“80 and out. ” Tanya has said that to me a few times recently.
Usually followed by a laugh. Then, “I mean it. If I’m no longer walking at 80, I choose to not participate.”
It’s become a running joke between us (albeit a morbid one…).
But underneath the humor is something she’s believed from the very beginning.
She isn’t training for beach season. She isn’t trying to fit into a certain size. She isn’t chasing a number on the scale.
She’s training because she wants to build a life where she can continue saying “yes.”
Yes to traveling. Yes to riding her bike with her friends. Yes to carrying her own luggage through airports.
Yes to living independently for as long as she possibly can.
And if you ask me…
I think she’s selling herself short. I’ve told her my goal for her is 100. Walking and living independently til 100 years old.
And THEN she can figure out her next steps in life.
Nearly five years ago, Tanya walked through our doors with a much simpler goal.
She wanted to become stronger for cycling. She loved riding and wanted to train for races and long cycling trips with friends..
She wanted strength that made those adventures even better.
Looking back now…
I don’t think either of us realized she was building something much bigger than stronger legs.
She was building a life.
Like many people in their 50s, Tanya didn’t arrive without a story. And during our 5 years of working together life has continued to show up.
A couple of achy joints. A demanding career that often had her on airplanes instead of at home. Long workdays. Conferences. Travel.
The passing of both of her parents.
Hormonal changes that came with this season of life.
You know…Like the real life stuff..
The kind of life that has a funny way of interrupting even the best intentions.
I’ve learned a lot from Tanya over these last 5 years. She has become a trusted friend and someone I deeply respect.
I wanted to share 5 things that I have learned working with Tanya.
Number 1: Be okay with boring.
That might sound strange coming from someone who owns a gym.
But it’s true.
The fitness industry loves novelty.
New workouts. New exercises. New challenges. “Muscle confusion.”
The next big thing.
Tanya has never really cared about any of that.
She simply wanted a plan she believed in. She wanted a plan that kept her healthy. She wanted a plan she could execute well over and over.
Some of our training cycles lasted longer than they probably should have.
Some exercises stuck around for months. We repeated movements.
Added five pounds. Added one rep. Practiced. Adjusted. Practiced some more.
And over time…
She became incredibly strong.
Progress rarely comes from constantly changing direction.
It comes from staying the course long enough for your body to learn, build, and adapt. And then you do it again.
Number 2: Health doesn’t have to be so serious.
If you’ve ever trained near her, you’ve probably heard us laughing (A lot).. Or making fun of each other (A lot)…
She’ll lose her balance trying something new.
She has nearly hit herself in the face with a medicine ball more than once (Rotational medicine ball throws still have a mind of their own.)
We laugh. Reset. Try again.
Then laugh some more.
And somewhere in between all that…
She gets a little better. Then a little better again.
I think sometimes we forget that training should actually be enjoyable. It doesn’t have to be miserable to be meaningful.
Number 3: Working out and brushing your teeth aren’t all that different.
The thing I admire most about Tanya has nothing to do with how much weight she lifts.
It’s how ordinary she’s made taking care of herself.
Working out has become like brushing her teeth.
Not because she wakes up excited to do it every day. Believe me, some days it is more like pulling teeth to get our training session going.
But because it’s simply become part of who she is. She shows up and puts in the work.
Most of us don’t brush our teeth because we’re motivated. We don’t end the day excited to pull out the toothpaste tube. We don’t negotiate with ourselves every night asking, ‘is tonight the night I start my brushing journey?”
We do it because we understand something simple.
The benefit isn’t in brushing once.
It’s in brushing today…And tomorrow…And the day after that.
One brushing doesn’t prevent cavities. Just like missing one brushing doesn’t ruin your teeth.
But it’s the habit that changes the outcome.
Training works exactly the same way.
One workout won’t make you strong. Just like one missed workout won’t make you weak.
