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I started dealing with depression and anxiety at the same time. Working with physicians, they're a little bit quick to push medication on you. It wasn't until I found a physician that was running marathons myself, where she suggested actually getting stronger. And when I saw what a difference working out did for my mental health is when everything changed.

Hey, everyone. I've got some huge news to share with you. In the last 90 days, 79.4% of our audience came from viewers and listeners that are not subscribed to this channel. There's research that shows that if you want to create a habit, make it easy to access. By hitting the subscribe button, you're creating a habit of learning how to be happier, healthier, and more healed. This would also mean the absolute world to me and help us make better, bigger, brighter content for you in the world. Subscribe right now. The number one Health and Wellness podcast. Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. The one, the only Jay Shetty. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to On Purpose, the place you come to to become happier, healthier, and more healed. Now, in 2024, I want to help you get fitter, stronger, calmer, and feel like you have more courage. And in order to do all those things, I'm looking for guests, experts, and thought leaders who can help you build different muscles. Today's guest is a friend of mine, and she is incredible, here to help us get fitter and stronger. I'm speaking about Sanada Greca, a world-renowned thought leader in fitness and wellness.

Sanada is the founder of We Rise, a female empowerment platform that takes a holistic approach to health, wellness, and personal development. Sanada is also the founder of Xentoa, a women's athletic apparel brand that has outfitted thousands of women around the world with high performance and stylish activewear. Sonada has been sought after by some of the biggest names in the world. She's trained in Miranda Kerr, Bebe Rexer, amongst many others, and currently Sonada works with Kim Kardashian, I'm so excited to welcome to the show my friend and incredible thought leader, Sonata Grecker. Sonata, welcome to On Purpose. Hi, Jay.

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me here.

I am so happy to have you. We've been looking forward to this. I remember when I DMed you a while ago and we got connected. You came over to our home, we were hanging out. You've got to know Radhi. And I definitely feel like before we dive into the fitness conversation, I felt like there was a soul connection when we met. Absolutely. I think that's what made me so excited to have this conversation with you.

So thank you for making the time. The same. Thank you so much for having me here. I'm so excited. Like you said, there was that spiritual connection with both yourself and Ravi and honored. So thank you so much for having me. Absolutely.

Well, 2024 is here. We're already a few months in, and most likely people have fallen short of some of their fitness goals. Some people might be just holding on. Maybe some people are doing well as well. If someone has fitness goals, if someone has strength goals, how do you start by setting a goal? How do you start?

Actually, a great statistic that I just reviewed from the We Rise app is that people were on average by week doing three and a half workouts. So I was like, yes, something is working so far as about a week ago. So hopefully everybody keeps the momentum going. But if you're looking to start, I always say start small. You want to climb that mountain one step at a time versus doing a day long trip, so to speak. So take the smallest step. Start with 20 minutes. If we cannot start with 20 minutes, start five minutes or even one minute, and then build that habit because it's about creating that consistent habit day after day that will carry you through. A lot of the time we think the motivation is what's needed, and it's not. It's that habit that we create on a daily basis. Start small. Start with what is attainable. Create a daily calendar and make sure that you're placing, hopefully, that workout at the same time Every day, you're most likely to stick to it. Create an environment that is supportive of you working out. If you are working out at home, create a little space for yourself with all of your workout items.

If you're going to the gym, then lay out your workout clothes, lay out your shoes the night before. Some people actually even wear their workout clothes to sleep in because it eliminates another step. So how can you make it more accessible and easy for yourself to accomplish that? And then what is the time of day that does actually work best for you when you feel more energetic? There is no specific time that is this is the best time to work out. For whatever reason. It's like what time is best suited for your life and lifestyle? I would suggest, if possible, for most beginners to have it in the morning. So you get it out of the way and don't leave it up to chance for later in the day, occur, work and kids and a million things that you have to do throughout the day. So if you leave it up to chance, you're most likely are not going to do it. But if you're confident, if you set that time aside, even if it's in the afternoon, which is when I work out myself, that's when I find it that I'm most energetic and when I find it in the afternoon for myself.

There is some studies that suggests that the optimal time might be between 11:00 AM and And 05:00 PM. But again, I say, when is it more accessible to you? That's key.

Absolutely. Let's say someone, and I think this is the world we live in today, where we look at five minutes and go, what's the point of working out for five minutes? So what's the point of working out for five minutes? What can you get in five minutes?

You'll start to create a habit. And that's what's key about making fitness a lifelong activity, because I see it as It's not a sprint. It's a lifelong marathon. You want to stay active throughout your entire life for as long as you can. So five minutes is just creating that habit. You won't see drastic results. You might see no results from five minutes, but five minutes today for a week, 10 minutes the next week for a week, and then you start building from there. Again, that makes it just more accessible and creates that habit. And it does take some time for a habit to be, especially when it comes to fitness, to be established somewhere between 21 days might be when you're starting to create that foundation. But some research shows that it's actually around like 60, 66 days when you really solidify that habit of working out. So while in the immediate term, it doesn't really provide a result, that five minutes will just set you up for success.

