💫 Episode Description:

Healthy aging, mindset, and movement come alive in this inspiring episode with Robin Kencel — Ms. Senior Connecticut, 7-time ballroom champion, and advocate for thriving at any age. Discover how rhythm, balance, and purpose can help you feel strong, confident, and vibrant in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.

In this uplifting conversation, host Lesa Koski and Robin dive deep into the mindset of aging well, staying joyful in movement, and finding your God-given purpose no matter the number on your birthday cake. You’ll hear how Robin turned passion into purpose, healed through rhythm, and learned that health isn’t about perfection — it’s about grace, balance, and daily choices that fuel your body and spirit.

If you’re looking for midlife motivation, wellness inspiration, or mindset tools to help you feel more alive, this episode will remind you that it’s never too late to start dancing again — literally or figuratively.

🕰️ Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction — Lesa welcomes Ms. Senior Connecticut, Robin Kencel

(03:10) Robin’s story: From active childhood to professional ballroom dance

(08:35) Starting ballroom at 45 — lessons in courage, mindset, and growth

(12:22) Overcoming setbacks — breaking her foot before Miss Senior America

(18:50) Finding purpose through movement, faith, and joy

(22:40) Healthy aging: listening to your body and taking aligned action

(28:00) Nutrition and micro-habits that support longevity and balance

(33:45) Why mindset and joy matter more than perfection in midlife fitness

(40:10) Robin’s daily movement “four buckets” — strength, flexibility, agility, cardio

(45:30) Aging with grace: faith, gratitude, and daily alignment

(50:15) Final reflections: finding meaning, rhythm, and love in every season

💡 Key Takeaways:

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. Mindset fuels longevity — physical health starts with purpose and perspective.
4. 
   
5. 
   
6. 
   
7. Movement can be worship — dance, stretch, or walk with joy and gratitude.
8. 
   
9. 
   
10. 
    
11. Boundaries bring peace — tune in to what your body and spirit need each day.
12. 
    
13. 
    
14. 
    
15. Small habits create big results — start with micro-shifts and build from there.
16. 
    
17. 
    
18. 
    
19. It’s never too late to start something new — age is simply a number, not a limit.
20. 
    
21. 
    

👑 Guest Bio:

Robin Kencel isn’t just breaking records—she’s redefining what it means to age with purpose. She is the reigning Ms. Senior Connecticut and finished third runner-up in the national Ms. Senior America competition. A seven-time U.S. Pro-Am Ballroom Champion, Robin draws on decades of competitive dance experience to inspire others to stay active, confident, and spiritually grounded at any age.

Her philosophy blends faith, fitness, and mindset, encouraging women to embrace every season of life with grace and joy.

🔗 Resource Links:

Follow Robin Kencel: Follow Robin Kencel: https://www.instagram.com/robinkencel/ | https://robinkencel.com/

• Connect with Lesa Koski and sign up for her newsletter: www.lesakoski.com
• 
  

🏷️ Tags / Keywords:

midlife mindset, aging gracefully, senior fitness, women over 40, ballroom dance, Ms. Senior Connecticut, Robin Kencel, Lesa Koski, midlife movement, wellness after 50, longevity mindset, healthy aging tips, over 40 wellness, faith and fitness, midlife reinvention, purpose in midlife, thriving women, doing life different podcast, mindset over 40, fitness motivation for women

Welcome listeners.

2

I am so excited to have you here today

because we are talking about rhythm,

3

balance, and mindset that keeps the body

and spirit thriving in your forties and

4

your fifties and even your sixties and

beyond, and I could not be more thrilled.

5

I'm so excited.

6

I've got the beautiful.

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Robin can sell here and she,

I mean, I think that you

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are Miss Senior Connecticut.

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Yes.

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She is a professional ballroom dancer.

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She's, she's gorgeous.

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She's fit, she's healthy.

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And Robin, I think why you,

it means so much to me to have

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you here is, it's not easy.

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So I am in my late fifties.

16

It is not easy for me to

find people to look up to.

17

And like I love to go to a workout class

where there's someone in their sixties or

18

seventies who just looks like, you know,

like they're all muscle and gorgeous.

19

And, and I think what's so fun and what

we were kind of talking about, you're

20

going to, you're gonna share your story.

21

You're a, a competitor, you are

a beautiful ballroom dancer.

