S1E2: Training My Eldest & Oldest Client (70+ for over a decade!) | Strong Bodies by Tish Podcast

Tish (00:00):

Welcome to strong bodies by the Tish podcast. I am so excited that I finally have this podcast and this platform to share my experiences with you 30 years of experience. I love to talk. I love to share my stories through this podcast. I hope you get inspired, motivated to live a happier, healthier life. Please enjoy this podcast is sponsored by strong bodies by Tish. You can find out more about my program on my website, train with tish.com, or you can check out the link below and try my seven days of training for free will. You'll get a better idea of my style, my concepts, and the way I love to train my clients. I hope that you're having a fantastic day. Thank you so much for once again, tuning into strong bodies by the Tish podcast. Today, I'm going to talk to you about a period of my training career that really made the biggest impact on the way I look at life and the way I approach training my clients.

Tish (01:15):

Again, I've been doing training for 30 years, so obviously that's some significant moments in my career that have really made a huge impact. And the one that I want to talk about today is you know, it actually didn't happen that long ago. It happened when I was in Calgary. Obviously, I only have lived in Columbia since November. It is only October Tish and I would say probably was about seven, maybe eight years ago. I was training Eva. And I'm going to give back to Eva at the end of this podcast. She is probably by far the most important client and probably one of the more important people that I ever met in my life so far. And I do want to talk about her and leave a good amount of time to maybe explain why she impacted my life so much, but there was a period of my time where I really for some crazy reason, started training the elderly and we're talking, you know, not 50, not 60, we're talking people in their seventies.

Tish (02:21):

I think what happens is if you take one type of client on and you do a good job and they're happy, they tell their friends, and then that sort of just grows. So in my case, I had a couple of elderly clients in their seventies and eighties that were doing incredibly well. And before you know it, I was training approximately 10 of them each week. I loved it. Neil would say to me, why are you training? So many old people. And there was a couple of reasons. One reason. Number one was that they were very consistent with their training. There wasn't a lot going on with them. All retired, children are not there. And so their training and the sessions that they had booked and scheduled with me were a priority and very important. So they were very consistent.

Tish (03:20):

We were regular. And so that is the key. A lot of times people get very busy. And the first thing that kind of goes to the side is training. But for some reason, the elderly people really love and embrace those sessions, probably because it's a little bit more lonely time of their life. And me showing up at their house is a nice little visit. And that's what I was doing at this time. I was a trainer at talisman center for gosh, 10, 11, 12 years. And then when I moved to Europe, I took a year off. Obviously, when I came back, I really realized that I wanted to get back into training. I had done a little bit of training in Switzerland and I had the bug I was ready to get back. It was actually probably the best thing that I could have done for my career have taken a year off and reevaluate where I was going with that career.

Tish (04:10):

And I, although I love the Thompson center now, Repsol center I knew that I needed a change. I knew that I needed to figure out how to make more money. You know, when you're using a facility like a talisman center, they take a lot of your hourly income. Obviously, it's a beautiful space. It's fantastic. So when I came back, I really wanted to get back into training, but I wanted to see if I could work less, make a little more money don't we all? So I thought about the mobile business because obviously overhead is next to nothing. And I was, well into my career then. So I was very comfortable with being creative with very little equipment. It didn't, my philosophy is on using the big pieces of equipment were, you know, not that important anyway.

Tish (05:02):

So being creative and using minimal equipment was something that I was encouraging my clients to do. Anyways. It's more functional the body using the body whenever you can, is always better. So I knew that I could easily train people in small spaces with very little equipment. The only thing is I needed to convince people that I could help them in their homes. And that's how the second half of my career was really a mobile business. I did do the last few years in another private studio, but for the second decade of my training, I drove around, and trained clients in their homes. And I just picked a small space in the city. I wasn't driving all over. And it did take time. It didn't take some time. Basically. I just reached out to all of the clients that I had trained prior to leaving to go to Switzerland said, Hey, this is my new gig.