Absolutely. I think that's such a good point. We look at it as like, oh, five minutes doesn't have any value. But you committing to something for five minutes a day, and you keeping that promise to yourself to turn up every single day, that's what matters about the five minutes.

Exactly. It builds that self-confidence, too, in yourself. Your body listens, as in with meditation, too. Five minutes might not break you through to where you need to be, but five minutes every day, and you're setting up that habit. And you're also saying, Yes, I got this. I'm doing it. I'm dedicating five minutes for myself.

Absolutely. So let's say someone's listening right now and they say, Sonata, Jay, I'm with you. I only have five minutes. What do I do with five minutes? What should they do in a five minute workout if that's all they have? And they're starting out?

Yeah, there's five minutes. Just jump on. You can just start with a treadmill. We can just warm up for a minute, do maybe a few squads, just some of the basic movements and maybe deadlifts. You know where I'm going with this. It's a little bit more strength training focused for me, but do something to warm you up for a minute or so, and then go into some squads, go into some deadlifts, go into some major movements that will target some of the biggest muscles in your body. Maybe do some rows, and then you got a few movements covered there.

If someone is at home and they don't have any gym equipment and no equipment, you still utilize your body weight.

It's perfectly fine to do so, even if you're starting out squat to seat. So basically just squat to your seat, stand up, squat to your seat, stand up. You can do hip thrust, back of your shoulders on the couch, feet planted on the ground, hip thrust, body weight, perfectly fine. Grab a kid, put him on your hips, hip thrust the kid or any object. I'm a big believer that you can turn anything around your house into something to work out with, add a little bit of extra resistance, and it's doable.

Were you always fit and energetic and strong? Was that always been a part of your life, or is it something that you had to develop at a certain point?

As a kid, I've always been active. I love being outdoors, playing with friends. Whenever I could be outside, I would. I would be on trees picking fruit because in Albania, we have to forge a little bit for ourselves or on rooftops. Just an active kid. I played sports. So I've always been active, not necessarily strong fit, more active into the teenage years. Unfortunately, that's shifted where your body changes. So I was trying to deal with this extra weight that I was starting to carry. And I started to work out for the wrong reasons, which I would consider is trying to be as skinny as possible, limiting food intake to be as thin as So it shifted in that fashion, and that was not a healthy way to work out. And then I started dealing with depression and anxiety at the same time. I think everything hit at the same time. And working with physicians, they're a little bit quick to push medication on you, which I did take. But it wasn't until I found a physician that was running marathons herself where she suggested actually getting stronger. And that's what made the biggest difference for me is gaining that strength, working out for the right reasons, which for me at the time were mental.

For my mental health. And when I saw what a difference working out did for my mental health is when everything changed. Now I was nurturing my body for health versus dieting it to be as skinny as possible. So it has taken... The journey of fitness for me has taken a bit of a path, of a different path throughout the years. But when I found strength, when I found strength training is when I found the strength in me and I was able to overcome a lot of the things that were weighing on me, that were affecting me, like depression, anxiety, and then eating disorders.

Walk us through the dangers of, I guess, the way, like you said, the wrong reasons. Walk us through some of the dangers physically and biologically of what happens to the body when we're starving the body or when we're not really helping ourselves in the right way.

Of course. If you're working, there's extremes to So while working out is good, doing workouts to the extreme for hours on end while malnourishing the body can be detrimental to your physique, where you're not incorporating those nutrients that your body needs. So you're depleting yourself to extreme levels, both with the nutrition and the physical activities. So it is not healthy. It's not healthy mentally, it's not healthy physically. Your body starts to deteriorate You see your gums and teeth deteriorate and everything else that goes on internally that goes with that. So it is not healthy. It is not healthy. While being thin naturally can absolutely be healthy. There's nothing wrong with that. But when it happens in a forced manner, when you're starving yourself and when you're working out to extremes, that's when it becomes unhealthy. Yeah.

Hey, everyone. It's Jay here. My wife and I have had so much fun creating our own sparkling tea, Juni. And I've got big news for you. It's at Target, and we'd love your support. If you can go out, grab a Juni, you'll be adding adaptogens and topics into your life with mood boosting properties aimed at promoting a balanced and happy mind. Through our commitment to our wellness journey and striving to fuel our bodies with the healthiest ingredients, it's been our purpose to make healthy choices accessible for all, which is why Juni is now on shelves at Target. So head to our store locator at drinkjuni. Com and find Juni at a Target near you. Walk us through the different types of exercise. You obviously focus on strength training. I want to hear about the benefits of that. But people are trying to make sense of like, do I need to do pilates? Do I need to do yoga? Do I need to do hip workouts? There's just so much on offer today, especially in LA. But there's so much on offer all over the world. Absolutely. People are just wondering what's going work. I was telling you earlier that if I'm doing a workout and I'm not seeing progress either in strength or physique or whatever it may be, then you get discouraged and then you let go of it.

