doing the things you love for decades to come.

Connect with Laura

Follow @StrongSistersSlay on Instagram for strength training, fitness, perimenopause education, and Laura’s latest programs and challenges.

About BFD

BFD is where big personalities, bold ideas, interesting humans, and conversations worth having get the microphone.

Hosted by Leslie Jespersen

Welcome to the bfd show, hosted by leslie jefferson.

Welcome back to bfd.

It's me, Leslie Jesperson, and I am joined here today by Lara Smastad, AKA Strong Sisters Slay.

Welcome to the show, Lara.

Thank you for having me.

I am so excited to talk with you about all of the things.

First of all, this is not your first radio being or this is not your first rodeo being interviewed because you came with me to Manhattan to do I heart.

And I feel like with this show, this episode, I want to dive a little deeper because I have been watching your brand, I have been watching you expand and, like, really hone in on your message.

And I want to.

I want to dive really deep today.

Okay?

So for those of you that don't know Lara, go ahead and introduce yourself.

Tell everybody who you are.

So I'm a personal trainer and women's fitness coach.

I've been coaching women for 25 years, really honing in on perimenopause and beyond.

Age 35 plus.

Not that I don't still train women that are younger or men, but it's kind of become my passion over the last several years.

Just kind of getting to that age myself.

And all of the changes that we go through hormonally and socially and emotionally as well just becomes a little bit more difficult.

So I'm helping women to reprioritize themselves because they're important.

Yeah.

Is that why you wanted to focus on perimenopause?

Because you noticed changes in yourself or with your clients?

Like, why did you decide that?

Like, oh, this is something that needs to be researched more.

This is something that needs to be talked about.

Right.

So I think as we're getting, I'm getting to that age, my sister, my friends, a lot of my clients are beyond that age.

Yeah.

So, you know, you realize not just physically, that it gets harder to stay in shape, but also because the hormonal shifts and everything else that we know about, but just we're at this age where there's so much pressure from all different angles and we're wearing so many different hats every day.

A lot of us are moms.

A lot of us work full time or run businesses.

A lot of us are caring for aging parents.

There's just all of these things going on, plus the hormonal shifts at the same time, you know, so it's kind of like a storm kind of brewing and setting us up for failure unless we are educated and, you know, do something about it proactively.

So that's, you know, kind of that's where, like, all the light bulbs were going off and everything.

And.

Okay, so for the woman who is watching this, and they might not even realize that the symptoms that they're having are perimenopause or, like, they're doing everything the same that they've always done, and, like, suddenly it's just not working right.

So fitness wise, I feel like women that have always worked out, you know, the more fit women are feeling it more than the women that don't, only because they are seeing that what used to work is no longer working.

So they have to learn how to work smarter and not harder.

I have a lot of women that come to me at our age, and they're still doing all the cardio and they're, you know, they're cutting the calories and doing all of those things that used to work when they were 25, and they're frustrated because they're putting on weight, they're feeling horrible, they're feeling burnout, they feel exhausted all the time.

And then they shift more into a, you know, a menopause friendly, I should say, training program that's more focused on recovery and weight training, training and balance and, you know, those types of things.

Mobility.

Right.

You know, the dripping sweat.

Cardio isn't for everyone at this age.

It becomes very inflammatory, and it can be very counterproductive.

But that's what we were drilled as.

You know, Girls in our 20s, there was always women in the aerobics room.

It was never women in the weight room.

So I think we're starting to get the education that we need to really emphasize the impact of strength training.

Truly, it's the fountain of youth.

I will go down in my grave saying that.

Yeah, I feel like that's.

If I'm watching, like, if you're watching Lara's Social, that is the message that you get.

So for.

For me, I always say, like, I'm very comfortable with how I look.

Like, I don't want to change.

Or rather, that's not my driving motivation, But I also want to be able to get off the ground at 75 years old.

Like, I want my bones to be strong.

I don't want to have knee replacements and hip replacements.

Like, I want that longevity and that strength.

But for the people who hear weight training, and they're like, absolutely not, this sounds intimidating.

Like, I wouldn't even know where to start.

Like, what would suggest for those people, what do you feel like they need to know?

So I've been really focused on taking a step back, you know, and really breaking down.

How do we get started where it's not so overwhelming, where it's not like, Leslie, you got to start going to a gym every single day for an hour.

You don't want to do that.

Right?

You don't want to go from.

Rather than going from 0 to 100, it's just these small, sustainable changes.

