I’m so excited to share this special episode with my dear friend and client, Jane! This is such an inspiring conversation about how strength training can transform not just your body but also your mind. Jane is an incredible woman in her 60s who went from feeling unsure about stepping into a gym to confidently conquering the squat rack! And the results have been truly life-changing! Jane discovered a confidence she never expected and now feels more vibrant and energetic than she did in her 20s. 

In our conversation, we discuss Jane’s initial motivations for starting her fitness journey, how she overcame fears about lifting heavy weights – even while managing hip pain, and the importance of proper nutrition (especially before workouts!). Plus, she shares practical tips for overcoming the intimidation of trying something new! If you’ve ever felt nervous about stepping into the gym or thought it was too late to start a new chapter, Jane’s story will inspire you to think again. It’s never too late to become the strongest version of yourself – inside and out!

Want FREE access to my brand new four-week strength training plan, Strength Without Stress? Head over to hollyperkins.com/review where you can upload a screenshot of your review and gain immediate access. This is a limited-time offer before it sells for $197, so be sure to grab it now!

Topics Covered:

• What inspired Jane to start her fitness journey 
• Why pain doesn’t need to be long-lasting
• Jane’s primary motivators, the biggest changes she noticed, and the actions she took to reach her goals 
• The real value of structured exercises 
• Advice for overcoming gym intimidation
• Tips for improving your nutrition habits and the truth about calories 
• Jane’s macronutrient strategy 
• The most challenging part of Jane’s journey 
• Advice for taking the first step towards becoming who you want to be

Resources Mentioned:

• Listen to the first 44 episodes of Holly Perkins Health Podcast HERE
• Check out The Body Composition Project HERE
• Transcripts can be found on the official blog page for this episode at hollyperkins.com/blog

Follow Me: 

Find me on Instagram: @hollyperkins

Learn more on my website: hollyperkins.com

Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/HollyPerkinsFitness/

Disclaimer: Content and information as part of The Holly Perkins Health Podcast is for general interest, education, and entertainment purposes only. The use of information on this podcast or materials or products linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

After all these years coaching women, I continue to discover that many people feel intimidated and confused about what to do in the gym and more specifically, strength training. In this episode, you'll meet Jane and hear her incredible journey from feeling confused and a bit lost to experiencing a new level of self confidence after mastering a barbell and the squat rack. So keep listening. Hello and welcome to a very special episode where I am joined by one of my clients and friends, Jane. Jane's story is extra special to me because it speaks to something I am so passionate about, using strength training to help women feel strong, not just in their body, but in their life. When you improve your physical strength, you improve self esteem, self confidence and self reliance, and these are big things. You know, I never thought I would say this, but in many ways, my approach to strength training could be used as a life skill to enhance how you feel and who you are as a person walking through this world. Does that make sense? Many women struggle to feel confident and or good about themselves. It's something I think that so many of us struggle with, and as you'll hear in a minute, Jane thought that her lack of confidence came from needing to lose weight and her desire to be skinnier, to use her words as if she would feel better about herself when she lost the weight, I believe it's common for women to feel insecure and a bit unsure of themselves. I think to some degree, maybe it's inherent in our nature, but I also think that our society has really bred that in us, and because I sit in the coaching chair, I know that so many women blame their confidence on their appearance, and can relate to not feeling good about their weight or their thighs or their belly or their nose or their hair color or their soft arms, it's so easy for us to turn to those external aspects of our appearance as the cause of our lack of confidence, and that's not a very fun way to walk through life, is it?

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you felt confident? And 100% certain of yourself, even if you were having a bad hair day. And can you imagine being willing and able to advocate for your needs in any circumstance and stand up for yourself with grace and assuredness that would be life changing, wouldn't it? And in my experience, I see many women seeking personal development type tools in order to do this as if there's something wrong with you, again, totally normal. I'm hoping you might find that your greatest power is hidden in a dumbbell. In this episode, you'll learn what inspired Jane, in her 60s, to really explore and lean into strength training, the diet changes she made to gain four pounds of muscle, while she also lost body weight and body fat, how Jane transitioned from home to gym workouts despite feeling really nervous about it, and how squats helped her to feel strong and confident. I believe your life will change for the better when you experience your next level of physical strength. If you want to feel empowered, this is where it's at. Not only will the aches and pains disappear forever, but you'll lean into your life in a bigger way. And can you imagine how much better the world would be if more women like you were stepping up? We need you, my friend, and you need your strength in order to be the best that you can be.