So walk us through the different benefits of different exercises and why strength training is a priority for you.

In my actual programming, I also incorporate some higher intensity, and I try to weave in a little bit of fun cardio. So I do incorporate different modalities. It's not strictly strength training, and it's not power lifting by any means. It's strength training, but I do incorporate like hip sessions and some cardio because you need, I value all of the components, all of the different modalities. But for me, strength training is like the golden standard because that is what is going to strengthen your bones. That's what's going to build muscle mass and a vast array of other benefits that not every modality has. And strength training is proven to increase, like I said, bone density and muscle mass, which are so crucial to longevity and a healthy longevity. And longevity now has become such a buzzword. And if you could do one thing for your longevity is strength train.

What's actually happening when we do strength training? Why does it link to longevity? The bone density is an important part. What else is happening because of strength training? Because what I always hear about is as you get older and if you fall I know you need the strength to pick yourself back up, but how is strength training in other ways really impacting our longevity?

Yeah, I mean, because it is our bone density max is reached at about age 25 to 30. And from there, we start to lose bone density. And by the age 40 and on, we start to lose bone density faster than we can build it. So then what happens at that point is that when we do fall, we break a hip a hip or wrist. And then the chances of recovery from that are much less. So that leads to deaths. I think there is like 32,000 deaths caused from fall injuries in adults like 65 and older. And obviously, if you can build in muscles the same way, you start losing after the age of 30, believe it or not, you start losing muscle mass at about 3 to 8 % every decade. So that's That's incredible. Those are incredible numbers. I mean, at the age 30 is a little bit slower, but then it starts to pick up at 40, 50, and then by 60 is even faster. So if you can build as much as you can in bone and muscle as when you can, that will just help you carry yourself through and healthier in the in the later years of life.

Because again, you can either prevent your sofa falling or you can recover faster from an injury because your bone density is where it is more optimal than it would have been if you hadn't been building that bone mass. And especially for women, women are more prone to osteoporosis, which is bone density loss than men. And by menopause, the numbers are staggering as to that bone density loss. And for men, actually, even though the osteoporosis instance is less than women, their causality of death, their death due to falls, is higher than women. Oh, wow. I mean, a lot of the time, I know it's like when we're in our 20s or even our 30s, we think of ourselves a That's invincible. We've got these amazing bodies. They're incredible, of course. But how do we prepare ourselves now when it is possible for the future ourselves? Our future self will thank us.

This is really powerful stuff, Sonata. This is really going to connect with the audience to hear these reset studies and recognizing the changes that are happening in every decade, because I think so many of us, like you said, and I remember that, I remember being 22 years old and thinking I was Superman and thinking nothing could defeat me. And I remember my dad kept telling me, You need to focus on your health. You need to focus on your health. And I was like, I'm healthy. It doesn't matter. And then when I had a couple of my own personal challenges with health, it really stuck with me as to what an investment it needed to be. What are some of the biggest things that you consistently see getting in people's way when they're trying to get fitter and stronger? What are the challenges What are the challenges, the most common ones that you see people that you've trained over the years that you find they struggle with?

Well, the first one is relying on feelings. A lot of people rely on motivation. I don't feel motivated. Or how do you get motivated motivated to work out. A lot of the time, I just am not motivated. I don't want to necessarily work out. The coziness of the home is a lot better than getting up and getting moving. But we don't rely on that. You take those feelings, you put them aside, and you put your shoes, and you keep going because that's what you do. It's like brushing your teeth. For me, it's a non-negotiable. Working out is a non-negotiable, not just for right now, not because of esthetics, but for longevity. We're talking about quality longevity. Esthetics come. It's beautiful. Once you do the things, the right things for your body with nutrition and working out, esthetics are a product that will come because a lot of people take that approach of wanting to look a certain way, which I find can be motivating, but it's short-lived, especially if the results are taken a little bit longer, which could take longer for some people. But if you are doing it again for those right reasons, for the reasons of I want to be as strong as I can in this body so this body can carry me forward in the healthiest possible way for as long as possible.

So that is the biggest one that I face is like, how do I get motivated? How do I stay motivated? It's like, act. Don't wait for the feelings. Act. The other thing is, I'm too busy. I'm too busy. There's always time. I'm sorry, but you can always make time for yourself. You can find that time. A lot of the time we find there's been even arguments back and forth with people on Instagram. I don't have time yet. Two hours later, they're still responding to that same chain of communication. Well, you had two hours right there. You have time. A lot of the time is just we analyze your day, just analyze your day as to where your You're spending time that you could carve out, not saying, don't watch TV or don't be on social media. Do it while watching TV. Exactly. Do that. How can you incorporate it?

I found that. For me, incorporating is so powerful.

Incorporate it, exactly. I'm a big believer of not doing all or nothing. So even when it comes to nutrition, it's like you want to eat a burger, fine. Just how can you maybe take one of the sides of the bun out? You know what I mean? How can you substitute half of the fries with a salad? It's like, don't completely take things out. Try to incorporate in your life. So find out. There's definitely always a little bit of time that you can find.

