How Our Attitude toward Aging Impacts Physical and Mental Health with Malin Svensson

Welcome to the Living to 100 Club Podcast. Here's our host, Dr. Joseph Casciani.

Well, hello to all of our listeners joining us today on our podcast. You're listening to one of our Successful Aging episodes this month on the Living to 100 Club program, and I'm your host, Joe Casciani. On each program, our conversations educate and inspire, helping you get the best out of all the years we're given, regardless of what obstacles come our way. You can learn more about my club at my website. Be sure to take a look at my new training and activities manual, Better, Longer, and Happier: A Guide to Aging with Purpose and Positivity. This is a series of 12 modules in a card deck format developed for activities directors at senior living communities. Visit my website livingto100.club blh. Now on to our podcast. On this special episode of the Living to 100 Club program, we welcome Malin Svensson, the renowned celebrity trainer to the 50 and over crowd and founder of Nordic Body, with over 35 years of experience in the fitness industry and a mission to inspire healthy Fulfilling Lives, Malin shares her insights on how attitude shapes the aging process. From her pioneering work in Nordic walking to training Hollywood icons like Jane Fonda and Jamie Lee Curtis, Malin's approach is grounded in the belief that it's never too late to embrace a positive outlook on life. First, a little background. Originally from Sweden, Malin Svensson, the celebrity trainer to the 50 and over crowd, came to Los Angeles in 1989 with a master's degree in physical education and became certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine in 2000. Malin is the CEO and founder of Nordic Body, a walking and fitness club committed to inspiring the 50 and over crowd to live a fun, healthy, and fulfilling life. Malin's third published book, Wake Up Your Body and Mind After 50, launched on November 17th, 2020. Whether she works out fitness guru Jane Fonda or people that have never worked out a day in their lives, her mission is the same: to strengthen the body and mind to age with confidence. She brought Nordic walking to North America in 2002 and is one of the leading authorities in Nordic walking worldwide. Malin, welcome to our program today.

Thank you so much. I'm honored to be here.

Oh, you're very welcome. You're very welcome. Thanks for, thanks for being available. I look forward to our conversation. I always like to open by asking our guests to Tell us maybe the highlights that brought you to where you are today. You've covered a lot of ground, literally and figuratively, but what are the highlights that stand out that brought you to where you are today?

I think the highlight started in Sweden when I was 12 years old. My dad turned 50, and as a gift from one of his friends, he received a painting depicting life from birth to death. And at the top, you were 50 years old, but then on, you were— it was downhill. And as a 12-year-old, I was standing in front of that painting, just shaking my head like, mm-mm, that is not how I want to live my life. I want to live my life like an ascending staircase where each decade is a new chapter, a new adventure. And I think that the seed was planted already when I was 12 years old. Then I got into health and fitness because my mom was a physical ed teacher, my elder sister as well. And I was also competing at a very high level in the 800 and 1500. I was one of Sweden's top 5 female runners 100 years ago.

Wow.

And then I came over to San Diego as a private exchange student when I was 16. And fell in love with the weather. And I was thinking, wow, I can live like this all year round. No snow, no rain.

Of course you can.

Yeah, it took me 12 years to come back because I wanted to go back to Sweden, finish up high school, finish up university, etc. But when I did come back, I have since then stayed, and that's pretty much since 1989. And I started as a cleaning lady because I didn't have a green card or working permit. And I took care of houses in exchange for room and board because I wanted to do everything legally. And from then I got my green card. I started my business, my fitness business. And I think one of the highlights during that journey has been writing the books, especially the last one, which is my whole system, the whole Nuitic Body System, the Wake Up Your Body Mind After 50. And, and just being just, I just feel that there's a flow, there's just been a flow of events happening. And I'm just very grateful for everything. Of course, the day that Jane Fonda came up to me and asked if I had time to work her out, and I looked down in my phone to check the calendar and then looked up and laughed at her. And I said, of course, that was, of course, a highlight. And from then on, she has you know, become a friend and also a client, of course.

I'm glad you could fit that. I didn't want to bump your time with Jane Fonda because of your obligation to do this podcast.

Well, she agreed to me having this, so she— blessing. No, I'm just kidding.

