EP #4: An Interview with Julie Pollard, an Expert in Gerontology: Living Better and Increasing Vitality and Longevity

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Transcript

Mike McGlothlin 0:09 

Hi, everybody, thank you for tuning into this episode of Ageless Fitness and Wellness Podcast. I'm Mike McGlothlin one of the co-owners of Ageless Fitness and Vitality Booth Wellness Center. We have an awesome show for you today. We're going to be talking about how to live better, have more vitality, and increase longevity. My guest is Julie Pollard. Julie is a certified ACSM and exercise physiologist. She co-founded Ageless Fitness with Emmanuel Verduzco in 2018 and currently serves as the chief operating officer of Ageless Fitness Corporation. She has her Master's of Science in gerontology and longevity sciences from USC’s Leonard Davis School and her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She grew up in the state of Washington and moved to California for her undergraduate studies and she just remained there to build up her business. She specializes in exercise programs for older adults with an emphasis on adapted physical activity programs and biomechanics. She created the entire ageless fitness program and developed the company's operations. Julie is also a guest speaker and a mentor for many financial fitness professionals. Also, this is something I did not know, and congratulations, Julie, she is the youngest female franchisor in the United States, and she still works with a few of her old clients at the Santa Barbara studio, as a personal trainer as well. So welcome to the podcast. Julie,

Julie Pollard 1:44 

Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

Mike McGlothlin 1:48 

Besides being the youngest female franchisor in the United States, I always like to start an interview with something that maybe we will not see from your LinkedIn profile or something on the website. Anything that you feel comfortable sharing.

Julie Pollard 2:06 

Oh, you Yes. So, when I was younger and applying for my undergraduate programs, I was torn between my two loves: science and the arts. Believe it or not, I in addition to applying for kinesiology, athletic training, and biology programs, I was also simultaneously applying for jazz studies programs. And so, a fun fact about me that you won't find anywhere is I grew up taking vocal lessons and competed in vocal jazz competitions with a group, I was also part of the choir. And I really wanted to continue that. But luckily, I ended up choosing the Kinesiology route. But sometimes I still think about what my life would look like if I had ended up in a jazz studies program instead.

Mike McGlothlin 2:58 

Well, the next time you come down to Estero, we will get Alisa on the piano, I'll pull out the saxophone, and we'll just have our own little trio here. 

Julie Pollard 3:08 

That sounds good. We can jam out a little bit.

Mike McGlothlin 3:11 

There you go. Yeah. So hey, tell me a little bit about your work in the master's program where gerontology and longevity services. Maybe start off with what interests you about that field? And then what was the curriculum all about? Because I got to believe that not a lot of people have that particular degree.

Julie Pollard 3:33 

Yes, yes. So, the program that I was a part of is the School of Gerontology. It's actually the first Gerontology school that was created at a university and the only accredited program in the world, which was really unique about the Leonard Davis School at the University of Southern California. The program covers a broad scope of Gerontology topics, everything from sociology to the biology of aging, to how we can look at demographic patterns and lifestyle behavioral factors exercise, we looked at a lot of things and there are quite a few different degrees even into hospitality and Senior Living management. It's a pretty big school and covers a lot of a lot of things that reach into what we're expecting with an aging population. What drew me to it was in my undergraduate studies when I was at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I was simultaneously on the weekends providing caregiving, light caregiving and companionship to a woman in her 90s, and her and I became really good friends. I realized how much I could see a need for senior care, and she was a really profound impact on me. We remained in touch until she passed away a few years ago. And so, because of that, and also my work with Ageless Fitness, I realized I wanted to continue to develop my expertise in the field and really understand more of how I can apply a gerontological lens to the program, as well as what to anticipate in terms of population aging, and the other things that we see with age-associated Diseases, and comorbidities, and things like that. So that's why I chose to specialize at the Leonard Davis School in gerontology. And it was nutrition and longevity, but primarily, you know, how these lifestyle factors contribute to longevity overall.

Mike McGlothlin 5:35 

You mentioned something very interesting there, along with the curriculum, talking about senior living facilities and things like that. I'm absolutely shocked, even down here in southwest Florida, that many of those facilities do not have a formalized exercise program. And that just seems to be a huge gap. Can you kind of comment on that a little bit?