Absolutely. Going back to the feelings point, I found that things that are good for me feel bad before, but feel amazing after. Exactly. And the things that are bad for me, they feel really good before, but they don't feel so great after. Exactly. And so I'm the same as you. When I wake up in the morning, I often go on a hike. That's how I like to start my morning. That's great. I like the fresh air.

I go out for a walk. I like sweating, and I like being active.

And I don't want to do something too strenuous because my day is quite busy. Exactly. And I found that When I wake up in the morning, I don't want to work out. I don't feel like it. And you're so right that I just have to say to myself, I have to remind myself, but I know how I'll feel after. And when it comes to eating a burger, trust me, I want to eat a burger all the time. And I have to remind myself, but I know how it's going to feel after. And so it's almost like you've got to connect your brain to the after feeling. Absolutely. Because the after feeling is so much more what you have to live with because the feeling before comes and goes. Exactly. I want to eat a burger, I eat a burger, now I don't feel so great. I don't want to work out. I ignore working out, I didn't work out, now I don't feel so great. And you're living with that feeling after for much longer than you're living with the feeling before. Very true. So that's definitely helped me. And the busy The one is so true.

I feel like if I work out while watching, I love watching football, soccer highlights. I miss watching soccer, and I don't get to watch it. I don't get to watch full games anymore because there are different timings because I live in LA. The games are in London or England. And I will put on a highlight of the game, which are 20 minutes. And I'm like, this is perfect for a 20 minute workout. I can watch the highlights, I can work out, and it's going to force me to get through 20 minutes. Whereas if I didn't have the highlights on, I know I'd give up in like six. And so when the highlights are on, I know that I'll be able to get through a full 20 minute workout, which is what I'm trying to do if I'm traveling or moving around. So I love that idea of incorporating things.

Incorporating things. And that's true when it comes to creating habits that are tough to create in the beginning. How can you tack on something that is enjoyable, like a little bit of a reward system? And a reward system doesn't have to be I get to eat whatever I want afterwards.

What is the right reward system for being fit? Because I think a lot of people think it is then getting to eat what you want.

Yeah. You could be, like you said, you like to watch the highlights, a show that you enjoy or another activity that's enjoyable. Or if you want to treat yourself, find maybe when it comes to food, find a healthier option. I'm a great believer also in substituting. A lot of the recipes that I post are I have a sweet tooth, a major sweet tooth. So how can I create recipes that are healthy, that will satisfy and will taste just as good as the naughty food? So it's just for every person, it could be different what that reward for them is. But tack it onto it. In the We Rise app, we have Dr. Gina, who is a habits expert, habits building expert, one of the, I think, four leading researchers of habits. And she has so much input and so much information on how to make habits sustainable. I wish I had a Dr. Pocket Gina that I could ask. But she'll have such an amazing insight as to how to create and sustain these habits.

What's the biggest misconception with strength training? What do you think people get wrong?

That women will get like, bulky and big and gigantic. That's the biggest thing. It's like, I don't want to get too bulky. I don't want to get too big.

That's what you hear a lot.

That's what I hear a lot. And that is a huge misconception because in females, our hormones do not allow us to get to the levels that, for example, a man's physique can get naturally. It is not biologically. There's obviously different levels of hormones in different women that will promote growth in some more or less than others. But I always say at the end of the day, you can just back off, back off if you are feeling. But I guarantee you that once you start gaining a little bit of muscle, you will be addicted. Because the feeling of strength and confidence that it gives you, like a stronger body gives you, at least for me and for the people that I've worked with, those feelings that it gives them are far outweigh any negative misconceptions. I'm going to say misconception because it is. You're not going to get big. You're not going to get huge, you're not going to be like Hulk.

I know Radhi loves strength training. It's such a passion of hers, and she loves that feeling of being stronger and loves that feeling of... It's amazing to see because I think you are right that we have this worry that our body is going to change and look a way that we don't want it to look. Yeah. What should someone eat right before a workout and right after, especially a strength training workout?

Before a workout, about an hour, maybe 30 When it's at most because you don't want to eat too close, I would eat a combination of protein and carbs, maybe a little bit higher in carbs. And then afterwards, meal that is higher in protein. So at least 20 grams of protein in that meal after the workout. The studies are a little bit all over the place when it comes to this. Obviously, for somebody that's been working out for a long time, you're a little bit more flexible with that. Or for somebody that is trying to gain muscle mass or weight, again, it's a little bit more flexible versus a beginner, then you have to be a little bit more strict with strict a little bit more on top of your nutrition when it comes to not just before and after, but throughout the day. And at the end of the day is what you're consuming throughout the day that is most important. So are you reaching... So not so focused, because a lot of people focus so much on before and after. I would start with, how do you feel before a workout? If you're working out in the morning and you're energized enough, then Feel free to work out on an empty stomach.