Right?

So I have, like, women starting with 15 minute workouts that they can do anywhere.

They can do them at their home.

They can do it with simple equipment.

It doesn't have to be this big, extensive time or financial commitment.

It can start really simple.

And then a lot of women fall in love with it and they want to kind of do more because they see the results and they feel better.

And again, like the focus for us, you know, at 25, we want to look good in the bikini.

I don't care about the bikini anymore.

The bikini is a bonus at this point.

I want to feel great.

I have two little boys.

They're like, you know, they don't want energy.

I need to keep up with them.

And just as you said, going forward, you think about grandkids, you think about, you know, just being able to work, being able to get off the floor, being able to be independent.

You see people in their 70s that, I mean, 70s.

I see like my parents generation.

There's some people in their 70s that are slaying, and there's some people in their 70s that are like, knocking on the nursing home door.

It's incredible how, you know, different it can be whether, you know, you go one way or the other, whether you're taking care of your body or you're not.

This reminds me of something that you said, I think on the other interview that we did up in New York.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Go ahead, finish that line for me.

I try to tell women and men too.

I try to tell that it's the focus on Americans love, all or nothing.

We are like all or nothing.

0 To 100.

What about just all or something?

Yeah, it doesn't have to be, you know, crazy town, you know, 0 to 100 all in.

It can just be, like, doing a better job each day.

Let's think about 1% better each day.

I love that.

So it's a little bit.

It's not as intimidating then.

Yeah, not as it seems more manageable.

So I saw online clearly this is like, I know everything about you just from your socials, but you are promoting, you have this challenge now.

Talk about this challenge and, like, what it is and how people can get involved.

Okay.

So we started a two week challenge just for busy women.

Whether it's you're a working mom or an entrepreneur or just somebody that is trying to get started, but you don't really know how.

So it's sort of like a reframing exercise over 14 days where I give you simple tasks to do and then you stack the tasks.

So, like, day one, Leslie, you're gonna drink a large glass of water before you have that coffee that you post every day.

Day two, you have the water and then you run in place for 30 seconds.

And then each day we're building and building, but at the end of the challenge, you're still only putting in about five minutes, but it's like a reframer for your brain to say, leslie, you're important and you deserve these minutes each day and you're worth it.

And then at the end, maybe you're ready for something more.

That gave me chills.

That gave me goosebumps.

I love it.

Women are loving it though.

Yeah.

And I will say, it's not even just for beginners.

I have a lot of really advanced women that are like, this is so awesome.

I never thought about this before.

Like, this, you know, a couple minutes of meditation in the morning before my kids get out of bed.

You know, things like that.

So, yeah, so it's really hard, like not going back to basics, but maybe just remembering those little things as life gets so busy.

Like, you even told me that I should do that and I was like, oh, but I have this and I have that and I have this.

But really, that's just like my mind telling me that I can't, I don't have the time.

But even you just saying, like, no, you actually deserve those minutes.

And it's also like just meeting the client where they're at, the woman where they're at, and just, you know, working with what you have.

Do you have five minutes a day?

Yeah.

So how else do you work?

Do you work online?

Do you work in person?

I have a little bit of in person still.

I'm really focused on the online I'm seeing.

I'm kind of building this community of women, and it's really a powerful thing because they come together and it's not just accountability for me.

Like, it would be a one on one session if we were in person.

But you have this community of women that are very similar minded and they come together and they're bouncing ideas off of each other and celebrating each other's successes and Sharing recipes and that sort of thing, or, like, struggles even.

Like, how do I get this much protein in a day?

What are you girls doing?

Are you using this protein or that protein?

So it's fun.

Yeah.

Lara.

What about the Lara?

That's not the trainer.

Like, who are you?

And I know that's, like, a very, like, broad question, but, like, what is one thing that is not fitness?

That, like, really, really lights you up?

I feel like I know the answer, but I'm curious to what you say.

Adventure.

Adventure.

I love trying new things.

I love spending time with my children.

I love being a mom.

And I love just setting goals and grinding, you know, to meet those goals.

You've been surfing?

I've been surfing.

Tell us about your surfing nature.

Don't watch me.

No, but this is really important because I am very much an all or nothing person.

It's like my type A adhd.

And I am trying to learn that, like, it's okay to not be great at something and still enjoy it.

You should surf with me sometime.

I feel more successful at the COVID at the inlet where we have the nice, small, rolling waves.