No, a lot of highlights. And, um, it sounds like a lot of events that really contributed to your being the, you know, your focus on healthy aging and 55 and over especially. But let's talk just for a minute about Nordic, Nordic walking. How did you happen to introduce that? What is it and why did you introduce it to the US?

Every time I went back to Sweden, my brothers and I, my sisters as well, we would sit down and brainstorm. What can I bring over to America that will be very successful? And one of those discussions was one of my brothers who is a doctor who has started to do stavgang, which in English is Nordic walking. He would put his poles on his bike and he would bike out to a hilly area because in southern Sweden where I'm from, we don't have too many hills. It's pretty flat. And he would use those poles and just feel very invigorated and strong and just loved it. And my brother-in-law knew the company Excel, which was the very first company that made Nordic walking poles back in the '90s. And I was contacted by Excel to come over to the very first Nordic walking convention back in 2002 in August in Helsinki, Finland. Very fun to learn it, but they didn't have a how-to. I come from a teaching background, so when you learn something, you wanna turn around and teach it. So I actually became very much involved on an international level. I went back to, to America and started to introduce it here and there. First, my clients, they were guinea pigs, of course. And before I continue, you also asked what it is. So basically, If you know what cross-country skiing is, then take away the snow and take away the skis and you have Nordic walking. And if it still doesn't make sense to you, then take your right hand and make a fist and apply pressure to— like, if you're sitting down, place it on the table in front of you and lightly— don't hurt yourself— lightly push the fist into the table. Now take the other hand, your left hand, and place it around your abdominal area. And as you apply pressure down to the fist, the right fist into the table, and release it, there should be a little bit of activity in your abdominal muscles. If you don't feel, don't worry. Just bring the hand now to your chest on the same side of the fist. If you use your right fist, then put your left hand on your right chest. And again, apply a little bit of pressure down and release and see that those muscles are responding every time you apply pressure. And then we can wrap around to get the big lats and the triceps. So all those upper body muscles, they get involved if you do it correctly. That's why I teach both in person and online. I have a Nordic Walking program, 30-day Nordic Walking program. I just teach live once a year here in Playa Vista, but you can do the program online. And so if you learn how to do it correctly, you can actually feel how the upper body is working. Some people, they are just tapping the poles, which is better than nothing. But if you really wanna get the benefits out of how to use the poles correctly, you really wanna learn the technique. And there's 3 different techniques. Well, first of all, regular walking. You need to know how to walk. And then you put the poles in your hands and do basic Nordic walking, which burns up to 20% more calories than regular walking. And then when you get into fitness Nordic walking, then you can burn up to 46% more calories than regular walking. And then there's sports Nordic walking, which just, you know, 5 to 10% of my clientele might do because it involves plyometrics, jumping with the poles. But basic and fitness, those are the most— the main two techniques that we use. Well, regular walking as well. But so you can really feel the difference walking without poles and then walking with poles. And if you have a heart rate monitor on, especially if you go uphill, you can definitely see the difference in how much higher the heart rate will go if you walk with poles compared to not walking with poles because of what I was just explaining, that the whole upper body is involved. And if we have more muscles involved, the blood has to pump out more oxygen. So it's just based on science. The heart works harder and pushes out more blood, more oxygen, and the heart rate increases. Now, you may not feel that is more hard work, which is so great because your rated perceived exertion, which is your subjective feeling, how hard or easy it feels, might stay the same whether you use the poles or not. But again, if you have a heart rate monitor on, you can definitely feel the difference or see the difference. And most of the times, I would say 90% of the times, people, they always comment Oh, I can feel it in my arms. So it is something that is hard to explain why it's so beneficial, but once you try it out, you will feel the difference and you'll be sold. You never want to walk without poles again.

Yeah. So in a way, it can put more emphasis on your upper torso, your arms, your shoulders, your muscles. More than you get just from walking.

Oh, definitely.

Yeah.

You engage those muscles.

You get much more of that muscular exertion. Yes.