That's completely fine. Even if you can carry that energy through. If you feel like you need to have a little bit of nutrition beforehand, that's great, too. It's how do you optimize for yourself? How do you optimize for yourself?

How do genetics play a role in achieving your goals?

Genetics, they do play a role, a big role in the sense that, well, genetics will not get you out of bed. For sure. Because a A lot of the time people see my physique and say, It's all genetics. I actually had to fight against a lot of my genetics to get out of bed and work out. I'm predisposed to depression and anxiety, so battling those factors, that's a genetic factor that goes into play. But then when it comes to actual physique building, yes, you'll vary as to the muscle mass that you will put on, but you can always improve. Let's not even bother working out because I don't build bigger muscles. You don't even know until you've tried to what capacity you can build. Genetics will play a bit of a factor in the body that you're trying to achieve. Some people will carry a little bit more weight around their stomach, so their abs will not be as easily visible as others. They'll have to, in a healthy way, potentially diet if they can, but to see the visible abdominal muscles. Not that that is a golden standard of anything, I was hypothetically saying that it will take them longer than others to achieve that.

Because, again, genetics do play a role in that.

Talking about that, what is the health benefit of having a lower body fat percentage percentage? What is the goal? Because we know that people are trying to lower their body fat percentage in order to have abs. But what's the actual health benefit of having a lower body fat percentage?

Yeah. And even with that, you want to maintain a healthier one. So you don't want to go too low. You don't want to be too high. If you're going too low, then your hormones start to get messed up. And we don't want that. What happens if it goes too low? If it goes too low, so then we start to... Women will start to miss their period, so it will affect them that way. Obviously, that puts the body in a little bit of a frenzy. It's not homeostasis anymore. When it goes too high, then you're starting to deal with cardiovascular issues, insulin resistance, and all of the things that will then lead to an unhealthy individual. So there is a range there that we should be.

Talking about cardio, you said that you incorporate cardio. How much is cardio important in a strength training practice? And how much is it not needed?

The question would be, what are the reasons for adding cardio? So are you adding cardio? Because a lot of people think that cardio is what's going to help them lose weight. And that's not true. It's all about calories in versus calories out. If you're talking about strictly losing weight, is how many calories are you putting in your body and how many calories you're expanding? If you're deciding to utilize strength training as a way to expand those calories, great. If you're utilizing cardio, great. There is some studies, again, that suggests that you'll get faster into that fat burning phase if you're doing strength training before and then cardio after. If you're doing strength training also before and cardio after, you're not compromising your strength training process as if you were to do cardio beforehand. How much cardio? That also is an individual basis. A lot of people hate cardio. So what I try personally to do, I'll incorporate it on upper body days. So I'll do somewhat of an interval training. So I'll do an exercise that's upper body focused, and then 30 seconds to a minute of sprinting, and then another exercise or set of an upper body focused.

So that's how I make it fun in my personal training and for everybody in the We Rise app. And obviously, if you're wanting to add more cardio because you feel like adding a steady-state cardio session after a separate day, a separate part of the day, because you're wanting to be more of a caloric deficit, that's completely fine as well.

It sounds like you don't like cardio.

I don't love cardio.

That's good for us to know.

I ran marathons, and that was great. I've run three marathons. I enjoyed it. You do put your body through a lot. But I have found, personally, what I've achieved through strength training when it comes physically and mentally has been far more rewarding than cardio. There's some benefit to cardio in the sense that some people feel more of the endorphins and the feel good hormones during hit sessions or cardio, so there is a benefit to that. At the end of the day, what is... Let's say while I value strength training, pick your poison at the end of the day, or pick your remedy, I should say, your elixir. What would that be for you as long as you can get some activity in? So while there is hierarchies of what you want to achieve. So if you want to build muscle, strength training really is the golden standard. But if you absolutely hate it. What is your activity of choice at the end of the day is what I would say.

Walk me through what your regime was for running the marathons. How did you build up to that? What was your practice? What was your workout routine and nutrition plan?

I wish I could say that I followed one of the plans because this was quite a few years ago. They built slowly and it worked on, like hill sprints and just a different variety of things that you need to work on when you're running a marathon. But it basically started with three miles and then increased to five miles. And then after a week or so, incrementally increasing the length that I would run till I got to the marathon, I guess. You never run the whole marathon. When you're doing, when you're practicing, it's more up to 18 miles. But it was just slowly over time building up to that. Definitely feeding those calories that were burning. Almost couldn't keep the weight on me at that point because you're spending so much energy.

What would you now say is a great nutrition plan while someone's strength training? What things have you found to be really integral and useful to have? And then what have you found to be useful to leave out?

Definitely prioritizing protein. So if you're consuming about 0.8 to just a little bit over one gram per pound of body weight of protein per day, that's a good place to be. And then filling the rest with carbs and fats. But that's what I always say, prioritize protein. That's what's going to help not just building muscle, but just your physiological needs. Protein is the building block of our body. And what you can leave out is the infamous sugar, the refined sugar. So opt more for complex carbs. I still like eating fruit. I know there's been fruit suddenly has become controversial. If you're eating fruit and vegetables, you're good. Just fit into that macro, especially if you're starting out and you have a specific goal. It is important to find out what your appropriate macros are for the day. And macros are the macronutrients. So what is your daily intake of protein, carbohydrates, and fats? But I always prioritize protein.