22

Um.

23

But I think what you've found

is that you're living better and

24

I can't even believe you're 67.

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Yes, I am.

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You're gorgeous.

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Amazing.

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And are you feeling great?

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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You know, I'm feeling great.

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I will add on to that, that every day

you wake up and there's something, as

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you get older and you work with it.

33

Yeah, I'm not gonna sit here and say I

felt like I felt in my forties, but I do

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feel really great and I work with the body

that I have and I love that you mentioned

35

mindset and you know, I think it does

start with a mindset and your purpose

36

in life and what you see as meaning in

all that, which I know we'll get into.

37

Speaker: He, we will for sure.

38

But I do wanna start, I want, I

love to get to know you better.

39

My listeners want to know you better.

40

Can you just kind of share your story?

41

Speaker 2: Let's see.

42

My story has a lot of tentacles, but

since we're talking about fitness and

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wellness and how to go through life, just

feeling good on all different levels.

44

I will say that my entire

life I was a mover.

45

Back in the sixties, we didn't

have all these planned activities.

46

Mm-hmm.

47

Our moms threw us out the front

door and we hopped on our bikes and

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we raised up and down hills and we

threw volleyballs and tetherball and

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you know, all this sort of stuff.

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And so being, uh, an active

mover was just part of me.

51

I had three siblings, so there

was always action in the house.

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And my parents owned a nursing home,

which meant that we were working 24 7.

53

You know, we were pushing wheelchairs.

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I was teaching disco dance to

folks in their eighties and

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nineties who were in wheelchairs.

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So my entire life has been

one where I have been very

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active in a very natural way.

58

Then as I progressed through, um, my

years and discovered that dance was

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a passion and remember, uh, in the

sixties and seventies, girls didn't have

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all these choices in terms of sports.

61

Mm-hmm.

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So for me, my choices were I was

doing badminton in high school, I

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was doing dance, and I was a runner.

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And that followed me through

college and ever after.

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And you know, dance is something that I'm

kind of known for when I went to my 25th.

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College reunion at Georgetown University.

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People asked if I was still dancing

and I came back to Connecticut

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and said, why am I not dancing?

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And that's when I discovered

ballroom at age 45.

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So I've been doing

ballroom now for 22 years.

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Speaker: At age 45, you started

ballroom dancing and it is gorgeous.

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I've watched the videos of you it.

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This isn't your regular.

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You know, I'm at a

wedding doing the stands.

75

Yeah, no,

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Speaker 2: it's amazing.

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Yeah, it's, it's a sport.

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I mean, we call it dance sport.

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And the interesting thing is, over

those 22 years I've had, so I'm the

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amateur, or as my newest professional,

uh, calls me the professional student.

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So I take it professionally,

but I'm the student.

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I compete with a professional.

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I've just, uh, moved my fifth

partner over the 22 years and every

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person brings a whole new level.

85

I'm.

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Always learning new things.

87

Last year I broke my foot and it was

three weeks before the Miss Senior

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America Pageant, which is based on the

Miss America system for women over 60.

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And you know, for a week I cleaned

out my contact list, cleaned every

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drawer, and then I thought, what can

I do that I've always wanted to do?

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And that led me to a journey of acting.

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Improvisational acting.

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So at 66 years old, I took up acting

and my coach is also a very well-known

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musical theater choreographer and beyond.

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And so I've started doing

musical theater dancing.

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So I'm just here to say the

a, the number doesn't matter.

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It matters, your mindset and

your willingness to be okay.

98

Starting out.

99

Not so great.

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I was a terrible actor in the

beginning and improv, you know,

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it's like falling off a cliff.

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Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

103

Speaker 2: But I just kept at it.

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Didn't think too hard, tried not

to judge myself and um, you know,

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a year later I'm that much better.

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Speaker: That is so awesome and

it, I can't help but my dad,

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my parents are doing amazing.

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My dad is 84.

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He plays tennis three days a week.

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I'm going to play tennis

with him this afternoon.

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He still beats me.

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Wow.

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And yeah, he's so cute.

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He did his first play last year and

he was Dracula in Dracula, just a

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little local theater, but it's so cute,

Robin, because, and then he did another

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one this year, but he only does, um,

the plays that are of a radio show.