Yes. And actually, that's more— there's like muscular endurance and then there's muscular strength. So muscular endurance when you just walk on flat, but you can actually strengthen your upper body when you go uphill because it's just so much work with using your arms, with your upper body. So, yeah, it's— so it becomes a full body workout. You don't even have to leave your— get into your car and drive to a gym and work out. You can just step right outside the door and just do Nordic walking and get a full body workout because at the end of the poles is a paw. And that is what makes Nordic walking so versatile. When you, when you take the paw away, it's a spike tip that you can use on surfaces like sand, dirt, grass, ice in the winter. When you place the paw back, then you can walk on asphalt and hard surfaces. So that's why it's so versatile. You can do it all year round, any surfaces. It's a great sport for any age. Sometimes athletes, they use it as a cross-training tool off-season.

Yeah.

But most of the times, especially in Europe, it's kind of regarded as the, you know, old sports activity, you know, for older people. But when people see me, they think I'm training for the Olympics because I do the sport, the fitness Nordic walking. So it looks like I'm a cross-country skier, but again, without the snow or the skis. So all the target groups can be anywhere from somebody who needs help with balance to somebody who's obese and are not allowed to walk because of their joints are too, too, too much pressure on the joints. Well, the poles takes the, the pressure off.

Mm-hmm.

So it's like walking with 4 legs instead of 2, like we used to. And then pregnant women, the same thing. 4, 4, 4 legs. It will take the pressure off the lower back. And then, like I said, athletes can use it as a cross-training tool. And then, you know, anyone who is healthy and everything can do, do it to enhance their cardio fitness, of course.

There's a lot to that. There's a lot to that. And it's good to know you have that program, the instructional program on your website, which we'll get to in a little bit. Let's talk about aging. And I know you're Your programs are really more targeted for the 55 and over age group. So what do you think? Why does our attitude about getting older affect our physical functioning and our mental functioning? What is it about our attitude that spills over into how well we physically and mentally age? What's going on there? What's the link?

Well, I definitely think it's society, first of all, that looks at aging as something weak. And people want to stay young forever, especially here in Hollywood, Los Angeles. And I think that's one of the reasons I came here from Sweden to try and change that attitude of people and embrace aging at any age. But I also think, like, I went back to the painting my dad received when he was 50 depicting life from birth to, to death, where you're 50 at the top and from there it's downhill. Now, other people may not be affected by that, but I was at age 12 where I felt, hey, I don't want to live life like that. And that's what my passion is and my mission, to really encourage people to understand you're going to live so much longer. How are those more years going to look like? You want to have them to be quality so you can keep doing the things that you still enjoy doing. For that to happen, you need to put in a little bit more of effort in getting stronger in your muscles and bones and doing cardio to strengthen your heart to be able to do that at age 90, 100, and beyond. And some people, again, they turn 50, and it's a milestone that freaks some people out. They don't even want to say that they're 50. Because again, they will be regarded as they're old and not be of value anymore to themselves and to other people. And if we can start little by little to, to chip that away, to just enlighten people how wonderful aging can be and not have it as anti-aging but pro-aging. I was just having Mary Frischmann, who is the pioneer for pro-aging, the pro-aging movement, on my podcast, Age and Attitude. And that is so inspiring that somebody is saying, hey, let's not use anti-aging, let's use pro-aging. And I know that you're all for that as well, Dr. Joe.

Yes, yes. Yeah, that's such an important message, Malin. I agree. We used to think that You know, 50s, 60s meant that everything was going downhill and we'd become helpless and dependent and physically inactive. And that's changing. Like you say, that whole stereotype is going by the wayside, and we now see aging as a time of uplift and, you know, positivity and opening new doors and more opportunity. Yeah, yeah, that is so important. So, um, I know you've worked with some well-known personalities. You've told me in the past, like Jane Fonda, one of your regular clients, and Jamie Lee Curtis. So how does training celebrities compare to working with everyday individuals, and what lessons have you learned from, from them?

The same. People are people.

Yeah.

