Ep 137: Unlock Abundance in Fitness and Every Other Aspect of Life with Rebecca Whitman
What are the simple lifestyle adjustments that can have a profound impact on your fitness and well-being?
In today’s episode, Philip (@witsandweights) is joined by Rebecca Whitman, an International best-selling author and top-ranked podcast host. Rebecca shares her philosophy of the 7 Pillars of Abundance, challenging you to rethink how to balance your life, emphasizing the physical abundance pillar. From her unique approach to her personal morning routine, you will learn how to embrace abundance, build resilience, and reshape your self-identity to harness your full potential
Rebecca is a graduate of Princeton University with honors. She was awarded Life Coach of the Year and Empowered Woman of the Year by the International Association of Top Professionals. She was named one of the Top 7 Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2023 by “LA Weekly” magazine. She is also the host of the top 1% podcast, "The Balanced, Beautiful, and Abundant Show,” which won the Positive Change Award.
Rebecca, also known as the Magnetic Abundance Mentor, helps people find a harmonious balance among the seven pillars, unlocking more joy and freedom in their lives. She has transformed the lives of many women from burned out to balanced, beautiful, and abundant, including mentoring them to leave toxic relationships and magnetize their soul mates. She also created the 6 Figure Side Hustle program, helping women exit from unfulfilling jobs to a profitable purpose.
Episode summary:
When we talk about living a balanced and abundant life, it's easy to focus solely on the material aspects – the wealth, the possessions, and the outward signs of success. However, Rebecca Whitman's appearance paints a much more nuanced picture, emphasizing the interconnectivity of various life aspects that contribute to a truly rich and satisfying existence. Rebecca presents the concept of the seven pillars of abundance, a comprehensive approach to achieving holistic happiness.
The seven pillars encompass spiritual, fitness, emotional, romantic, mental, social, and financial well-being. Rebecca eloquently explains that true abundance is not about having an excess in one area, but rather finding a harmonious balance across all aspects of life. The notion is that when we nurture each of these pillars, we create a foundation for a life that is not only prosperous but also meaningful and joy-filled.
One might wonder how such a life can be actualized. The answer lies in the practical strategies Rebecca and Phillip share throughout the podcast. For instance, they emphasize the importance of a morning spiritual routine, which may include practices such as meditation, journaling, or prayer. This not only sets the tone for the day but also helps establish a connection with something greater than oneself, providing a source of comfort and guidance.
In discussing the fitness pillar, the conversation turns to the transformative impact of weight training. Rebecca shares her personal journey, noting that incorporating weights into her fitness regimen was pivotal in achieving the best shape of her life at 52. This segment of the episode challenges the misconception that weightlifting is solely for bulking up, showcasing it as a tool for crafting a leaner, stronger physique.
Nutrition and hydration are not left out of the conversation. They are considered foundational to physical health, affecting energy levels, skin health, and overall wellness. Rebecca talks about her routine of drinking lemon water with electrolytes and the benefits of a Mediterranean diet. She also touches on the need for personalized health routines that cater to one's individual needs, especially during different life stages, such as menopause.
Mental and emotional health are deeply intertwined, and the podcast does not shy away from this connection. Rebecca points out that all emotions stem from love or fear, and by choosing to focus on emotions rooted in love, such as joy and contentment, one can significantly improve their overall well-being. She further discusses the mental pillar, highlighting the importance of continuous learning and engagement of the mind through various means, including listening to podcasts like Wits and Weights.
In the social realm, the importance of community is underscored. The support of like-minded individuals can be a powerful motivator and source of encouragement, particularly when pursuing health and fitness goals. Similarly, the romantic pillar is examined, stressing the need for a partner who supports one's ambitions and lifestyle choices, as this can greatly influence one's path to abundance.
Finally, financial well-being is discussed, not in terms of wealth accumulation, but as a means to achieve freedom and the ability to live life on one's own terms. This reflects a shift from a scarcity mindset, where one is constantly chasing money, to an abundance mindset, where financial stability is seen as a tool for enabling a rich and diverse life experience.