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Because he is like, I'm not gonna be

memorizing all that stuff right now.

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Oh, alright.

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Right.

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So he has it, but it's

so cute and it's awesome.

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And doesn't it just teach us, like

when you were talking, I mean we

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talk about longevity, but let's

talk about let's feel good as we

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age and you gotta make some choices.

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Right.

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And even myself.

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You know, I know, um, like the past

week my back kinda started aching

127

and I like to move and I'm a grandma

and I'm lifting those babies.

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Yeah.

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Oh yeah.

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I like my workout classes.

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I like to lift, I like to run a little

bit, but my back was kinda sore and.

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What I noticed was I had always kind

of been gluten free and then I had

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some genetic work done and they're

like, yeah, you probably don't

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really have an issue with gluten.

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So I started eating a

little sourdough bread.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker: And then I had been doing

like some intermittent fasting, not

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hardcore white zucko fasting like

I used to do, which wasn't smart.

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Just a little bit.

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I kind of like let that lean.

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I'd have some snacks and I still

eating healthy, but lo and behold.

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I made the decision a couple days

ago and I said, what am I doing?

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So I did a tick of a fast.

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I cut out the the carbs a little bit more.

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I didn't cut out the gluten,

and you wanna know what?

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My back feels better today.

147

Speaker 2: So I think you are talking

about two, um, th themes that are

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very important as we're getting older.

149

You know, one is being very aware

and tuned into your body mm-hmm.

150

Which obviously you were, and not

waiting for things to get to a disaster.

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In high school, I am mortified to say that

even as a dancer, then my lunch consisted

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of two packages of processed chocolate

chip cookies and a vanilla milkshake.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I could

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Speaker 2: get away with it because

I was 16 years old, but today we

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know that the minute we're having

something that is not right for

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our system, we're going to feel it.

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So number one, I think you're

talking about dialing into not

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feeling well and then taking

action versus letting it fester.

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Some you can figure out on your own.

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Some, you've gotta just

find the right professional.

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Speaker: Exactly.

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And it is, it is kind of a decision

because I, I was thinking about

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it because I could sit here and

kind of feel sorry for myself.

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Like, well, I deserve to have that,

you know, I deserve to have a popcorn

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before I go to bed or whatever.

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It's, well, okay, it's

not really about that.

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It's, do you want to feel really good?

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And do the fun things

that you like to do or.

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Do you want that instant?

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Oh, this tastes so good.

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Gratification.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And the other piece of that I really

believe is the whole habit thing.

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It is shocking to me at how quickly

we can get ourselves into habits

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and particularly around food.

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Right?

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It's very funny how

you just get into that.

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I'm gonna have that piece of

chocolate before bed, or I'm going

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to have this blah, blah, blah.

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And how we can then have

to say, you know what?

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I'm gonna do what I call micro habits.

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I'm gonna start with baby little steps.

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Mm-hmm.

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And work my way back to

something that I feel good about.

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So I, I think that's a really important

theme that you've also just talked about.

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Okay.

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I got myself in a little bit of

a bad habit, so now I gotta walk

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myself back to a different place.

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Speaker: Well, and it's interesting.

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I was in such a great habit Yeah.

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And feeling so good, and then

something kind of snuck in and

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changed that habit for a little while.

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So interesting.

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But yeah, just staying in tune with your

body and knowing what do I really want?

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Yes.

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I, I wanna feel good.

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I wanna feel good way more than

I wanna eat popcorn at night.

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Yeah.

200

And then, you know, the other piece

too, and I don't know if you've

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found this Robin, that I've found is.

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I think I used to be so hard on

myself, and you're a competitive

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competitor, so I wanna hear about that.

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I was a marathon runner and I mean,

I just did it to finish it right.

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Maybe got under four hours once, not

like, but still it was a big piece of me.

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But I, I white knuckled it through so

much of my life through law school,

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through parenting, through Right.

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You know, how I ate.

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I mean, it was like, and there was no joy.

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Yes.

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And what I'm starting to learn is.

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We gotta have that joy

to be really healthy.

213

And I'm, do you find that with your

dancing, that it brings you joy?

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Or is it a, just a whole bunch of work?

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Speaker 2: So let's go to really the

word joy, because the word joy to

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me is there's almost no bigger word

except for kindness and love, perhaps.

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Mm-hmm.