I am so, so darn excited about this conversation that we're going to have today with my dear friend Jane. Jane and I have now been working together on and off for a number of years, and this year she was a participant in one of my group coaching programs, and just really made some incredible strides that i. What I have found to be exceptional and also so exciting, the progress that she has made, from my perspective this year, doesn't fall into that category of like typical success story in the health, fitness, wellness industry. I think we've all become so conditioned to think that success is I went from 50 pounds overweight to a size two Jean and now I'm wearing a bikini and I look sexy, and the truth is that is wonderful, and I would love for every woman to have that experience. But what I have found is that the benefits are so much bigger than that, and the personal story and the journey of going from, let's say, feeling a bit intimidated around a person's body, or confused about what to eat or wanting to strength train in a more intentional way, but also feeling nervous about it and feeling maybe even intimidated to going through that and getting to the other side, to me, is so huge. And so the reason why I wanted to interview Jane today is so that I could share her story. Now, Jane had a really incredible visual transformation as well. In fact, she was one of the transformation prize winners in my last round of the body composition project. And so her visual transformation has been incredible. She has become more muscle, less fat, and overall, if you were to see her before and after photo, it's impressive in terms of how much more athletic she looks, how much more fit she looks. But I also think that the real win here is what's kind of happened in terms of her personality, her confidence, and the things that she's doing now as part of her strength training journey. So Jane, I'm so excited that you're here today, and if you would tell us a little bit about where you were before you started this journey. And this can go back a number of years. This can go back to last year. I want to know what was the struggle for you, where you finally said, You know what, I'm going to actually, really and truly, once and for all, do something about it.

Initially, I would say self image and weight. And at the time, I thought weight was the self image, but I think it was, it was more than that. It was just not having a lot of confidence, feeling badly about myself. So it really started with just wanting to be thinner and more fit. And also, at that time, I had trouble with pain on one side, on my left side, you know, going to the gym, going to classes. And then at the same time, I started a biking group and a couple of other things I was doing, but I would run into this ache on my left side, either with, like, the duration of what I was doing or the intensity. And I realized that was something that, you know, I was sort of struggling to manage it, and feeling like at the time, I felt like, well, this is just never going to go away. I'm never going to be able to bike in a way where I'm pain free. So I really wanted to address those two things, really wanting to be thinner and more fit, and wanting to do something about this issue on my left side.

So I know that we'll touch upon this quote, unquote issue on the left side again, because I know that it's part of the through line of the story. Two questions I have about that, where you were number one, back at that time when you were biking and you were going to classes, were you doing traditional in the gym, strength training, like we are now, or were you mostly focusing on classes? At that time,

I was mostly either going to classes or coming up with some combination of things to do. I knew, you know, those exercises. I didn't have a plan. I didn't really even know what a plan would look like at that time. And I did a lot more cardio and less strength training, because mostly, like the classes would be the training, which you know, in the end, now that I know what I know is really not challenging. And also, I just did a lot of cardio. So it was just sort of a mix of things without a plan, I guess I'd say,

yeah. And I see this so much in women that come to me, you were doing all the right things. In some ways, you were exercising, you were cycling, you started a cycling group, you were going to classes, you were doing all of it right, and yet it wasn't getting you to where you wanted to be. And I think this is so common for women, and it definitely speaks to what I talk about, which is anything is better than nothing. And I'm so happy to hear when a woman is doing these things, because Absolutely, without a doubt, is better than nothing, but if you actually want to get better, there is an art in a. Science to it, and we discovered that with you. The second question I had was back at that time, on a scale from one to 10, how bad was that left side? Let's call it hip. Let's refer to it as your hip, okay, how much pain or how uncomfortable were you with that left hip issue on a scale from one to 10, where 10 is like, excruciating, I need to go to the emergency room, and one is zero, nothing. You don't even think about it. Where were you at that time with the hip?

when it would flare up? I would say a five, okay, but it would flare up with certain things, like, what? Well, biking. It always did, Yep, exactly. If I did some things at the gym on my own, maybe leg press or something I was dabbling in, kind of I would feel it then, and I and, you know, I started to feel like, okay, well, I can't really push myself beyond a certain point, because I get the flower up, I treat it with ice, I go to the PT. And it was a constant pattern