Sometimes people have, of course, somebody they really look up to, like a fan. They're a fan of Jane Fonda's, and of course I was starstruck maybe for 3 seconds when I first met her, but she's so down to earth that she brought me back to earth pretty quickly. And ever since then, I've never even thought twice about who she is when I work her out. Now, to be honest, if I watch something on television, some media, of course I have to pinch myself, like, wow, that's the person that I work out. But when I'm with them, whether it's Somebody who is not famous or famous, I work them out the same. It's the same program. Well, I customize it if there is any injuries, of course. I have a, a program that I copy online as well, so you can train with me online in groups as well. But it's basically the same program, and it's all focused on training you as an athlete. So you basically do all the warm-up and, uh, focus on flexibility, the coordination, the speed, the reaction, everything that we need both as an athlete but also as we're aging. And then we move into the strength training part, which is 9 exercises. We do them 3 sets, and everyone of course differ with whatever resistance they have. And then at the end there is some static stretching. But that is basically the structure. And so I take through anyone I train in person, famous or not.

Yeah.

And, uh, anyone online, basically the same program. Now what I have— you asked me what I've learned from the celebrities is that they are people just like us.

Yes.

Emotions and feelings. And they have good days, they have bad days, they can be happy, they can be sad.

Yeah.

But they all share this amazing appetite for life. And I am so grateful to be able to be around that energy, to always hear something new that they're working on, a new thought, a new project. And for example, Jane, she's 87 going on 88, and she is still working with such a drive for the climate. And she is so driven. And that is very inspiring. That can be inspiring with any person. But I'm— you asked me about this celebrity, so I'm just asking— I'm just answering specifically, you know, with her.

Yeah, so more, more of a role model. I, I think that's great. I love that, that statement that they, they share this amazing appetite for life. And, you know, they, they don't want to speak in generalities, but people who are famous leave their fame and leave their personality at the door and come in, and they're just, uh, just one of your clients, and they're focused on the same kind of things that anyone does.

Yeah.

And, and then serving as a role model for other people, I think That's beautiful. I mean, I've admired Jane Fonda for years. I just have followed her story and so many chapters she has, um, going way back to when she had her fitness studio on Robertson Avenue there in Robertson Boulevard in, in LA, even before that with Vietnam. So I, I've always admired her, and I have a lot of respect for you that, you know, you maintain a clientele like that. I think that's— thank you.

Yeah, somebody asked me in the beginning and I said, well, it's kind of like Dalai Lama asking somebody to, to be there, to be his spiritual teacher. It's like, how come you're— how come Jane Fonda needs a trainer? And I actually had her on my podcast. She was my first guest on podcast Age and Attitude. And we actually talked about that. So that's kind of fun. Because no, even though, you know, you probably recognize so many interviews by, by her, and she's answering pretty much the same because it's, you know, the same story. But I'm able to ask her other things that nobody has asked before. So it's kind of fun because we also have built a very personal relationship.

That's great. That's great. Yeah. So sometime I'll show you the picture when I met the Dalai Lama. I have a photograph when we met in Davos, Switzerland many years ago at a conference I was organizing. He was our keynote. I'll show you the picture sometime. Yeah.

Yeah.

Thanks for sharing that about Jane Fonda. Again, just remarkable. So, what are some of the myths people have about, you know, staying fit as you're getting older? What are some of the, you know, stereotypes that people still hold on to as they age?