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Because for me, everything

emanates and it's been like

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this really mo most of my life.

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Around, why am I even here?

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What is the meaning of my life?

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Why was I made this way?

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And most world religions believe that

we're made in the image and likeness

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of something bigger than ourselves,

and I wholeheartedly believe that.

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So for me, everything I try to do comes

down to two words, pleasing God, and

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that's what my whole purpose is about.

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Everything else that is around that hub.

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Physically feeling well.

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Mm-hmm.

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Having good relationships

emotionally and mentally.

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Just, you know, getting out of

my own way, having healthy sleep

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ha habits is all to feed around.

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I was made the way I was made.

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I happen to be made with a love for

dance and I love to bring, have people

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feel something when I dance for them.

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And I do have to keep myself fit

both physically and in my head clear.

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Um, but it all really goes

back to why are we here?

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Mm-hmm.

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Why are we doing what we're doing?

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And that can infect in,

infect everything right.

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That you like and you talk

about, I white knuckled it.

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I white knuckled a lot

of things in my life too.

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But now I think I'm asking the

question that a lot of us ask

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as we get older and it's, are

people gonna remember what I said?

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Are they gonna remember what I did?

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Are they going to remember

how I made them feel?

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Speaker: Amen.

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That isn't that.

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Who said that?

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Oh,

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Speaker 2: whoever said it.

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I really, I mean, and I'm

sure many people said it.

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Yeah.

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And we all remember it

because it's so true.

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You know, one of my practices, because I

am a spiritual director, uh, which means

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I walk alongside of people who want to

get closer to God in a personal way.

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One of my practices from um,

a saint called Saint Ignatius

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Loyola is at the end of the day

doing what's called the examine.

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Where you start remembering

three graces of your day.

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I know a lot of people do

what they're grateful for.

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Mm-hmm.

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I try to see three things that

were unexpected that I know came

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from something bigger than myself.

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Oh, I love that.

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It is, and, and about a week

and a half ago I was talking to.

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A long time friend, and we talked about,

she used to keep a god wink journal,

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a journal where she just quickly wrote

down every time she saw something that

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shouldn't have happened that happened,

that she knew God was behind it.

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And I said, wow, if I did that with

my three graces, think about it.

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I would have, um, over

a thousand every year.

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And so I started writing them down.

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And it's funny, just in a week and a half.

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It's way more than three because

now it's so fun that I keep

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the notebook with me and I just

write it down as it's happening.

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Uh, but after you do that, you roll the

tape of the day, starting from when you

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got up and you kind of see where you

were in the flow with God or whatever

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you call the divine, and then where

you could have done a little better

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Speaker 3: mm-hmm.

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Where

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Speaker 2: something happened.

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And I'm now wondering, oh, let

me look at that more closely.

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How did I make them feel?

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Did I handle that the best way?

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So that practice every day, you know,

really works on you because it brings

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to mind where you're in sync with that

bigger purpose and where you can do

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better, which somehow the next day.

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It's like many things in life,

you don't know how you've

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changed, but all of a sudden your

heart feels a little different.

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Speaker: Yeah.

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I love that I that I'm gonna start

doing that because truly I think my

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life changed when I surrendered and just

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Speaker 3: Yeah, surrendered to

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Speaker: God and just knew

that my life here is a gift.

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Yes.

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I'm only here because of him.

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Yes.

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And I think Robin, part of my journey was.

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I was such a high achiever, people pleaser

that I didn't even know who I really was.

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Yeah.

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And I wasn't, I wasn't

loving who God made me to be.

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I was judging it and working against it.

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And, um, so this like at age,

you know, 56, 57, I started

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going, whoa, wait a minute.

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Who?

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Who am I really?

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And it's so fun because I'm like, I

think I'm a little more carefree and fun.

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Yes.

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But I just never thought I could

be because I had to fit this mold.

309

And my family, it's been so funny.

310

I've been married for 34 years and so

my husband has seen a lot of changes.

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Yeah.

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And he's been doing great with it.

313

I'm sure it's a little painful sometimes,

but I was in the kitchen, I was talking

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to my daughters and I'm like, yeah.

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I'm like, I, I think I'm carefree.

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And they're like, you.

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Yeah, mom.

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'cause when I think of

mom, I think carefree.

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But I think I really am

Robin, and I think I fun.