so common it really is that is something I hear so often from people. In fact, one of my coaches is working through this right now. As you know, Coach Jen June, is working through this right now where it's like two steps forward, one step back, and sometimes it's two steps forward, two steps back, two steps forward, two steps back. It kind of feels like that's where you were. So if anyone listening is in that same cycle, just know, number one, it is normal. And number two, a body should not be in pain. These aren't things that you have to live with. These aren't things that are just a sign of aging. If I could only tell you how many people, just in the past three years, I've gotten out of pain, you'd be astounded. I have several people that I'm working with right now who had herniated discs, and now they're dead lifting beautifully and stronger and better than ever before. So I just want this to be a message of if you're in pain, even if it's aches and pains, that doesn't have to be that way. We'll talk about this more in Jane's journey, because now we are at the point where she is doing things to address it and fix it permanently, and it is a bit complicated, but this is helpful. So Jane at that time, like, did you ever think about what is my future going to be like if I don't fix this? Were you the type of person that would worry out like, if I don't fix this left hip thing? Where am I going to be when I'm 85 did that cross your mind? Or were you just annoyed and in pain and just felt like fixing it? If that makes sense,

yeah, at first I felt it was just going to limit my exercise forever, because whenever it got more intense, I would get the pains and get through this cycle. But yes, I did, at some point, think I'm not gonna be able to do more unless I figure out how to manage this. I mean, the answer really is I need more strength in my hip. But yes, I just decided I didn't want to live with it forever. It was just too limiting, you know. And then on top of it, I always wanted to lose weight and be thinner and look more fit. But really, I mean, what I discovered in all of that? So it was sort of those two things motivating me, but it wasn't sustainable to keep doing diets and losing weight even when I did I didn't look fit. That was, you know, those were things I wanted to address, yeah.

How did you find me originally? Like, how did we get to know each other the very, very beginning? When did you first stumble across me? I'm so curious.

13:26

You were on their LIVESTRONG website, Facebook page. Okay, it's funny you asked that, because one of the things that you'd asked me to think about was, What actions did I take? And I really feel like the first action was just thinking, I'm kind of in this rut where I keep doing the same things over and over and over, and I'm not really getting the results I want, and I've been doing it for years, so I knew I needed to do something different, but I really wasn't even sure how to and then I saw something I don't know maybe that you posted on the LIVESTRONG page.

Yeah. So they are dear friends. I love and adore that organization, and over the years, I've done a quite a few programs for them, and served as an expert opinion and voice for them. We've done several projects together, and I love everything they do. They really check and vet their research and their sources, and so that's one of those organizations out there on the internet where you can really trust what they're saying. So that's so funny. I'm always so curious, because to me, you've become a friend now, and you've been in my community long enough that I'm like, oh, Jane, she's my friend, and you've always been my friend. And I'm always so curious. To look back and be like, but Wait, how did we find each other? So, really curious. So on that note, like, What actions did you take? You were like, Okay, I need to do something different. I've been doing this, and there's that saying, If you keep doing what you always have been doing, you're going to get the same result. Thankfully, you were smart enough to kind of figure that out and do something about it. But what I do want to hear, really, is at the end of the day, if we were to look back. Today and say, what were the key things that really made the biggest difference for you to get you to the other side? What do you feel were the biggest things that you changed? What actions did you take in that messy middle that got you to this much better place that you are in now?

15:20

Well, one was just finding the right resources and realizing it wasn't going to change unless I actually figured out a different way to manage kind of my health. But you know, along the way, what did I change? One thing was changing diet, learning a lot more about the importance of the macros and balancing different foods and the timing of when I would eat in relation to when I was going to exercise, which made a big difference for me, and also just getting more structured about meals generally. So I would say like that was one set of things, and then on the exercise side, making sure I scheduled it into my week. If they're going to be blips, needed more of a plan about how to make sure I did what I could do in terms of strength training when I was traveling or whatever, making myself go to the gym even when I didn't feel like it. So I guess those are kind of the things that change. But I would say, along the way, and maybe even up front, my mindset about all of it kept evolving. And so, you know, entering this i I was sort of discouraged about the pain in my hip, and I was discouraged about how I looked, not happy with it, but as I started making some progress and learning more, my mindset changed too. I don't know that's not really a habit, but just thinking about myself and my self care more and understanding what my motivation for doing what I was doing really wasn't just about how I looked. It was really about my long term health and even how it made me feel in the short term.

Yeah, and those are huge. I would agree that changing your mindset is a habit, a thing that you've changed. It is a true construct, how you're thinking about why you're doing it is everything. I often say people will come to me thinking they want to look better, and a motivation is to look better. And by the way, I honor that. I think it is a beautiful thing to want to look better and to enjoy the way you see yourself. I also find that when people get into the journey, they realize that actually isn't the biggest motivator, and other things become a stronger why? And it sounds like that's what happened for you. I mean, you did end up looking so much better your visual. We got to go back and look at like from day one, I think the first program, did you work with me for the first time in the glutes project, or the next level, the masters?