And with the protein, I mean, most of us are not getting close to that much amount of protein, right?

No, most of us are not. Like I said, for, let's say, 120 pound person, like a gram So you need 120 grams of protein around that per day. So they're in a piece of like, palm of your hand of, let's say, chicken. There's like 20 grams of protein. So So you need to be a little bit more discerning of your meals. So always include protein with every meal and maybe even with your snacks.

Yeah, I think for most of us, it feels like protein takes up probably that 20 grams, and then we're filling the rest with carbs, fats, everything else. But I've definitely found that when I first learned about that, I just couldn't believe how hard it was to actually prioritize getting. And I'm doing that plant-based, which is even harder. It is harder, right? But even For my friends who eat me, even they were saying just how challenging it was for them. It's not easy across the board. And so raising that up to that.

Yeah, it is. It's important, especially as we age, believe it or not, we need to intake even more protein.

You shared so much amazing research and studies with us today. Are there any others that really come to your mind that you think this is really important for women to know, or this is really important for strength trainers to know? Because some of the studies you shared with us have really been powerful.

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Yeah, I mean, the muscle loss is huge. Like I said, the 32,000 deaths per year, which actually crazy enough, has almost doubled from 2012 to 2021, if I remember correctly. And I wonder what's gone into that, why there's been such a drastic increase, and that's due to falls during this time. Maybe we've become less mobile. Maybe there's medications in the market that are affecting our bone density. It's actually when it comes to depression and anxiety, mood disorders. It has been found that even as little as 150 minutes of activity per week can relieve symptoms to about 42 to 60%, while as compared to psychotherapy and pharmaceuticals, the numbers are 20 % to 30 % in relief of symptoms. So even the higher upper-end limit of pharmacological products and psychotherapy doesn't even come close to what you can achieve by physical activity. And that's only at 150 minutes per week. So to me, that's mind-blowing what you can achieve. And I'm not negating the need for psychotherapy or pharmacological products. Absolutely. Where it's necessary. But why not start with exercising? Start there. You will achieve results that might be even higher than what you can do with pharmaceutical products.

That's just over 20 minutes a day.

Yeah, exactly. Just over 20 minutes a day. That's incredible. Yeah, absolutely.

That's That's really amazing to know. Yeah. Wow. And the difference, too, like you're saying, instead of 20 to 30 % reduce, 40 to 60 % reduce. So double on both the upper and lower end limit.

Exactly.

And you're right. Again, we're not telling anyone not to take things that they need to take. Absolutely. But the idea that why not have the full package?

Exactly. Why not have the full package? That's what it is, because a lot of the time it can be that psychotherapy or pharmacologs don't necessarily work for some people. I think there are some statistics of around 40% of the people don't experience the relief that they need. So either in conjunction or starting with an exercise program that will provide significant relief. I mean, firsthand, I'm standing here as somebody that has achieved that relief without now being on any pharmaceutical goals. This is why I work out every day. I don't want to experience those symptoms of depression and anxiety ever. So this is why I keep going.

So powerful. So inspiring to hear that as well. Thank you. So inspiring to hear that. What was it for you that was causing that? Where was that coming from for you personally?

There's so many factors, I I think. You're talking about being anxiety, depression, experiencing that. I think some of it is genetic. Some of it is being a teenager and moving countries, going from Albania to the United States and completely in a new world, a new space. My family didn't know English at the time. I was the only one that did, so I had to support them. I had to assume the of an adult at a fairly young age. I was 14, 15 at the time where I had to become an adult in my family. I think there's a chronocopia of things that came together for me to experience anxiety and depression and trying to fit in and not being a foreigner at the time and a teenager and being bullied and made fun of. It all paved the path a little bit for me to experience that. I do feel for teenagers, and I do feel for the generation that is living through these times. It's not easy. It's not easy. But find comfort in that discomfort of working out and in that physical activity because it will help.

Absolutely. Thank you for sharing that. Thank you so much. I wanted to talk to you a bit about steps. What's your take on the 10,000 steps?

It's a good place to start. Like I said, walking that since That's great. 10,000 to 12,000. My dad does it every day. He's committed to it. It's a good starting point. It's a good starting point, but it's how you make those steps quality, quality steps.

Do you work out every day of the week?

Most days.

Do you have a rest day?

I find that it is great to keep yourself active, even if it's something light. So if I'm not working out, I'll go for a long walk or a hike. I think it's so important to keep ourselves active because we do end up spending most of the day sitting. So even working out for an hour a day, if you spend most of your day sitting, it doesn't negate that sitting. So it is important And even speaking throughout the day, to get up and take a little bit of a walk, like every half an hour, every hour. So I do try to keep active every single day. So if I'm not doing a full workout, I'll go for a walk, like I said, or a hike. No days off. No No, there's off, really. No, there's off. I love it. A body in motion stays in motion.