It’s the hundreds of ordinary workouts, spread across years, that quietly transform your body. It’s the days you show up when you don’t really want to. It’s the days you show up because it’s just what you do.
I don’t know that Tanya would explain it this way.
But she’s lived it.
Number 4: Something over nothing is real.
Tanya still beats herself up sometimes.
“I only got two workouts in while I was traveling.”
“I didn’t get my walk in yesterday.”
“I never made it onto my Peloton this weekend.”
And every time, I find myself smiling because she’s completely missing the point.
She’s evaluating herself by one day. Or maybe one week.
But I’m evaluating her by five years.
That’s one of the greatest gifts a coach can offer. Not accountability, but perspective.
When you’re living inside the day-to-day, it’s easy to miss how far you’ve come. A coach has the privilege of zooming out, looking at the whole picture, and reminding you that one missed workout doesn’t erase hundreds of great ones.
That’s not who she is anymore.
She’s someone who comes back.
The conference ends…She comes back.
Vacation is over…She comes back.
Life settles down…She comes back.
Not with guilt. Not trying to punish herself. Not trying to “get back on track.”
Tanya doesn’t start back on Mondays anymore. She simply picks up where she left off.
I think that’s what consistency actually looks like.
Not perfection.
Continuation.
Number 5: Aging is real. Listen to your body but don’t stop, adjust.
Some days Tanya feels fantastic.
The weights move easily and she surprises herself.
Other days…
Stress is high. Sleep wasn’t great. Travel caught up with her.
Maybe the shoulder is talking a little louder. Maybe the knee wants a little more time to warm up.
So we take ten pounds off the bar. Maybe we adjust the exercise. Or do two sets instead of three. But ultimately, we chase “better” instead of “more.”
Because we know something incredibly important.
We’ll be back next week.
That simple belief changes everything.
Today, at 57 years old, Tanya can pick up more than 150 pounds.
She can bench press 30-pound dumbbells for ten repetitions.
She moves better. She’s more confident. She’s stronger.
But honestly…
Those aren’t the accomplishments I’m most proud of. They’re simply evidence of something much bigger.
She has built trust.
Trust that she can travel and come back.
Trust that a missed week isn’t failure.
Trust that her body is capable.
Trust that she’s investing in a future she actually looks forward to living.
People often ask us what’s the best “thing”.
The best program. The best exercise. The best supplement.
The truth is…There isn’t one.
My job has simply been to walk beside Tanya.
To adjust the plan when her shoulder needed it. To modify exercises when her knee needed a little more attention. To encourage her through difficult seasons. To celebrate victories she didn’t always recognize herself.
But Tanya deserves the credit.
She’s the one who kept showing up.
Again. And again. And again.
If you’re reading this in your late 40s…
Or your 50s…
Or beyond…
Maybe you’ve convinced yourself it’s too late.
Maybe work is demanding. Maybe your knees hurt.
Maybe you’ve started and stopped more times than you can count.
I’d encourage you to remember Tanya.
Not because she’s extraordinary. But because she’s proof that it can be done in any season.
Showing up. Practicing. Having good days and bad.
Laughing when you almost hit yourself with a medicine ball.
Taking ten pounds off the bar when your body needs it.
Getting on the next flight. Coming home.
But always picking up where you left off. Not starting over.
Almost every Monday, Tanya walks through our doors.
Sometimes after a great week. Sometimes after a hard one. Sometimes after vacation.
Sometimes after work travel. Sometimes after sleeping terribly.
Sometimes feeling incredibly strong. Sometimes not.
But she walks through the doors.
And maybe that’s what health really is.
Not perfection.
Not motivation.
Not setting personal records every week.
Just becoming the kind of person who keeps coming back.
After nearly five years of coaching Tanya, I realized her story isn’t about becoming stronger. Or cycling faster.
She’s built a life that gives her every opportunity to remain capable for decades to come.
80 years old? Please. She is just getting started.