Tish (05:59):

I'm back. I want to see if you'd be back or interested in my training. You, give me a couple of free sessions to show you what I can do. Most of them said I have no space. I have no equipment. I told them not to worry about that. I had that covered, which I did. So I would basically show them, people show up at people's homes and bring my ball, bring me, sometimes I'd even log my Bosu in there, which was very cumbersome, couple of bands. And the rest was just being very creative. And before you knew it, I was training four or five people a day, got super, super busy, very, quickly. And in the end, I probably wasn't working less, but certainly was my income was improving, which was great. The driving did get a little cumbersome at times with the traffic and the construction in the summer and the snow and the winter, but all in all, it was awesome.

Tish (06:55):

I got to see how people's, what people where people lived. I was in some beautiful homes. I mean, some of the most beautiful homes in Calgary, I had the opportunity to see some people actually did have fully equipped gyms, but back then, it wasn't as popular as it clearly is now, obviously. And so the period of me training the elderly a couple of years into my mobile business just picked up specifically for them. They're going to love that I just drive up, show up at their house, do their little training session. And before you know it we've done a really good workout with a nice stretch. They've had a nice visit. I feel great about me helping. I'm an opportunity to help them. And it was a fantastic time of year or time of my career. Sorry, I have hair on my face.

Tish (07:46):

I have to kind of get out of the advisors can drive me nuts. There we go. So before you knew it, I was training about 10, mostly women in their sixties, seventies, and some even in their eighties. And it was huge, it was very rewarding, but it was also probably one of the more challenging periods of my career, just because it was difficult sometimes watching what your life can be like if you haven't taken the right measures and picked and chose the right habits or choose the right habits in your thirties, forties, and fifties, I saw firsthand the differences. I had clients in their eighties that were still running, literally running stairs with me. And I am not exaggerating. I have two people in mind. And I remember thinking this is going to meet me when I'm 80.

Tish (08:45):

And then I had other clients even that were not even approaching 80 more in the seventies that were basically bedridden. And the direct difference or correlation between those who are living an incredibly active life versus the ones that were really struggling. We're talking. Some of them had walkers. Some of them had care people coming in to help them bathe etc, which was what they did in their forties, fifties, and sixties. And I tell it was a huge eye-opening experience for me because I saw how hard it was and how limiting and how dependent some of these people had become on people and family members. Of course, family members don't mind being there for their parents, I'm going to be for mine and Neil's parents. But there is a sense of pride that comes along with getting older and still being able to function and not just function, but actually live a rewarding, active, happy life.

Tish (09:55):

And that involves being able to move your body without pain. And of course, even the people who took care of themselves late or earlier on in their life had aches and pains at 70 80, you're going to definitely feel aches and pains, but the differences were astonishing so much so that I had a struggle. I was struggling. After a couple of years of training on these people, I would get in my car and almost feel a sense of depression. I just felt terrible for the way some of these people lived. And as much as I would try to, have them sit at the end of their bed and we'd give them, I'd give them their TheraBands and we do the rows and we do. And then of course I would pop them on the bed because there was no way we could put on put, go on the floor.

Tish (10:43):

There's no way they'd be able to get off the floor. And we'd just put them through a nice stretch. I was completely open. I said, it's unfortunate that we're starting this at now at 75, 80 years old, I'm going to help you the best I can. And I didn't want them to feel guilty about not making healthier choices, but obviously, it's too late for them, but I wanted to also make sure that they knew that I was not a miracle worker and that it really was more a session of just being someone being there for someone for that hour. And it kind of bothered me, I'm showing up in their homes. It's not exactly expensive, and it just felt like it wasn't worth the investment for them. And they were almost, I hate to say this too far gone, and that is, I've never actually sat there and thought about that, but really I think that was what was causing me the biggest anguish over training in these people's.

Tish (11:44):

I just felt like I wasn't going to be able to help them. And it just simply, wasn't fair for me to continue to show up and take their money. If I wanted to go there and be their friend. That's something that I obviously would do without charging them. So I actually took a very big step back after a few years of training them for that reason, but also just, I found it quite difficult to day in and day out, see how some of these people lived. And, it actually stressed me out to think that that was going to be the way my life might be. But then, of course, I trained a couple of others that were literally challenging me up the stairs. So I knew of course that I could make some better choices and continue to stay on the path that I was, and obviously help the possibility or the outcomes of me having a better life in my seventies and eighties.