I think actually the glutes, I did

okay. So if you had photos from the glutes project or the Masters, it would be so fun to look at those photos compared to your best photos and the body composition project that would be a blast. You got that you did end up looking a whole lot better and more athletic and younger and stronger and leaner in all of those beautiful visual things that a lot of women want. And it sounds like what became the greater motivator for you was, I'm doing this for a better future. Would you agree?

18:25

Yes, I wouldn't have maybe said that in the beginning, but definitely wanting to be stronger, wanting to feel better about myself, and grasping that there was something new I needed to learn, and being open to that, I think, kind of was another piece of it, in terms of mindset and you mentioned at the beginning, but I was intimidated by some of the equipment. I wasn't sure I could learn it and to be able to master something new and make myself walk in there and learn it and feel like I can own it once I've done it for a while, that's part of the mindset, too. I think

That's a big deal. So in the earlier phases of us working together, you were doing your strength training workouts at home exclusively. Correct, yeah, that's true. And then at some point in the body composition project, I finally won, and you finally heard me as a big old nudge to start going into a commercial gym. Correct, yes, so let's put that into context for people going back to your original story of when you were cycling and taking exercise classes and doing a lot of cardio, as you said, one of the changes the actual actionable habit changes that Jane made is she adopted A new training protocol in a new training program. It happened to be a program that I've written. I will say you went from classes and cycling and too much cardio, as you say, to three strength training workouts per week, probably three specific dedicated cardio sessions per week. Would you agree that that was a significant difference this three and three as compared to the number of classes that you were doing and the cycling and the cardio you were doing beforehand?

Well, yes, I had not really done a lot of serious strength training that was new to me in terms of thinking about that as part of my exercise program or schedule, and then I would say the mix of cardio. I mean, it was kind of surprised by that in the program, of having that be part of the program, but not the emphasis. So, yeah, I really didn't even have a program before, so it was very nice to look at something structured, focused on what I was trying to achieve,

and not figure it out yourself, right? It's like, listen, exercising should be easy and simple. Go outside and exercise, go to a class and exercise. It really can be as simple as that. So hear me, loud and clear. It's like, anything is better than nothing, and physical activity is not rocket science, unless there is something you're wanting to overcome, unless there is a thing that you want to change in your biology, in your body, it's like, if a person is working out to become stronger, but they're not getting stronger, there's a glitch in the matrix. If a person is working out to lose weight and they're not losing weight, there's a glitch in the matrix, and so that is when I say it's not enough to just go to exercise classes and do arbitrary cardio and, quote, unquote, just eat healthy at some point, if you want results that you're not getting through Your current actions, it's always because the strategy is wrong, and you are a beautiful example of that, because wow, how far you've come. So when you switched over to doing three dedicated strength training workouts with me and three, maybe four cardio sessions a week, was that workout programming less than what you had been doing before? About the same? Was it more like if you had to kind of compare the number of minutes you were spending each week? How did they compare?

I would say the cardio is about the same in terms just the number of minutes, but the strength training was more investment, and some of it, for me, was the learning side of it, but I would say overall, minutes maybe about the same. Maybe what I was doing before was a little bit less, because I probably didn't do three classes a week. I don't think interesting.

So it was kind of like we just recalibrated how you were spending your activity minutes each week. Tell me a little bit about before, the days of being brave and going into the gym for your strength workouts. Okay, in other words, before I convinced you to go into a commercial gym, what, back then prevented you or and, or felt intimidating about going into a commercial gym, like, what was nervous making about that for you at that time,

one of the things was I just didn't, sort of know how it all worked. I didn't know almost the environment, the culture of the gym, where you go, how you get started, so that was part of it, but then also feeling that what the program included were strength training exercises I wasn't familiar with from the classes I've been doing, so feeling kind of intimidated about learning how to do that properly. And then ultimately, what I found in the program was that I needed in order to build more muscle, I needed to keep upping my the weights. And I got to the point where there was no way to up the weights unless I actually started using the squat machine and the barbell and a couple of other things. And that was a real hurdle for me getting to the point of being comfortable with that I was just intimidated by the downstairs at my gym, which is where all the machines that type of equipment is, and it's just sort of almost, you know, an environment I just was not familiar with. And it was intimidating.