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I think I fun.

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Like, I think I really, there's a

lot of things that I'm just like,

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oh, you know, but I had to be this.

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Perceived a certain way.

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So

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Speaker 2: it's, you

know, you love this term.

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So my improv coach, I, I love him so much.

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I've only known him for a year, but

I feel like I've known him forever.

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He, um, he calls it the pizza Robin,

when he sees the piece of me that is

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not the corporate me that was trained

to be and was not the me that was used

330

to running businesses and, you know,

uh, heading up organizations, but just.

331

As you're calling it, the

carefree, true, authentic you that

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you're allowing yourself to be.

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And I think you used a word that

really trips all of us up all the time.

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And that word is judgment, you know?

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And we judge, we start

by judging ourselves.

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And if we're used to judging, then

what we, we don't know any better.

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So we're just judging everything around

us, whether it's important or not.

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And I've spent a long time

this year really sort of.

339

Thinking about how can I be less

judging and does it really matter?

340

Like what, what, what's

the point of judging?

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I think you're right.

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When you get rid of this judging mindset,

all of a sudden you're free to just be

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a little silly to see the funniness.

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I'd say so much.

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Now, who cares?

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Yeah.

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'cause really there's very little

in life that really matters.

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Speaker: Exactly.

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And Robin, it's so interesting

because I'm not, I, I call myself

350

a recovering attorney and I'm not

doing a lot, I was doing divorces

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for a long time and I decided to do

one for an older couple because it

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was someone that I, you know, they.

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Found me from someone I had

worked with in the past.

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Yeah.

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I'm like, okay, I'll do one more.

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I keep saying one more and then someone

sneaks in, but I'm working on it.

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But it, it's so interesting because,

because I've shifted and changed,

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so I met with them and I was me.

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I, and I went in there and there was like

elevation music playing in my car and I

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was pumped and I was praying, God use me.

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And I went and I sat down and

I, I am good at what I do.

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You know, I, I can do this and I do help.

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I do love to help people.

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I help them work together.

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So I'm there with husband and wife

doing the divorce mediation, and

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husband was so taken aback, I think.

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Because he expected

complete, serious, dialed in.

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And I'm like, that's not me.

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Yeah.

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Anymore.

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And I kind of don't care.

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I mean, but you wanna know what I'm lying.

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I did kind of care and I

had to work through it.

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'cause I felt, um, kind of

icky and uncomfortable right

375

after I left that meeting.

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And I had to really think on that.

377

And I was like, oh, that's

because yes, I was feeling.

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Him, you know, like I wasn't trying

to fit into his mold, but I could

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get sucked back into that real fast.

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Yeah,

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Speaker 2: yeah.

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And you know, so I'm in real estate

and the same thing where you have

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to read the room very quickly.

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And as we get older, you

know, our lives are changing.

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We're not in our normal work environment

where we knew all the players quite well.

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We're not operating in the family

system where everyone was under our

387

roof and we knew where everybody fit.

388

Mm-hmm.

389

A lot of times we're in new situations

and reading the room quickly

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and listening to what people are

saying and how they're saying it.

391

Is a real skill.

392

I'm always shocked at how little

people listen and how quick they are

393

to just start to hear what you're

gonna say, and then they shift

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into what they're gonna say back.

395

And you see in improvisational

acting where you're, there's

396

no script, you're on the spot.

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You can't do that.

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If you're not micro listening,

you don't know what was just said.

399

So you have no idea how

you're going to respond.

400

Right.

401

And it's like that in life.

402

I think, you know, being a really good,

true listener, active listener is.

403

Is always important and even more

important as we're getting older.

404

Speaker: Amen, Robin.

405

And it's funny because I've noticed

that about my podcast because I get so

406

excited when, and I wanna like say, like

when I hear somebody saying something

407

that, oh, I gotta a point to make about

that, oh my gosh, I have to just zip.

408

Speaker 3: Yeah.

409

' Speaker: cause I'm like, I am here because

I wanna learn everything I can from this

410

person and I wanna have a conversation.

411

Yes.

412

But I am learning that as well to

listen more and that I don't have to

413

jump in and say something right away.

414

Sometimes

415

Speaker 2: that's hard for me.

416

Yeah, it's hard for everybody.

417

Is it?