Today, you’ll learn all about:
2:31 Journey from scarcity to abundance
5:17 The 7 pillars of abundance
10:11 Priority or hierarchal order of the pillars
15:41 The HNM philosophy: hydration, nutrition, movement, and meditation
24:43 Your morning routine
30:18 Active mind syndrome
32:55 "Stacking" practices for different pillars of abundance
36:28 25-year break from tennis
40:10 Impact of other pillars on overall health and well-being
44:20 Building resilience against life's obstacles
47:31 Where to find Rebecca
48:47 Outro
Episode Resources:
Fun events – Elegant Warrior Training
Website: rebeccaelizabethwhitman.com
IG: @rebeccaewhitman
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Transcript
Rebecca Whitman 00:00
I realized wow, you can actually get leaner and harder if you lift weights, it doesn't mean you're gonna like bulk up and be this bodybuilder if you lift weights and that really changed my whole physique when I started lifting weights and now I'm 52 and I'm in the best shape of my life because I have incorporated weight so that's why another reason I love the title of your podcast Wits & Weights because weight training really changed my life.
Philip Pape 00:29
Welcome to the Wits & Weights podcast. I'm your host, Philip pape, and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self mastery by getting stronger, optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition. We'll uncover science backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle and mindset with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry so you can look and feel your absolute best. Let's dive right in Wits & Weights community Welcome to another episode of the Wits & Weights Podcast. Today I'm joined by Rebecca Whitman, an international best selling author top ranked podcast hosts a positive force in the world of personal development and empowerment. Rebecca will share her philosophy of the Seven Pillars of abundance, challenging us to rethink how we balance our lives, with a bit of emphasis today on the physical abundance pillar. From her unique approach to her personal morning routine. You'll learn how to embrace abundance, build resilience, be more consistent, and reshape your self identity to harness your full potential. A graduate of Princeton University with honors, Rebecca was awarded Life Coach of the Year and empowered woman of the year by the International Association of top professionals and one of the top seven entrepreneurs to watch in 2023 by LA Weekly magazine. She's also the host of the top 1% podcast the balanced, beautiful and abundant show, which won the positive change award known as the magnetic abundance mentor. Rebecca's approach is designed to help people find a harmonious balance among the seven pillars of abundance, unlocking more joy and freedom in their lives. Rebecca, welcome to the show.
Rebecca Whitman 02:03
Thank you, Phillip. It's great to be here. I love the title of your podcast Wits. & Weights.
Philip Pape 02:09
Yeah, a little bit of alliteration. It came to me while we were at my daughter's soccer game. And I was just like brainstorming in my head. And somehow, somehow it came to me. So appreciate it. So thank you for coming on. And we're talking about abundance today and what that means, what that means in general, but also in the context of health and fitness. So what I'm curious about is, for contrast, is there a time in your life where you didn't? You clearly didn't have abundance, right? Maybe scarcity, whatever we want to call it? How did that experience? How did it feel and how to lead you to where you are today?
Rebecca Whitman 02:43
Well, I was raised in a very competitive house. And by the time I was eight, I was playing national tennis tournament. So I was taught that I had to when my dad literally had a sign in his office, it says, wasn't winning isn't everything. It's the only thing. So that is a scarcity mentality. And that is very like hypervigilant, competitive fight flight. And I did get results with that. I mean, I was, I graduated from Princeton with honors, and I, you know, had some sales records in my early career, and direct sales, but I was absolutely miserable. And not happy, I was overweight, I was having toxic relationships. It was just not a good way to live. And then I hit a bottom in 2003. And I started studying the law of attraction with Michael Beckwith, Abraham Hicks, Wayne Dyer. And I started understanding that I can have a scarcity mentality, or I can have an abundance mentality. And then I combine that with my study of, there's seven different areas of life and then I realized, I have a choice to make and all these seven areas, I can either look at my fitness, my romance, my emotional life, my financial life and an attitude of scarcity or abundance. And that is, that is what I call myself now the magnetic abundance mentor, because I believe that you can raise your vibration and life and magnetize abundance in all seven areas of life. Yeah,
Philip Pape 04:35
I love that. So the zero sum competitive game is kind of that rat race a lot of us live in on a daily basis, especially people who are high achievers, right people who are looking to constantly grow, whether it's personally and professionally and it's this competitive thing. And we I think we put that on a pedestal sometimes right as a positive value and a virtue, whereas what you're suggesting is it's not sustainable, right? It sounded like it burned you out, you were unhappy. And it led to all these other things. So thank you for segue now into the pillars because I want to establish that framework for folks. I always love frameworks and thinking of life as okay. I'm very, like, you know, got the engineering mind, I can imagine these seven buckets, maybe overlapping circles or something like that. You mentioned the seven are most of them spiritual, physical, emotional, romantic, mental, social, and financial, so elaborate on that framework, and then we can dive into a few of those. Sure.