It is for all those reasons. And then if you add to it, the male female consideration, right? I know a lot of women are just, gosh, even early on in my career, I remember, I used to feel like the gym is a man's world, and I don't belong there. We don't belong there. They don't want us there. We don't deserve to be there. And that's an uncomfortable situation to go into. I do believe some of that exists around the world, I've chosen to reframe it, and I actually believe these days men are more excited to see women in the gym. But, you know, you add that to it, it You're right. It's a whole unfamiliar environment. It's true. I remember looking at your progress photos and being like, okay, in order for us to really get you to the next level, we've got to have access to more meaningful weight loads. And so I say this a lot, a person can get in great shape with at home workouts, without a doubt, but at some point, if you're able to go to into a gym, a leg press is going to do a lot more. For you than a heavy goblet squat and or any other exercise that we can do at home, even if a person had a barbell, a lat pull down is going to take you so much farther than many back exercises that we would do in a home. And so I remember just so wanting you to go into the gym, and I knew that it was going to do so much for you, which it did, that was the first thing I knew we needed to transition you to the gym. But then I also knew we needed to get you to eat more in general and improve your nutrition. So let's talk about your nutrition just a little because I think that you have a very unique journey with your nutrition as well. Tell me a little bit about what has your journey been like. What were your nutrition habits before? And what do you think has been the most important habits you've adopted that have contributed to the most results for you?

So I was just always afraid of calories, even when I was in my different modes of being on different diets or whatever. I mean, I just wasn't eating enough calories for a person who was exercising at that time and burning calories at the gym. So one thing was being just afraid of calories and being concerned I would just gain weight if my calories went up. And what I really learned was that I was not going to build muscle or feel as energetic at the gym, or feel like I could get through the different exercises without more calories. I mean, I just knew that. And I would say earlier, I've done every diet in the world, but also when I would think about clean eating, you know, I would just think a vegetable, a carbohydrate and a protein, and I don't think I really appreciated the properties that each of those things has in different foods. And so, you know, that was an area where I really needed to learn more. And then I guess I would say the other couple of things I learned were that I really needed to eat a lot more before I went to do strength training. So I had to have, if it was in the morning, I still had to have a good 350 calories, not just 100 calories of a piece of fruit or something, because that wouldn't be enough energy. And then I also found that evening workouts, when I planned to do that, I really needed to eat most of my calories for the day at about five or six o'clock or or that it would just be challenging to finish the workout. So earlier, I'd been doing just breakfast and lunch and a little snack, and then most of my calories were at the end of the day after my workout. And what I discovered when I kind of loaded everything earlier in the day is just the workouts were just a lot more effective, and I had a lot more energy for them. So that was kind of a learning

and was that through feedback from your body, because I remember some conversations that we had and us working hard to get your calories up in general. Was it a very obvious shift in terms of your energy when you did start eating different? Was that the reinforcement that now you say I knew I needed to eat differently? So was it like you started eating more and then your workouts were better, or you felt better? Did you notice a noticeable shift like that?

28:07

I definitely noticed it. It made a huge difference.

That's a big one for me. I know if I am even remotely hungry going into a workout, the workout is going to be useless, and this is one of the reasons why I drive home my basic tenant of no fasted workouts, no workouts when you're hungry. Because how on earth could a person have enough energy, motivation, zest and just legitimate raw energy to get through a workout when you've got no fuel in you. And I think a lot of people, so many people I did this in my 20s, think, Well, the point of a workout is to burn calories and to burn fat. So why would I eat before I go to a workout? Right? It's like, isn't the whole point to burn off the calories? So it's better if I go in with fewer calories in me. Was that ever part of the thinking or the rationale for you?

29:05

That was definitely the thinking. And I used to get up in the morning with my classes thing and go to a class at six or 630 in the morning with just a cup having had a cup of coffee, which probably a lot of people do. But in retrospect, you know, I had no energy doing that, and I was intimidated. I thought I would gain weight, and I didn't.

In fact, you lost weight by adding calories and getting those calories distributed differently. You ended up becoming more muscle and less fat, and like literally transforming your body. Talk to me a little bit about because I don't this part. I don't have committed to memory from either pre Holly, pre working with me altogether, and or the change that happened through the body composition project. How much did your actual body weight on the scale change?

It actually didn't change. Or it might have been a pound, but I actually gained four pounds of muscle, and I think I lost one pound of fat. I.

I think you lost more than a pound of fat because you look smaller and better, but yet you gained the muscle, right?