Julie Pollard 5:55 

Yeah, absolutely. And part of the founding story of ageless fitness is that we recognize this gap in available care for exercise programs for older adults. And specifically in the senior living communities, we have a kind of classic idea of what that looks like, right? It's usually a larger building with multiple rooms, some private apartments, and sometimes a memory care unit, they'll have a kitchen and an area for people to dine in. And then a small gym facility where sometimes it's a few recumbent bikes, maybe a cable machine, but very little formalized programs. And I really think that in the future, my prediction is we're going to have a shift into a more personalized approach in senior care. But with that gap in care, I really think that we're moving toward a more personalized approach in senior living. My hope is that we can bring more fitness programs, but most of those senior care facilities are focused on care. So, they're focused more on the nutrition element, on the community, on providing caregiving services, and less on longevity-focused exercise programs, and things like that.

Mike McGlothlin 7:12 

All right, yeah, I completely agree with you. The world is moving to a hyper-personalized mode, right, we always want to know, we want to adjust the information that's just important to us and we want it on our time. And I think that exercise, to your point, is going to move in the same direction as well. Now, when we talk about trying to increase vitality and longevity and working with all the different comorbidities and stuff like that, what are some of the best practices that you see for the older adult population that you specialize in?

Julie Pollard 7:51 

Yeah, so when it comes to exercise, we really want to focus on functional fitness. That's one of the best practices we can utilize is practicing the movements that we do in our daily lives. So, sitting to standing, reaching, twisting, bending, pulling, pushing, all of those movements are things we do when we get up out of a chair, when we grab a dish or, you know, or put laundry away all of those things are functional tasks that help allow us to continue to live independently and live longer. And so that's the first practice that I have seen the best value in and even the data really shows that something I'd like to also share is if you look across all of the medical expertise is from neurology, to, you know, or orthopedic surgeons to primary care to, you know, pain management, every discipline can agree that exercise is beneficial. And it's the one thing we can all agree on. And so that's something that the data shows history shows that exercise is one of the best ways you know, especially that functional fitness focus. But the other thing that I always like to speak on because this is part of what my master's degree is in is the value of nutrition and nourishing our bodies with healthy, good foods that are nutrient-dense, that also helps fuel our muscles and fuel our body system to continue to heal and adapt to aging and to any other conditions or comorbidities that might exist.

Mike McGlothlin 9:33 

Yeah, that's been a big thing for me making sure that I have even the trace and micro nutrients because as I work out and run, especially in the heat of Southwest Florida, that I was absolutely shocked at the amount of electrolytes and trace minerals that I was losing and being able to kind of adjust nutrition and things like that has been really good for my athletic performance over the last year. Now that I kind of learned about that, so you talk about exercises and everything, but so many people, when they hear the word exercise, they're not thinking about functional exercises, they're thinking about the big box gym, and I'm going to be standing next to some guy that's pumping 500 pounds of iron and things like that. Talk a little bit about what you and Emmanuel have focused in on life, not the lifestyle, or just the experience of ageless fitness.

Julie Pollard 10:33 

Yes, yes, you're right. Most of us, when we hear about working out or going to a gym, or even working with a personal trainer, we're imagining some super buff dude, putting us on a machine and, and leg pressing 400 pounds. And it's not the case with how exercise can be. So, we have a lot of different types of exercise, and there is something for everybody. But with Ageless Fitness, when we recognize that gap in available care. And specifically, when people are maybe needing physical therapy or a little bit of extra consideration depending on a diagnosis or surgery or something like that. They don't have a place to go when they're done with their physical therapy sessions and looking to continue or resume back to their regular life or their regular activities. So that's where our origin started. And because of that, we created a fitness studio model that includes more simple and versatile equipment. And that means things like resistance bands, lighter weights, we use balance bars, or pretty much like a ballet bar, we can use for assisted movements for individuals who would benefit from that, as well as aerobic steps and things that really are, again, those kinds of functional movements, getting up and down the stairs, lifting laundry, or traveling lifting a suitcase, right putting it in the overhead compartment. And so, workouts and personal training does not necessarily need to be a really intense, super sweaty, hard, heavy lifting, it can also be very functional and therapeutic. And that was where our focus lies in the studio. And what we find is, and the literature does support this, that this type of movement when we're focusing on targeting specific muscle groups when we're working on a really detailed form, it does show benefits in athlete performance. It shows benefits for individuals of all ages, even young adults, and especially older adults, or individuals recovering from a procedure, or injuries or things like that. So, I always like to tell people that exercise does not need to hurt. And we often have this idea that it needs to, or we need to suffer in order to see these results. But the truth is, we really don't need to be in a lot of discomfort to still yield really good results from our exercises.