Tish (12:41):

So that those few years of training 10, maybe 11 people in their seventies and eighties really changed my perspective. I really changed my outlook and approach on how I trained people. I spoke a little bit on a little bit on the first episode on how I transitioned and really changed the type of person that I would be open to training just through my experiences itself. And the biggest impact though, was, was training the elderly. I no longer wanted people who only cared about extrinsic results. I just could not, I just didn't have the patience for it anymore. And so I would basically listen to what they wanted, what their goals were. And if they said things like I want to be able to move my body with less pain and continue with the activities that I love when I get older, I would embrace to train them.

Tish (13:48):

And of course, we all want to look better. Even some of those 70-year-olds were still, wanting to look better. I mean, we all have a little bit of that in us. I'd like to believe anyway. But that type of client was literally the only type of client that I would train because those are the people that understand what clearly is going to happen. If you don't take care of yourself ASAP. So there's going to be some people on those podcasts that are listening or watching and are in their twenties and thirties, and probably maybe are active or are probably know they should be doing more. And they'll probably think, I cannot even begin to think that what, what I'm doing now is going to predict, or is going to be my outcome when I'm 70 or even 80.

Tish (14:36):

I know it's hard to believe, but believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, if some men might listen, it happens fast. It happens way faster than you realize. I still sit here today and cannot believe that I am 47 years old. When I tell my mom and remind her that she has a 47-year-old daughter, she's just like, how the heck did that happen? So it happens fast. And in your twenties and thirties, and often in your forties and fifties, I shouldn't generalize, but I tend to, but when we're younger, we do focus more on the extrinsic, the things that you see and we don't focus, and we don't realize how important or what's going on in the inside. And I have to say, I am so glad that I found fitness and wellness in my early twenties. I went to the gym when I was 20 because I liked the boys and I liked to see the boys.

Tish (15:37):

And I knew that if I went certain times of the day, there was a certain boy that would be there. And even if they didn't talk to me, that really was the only reason that I went. And plus of course, the energy of the people, the positivity, the humidity of the Repsol center and in the dry cold bitterness of, of Calgary, there were a few reasons, but really it was the boys if I'm completely honest and I was consistent because of that. And before you know it, I would look in the mirror and go. My body is kind of changing a little bit, but after a few years of being pretty consistent, I actually looked in the mirror and noticed that my body was changing. And so my focus was never about how I looked, believe it or not.

Tish (16:22):

My parents always had me in sports athletics and being healthy was just something that I just was brought up knowing. Of course, if we wanted junk food in the house, it was not allowed. It was never forbidden. It just was there if I wanted it. And I think that that's also important as a child. You, you don't want to deprive them. Otherwise, they become obsessive just like adults do. If they feel like they can't have something, they want it more, it's just human nature. So I lived a very healthy upbringing of, parents who were not were into fitness, but didn't focus too much on the exteriors. So I had a good mindset going into that whole gym experience. And then I just kept going because of the, you know, of course through the 30 years of my training, I've taken some time off.

Tish (17:19):

I've had surgeries busy, but consistency over the last three years has been something that I've been very, very good at. And I'm so glad, honestly, I'm so glad that I was because now at 47, and by the way, it's never too late, just because I started when I was in my twenties does not mean that if you're listening and you're in your forties, you can start and, and you still can make incredible improvements in your overall health. You can move your body better and you can become, you can deal with less pain. If you strengthen your body at any age, it's just a little harder. I'm not going to lie, but I am thankful and grateful now at my age, creeping up to 50 how did that happen? That I feel, and look, I literally feel like every year I'm getting younger.

Tish (18:10):

I do every year because they do know I'm getting older, pick it up a notch. You know, now I'm incorporating some cold ice-cold bath, bathe bathing. You know, I'm definitely taking my health and wellness to the next level each and every year. But as long as I continue to feel the way I do, I know I'm being rewarded for it. I'm going to continue to do that. But it is never too late. I want to make sure that I make that very, very clear to the people who are listening. Yeah, so that basically was a huge eye-opener for me. And when I saw, I'll tell this one more quick story, and then I'll get to Eva. I was going to my favorite lunch spot in Calgary a couple of years ago, and it is beside the gym or close to the gym that I worked out at.