No, I know what you mean. It's so interesting how much staying sedentary is the cause of so many of our issues. We had Dr. Darshan Shah on a few months back, and he talked about the idea of just how much our quality of life changes because we're not getting up from our seats all day, whether we're at our desks or work or wherever else it may be. And so I love what you're saying about the idea of moving, even if it's not a full workout. Exactly. So your rest day is my best workout day. Basically, my ideal workout day. She's like, I go on a hike when I'm not working out. And I'm like, Here I am going, my hike is my workout. I love that.

You do. You work out. My best day is your worst day. You work out. You just told me you're into calisthenics. So yeah, you work out.

Yeah, that's so funny. I love it. One thing I wanted to dive into about as we're coming to a close here is you train some of the most well-known people in the world who seem to work really hard. Obviously, Kim's been on the show, and we always see Kim posting you and you guys training together. What have you learned about training with her? What have you learned about her from training with her?

So one thing that I've learned about Kim with training with her, it's her dedication. She shows up, shows up on time and it's ready to go. Never does she complain or backs away from something that I put her through, and I put her through a lot. And she never backs away. She never backs away. She always pushes through. Which is very impressive.

I'm not surprised. She did say her workout was one of her favorite things She's very dedicated, for sure. And you guys get organized, right? If she has a shoot coming up or she's got a specific outfit to wear for an event, you get really-We dial it in.

We dial it in, for sure.

You moved to LA for it. I did.

I did. And I ended up staying here for a little bit longer than I was expected.

What was it like when she first reached out and said, I need you to come over? What was that like? What was that conversation like?

Yes, I'll be there. Because obviously it is Kim, but I believe in working with these people that have such high influence because of the impact that they will have on the larger population. So if they can send, if through them, I can send a message of strength for women. So strength is beautiful, strength is confidence, whatever that looks like. Strength doesn't have to come with big muscles. But if I can send a message of strength to especially young women, Then to me, I've done. My purpose is fulfilled.

That's beautiful. What's the first thing you ask someone when they come to you? Anyone that comes to work with you, what's the first thing you ask them?

How serious are you about this? Right. Yeah. How serious are you about this? Are you going to give me a day here and there? Because that's just not going to achieve anything for you or myself. So you have to be serious about your health. And I like to make it, even though if somebody comes to me saying that they need to look a certain way, I always try to make it about health and longevity.

It's similar in coaching, actually. Whenever I take on a client, I found that clients were willing to dedicate and commit time. See phenomenal results. I've had clients that I have met for two hours a day, every day for two years. And I've had clients that I met twice a week, thrice a week for three to six months. And then I have someone who's checking in once a month, checking in once a quarter, doesn't have... And you just start to notice. And it's hard because it's not that someone is not wanting to work hard, or it's not that they're a bad person or a weak person. Right, of course. Just people have different discipline levels. Absolutely. But it's like, in order to really see an impact and see the results, there has to be that commitment.

There has to be that commitment. Absolutely.

You talked about the purpose of strength training. What is the purpose of workouts like Pilates and yoga and other forms? What is the purpose of those workouts compared to strength training?

Like I said, I respect and utilize, I've utilized myself all modalities. I love yoga, but I think they're great additives. They're great in addition to strength training because they will not most likely build muscle mass in the way that strength training can. They will build maybe endurance. They will build some They'll build flexibility and some strength, but not to the level that lifting weights will. In the way that lifting weights will build your bone density, yoga and pilates, unless you're doing some crazy yoga or pilates, they will not do that. But again, there is a great place and time, in addition, I believe, to to strength training to incorporate yoga and pilates.

What's the difference in the workout you prescribe to someone who wants to gain muscle versus someone who wants to lose weight through strength training?

They don't have to be the same at all. They could be one and the same because is, again, at the end of the day, when you're building muscle, you're challenging yourself. You're challenging your muscles with the weight that you're lifting, which is expanding calories. And that's what you need in weight loss as Well, you need expenditure of calories, but at a caloric deficit. So that's the only changing component is that caloric deficit. So it's more in the nutrition versus in the workouts. I mean, there is You can work out, you can challenge yourself with the duration of the workout and then maintain your nutrition, or you can eat less, basically. So be at a deficit in calories and then lose weight. So it doesn't have to be any difference there. It's just how you manage nutrition versus output.

Got it. And if you're working out on your own without a trainer, it's much harder. How do you know what to add to make it more challenging to continue to get stronger or to continue to shift? Because I find most people are working out without a trainer. Of course, they can use the We Rise app and have that. That's what the We Rise app does, right?