Well, one thing was really funny when I went back home. Now, it's many years ago. To Sweden and we were at this— I think I was at a wedding. One of my nephews got married and somebody across me said, oh, are you still working out? And I was so speechless that I didn't know how to answer it. So my brother next to me said, yes, she is. And I was like, why wouldn't you continue working out? Is there like— like you stop when you're 30 years old that you don't need to work out anymore? For me, it's like I work out even more now than I did in my 30s because I've seen what happens if we don't. Because after age 25 and 30, your muscles will decline, your skeleton will decline. And it's not like we walk around feeling, how is my skeleton feeling today? Because we can't, not at least today, maybe in the future. So we have to follow science that if you strengthen your muscles your bones are going to get strengthened, plus eating protein, of course. But so one of the myths is, what, you still have to work out as you're aging? And then another myth is, oh, I'm just going to get injured. I'm hurting already now. I'm going to get even more injured. But that's unfortunately because probably people have been exposed to something that hasn't been correct for them. Like maybe they've gone to a program that was too fast and too— didn't really pay attention to the technique. And yeah, people can easily get injured. And so they shy away from, hey, I tried that, it didn't work, and I actually got injured. So my program at Nordic Body, we have mainly— there's 3 signature things. There's, we strengthen your muscles and bones. We reduce aches and pains and we prevent potential injuries. So those are our main 3 focus points when we work out somebody either one-on-one or in our online training. And then of course you have people not having the motivation, not that it's a myth, but people, they just don't feel like doing it. And that doesn't have to do with age. It's, kind of like a general that you're not motivated because society is just providing everything. I mean, you can make a living just sitting, sitting at home having a computer and you can have an online business and never leave home. You can order food and you don't have to get up. But the body was not made for that. Yeah, we were not made— if we were not made to move, we wouldn't have any joints. We would, you know, feel and look like a robot. But we have joints and they need to be moved to be oiled. We have to— we feel stiff if we don't. So I think also if people start— stop fixating on, oh, I need to get in shape, oh, I need to lose weight, just focus on moving your body and enjoy it and strengthen your body. So you can do all the things that you want to do now, today, for the rest of your life. And some people, they take it for granted. We take our body— I call it our machine, because if people think about more as machine that comes with instructions, if you follow the right instructions, you can actually have a functioning body till your last breath. And that's what we're all aiming for. But It means that you have to put effort in, and sometimes people, they don't want to put effort into working because again, they are complacent with the way things are, but they're not realizing if they're not working out to strengthen their body, they're not realizing how fast it declines. Like after age 60, We lose every year like 2% of muscle mass if we don't do anything. And that muscle mass is going to make less impact on the tendons and thus the bones that it attaches to and get weaker. So there's a, there's a, yeah, there's a whole vicious circle you can get into that can be preventable if we realize. And also it's about Honoring the body, being, seeing it as a privilege. Moving your body is a privilege. Just think about people that cannot move their bodies. Like if, if they could get a minute back in their life where they could do anything, do you think they would still keep sitting? No, they would stand up, they would run, they would jump, they would dance. So really start thinking about your body and how it can move if you're still fortunate to be able to move your body as a privilege.

Yeah. And a gift almost, right?

Yes, definitely.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can see that. So instead of tailoring or dropping off the exercise and fitness as we age, we really need more of it. So when somebody says, are you still working out? That's Of course I am. Of course I am. I'm working out more than ever, right? Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Now I, now I know how to answer it, but back then I was speechless. I was like, why wouldn't I work out? Why would I stop?

You were stunned. Sure. And I think it's also important what you mentioned about the fear of getting injured because that could, that could really interfere with somebody who's taking some, you know, extra steps to reach out and learn some new physical activity if they're afraid of being injured. I remember, you know, talking with people who, you know, have fallen. They're just very afraid of going to rehab and, you know, getting back on their feet. They don't want to fall again. So that fear of injury could really be an obstacle, but that's something we can get over, right? Yeah.

Yeah. No, definitely. And I know that you have a lot of programs with the mind that is very helpful. And if people think about, like I said, the skeleton, you know, if it breaks, it's hard to get it fixed, especially if you have osteoporosis. But there are things that you can prevent it from, from breaking. But unfortunately, a fall can be deadly. Not the fall itself, but that people do not recuperate. It's— you can probably look at, you know, friends, friends of families, maybe even your parents or grandparents, and you can see that there was one thing that happened that made that person just be set off in a decline, like a steep decline. So it's to prevent that, yeah, forever, from ever happening. And it can be done, definitely, at any age, of course.

And, and that's where the, um, our self-talk comes into play. How do we explain that event? What do we, what do we tell ourselves? How do we interpret or label it? That's going to color how well we recover from it. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, this is great information, Malin. Thanks for, thanks for being a part of all this. So tell us about your Adopt a Walk initiative. How did it start? And what impact has it had on the communities where it's being implemented?