Tish (19:03):

And I typically would do my workout. And then I would go down and have my lunch or walk to the place where I would have my lunch. And in the summer, sometimes I would be wearing a tank top or, you know, a top, which would show my arms. And of course, I have a little more muscle than the average person being as consistent and as old as I am and the women and the girls, I should say I never know what do I call them? Women or girls, girls sounds young. Women's sounds old. They were in, maybe they were in like their late thirties. And they were talking about my muscle and how inspiring it was. And they were, really quite impressed. And also I must've done an arm workout. So my body was full of blood and I was pumped up and I said, and I noticed both of them are carrying quite a lot of extra fat around their belly.

Tish (19:57):

Who cares if you have fat in your hips and thighs and your balm, that's not, what's going to give you the heart issues. So it was big, significant amounts of fat around that waste. And, that to me is a big concern at that young age. And I said, you ladies really need to get into the gym. It doesn't need to be a big commitment. I offered to help. They said, I said, and I did say you will regret not taking care of yourself now when you get old, like me and I was, I always say old like me, cause I surround myself with, with younger people. I don't know why probably because they keep me young. And probably because I'm so incredibly immature that I would never be able to hang out with some of my own age because they would think I'm an idiot.

Tish (20:42):

But I'm always joking around at how old I am because all my are typically quite a bit younger than me and they laughed and they just thought, they said to me, we have so much time. We're so young, don't worry about it. And I shook it off. It was, my time to not work, not preach. I was off duty at this time. So I thought, that's fine. I thought I would contribute a little bit, but I also don't want to be that trainer. That's always lecturing people. They're not quite ready to get into that mindset yet. So anyway went and ate my lunch and I thought to myself I was a bit sad. But you know I can't remind or I can't encourage everyone and it does have to come.

Tish (21:25):

Motivation has to come first from within. And what keeps you going obviously is the action. And through the actions, you get the results. And so, you know, motivation really, it does have to start with that person. So little, so stories like that. I think that that's if you are listening and you are young and you haven't quite figured out what wellness and what health means and what that looks like for you, take some time, hire someone to kind of get you started. It. Doesn't have to be a huge investment, but you do need someone to sit you down, discuss goals, make sure you set timelines, make sure they're very realistic. And then start just start. Even if it's a few times a week and I'm talking strength training for mostly women, we love the sweat. We love the spin.

Tish (22:19):

We love the the big boxing. We love all of that. And I love it too, but the strength training component of your routine needs to happen. And like I said, it doesn't have to be every day. I encourage three times a week for about 45 minutes. That's all my clients do. And that's all I do. So there's a huge room for all the activities that you love in a workout week. So I'm just going to quickly finish this podcast about how my philosophies changed and what impacted them. And I want to talk about Eva. Eva is now no longer with us. I lost, or we lost Eva a few years ago.

Tish (23:06):

Sorry. I told myself I wasn't going to get emotional. She was an incredible woman. She reached out to me at 69 years old, sorry, deep breath, Tish. And she needed a hip replacement. She had up, sorry, I need it. She had had polio as a child. I think she was the first living child in Northern Alberta that was diagnosed with polio. When she went to the hospital, she actually stayed in the hospital for over a year because they did not know what was wrong with her. She was then diagnosed with polio, spent over six months getting healthier. And she was a nurse. She was obviously completely got healthy. This was obviously before vaccines were around. And what happens with polio even though you live a normal adult life, it does come back and haunt you. And unfortunately, it did come back in a negative way.

Tish (24:24):

Physically for Eva, she lost most ability to use one leg. And mostly it was because of a hip injury that she had sustained. She had lived a very active life. She had skied, she had hiked, she was a full-time nurse. She walked to and from work, she worked out every single day. She did what she needed to do to enjoy her life. Because as a nurse, she had more information about polio and knew that if she had not taken care of herself, she would definitely be reaping more of the word I'm looking for? She would be in more, she would, she would be suffering more than if she didn't. And so she called me at 69 years. Old, says many years ago. So she reached out to me and her little cute little old voice and said to me, you train one of my friends.

Tish (25:24):

And she said that you could help me. I need a hip replacement. The surgeon that wants to do the surgery on my hip has told me that I'm not strong enough to go through the surgery and to hire a trainer that had some experience and had some education and see if they can strengthen that hip enough so that they can go ahead and actually, do the surgery. So I was very comfortable helping her. I knew what we needed to do. I agreed to go to her home and, and meet with her. And I brought my T-Rex. She lived in a tiny, tiny, tiny little apartment in downtown Calgary. I basically tied the TRX over her door. She was in her hallway and I stood in her bathroom and coached her through the workout. That literally was all. And we did the same workout three times a week for half an hour.