And I really think I didn't really understand I needed those calories to build that muscle. I was so intimidated by calories. Obviously, I do,

yeah, and you know, if we're lucky, and Jane allows me to maybe share some of her photos, maybe on the blog for this episode, we can share some of the visual before and after so that you can see it. Stay tuned. No promises there. But from my perspective, and I think Jane would agree with me when we look at her before and after photos and her progress photos, I need to go back and look. I wish I would have looked at your exact numbers before this interview. But for the blog, I will if Jane gained four pounds, which she did, and we know this through DEXA scans. We had her do a number of DEXA scans before and after. So we have real factual data of how her body composition changed. She gained four pounds of muscle. So let's pretend, and I don't have Jane's body weight committed to memory. But let's pretend she weighed 150 pounds before, and she gained four pounds of muscle. That means the scale would have shown 154 right, and the scale didn't change much, or she may have lost a pound, as she said, again, we'll get clear on exactly what these numbers are, because I'm remembering the scale did come down a little bit for you, which means, if a person puts on four pounds of muscle, but the scale is not changing. What does that mean? Well, if you lost you've lost a fat Exactly. So if you put on four pounds of muscle, but the scale doesn't change. That means you've lost four pounds of fat, and if the scale goes down, that means you've lost five pounds of fat, or six pounds of fat, even though you put on four pounds of muscle. And this is where women have an aha, because it's like, Oh, I'm so scared of gaining weight by lifting weights. But what happens is the composition of your body changes, and you end up being and looking better because of this addition of muscle loss of fat, and even if you don't lose body fat, you end up just looking so much better overall, and feeling better and having fewer aches and pains and all of those other benefits that are completely not related to your body weight or even your body composition. Honestly, it's just all the benefits that come from that. And so what would you say were the biggest changes in your nutrition,

32:36

choosing higher quality of all of it mainly carbs and protein, definitely choosing higher quality and making sure that I really hit my protein goals as part of the mix of things that was eating. So that would be one thing. I think eating earlier in the day was also a big change, and that was very that was very hard to do. It's just, I'm working with lifelong habits here of how I do things. And so it took some, you know, just sort of a few weeks of retooling things to be able to do that. And I would say that was a big change. Drinking more water was a big change.

Talk to me about numbers. So we worked really hard to just inch your calories upward. And prior to working with me and adopting a balanced macronutrient approach to your calories. What was your sort of protocol for how you used to eat? Was it just eat healthy foods? Was it carbs are bad, so I'm going to eat low carb. Did you have any internal sort of protocols or beliefs that you were following before you shifted over to what we do now.

33:44

You know, that's a huge one. A lot of people think corn is a vegetable. It's not, it's grain. Yeah, super, super common, or that some grains are healthy in general. You know, I think here in the United States, we've really been marketed to to believe that things like cold box cereal is healthy, and it's really so not Well, let me ask you this. Yes, what macronutrient strategy Have you been following here in the past stretch of time that you feel has been really working for you?

So I sometimes I'm at 50% carbohydrates and then 25% protein, 25% fat. Sometimes I will lower the carbohydrates a little bit to 45 and then adjust the others. And in doing that too, I'm just looking at again, like the quality of what I'm eating as my carbohydrate, for example, or my protein. And I've just kind of changed the mix of those things. Yeah.

What is your favorite go to protein,

chicken.

Oh, and you're an a blood type, right?

Yes.

Okay. What is your favorite go to carbohydrate,

sweet potatoes.

Yeah, I love it. Good girl. That's awesome. What was the hardest part along the journey for you?

I was actually around my mindset and trying to get myself to a place where I could believe that something would change, and where I could believe that, you know, even though I feel I felt for so long, I'm trying to be healthy, gain muscle, lose weight. I mean, I really didn't get results doing that, and the and the idea that I could try something different and believe that it would be different and get the results, I think I had a hard time just sort of accepting that and trying to make that the thing that drove my commitment to it. It wasn't that hard for me to change diet. I do think it was hard to be more structured about just the gym. That was a harder challenge. And when I got to the point where I was continually trying to increase my weight loads with the machines, it took a little longer to do the workouts, and so I had to kind of recalibrate my time. And you know what I would I guess what I would say about it overall is, you I sort of had gotten into this pattern where I'm kind of a morning person. That's always what I did, and I realized in this program you just have to keep making adjustments as you go. I'd gotten into the habits of just the things I always did and having a new program that was challenging to me, that was one piece of the mindset challenge. The other thing was realizing, if something isn't working or you're getting pain or you're getting feedback, somehow you can act on that and switch things around and switch your weights or do something different on a different machine, or eat more calories before you go. For me, just that mindset was a big challenge. And then I think some of the strength training, and especially the gym, you know, being intimidated in the gym was a challenge. So those are probably the hardest things.