Adopt a Walk is my heart. It is something that popped up in my mind many, many years ago. A seed was planted. And it was actually when I came here from Sweden to Los Angeles and everyone were in a car and I was like, why are people not out walking more? It's sunny. It is perfect weather almost all the time. And then I was in the fitness industry for many, many years. And I realized that why is it that we keep talking to the same people, but nothing is happening because the obesity rate increases as fast or as much as the gyms are opening up. What, what are we missing here? And I think, and still think, it is the community, that we don't have direct connection with the community. So I started to talk with the city of Santa Monica. I did a presentation for I think it was like 5 to 7 different divisions, and they loved my idea and they funded it. And we created this 1-mile loop in Santa Monica. It's called the Wilmont Loop, and we call it Wilmont because it's Wilshire, Montana. It's based on the name of the neighborhood association. And the 1-mile loop is very specific. I, I was very specific. It has to be exactly 1 mile. So I would walk around with a meter and measure it. So it was exact. And then every 0.1 mile, there is a distance marker. So you know how far you walked. And then there's inspirational quotes. And there are some natural places you can just lean against or sit down to rest if 1 mile is too far. So this is not for your 5K runners or marathon runners or 5K walkers. This is for people that feel 10,000 steps is too overwhelming. One mile as a goal, that can be doable. So the meeting, the place where we start has a big, not poster, what do we call it? Like a sign, a big sign.

Okay.

As the Wilmot Walk Loop, it has information about how City of Santa Monica and Adopt-A-Bar partnered and a map of the loop, etc., etc. That is a— that has become a natural meeting point in that community. And every Saturday at 10 o'clock, I have trained volunteers to become Adopt-A-Walk leaders. They lead a group around that 1-mile loop every Saturday at 10 o'clock. And the vision is that these loops will be in every community nationwide. And you could go to any one of them on a Saturday at 10 AM and get guided through the walk. And then afterwards, we just have, um, a little local coffee shop where people go afterwards and have a cup of tea or, or coffee, and they, they socialize more. So Adopt-A-Walk covers all aspects of health, not just your physical but your mental, emotional, environmental and spiritual, etc. Then the social is obvious, you know, people walk together and all that. And the physical is obvious, and the mental, emotional, because you're with other people. But then, and the spiritual, there, it's a beautiful surrounding that you walk around in. It's easier to walk around in a place that has trees and flowers than a freeway, for example, to be parking lot.

Yeah.

And, but the environmental issue is this, that I could, the city of San Marta, they gave me a few different locations I could choose from to have this first adoptive walk loop. And then they basically gave me permission to just scout a 1-mile loop that was safe. And I decided I want to have a little bit part of Wilshire Boulevard. Because when people— this boulevard is a little bit bigger than the other streets. It's still safe because you're not crossing any big boulevards. But right around that area, we have something called the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, just 3 blocks away. And people, they get into their cars and drive there for dinner, for the movie. And I wanted to give them a little aha moment there. 'Ah, I am just X amount of blocks away from Third Street Promenade. Next time I'm gonna walk there, I'm not gonna get into my car.' So that is the environmental benefit from the Adopt-A-Walk.

What a great concept. That's terrific. Yeah, so gold stars to you for, you know, pushing that through. I think that's great.

Thank you. Yeah, we just became nonprofit this year, and we're already working on our second loop, which also is going to be in Santa Monica, and then we're going to go to other areas as well.

Okay. Yeah, that's great. So how many people would you say on average, um, show up on a Saturday morning?

On a Saturday, I would say around maybe 10 people.

Oh, that's great. Um, that's great.

But then we have our annual and we have some other arranged walks during the, the year.

Yeah.

And then we get, you know, 30 to 50 people.

Wow. That's great. So, I'd love to help you with that if you're ever looking for some, some assistance. I, it's a great— Oh, thank you.

Well, you're down in San Diego, right?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Maybe we'll do an Adopt a Walk loop in, in your area.

Well, for sure. For sure. We have plenty of walking areas by Mission Bay, of course, and along the ocean. But, you know, if it was a designated, you know, specific area, just part of this Adopt a Walk initiative, Who knows? Yeah, that's terrific. Yeah. So tell us about your book, um, you know, Wake Up Your Body and Mind After 50. So what are some of the, um, strategies or insights you like to impart to the readers? Yeah.