418

I thought maybe it just me.

419

I think anyone who's who is clever

and creative and you know, just as.

420

Lived a lot.

421

There's a lot that's going

on that you want to share.

422

Speaker: Yeah.

423

Yeah.

424

You get excited.

425

You want other people to feel good.

426

Okay, so I wanna talk a

little bit more about.

427

Fitness.

428

Yes.

429

Um, I'm gonna tell you a

story that really bothered me.

430

So my 81-year-old mom

431

Speaker 2: mm-hmm.

432

Speaker: Walks four miles a day.

433

Wow.

434

I know.

435

She's awesome.

436

She's, um, healthy and fit and we were in

the car driving to her little osteostrong

437

session to build that bone density.

438

And, um, she told me that

she met with her doctor.

439

Her doctor said, how much are you walking?

440

And she said, four miles.

441

And the doctor said, that's too much.

442

Wow.

443

And I said, mom, that's bull.

444

And my mom is of the age Where

you listened to the doctor?

445

Yes.

446

And I was like, no, mom.

447

There wasn't anything.

448

Nothing was hurting.

449

There were no complaints.

450

Everything was good.

451

And the doctor said, that's too much.

452

Oh, is that too much?

453

Because she's 81.

454

Right.

455

So then I

456

Speaker 2: started,

it's the age being made.

457

Yeah.

458

Speaker: So then I started rethinking

Robin, like everyone was to, I love to

459

run and I haven't really run that much

because everyone tells me it's not good

460

for me, and sometimes my knee will get

hurt, but I started thinking I can run

461

a little bit as long as I'm doing the

other things, the weightlifting, and maybe

462

not having it be my whole everything.

463

Why couldn't I run?

464

Speaker 2: And obviously there are

examples of people, like there's

465

a woman who's in her nineties,

many women who still dance.

466

There's marathon runners.

467

I mean, there's lots of examples.

468

What I would say is, look, you

do have to listen to your body.

469

I'm a big believer in having

yourself assessed, you know,

470

getting information about your body.

471

I recently had an MRI of my back

because I did have things going on.

472

I had sciatica for six months, so.

473

I think you do want information

if things just don't feel perfect.

474

So you know what?

475

Not to aggravate you find people

who can help you strengthen.

476

But to me, I, I, you know, I think

you, you can do what feels good, but

477

you always have to be smart about it.

478

As we get older, like we

have to stretch before I do.

479

I mean, I, I see it as four buckets.

480

Like over 45, we have the, um, you

know, the flexibility, the limber,

481

all that, the stretching bucket.

482

Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

483

Speaker 2: Then we have the strength,

strength bucket, which obviously is women

484

is more important because once you're

hitting perimenopause and menopause,

485

you are losing your bone density.

486

I went from osteopenia.

487

And I brought myself back to a

normal level, not through drugs,

488

but through weight training with

a trainer, um, and all that.

489

Then there's agility, which I think people

don't think about, and agility is the

490

ability to, you know, we don't, we're

not cha having a tiger chase us anymore.

491

We're not out in cavemans, but the

ability to react and even if it's just.

492

Crossing one foot over the

other and doing little drills.

493

Just the ability to move quickly is

still a very good skill to have, right?

494

Mm-hmm.

495

So I think all, all of that is important

and you find it in different ways.

496

You find it, you know, in

different types of classes.

497

Speaker 3: Yeah.

498

And

499

Speaker 2: I always say like, I

don't, my dance is not my exercise.

500

My dance is my.

501

Challenge and my joy and my fun,

but I go to things that will

502

support all those other areas.

503

The fourth being cardio.

504

So I do, you know, the Peloton,

I'm not out there cranking

505

out a 45 minute class anymore.

506

I'm doing a 10 minute class.

507

Just some cardio for my

heart health, which, mm-hmm.

508

You know, for women it's really

important, keeping our heart healthy.

509

I do bar class because that

gives me all my strength work

510

and my flexibility in stretching.

511

I do yoga.

512

Yoga is meditative.

513

It's a, so I think finding the things that

you enjoy that fit your schedule, it won't

514

make it a chore and it will keep you.

515

As healthy as you can be in

your body so you feel good.

516

So you can go out and

chase the grandchildren.

517

Right.

518

Can't do anything.