Yeah, and what I want to say that I thought just still to this day gives me the chills, is, let me provide a little context here. So Jane's biggest transformation happened inside of my program, the body composition project, and she was part of the round that happened earlier this year, in March of 2024 through to the fall of 2024 and once we got her as part of that program, the way that I help people get the most out of their programs and their strength training is that we have something called an exercise of the week. So every week in the program, there's one exercise that everyone in the coaching group, workshops, and it's your homework to shoot a video, capture a video of yourself performing the exercise of the week, and then you send it to us, and the coaches and I provide feedback in the form of a voice memo. So once we finally got Jane into the gym and she was sending us her exercise of the Week videos, I'll never forget when I got to see your barbell back squat at the gym in a professional cage, I was blown away to find out she has the most incredible squat technique. And I would argue it probably was just natural. And here she is finally, after all these years, in the gym with a barbell in the squat rack in the downstairs of the basement, where all the guys are, and guess what, she's got beautiful squat technique. How huge is that? To me? That is such a stinking darn big deal. How could you have ever even discovered that if you didn't ask of yourself to confront that discomfort of going to the gym, or confront the discomfort of even using the barbell, because I remember we talked you through that you were going to the gym, but then the next hurdle was being brave enough to work with the barbell and how to do it, and then to find out that, like you've got this incredible technique, it's just so wild, your dead lift is good. And so I just think it is such an incredible, beautiful journey of personal achievement, to Lo and behold, find out you're getting better results. And. And I'm sure there are other people at the gym looking at you, being like, look at her. Go look at that technique over there. And like, how cool is that, right? I imagine that must feel gratifying for you, even though you might not even recognize it, because you don't realize what a big deal it is. Only coaches understand what a big deal that is. Does that make sense?

Yes, and I do, I do think I gained more confidence just realizing I couldn't master that. I think at the time, I didn't realize what a big deal it was. But now I I just look back and think I I learned so much. I learned to challenge myself, even not even talking about the training itself,

and that, in and of itself, is so huge when a person confronts the discomfort of challenging yourself if your body doesn't change, if you don't get stronger, if you don't build muscle that, in and of itself, is life changing just to find out, Oh, I can do hard things. I can be uncomfortable and survive. I can go into a really scary environment and walk out having done that. I mean, I guess my question for you here along this line, I think it's really appropriate, is, are there sort of transferences? Are there aspects of your life that have improved or changed because of this?

41:20

Yes, I feel more confident about myself. I actually feel like I've become more outgoing, just open to more experiences, I guess, or ideas about things that maybe weren't necessarily or maybe I just wasn't open to them before. And I feel obviously, I'm just more active, so I'm kind of out there more I didn't realize I was going to achieve that. I mean, that I mean, that wasn't really what I was thinking in the beginning, but it's great. It's just great to enjoy my life this way.

Yeah, it's really big. It's so huge. And I see that a lot for women, it's like when you feel stronger physically, you also feel stronger personally and or interpersonally, socially with people. We know from research, it absolutely does improve, self reliance, self esteem, self confidence, self worth, all of those things. We know that it has a positive impact on that when you feel better physically and stronger physically, it's really just so huge. I'm I'm so proud of you, and it's been such a joy. And I think also I kind of kind of giggled as you shared that. The fact that you're even letting me interview you for the podcast, I think I know people really well didn't take long for me to discover and observe Jane, when she first started working with me, was a bit more reserved, introverted, quiet, right? And just the fact that you said yes to do this podcast, like makes me grin so big, and I think it's testament for this. Do you agree?

Oh yes, this is something I would never have done a year ago even. So I think all those things you mentioned about just having more confidence and self reliance and believing in myself. It's changed a lot for me, and I think it's just the overall package, where it started with, I want to take care of this hip pain and I want to be thinner. It was really how I started. Yeah, it's so much bigger than that, so much

bigger than that. If there's a woman listening right now thinking, gosh, I just I want to change. I just want to make a change. I'm sick and tired of who I am, how I've been, what I've been doing. Do you have any insights that you would share for her that maybe would help her take that first step and overcome the hurdle of just choosing to do something different? What might you share with her if she really wanted to hear from you.