Rebecca Whitman 05:29
So the framework is an order of importance, and how I set up my day and my week in my life. So the first one is spiritual. I am a huge believer in having a morning practice. And that is where I stay, I drink my water, take my supplements, we'll talk about my philosophy and fitness. But it's really where I start to tap into my relationship with my higher power. And I have an amazing tool that I'm going to share with your listeners. It's an abundance journal. And there's a story behind that tool. I'll get into that too, in a minute. But writing in that abundance journal, prayer, meditation, they're non negotiables. For me, the second pillar is fitness. And I don't work out every single day, but I do work out probably six days a week. And it is a combination of tennis, yoga, weight training, and walking. And I really do like having my competitive edge on the tennis court. So I'm not saying there's no room for competition, because it is fun to compete. It's fun to win, and, but I don't want to think of everything in my life as a competition. That is exhausting. The third pillar is emotion. And I do believe that all emotions come from fear, love. If you look at emotions that come from love, and this isn't me, this is A Course in Miracles teaches this. It's appreciation, happiness, contentment, satisfaction, joy comes from love. And then resentment, fear, anger, jealousy, bitterness, it all comes from fear. So you could also call it scarcity or abundance. So all emotions are either in scarcity, there's not enough good to go around, or there's an abundance of good to go around, whatever that is energy, time, money, love. The next pillar of abundance is romance. And romance affects all the areas just like all of them affect all the areas. So if you're with a partner that doesn't support your health and fitness goals, for example, if they want you to order pizza every night and have donuts every morning for breakfast, it's going to be really hard to achieve your health and fitness goals. Same is true with financial, if you want to be an entrepreneur, and swing for the fences and go for wealth and legacy. And they just want you to have a nine to five job and you know, watch TV all weekend, it's probably not a good fit. The next pillar after romance is mental. And that is what we're doing right here on this wonderful podcast Wits & Weights with Philip. And we're working on our mindset and there's many podcasts audibles, it could be learning a new skill, learning a new language, learning a sport, chess, poker, anything to work on your mindset. The next one is social, Your vibe attracts your tribe and community creates immunity. Having a community of like minded people is so important when you have a goal. So if your goal is to be healthy and fit, having a community, whether it's a gym, a Facebook group, a class of other people that have the same goal is critical. And the same is true with money. Having people in a community that want you to succeed financially, and that are on the same path as you that is so crucial. You know, it's the average of the five people you hang out with. Those are the results you have. The final pillar is financial. And that is making enough money to have a freedom. I don't believe in just sitting on a pile of money and doing nothing with it. I believe that life is meant to be lived. And money gives you freedom to do what you want, when you want where you want, and with who you want. And if you don't have enough money, you don't have any freedom. You're like that hamster on a treadmill, constantly just chasing that dollar bill, and you can't think of anything else. So it's important to find a way to get paid what you're worth, and not trade dollars for hours. Because if you're trading dollars for hours, you have limited amount of hours in a week, weeks in a year months in a year, and you will be limiting your income.