Mike McGlothlin 12:52 

Yeah, you always hear no pain, no gain type of stuff. That's not always true, right? I mean, you don't have to have that. So, I'm gonna put you on the spot here. Pickleball is huge in southwest Florida. It's growing across the country. But you talk about functional fitness and athletic performance. What are some things that people should be thinking about when they're trying to increase performance, or maybe prevent an injury in, for example, pickleball?

Julie Pollard 13:29 

And so glad you brought that up because Pickleball is also booming here. And our director and our trainer at the Santa Barbara office, he was telling me, he just was giving it a go to really understand because we have some people in Santa Barbara that also are really into playing pickleball. And something I recommend, and not because this is my business, and I'm trying to plug it in, but really working with a trainer or someone that can help review your form. But for someone who's playing recreationally, I would say a few things for them to think about is how they're moving their feet. Pickleball is on a smaller court. But we want to make sure that posture is still good, that we're taking care of our knees, ankles, and hips, by dancing around a little bit on the toes, on the balls of the feet, that allows us to move and pivot more quickly. And being aware that we're not twisting too quickly, or creating any torsion on the knee, meaning if you go and reach for the ball, really quickly, you want to make sure your feet are going with you. And that's something I see quite a bit on the courts is, people will stand still and reach or twist to try to catch the ball or try to hit it back. And we want to have that movement. So, focusing on agility focusing on reaction time training, focusing on balance, and leg strength, and coordination, as well as cross-body movements can all be really effective for training for specifically improving performance in pickleball.

Mike McGlothlin 14:56 

Yeah, that's great. And again, goes back to kind of the core things of functional fitness, the stability to the core strength and just being able to kind of move quickly. And obviously, that's a great form of exercise to get out there. And the city of Estero just invested, or just announced some major investment on a pickleball, tournament courts. So that's going to continue to be large as well. So, talk a little bit about maybe one of your favorite situations where you had a client, maybe a chronic condition or something like that. And how exercise nutrition, all the table stakes that you talked about, made a huge difference, any example that you can share with us?

Julie Pollard 15:48 

Yes, and I'd like to share too, because it's on a spectrum. And we do see people of all abilities at Ageless Fitness because we are equipped to do so in a more therapeutic environment. So, the first example I'll share is a client that began working with me in 2018, at the initial Ageless Fitness, Santa Barbara founding, and this gentleman was a retired physician, a geriatrician actually. And he was about in his late 70s at the time. And you can imagine an academic who was working with patients and often charting and looking at his computer looking at his patients, he came in with a pretty stooped posture. And his goal was to improve his posture overall and feel stronger. And of course, you imagine the role of a physician, and he was practicing for a while, is to sit quite a bit and listen to the patient. And so, because of that, he had an active lifestyle outside of work, but his workday consisted of mostly sitting which is common for most of us. So, he came in and I don't take photos of my clients I don't take before and after pictures, because you know, I encourage them to take them themselves. But because our goals are more functional and focused on lifestyle, and what we notice outside of the studio, it's less about the aesthetic results. And so, this is the one time I wish I had taken photos, this gentleman over the past few years, is now in his 80s. And he is standing taller than when I first met him, his shoulders are back. He tells me all the time that when he goes and has lunch or coffee with his friends, he's the tallest one there. He's standing the proudest and they'll ask him, you know, what are you doing, and he'll share that, that he's working with Ageless Fitness. And, and that's something that was really exciting to see. And because of that he's confident, trying new sports he's playing tennis with his friends every week, a couple of times a week. And he enjoys golfing and traveling. And he feels really confident doing all of that. And that's something that is really valuable for me. A goal as an exercise physiologist and gerontologist is to encourage individuals to continue to age and not have aging as a consideration for continuing the things that they love. So, you know, we often hear people say, I am 72. So maybe I shouldn't do that. But we don't want that to be a consideration because if someone can still do that, continue it and Ageless Fitness can help them get there. So that's one story on that end of the spectrum. On the other end of the spectrum, there was a woman we worked with a few years ago and she came into us. She was using a wheelchair and had recently had a stroke and was significantly affected on one side which impacted her ability to walk. And her goal was to develop more independence. She wanted to be able to dress herself and button her own shirts, and she wanted to be able to sit to stand for transfers and things like that. And she had already completed physical therapy and occupational therapy inpatient and wanted to continue her progress. Over the course of about a year, there's one specific moment that really stood out to me and it was a time we put on some jazz music and utilizing the bar she was able to stand up, and her and I danced together at the bar. And it was a really beautiful moment to see the joy on her face when she stood up out of her wheelchair felt confident doing so felt okay to shift her weight between her right and left legs when one side had been more affected, felt the coordination, was enjoying dancing to the music. That's a memory that I carry with me often and it was so beautiful to share such a human experience with her and to see that some people's goals are that bring so much life and joy into movement. And that's really what we're about.