I mean, one would be to believe that you can actually, you have the ability to make change, that it really is in probably everybody. And it just requires being open to learning and really making changes in your day to day habits some so then I guess that's believe in yourself. You know, believe you can become that person you want to be. And I think for for me, anyway, I would say I wanted to feel the way I felt my 20s and 30s, just more active, more outgoing. I don't know how I got to that space where I was a little more down. Maybe it was the pandemic too was hard on me. But I would say to people, you know, you really can become that person. It does require change, though. And what I would say too, is it doesn't come overnight, even trying to change habits, where I was, when am I eating? What calories during the day? That was really hard, you know, but it's so worth it. So, I mean, another one is, it's not always the progress is going to be fast. I mean, it probably isn't going to be fast, but really more it really requires that you stick with it. And what I found even sticking with it. And there were times it was challenging for me was that it still is. Stick with it. If you fall off the path, get back on the path, if you're I mean, you know this, because I, I did this, but give yourself credit every day for something that you did. And anybody could start that now probably,

yeah, giving yourself credit every day is something I really try to teach. And I always loved your practice of sharing inside of the community each day, a little win. And I think that that was just like such a cool thing that we can all relate to, because that is what encourages the person along the path of becoming better and changing. Would you say that you checked that box you wanted to feel like you did in your 20s and 30s again. Do you feel that you're there?

45:27

I actually do feel much closer to there. Maybe I'm even there, maybe 30s, not 20s. But I also know it's ongoing. I mean, it's just a continual path, I guess, of progress, and I enjoy that. Yeah, so maybe I'll get to 21 in a while.

Absolutely. And I think probably you know, just to touch upon it quickly, I think since we did talk about at the top of the interview, your left hip bothered you all those years ago, and it has been a continued conversation. Would you say at some point in our work together, the hip was better. Did it get better? It's somewhere along this journey? Or did it always stay the same?

46:07

The pattern was still kind of the same, but I've definitely made adjustments to kind of address this issue where I think the left hip is just weaker. And so some of the tips around how much weight to list, even just technique around where my feet are placed, or that kind of thing, or my elbows when I'm doing something you know, made a big difference in terms of continuing to build strength there.

I can tell that. Is it feeling better? Yes, great. Okay, this is so common, by the way. So the truth is, most of us have asymmetries in our body that cause issues. And so we've been working with Jane on and off throughout in the program to figure out what is this left hip thing. And ultimately, I know it always comes from a glute, strength, integrity, asymmetry, always, always, always. And the way we fix it is through technique. So I look forward to the day where we get you out of that altogether, and I believe that we can do it. We will get you there, because it can happen, and I see it all the time with my clients all the time. In fact, I was on the phone with Carmen earlier today, who was struggling with a shoulder issue, and finally, we got her out of that. She had to do some physical therapy, but we improved the alignment of her arm at the shoulder joint, and she's now out of pain. And I see this all the time with hips and glutes as well. So that too is out ahead of you, and I think that has to that has to be part of how young you feel. Because nobody feels young when we've got a body part bothering us, even if it were 20, if your hip bothered you, it makes you feel old. It just does. And so I kind of wonder that, once we get that hip fixed, if you will hit that mark where you're like, I feel like I'm 21

again, that would be nice. I think it will happen.

I think so too. Thank you so much for doing this. I just think that your journey has been so special and so exceptional, and you did have a visual transformation, and you do look different, and you do look thinner, and you have become technically thinner from the body fat perspective. And I really feel like when I chose you as one of the prize winners for the transformation prizes in the body composition project, it was because of this personal journey, and it's because of seeing you go from working out at home to tackling that barbell in the squat rack and then doing it so beautifully is just huge. And so I just want to acknowledge you for that, and celebrate you and celebrate with you, because it's just like, so exciting.

47:52

It is exciting. I'm excited about just continuing to move forward. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your story. I guarantee I'm going to get messages from listeners who said they were so inspired by you. It was wonderful. So thank you again.

Thank you

Incredible. Am I right? I told you it would be good now. Listen, if you're inspired to become stronger and leaner, consider adding your name to the wait list for the next round of the body composition project, which will be in March of 2025 and yes, there is a wait list, and this is because we are limiting the next round to 30 women and 48% of the women from the first round of the program re enrolled in the second round of the program, so there were only 13 spots available for that second round, which we're in right now. The good news is that I have brought on new coaches, so we'll be able to support more women in the next round. If you'd like to be the first to know when the program opens up, come on over to Holly perkins.com forward slash body weight list. That's all one word, B, O, D, y, w, a, i, t, l, I S, T, body wait list, and add your name. You may be tempted. To think that the body that you want is something that happens to other women. And there might be a little voice in your head that tricks you into thinking that you couldn't have the body that you dream of, but 1000s of my clients are here to tell you, and are the proof that you need to say that you, too, can become stronger and leaner, more energized, healthier, more confident and most importantly, happier. Now listen, if I am not the right coach for you, please promise me that you will go find one that is because you deserve this too. I hope you enjoyed this episode and stay tuned for another brand new episode on Tuesday of next week. Stay strong, my friend.