Well, pre-COVID, I teach— I, I did a lot of fitness retreats, both at Joshua Tree and, and Malibu. And because I wanted to add more than just the 1-hour strength training session that I talked about before, the structure of the warmup and then the exercises and the cooldown. There's just so much more. There is your, your mindset, the, the meditation, eating nutritionally well, doing cardio, et cetera, et cetera. So I just had all these other aspects of health that I wanted to teach people and educate people. So I started to create these fitness retreats to be able to teach them all these other things. And then that became actually part of my book. And it's from step 1 to last step in the book that it just builds you up gradually. You know, first is just the first chapter is about what is successful aging, just kind of like picking your brain a little bit what we talked about earlier. Why is that people think that, you know, you turn 50 and it's downhill, you know, things like that, is to not change people, but just enlighten people how you can think instead. And so that's how you start. And then it goes into meditating, just walking, just moving, not, you know, putting on specific workout clothes. And then, you know, so the book Each chapter kind of builds you up to do more and more and more to eventually, I think chapter 7 is about strength training. And there's photos without any tools that you need. You just, that strength training program in the book is just about exercises you can do at home without, or when you travel without any tools. And then the last chapter is, so there's about nutrition, stretching, cardio. And it's about— and then also about your team, your successful team, which is you and yourself, which you're the biggest cheerleader. But then also the second team is you and your closest people around you that want to have to be supportive and not sabotage your health journey. The third one is the team of your medical team, including your personal fitness trainer, etc. So That's one. And then the last chapter is actually why I started to write the book initially. It is about anything is possible at any age. So initially the book was just gonna be a coffee table book with reinvention stories from people of different decades. So the reinvention stories are still there. They're in between some of the chapters. So I have people from age 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 actually writing about, you know, like, like 1 or 2 pages about their reinvention in that stage of their life. So, but then at the very, the very end, it's the very end, uh, chapter, chapter 12 is Anything Is Possible at Any Age. And if you followed the book step by step, you actually will feel, hey, I have my health, I eat healthy, I meditate, I have good thoughts, blah, blah, blah. And now, yes, anything is possible. What do I want to do next? So it's kind of like your bucket list, or if you want to do any bigger reinvention, anything is possible.

Yeah, yeah, you cover a lot of territory for people, and, um, they can kind of make sure, kind of checking off the boxes almost, and yeah, I'm, I'm on the right track in this area, and I'm on, you know, another track. And that's, that's so good because then it helps to kind of give a person the roadmap of where they are and where they want to be. Yeah, makes a lot of sense.

And, and many times when we go to workshops, we learn and we're so excited, but then we come home, we don't always apply it. So what I have done, I've created this coaching program that is called Transform. So it's part— it's a 30-minute coaching based on my book. So we basically go through each chapter and review what is important and check in, like you said, like a checklist, you know, am I doing this? And, and then we have the 1-hour workout and that's called Transform. That's the Transform online membership. It's weekly on, on, on Mondays. And that is— people love that coaching part because sometimes, again, you buy a book and you may not read it, but if you have somebody taking you through one chapter a week.

Yeah.

And chapters are not that long. You might actually read one chapter to prepare for the coaching session, and then of course you get more out of it. So it's just another way of educating people, getting them excited, and get them to think about other things and different, you know, different ways, and maybe get them out of their comfort zone when it comes to aging and feeling more empowered and actually embracing aging.

Yeah, we do need to get out of that comfort zone, right? It's safe and familiar and cozy and predictable, but we don't have any of the opportunity and adventure when we step out of that. Yeah, great. So you've done so many good things, a lot of initiatives, a lot of, uh, programs and all that. What keeps you inspired? What keeps you motivated, Malin? I mean, you're doing So many good things. And what keeps you, you know, what gives you the energy in the morning? What puts a smile on your face?

I think it's my 12-year-old when she was standing in front of that painting and just realizing she doesn't want to live life after 50 like a downhill but ascending staircase. And I want to share that with the world. And that is what drives me every single day. My, my clients, my, my customers, they are, they are reminding me that I, I'm doing it for them. But I'm also, that's why I started my, my podcast. I wanna reach a bigger audience. Yeah. I, in a few years I'm, I'm doing franchising of my, my whole system. It's just reaching a bigger audience with the program that I have seen for the last 30+ year. Work very well for our age. And it's not— I have to differentiate, though, a little bit because you and I, we met at ICAA.

Yes.