I'm okay there, but I get to the jetty, and it's just like, wipe out or wuss out.

Like, pulling back or just wiping out.

But you still.

But I still get.

I get out there three times a week.

That's amazing.

Last year, my commitment was taking a lesson each week to try to get into it.

This year, I'm like, all right, I'm gonna save some money with these lessons.

I'm just gonna get out there three times a week.

My sons are into it, too, so it makes it really fun.

This is a lifetime activity.

We can do forever.

I'm thinking by the time I'm 60, I'll be decent.

I love that.

I. I, like, tried.

I took one lesson and it just happened to be, like, hurricane season or something.

And I'm like, this is really hard, guys.

And he's like, no, we're actually gonna call it a day.

Like, these are not ideal conditions for you to be learning in.

I was like, well, I at least wrote it in on my belly, so I'm.

Okay.

That's progress.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Awesome.

Is there anything else that.

Actually, I'm not wrapping this up yet because I feel like we talk more about perimenopause.

Okay.

Like, what are some things that people don't know?

Like, what have you.

Because I know that you've been studying so hard on this.

So I'm completing a dissertation on literally the title is the effect of weight training on perimenopause and beyond.

I'll be collecting data in the fall.

So anyone that lives in the East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania area, if you'd like to be a subject.

I will be recruiting subjects for the next month.

I'm hoping to have 40 women in this study and we're going to look at the effects of weight training on this age group.

I'm expecting to find increased strength.

I'm expecting to find increased, you know, better body composition, bmi, those sorts of physical things.

Yeah.

But one of the big variables that I'm testing, which I think is my favorite, is vitality because I feel like.

That's hard to quantify.

Yeah.

So we have like a, like a valid instrument that we're gonna be using for this, like a Likert scale type of survey that we'll be doing before.

And, and I think that's a really important and powerful piece of it.

It's just.

How are you feeling now compared to 12 weeks ago?

Yeah.

So.

Yeah.

So perimenopause, I mean, it was always an under discussed topic because our moms and grandmothers and great grandmothers, they didn't even know what they prepared us for any of this.

And I feel like our generation now is like, okay, we're working and grinding and doing all the same things that men do and we want better options and better solutions and more answers.

Right.

So there is more research in this area now, but it's still really, it's still really new.

It's so true.

Like I look back at like what just when my mom was my age and I just thought she was such a.

And like so.

But I'm like, my poor mom just kind of like suffered through this.

Suffered in silence.

Yeah, they suffered in silence, which is so sad.

Yes.

20 Something years later, that study has basically.

I don't want to say it's debunked, but now we're finding that it was a very over study.

All the pieces really weren't there and the media took it and ran with it.

And of course women hear cancer and they, they all got off of it.

And that hurt a whole generation of women.

Now women are starting to go back on it because they're realizing it is progesterone.

Yeah, it's on, it's.

It is safe.

You know, depending.

We gotta look at Leslie and exactly what she needs and It's a different dosage for me and for you.

Right.

But it can be really beneficial.

And the whole generation of women lost out on that.

And I just think that that's horrible.

Thank God.

Because I have to advocate for myself.

And one of my doctors was like, oh, no, that causes cancer.

When I went and asked.

And if it wasn't for people like you talking about these things, and if it wasn't for not saying that we're getting all of our information from social media, but if it wasn't for us talking about these things and me saying I'm not okay, this is not sustainable for me.

I know that I'm in perimenopause.

There's got to be a solution here.

I wouldn't.

I wouldn't be able to.

Like, I feel like I couldn't run my business.

I feel like I couldn't.

You know, my poor teenagers.

Like, what?

You know, Definitely.

I feel like menopause.

Really, Truly.

It affects if you start at the head.

I have this diagram at home.

It's so great.

I'll post it for you later.

You start at the head and go all the way down.

A woman's body.

It literally affects every body system in one way, shape, or form.

It's just incredible.

And we didn't talk about it for a long time.

You know, we're so complex.

And that should be our superpower.

Right?

Can handle a lot.

Yes.

Yes.

Lara, thank you so much for all of the incredible work that you do.

If you want to connect with Lara, which you absolutely should, we have her tag.

She's strong Sister Slay on Instagram.

I'm gonna put all the information in the notes so you can join her challenge.

I'll do it too.

Maybe we'll, like, do a bfd.

I want you in the challenge.

Amazing.

Lara SMEs said Strong's sisters Slay.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you.

Thanks for watching bfd.

And we will see you next.