519

I was at the airport this morning at 5:00

AM I had already worked out and I am kind

520

of a morning person, but I did look around

and it's, you know, Florida, so there

521

was mostly older people at the airport.

522

I'm like, why does no one

have that joy of life?

523

Why do people want very

ugh, like, come on, people.

524

Just a little bit at a time.

525

You know, you don't all have to be

competitive, anything but 20 minutes

526

a day, start out 10 minutes a day,

work your way up in things you love.

527

I love that your mom's walking.

528

She's out in nature.

529

She's out in fresh air.

530

I mean, what's better?

531

Speaker: Right?

532

Right.

533

Okay.

534

Now I wanna hear a little

bit more about what you do.

535

Speaker 2: So, um, I know some people

have a very regimented plan every day.

536

I do work out every day, and part

of it is because I just have that

537

kind of, I need to get it out of me.

538

So I just make sure at least three

times a week I'm doing yoga, some

539

sort of yoga, some kind of a class.

540

At least two days a week

I'm doing a bar class.

541

I'm layering in a trainer and

then two days I'm on my own.

542

That's all my cross training.

543

So I get those four areas and then

I'm dancing three to four days a week.

544

And how many hours are you putting in?

545

So I mean, it's, I, I am a little unusual.

546

I, you know, I used to say you

need an hour a day of something.

547

I, I really do find.

548

All the research I'm looking

at, 30 minutes a day is enough.

549

I personally am working out at

least an hour and then another

550

two and a half dancing, and then

I could add something in or not.

551

But that's just because my work

world is getting lighter, so I

552

have more time and I enjoy it.

553

Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

554

You

555

Speaker 2: know, if you're not enjoying

what you're doing, then you're not

556

gonna wanna spend a lot of time at it.

557

I, I

558

Speaker: mean, that's

a, that's a lot, Robin.

559

That's a lot of time.

560

Speaker 2: Is that like three,

three and a half hours a day?

561

Well, it's a little bit selfish and

it takes me, no, but it's the time

562

to get to the dance teacher now.

563

But you know, I'm on a train, I'm working.

564

I'm trying to be efficient.

565

Um, you know, I'm engaged

with people in classes, right?

566

Yeah.

567

Um, I just had a new assessment.

568

I'm trying a couple of new things that

are really looking at functionally,

569

like how my spine, my spine has

a lot of, you know, damage to it.

570

How we can work functionally realign

things, re-pattern things in your body.

571

But I would say to the average person

who's not a competitive athlete.

572

Find what you love and make

sure you hit those four areas.

573

Yeah.

574

Every single one of us

needs the four areas.

575

Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

576

Speaker: I love those four buckets.

577

Flexibility, strength, agility, cardio.

578

Yeah.

579

Got it.

580

I got, okay.

581

Now I know we're like getting

close to running outta time.

582

Tell me about your diet.

583

Your skin is gorgeous.

584

You thank look

585

Speaker 2: amazing.

586

Well, thank you.

587

Um, well, and, and you know,

genetics plays a part of it.

588

I have tried a lot of diets

once I got past my two chocolate

589

chip co cookie packages.

590

Yeah.

591

Once I hit my twenties and I was an

athlete, I, you know, I had a friend

592

who took me through keto, took me

through plant-based, took me through,

593

you know, intermittent fasting.

594

I've gone through a lot of them, but

I kind of come back to my Italian

595

mother and just the Mediterranean.

596

Not, I don't go do well with big meals,

so three small meals, snacks in between.

597

I do not eat refined sugar unless

I'm out somewhere and I just cannot

598

say no to some great looking dessert.

599

Um, I'm fine with coconut sugar or

monk fruit or something like that.

600

Mm-hmm.

601

You know, I'm not a hard

and fast like no, never.

602

I don't wanna be that annoying person,

but basically not white things.

603

Lots of, lots of vegetables.

604

Good proteins, buffalo, bison, um, elk,

you know, anything that's grass fed fish.

605

Although I did have mercury, uh,

mercury, high level of mercury

606

last year and had to go through a

year of getting it outta my system.

607

So I'm very conscious that we

should only be having wild fish.

608

Yes, you know, eggs, but you

have to be careful that you

609

don't have too much cholesterol.

610

So that sort of thing.

611

I used to have, you know, my, my light

margarita with a half a shot of tequila,

612

but nobody's drinking in my family.