Tish (26:30):

Just because it was a very small spacecraft and she was 69. She had very little strength going on, but we were able to use the T-Rex as assistance rather than the exercises more difficult. And I also then met her at the pool and I gave her a couple of exercises that she needed to do in the pool on the off days that I wasn't there. So we got started six months of very consistent Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 30 minutes with you, with me. And then Tuesday, Thursday, she would get her body into the water and do the deep water workout. And we did that very consistently for six months. She, she acknowledged throughout the six months that her pain was already going away. She was not taking her pain meds as regularly. And I thought that was great. And then she went to the doctor, her surgeon to see if she was going to be able to get into the surgery.

Tish (27:30):

And she said to me, Tish, I don't even feel that hip like I used to. And clients sometimes say things or believe things. I'm not sure. I just didn't believe really what she was saying to be completely honest with you. But we had been pretty consistent. So she went into the surgeon's office and I told her when she was finished with her appointment to give me a call. And obviously, after six months, I was very interested and I cared and we just connected. Like we just absolutely connected. We laughed together. She gave me a ton of relationship advice. We talked a lot about sex. We talked like we just had the best time. She was just absolutely incredible. I actually offered to train her pro bono, but she insisted that she pay me, which frustrated me cause she was so stubborn, but she said she wanted to.

Tish (28:31):

So anyways I really literally would have trained her three times a week for the rest of my life for free. She filled my bucket so incredibly much and, I miss her. So anyway, six months later, she no longer needed that hip replacement. We literally had got her to the point where that hip had gained enough strength. The bone had increased in density significantly at 69 years old, six months, three times a week for 30 minutes at 69 years old. When she called me, I just, thought she was lying. I thought she was joking, but she wasn't. She never once after that appointment took another pain medication since the day, until the day she passed away. I literally would sometimes show up at her house and say, I have cramps. Do you have any Advil? She literally had nothing in her house in terms of pain meds, nothing.

Tish (29:40):

She was an incredible woman. I was so incredibly proud of her and it was the strength training that got her there. And that is why I feel so passionately about getting strong and making sure that you are doing what you can to make sure that your life, as you get older. I know if you're listening and your twenties and thirties, you're thinking I am way too young to be thinking about that. But I can tell you as a 47-year-old woman, I don't know. I have no idea how I got there. And I started when I was when I was in my twenties and I am so incredibly thankful that I did. And remember, I wasn't consistent for the last 30 years. There was lot of time that I needed to take time off. And I also just wanted to remind you that even if you are listening and you are a little bit older and you're just thinking about getting started, it is absolutely never, ever, ever too late.

Tish (30:34):

You absolutely can make changes. As long as you don't hire me at 80 and you're in a Walker, you can basically do pretty much anything as Eva has or was able to show me it was a huge learning experience for me. It gave me such incredible excitement to know that we could literally change someone's body at 69 through just a little bit of consistency and a little bit of strength training. It was absolutely incredible. I lost Eva a couple of a long time, actually. Gosh, it's probably been four years now. I still get that emotional over her. You know, when you meet people that leave, that kind of imprint on your, your soul and your heart, I think it always, when you sit and think about it, you always may maybe get emotional. She was my second grandma and she eventually died of cancer, but fought strongly and she did great.

Tish (31:36):

And she lived from 69 to 80 years old with that hip pain-free and literally did stairs with me up until she was about 79 and three-quarters. When cancer came, it came fast and she didn't have much in the fight left. So I actually think it's a blessing. Okay, well that is episode number two. I'm sorry that I got so emotional. I'm not that emotional of a person, but as I said, Eva touched me more than I think I realize at times I was so proud of her and she was just someone who really filled my bucket. So enjoy the rest of your day. Can't wait for the next episode until then enjoy your day or evening and we will see you very, very sick. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I hope that it leaves you feeling inspired and motivated and ultimately happier. Don't forget to check out my website, train with tish.com.

Tish (32:39):

Learn more about me and the services that I provide. I also train you for free. If you just check out the link underneath this podcast, look forward to the next episode until then live happily, be well and tell someone today that you love them.