Mike McGlothlin 19:49 

Yeah, those are two awesome stories. I mean, everybody has their own goals and we're very personalized. Like what you want to get accomplished and everything. Some are major, some are just standing up. But I think what's important there is that even some small improvements, like your posture, can have the ripple effect of I'm going to try more sports, I'm going to be more active, I'm going to be more social, and just feeling better about yourself as you age to your point, I think that those are all really super important. And it started out with just a little bit of improvement that you can do at Ageless Fitness in this. So, Julie, as we start to wrap up here, what would be three things that you would tell an older American, that they should be doing what they should be implementing in order to increase their vitality?

Julie Pollard 20:44 

That's a great question, I would say. And the first thing I'll share is from an article I read by Dr. Jennifer Freed, and she's a therapist here, a psychologist in Santa Barbara, and she wrote an article about what is it that makes people age beautifully or age gracefully. And she had no mention of aesthetic changes, plastic surgery, or anything like that. But her point was, those of us who live a robust life and who live life fully. And I really, really liked that because I really believe that's true. When we explore our passions. When we continue doing the things we love, try new things, generate community, stay in community, when we feel our emotions and allow ourselves to live fully and experience all of it. That's one way we can really enjoy lifelong vitality and, and everything we can squeeze out of life. The other two elements are to focus first on movement and exercise. And moving the body to maintain good muscle mass and bone mineral density is really essential, as well as working on balance in neuromotor training for fall prevention. And exercise really touches on all of those points and especially working with a specialized professional, that can make a big difference in continuing those improvements. But also allowing space for recovery and allowing time and space for your bones and your muscles to heal, to allow your bone mineral density to develop and build back up. And to also supplement that with nutrition and having good Whole Foods, nutrient-dense foods. And keeping it simple. I think that we love to overcomplicate things, but when it really comes down to it, if we're moving right, we're eating right and we're living well, we're going to have a pretty good time here.

Mike McGlothlin 22:42 

Yeah, you mentioned the recovery, we didn't really talk about that because we got in deeper into the weeds, but Ageless Fitness here in Estero is an awesome place for recovery with cryotherapy and red-light therapy, halotherapy, and compression therapy. So not only can we do the workout, but also for those people who are active with pickleball as an example, you can come in and you can recover faster, get back to your normal lifestyle without the pain and the aches and pains and things like that. So, we can kind of be an all-in-one shop. Julie, share with us how people can get hold of your Ageless Fitness in Santa Barbara, and then also potentially learn about the franchise in general.

Julie Pollard 23:24 

Yeah, absolutely. So, you can head over to the website, www dot ageless fitness.us. You can view information about our locations, both here and in Estero. And you'll be able to reach us there. You can also learn about our franchise at ageless fitness franchise.com or reach out to our email team@agelessfitness.us

Mike McGlothlin 23:52 

Awesome. Well Julie, thank you for being on the podcast today, Alisa and I appreciate all the leadership that you've provided us in the development of the first Ageless Fitness franchise here in Estero, Florida and your experience and expertise is a great asset to our location into our community as we grow. So, thank you for all that you do for the fitness industry, especially the older adult community. You can learn more about Angeles Fitness here in Estero, Florida through our website, which is ageless fitness fl.com. Again, that's ageless fitness fl.com Or give us a call at 239-301-4121. If you're interested in learning more about how we can help your fitness and health journey, we offer a free assessment with our program director. You can call them to schedule a time, or you can book online so thank you for listening. And don't forget to be ageless.