613

So I decided why do I need to either,

that's that whole micro habit thing.

614

Speaker 3: Mm-hmm.

615

Speaker 2: And you know, honestly, I don't

love water, but I'm okay with sparkling

616

water and uh, you know, and all you don't

617

Speaker: love water and you're an athlete.

618

Down the water.

619

Speaker 2: Yeah.

620

I gotta be truthful about that.

621

But if you put sparkling water in

front of me, I'm, I'm good with that.

622

Speaker: Good,

623

Speaker 2: good.

624

Yeah.

625

So when

626

Speaker: you

627

Speaker 2: work out, do

you drink sparkling water?

628

Sometimes, yes.

629

I mean, believe it or not, one of my

yoga classes offers sparkling or stuff.

630

That's just crazy to me.

631

Yeah.

632

But no, I do keep water with me

when I'm working out and when I'm

633

dancing, just regular old, you know,

634

Speaker: water, of course.

635

And are you big in supplements?

636

Do you do a lot of supplements?

637

Speaker 2: Yes.

638

I have a functional medicine

doctor and I probably have 12 to

639

13 supplements in the morning.

640

12 in the evening.

641

I mean, it's based on a lot of blood work.

642

Yep.

643

And you know, I did try, I mean,

we did try to back them down and I

644

always measure how I feel and there

are things, some things are just so,

645

you know, Omega-3 fatty acids, I think

everybody would believe in those.

646

I have to have a couple of

hormone replacements because

647

I've been in menopause since 31.

648

So, I mean some things are 31 for

no good reason, rhyme or reason,

649

and that's a whole nother story.

650

'cause we do have two fabulous children.

651

But, uh, it was pretty much a miracle.

652

Wow.

653

At least at the University of Chicago

studies that it was one in 8 million.

654

But that's a whole separate story.

655

But yeah, I do do supplements.

656

They're based on blood work.

657

Mm-hmm.

658

Um, and you know, some of them

are for athletic performance.

659

Speaker: Sure, sure.

660

And I, I've got the same thing.

661

I actually did genetic testing and I have

a functional assessment doctor, and so

662

she tells me what I need and then I just

try to get really high quality, right?

663

Because we don't really know

what's in a lot of them either.

664

You know, my husband will hear

something on, on the TikTok and go buy

665

it at Walmart, and I'm like, honey.

666

Are you sure?

667

Speaker 2: Are you sure know.

668

You know, I wanna say one more thing for

your, for your listeners about nutrition.

669

Like, don't make yourself nuts,

but buy the best quality you

670

can buy and you know what's not.

671

Right.

672

So if you have a sweet tooth,

try to make better decisions

673

if chocolate you love, right?

674

Yeah.

675

And if you love pasta, like go try

to find the best brands that are

676

made outta chickpea or something.

677

That's right.

678

Speaker: Amen.

679

Amen.

680

So that you can still find the joy.

681

Yeah.

682

And, and enjoy.

683

Enjoy.

684

But you know, good food.

685

Tastes good.

686

It does.

687

And so, and that, and that is one thing

too that I'm learning is I'm trying

688

to remember every time I sit down and

eat, I say, you know, thank you Lord.

689

And Bel, you know, thank you for

this food that blesses my body.

690

Yes.

691

'cause it is not my enemy.

692

It is there to support me and little dark

chocolate supports me once in a while too.

693

Oh yeah.

694

No, I'm big

695

Speaker 2: on that.

696

No, it's fuel for your body.

697

It's all fuel for your body.

698

Speaker: Yeah.

699

Amen.

700

Amen.

701

Well, Robin, I can't

believe how fast this went.

702

I'm like, I kind of wanna have you

back on to talk about your hormones.

703

We can do that.

704

Can we do that?

705

We can certainly do that.

706

Let's do that for sure.

707

So we'll chat later.

708

But Robin, thank you

so much for being here.

709

I truly enjoyed it and I'm so thankful,

so grateful that I got to meet you.

710

It'll be one of the things that

I'm grateful for tonight when

711

I lay my head on the phone.

712

Oh,

713

Speaker 2: I feel the same.

714

Thank you so much, and thank you

for everyone who's listening.

715

Speaker: Yeah, you take good care.

716

You too.

717

Bye-bye.

718

Bye-bye.