International Council on Active Aging. And they have divided the 50-plus person into great 5 categories. And the first one is an athlete. The second one is somebody who works out on a regular basis, maybe 3 times a week and stays active. The third one, a beginner. The fourth is somebody who needs assistance when working out, and the fifth one needs ongoing assistance. So Nuit Body caters to the first three groups to prevent you from ever going into group four and five.

Hmm, I see. Sure. So it's that painting that really had such a powerful influence on you that kind of planted the seeds, and it's good that your father had the painting. In the home, so it's left.

Well, he got it as a present on his 50th birthday.

Oh, okay.

It's kind of like a typical thing in Sweden back then when you turned 50. Here you go. Here's how we see life from birth to death. You're at the top when you're 50 and then it's just downhill.

And now 50-year-olds look at it and they think it's really cute.

And I was at 12 years old, I was like, oh no.

Yeah. So 50 is middle age now, right? I mean, we're not, we're not thinking about 50 as old at all. No, he's middle-aged. Yeah, yeah. So, um, anyone who thinks it's too late to start a fitness journey, what advice do you have for him or her?

Start with 10 minutes. Go for a walk. It's better to be consistent than think about, oh, wherever I read I have to do 1 hour of this, 1 hour of that, 10,000 steps. It's too overwhelming and people are not doing anything. Instead, think about, can I commit to 10 minutes a day to prioritize my health, which is the most important thing? Because if I don't have my health, what do I have? So can I commit to 10 minutes a day? And it usually, it's best first thing in the morning. So you make it part of your routine. And I highly recommend that you put out your workout clothes in the evening so you don't have to run around in the morning and look for them. And then make that as an excuse. Oh, I can't find my favorite shoes or my favorite pants. So prepare the night before, put your workout clothes on, give yourself 10 minutes, go for a walk, and 10 minutes might lead into 15, 20 minutes. And so it's better to set the bar low for 10 minutes than high for half an hour or an hour. And then when you come back after 10 minutes and you've seen on the watch, oh my God, it's 20 minutes. You're going to feel so much better. So just commit to that. And then you can take one step further. When you have that consistency, you can do some strength training. Maybe you just do some squats sitting down, standing up, making sure you do it correctly, of course, so nothing is hurting you. And I would just start there.

That's great advice. And I agree 100%. I, you know, we can set these big ambitious goals, and it's hard. If we look at some small steps, what can I do tomorrow that I'm not doing today, or what did I do today that I didn't do yesterday? Those small steps make it easy, like you say, and eventually it grows. But we also build up that confidence. We build up that feeling of success. Gee, I did 10 minutes more than I did yesterday. So it has kind of builds that momentum. So I think that's good. I, I agree with you 100%. Yeah. Well, we're just about out of time, Malin. So how can our listeners learn more about your work and contact you? Do you have a website?

Well, I have my website, NordicBody.com, and if you go there, we have products and services. You go under, you can just see our memberships anywhere from experience to commit to transform., and those will be the best ones to start with an online membership. They vary in prices. If you're not ready to commit to membership, you can just take single classes. That is under Nudi Body online classes, and, uh, they're just $9.95 per class. And, um, so I would start there. Also, when you go to the website, there is a free workout video that you can sign up for. Just fill out your name and email., and we'll send the information to you. And that is a workout that does not require any tools. So there is no excuses.

Wow. Okay.

Do it at home or when you travel or whenever, wherever, but it doesn't require any tools. That is the free workout video. And you access that by submitting your name and email to us. And that is on the very first page, the, the website, nordicbody.com.

Nordicbody.com. And your new podcast again is what?

Age and Attitude.

Age and Attitude. Yes, I should know that.

And you were my— one of my guests.

I was, I was. Yeah, I, I enjoyed that. I enjoyed our conversation today too, so I'm glad you were able to be a guest on my program.

So thank you.

Yeah, yeah, you're most welcome. Looks like we're out of time for today, Mylan, but before we wrap up, I just want to remind my listeners To visit my website, livingto100.club, sign up for my email list, and you can download a free copy of my 9 Tips to Make Living Longer Enjoyable. It's a free PDF. And if you're affiliated with a senior living setting or organization, be sure to look for my new training manual and activity guide, Better, Longer, and Happier. Malin Svensson, thanks so much for being a guest on our show today.

Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me here.

Oh, you're welcome. And thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in. Hope to see you next time.