Yeah, absolutely. I'll give you the guideline. If you'll give you the workouts, what you can do on your own is challenge yourself with the weights that you're lifting. So if, for example, the recommended reps are between 8 and 12, when you get to that 8 or 10, 9, 10, 12 rep, how are you challenged? Can you do 10 more? If you're doing 10 more after that, or if you can't do, you're doing too little weight. So you need to increase the weight. That's what you have to keep in mind. I also value strongly that mind muscle connection. So truly thinking about the working muscle. There's actually studies that show that if you are thinking of the muscles that you're working, then that actually creates... The muscle gets bigger. There is their studies to that. So if you are slowing down the movement Thinking about the muscles that you're working, I sometimes try to touch. This is working. It sends that signal from your brain to the muscle that, Hey, we're working here. We're working here. And that will increase strength, will increase muscle mass, actually.

Yeah, I've heard about that. The idea of people almost doing weights in their mind.

Yeah, there were studies that they just simply just did that without any weight lifting, and they found a significant difference. The power of the mind is incredible.

What else have you done for the power of the mind to affect your body? What other practices have you taken on at a mental or spiritual level that you feel have positively impacted your physical health?

Well, meditation is That's huge, in my opinion, for mental health, but also if you're wanting to visualize certain results. I feel like whenever I've been in a place where I needed to... I've competed, for example, in bodybuilding competitions in the bikini level. So I found when it came strictly to the physique, it's basically manifestation at that cellular level when you're thinking about the way that you want to look or feel or present yourself. So meditation is huge. I try to incorporate that every day. Journaling, also gratitude every night before going to bed, I practice gratitude. Not sure how that relates to the physique, but it relates to the mental aspect.

You're grateful for your body, I guess.

Absolutely.

I had to learn that. I definitely was very grateful for my mind and my intelligence and my abilities But I'd always feel like my body was letting me down. And that negative approach to my own body only made my body let me down more. Absolutely. It's like someone in your life. If you feel like that person in your life always lets you down, guess what?

They're going to let Let me let you down because you're going to look for that.

Exactly. And so I was always talking to my body subconsciously in that way, where I was like, Oh, my mind is amazing, but my body lets me down.

The words that we use are so important. Just In this recent journey that I shared about before with you, that was one of the big lessons that I learned is the way that sometimes we talk to ourselves. The words that we use, whether they're out loud or even just spoken in silence to ourselves, are huge. So if you tell yourself, I hate my body. I want to change this. I hate, I don't know, my stomach. That's not coming from a place of love. You're less likely to achieve results if that's coming from a place of negative sentiments towards yourself. That's another thing that I always tried to impart on whoever I'm working with, especially in person, is I want us to start from a place of love for ourselves, not from I need to lose 20 pounds, because that again comes from, I hate this 20 pounds that's on me. But starting I'm a place of love for wherever we were at and for I want to do this because I want to become a healthier version of myself.

Fantastic. Sonata has been so informative talking to you today. I feel like there's been so many great insights that we can I think I'm going to be pulling on a lot of your insights to gain drive and gain focus to connect back in with my body because a lot of what you've shared with me has made me realize just how important strength training is, especially in my 30s, where I am now. And and how important it's going to be long term, even if I don't feel it right now. So thank you so much. Yeah, of course. We end every episode with a final five. These have to be answered in one word or one sentence maximum. And so Sonata Grecker, these are your final five. The first is, what is the best health or fitness advice you've ever heard or received?

Well, the best advice ever was to stay true to myself and to my uniqueness. So I don't think it necessarily has to deal with the fitness part, but it's to embrace your unique self and stay true to it. The advice that I would give when it comes to fitness, though, would be to just start. Just start.

Second question, what is the worst advice you've ever had or received?

Stop lifting weights. He'll get you to be masculine and bulky.

That's not the case.

At the end of the day, it's also, let's not judge people for how they want to look. If they want to appear a certain way, if that's what drives them, that's what they want, let's allow Wow.

Question number three, what's your hope for people in 2024?

Just to do everything from a place of love, whatever that is. So whether it's working out, nutrition or anything in their life, just start from a place of love for themselves and for everybody around them.

Question number four, what's the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?

First thing, I meditate. Last thing, I say my gratitudes. Beautiful.

And fifth and final question, if you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?

I would say, because this was one of my biggest lesson, was to allow. I don't know if it makes sense, but one of the biggest lessons from you recently was to allow and stop being so much needing to control everything. So maybe this is more on a personal level, but I think if we allow for the good in our life or the love, for the right type of circumstances, I think there's so much to gain from that.

It's beautiful. Sonata, thank you so much. Thank you. For being here. Everyone has been listening or watching. Sonata's app is the We Rise app, where you can find fitness and health tips and practices. And of course, if you don't already, you can follow her on Instagram at @sanata. Greca. Please go and follow her right now for more fitness tips, for great workouts to get you started, to get you going. I want 2024 to be a year you're stronger, fitter, and better. And Sonata is going to be a big part of making that happen. Thank you so much, Sonata, again. Thank you, Jay.

I appreciate it.

For your time and energy. I'm so grateful.

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me here. I truly appreciate it.Thank you.Thank you.

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