Philip Pape 09:50
Great, super concise. Thank you and it is interesting how they do tie together like when you talk about emotion and mental. I've always loved that separation you know Because I think sometimes we tie them all together. But there's really a distinct difference there. And the community part is huge. I mean, it really is huge when it comes to relatedness and having the support to get there. So, with with all of these seven things to focus on, I'm sure you get the question all the time about balance and what to go after, when you mentioned on another podcast podcast that I don't know if it was you, or clients or whoever or women always tend to put love and money at the top of the list, I think you'd mentioned. So you talked about this being an order of priority, is that so you're saying spirituals is the most important? Or is this just for you during a given day, there's a reason you rank me
Rebecca Whitman 10:38
and my teachings, it's just in my opinion, but this is these are the building blocks to build a balanced, beautiful and abundant life. They're there in order of importance, because emotions are over romance and finance. Because if you're miserable, sad, suicidal, what kind of a partner are you going to be? Or we've seen, you know, many rock stars and movie stars and billionaires, OD or commit suicide. So they had their finances together, but they were not emotionally well, so having your emotions in abundance, and love and happiness, that that's important, more important. But I if you notice, I put fitness over emotions, yes. Because if you have your health, you have everything. And if you don't have your house, you don't have anything. You could make a million dollars a minute. And if you're in a hospital with an IV up your nose and you know something in your arm and you're tied to a hospital bed, then what good is it?
Philip Pape 11:44
It's exactly what I've come to find to and in my practice that like if you don't have your physical, sometimes we talked about people talk about three buckets, right? They'll say physical health, wealth, relationships, right? It's kind of really simplistic. And if you don't have your physical you, how can you pursue the others, especially as we age, but I want to focus on the spiritual just for a second, some because I know some people aren't as quote unquote, spiritual and as it could be a loaded term, right? Some people think religion, some people think you mentioned meditation and prayer, or just a, your morning practice, elaborate on that a little bit. So people understand like, why is this? Number one? What makes it number one? And how is that personalized to someone?
Rebecca Whitman 12:25
If you don't have faith in anything, but yourself, that is a lot of pressure, I was an atheist, up until my freshman year in college, and I had literally a breakdown, where I did a fake suicide attempt and took like a bottle of CO Tylenol, because I just couldn't stand the pressure. And think faith in anything greater than yourself is going to give you a peaceful life. I don't care if it's nature, because we're not the ones you know, raising and setting the sun every day, we're not the ones pulling the ocean tides, forward and back. Whatever it is, having faith in anything that's greater than yourself that you can trust that, you know, has your back is it's just amazing to have a partner to go through life with. And you could say, well, it's not scientifically proven, but quantum physics is proven that everything is connected, and there's some kind of order to the chaos. So yeah, having faith in something greater than yourself, I don't care if it's the law of gravity, you know, you're not the person keeping your feet on the earth. But just knowing there's something out there. And then I met this woman at an AAA meeting, her name was Janet. And she taught me how to write and then God journal, she gave me some life changing journal prompts. I started doing that every single day. I've added a few journal prompts of my own, I haven't missed a day for 30 years. And that journal is part of my morning practice because it helps turn my negative thinking to positive. And it helps me see like a bigger picture, like one of the journal prompts is how is God doing for me what I couldn't do for myself. That is opening up my mind that there is a benevolent force in a friendly universe. And that just that one journal prompt, changed my whole way of thinking. And I'm actually going to give this journal as a gift to your listeners.
Philip Pape 14:28
Yeah, no, I love that. And people people listening for me a long time. No, I've struggled with journaling myself over the years and I'm actually in the midst of using a journal again sociate with another friend of mine, he has a thing going on there. But what comes to mind with all of this spiritual thing because I'm very open minded is purpose, right? Like is someone's purpose. The same thing, like the fact that someone is trying to do something beyond themselves, and that drives them. Would you say it's the same thing or is that something else?
Rebecca Whitman 15:00
I think your purpose is different than a relationship. Okay? With a higher power, your purpose can be anything. And actually, I have a free guide on my website, Rebecca Elizabeth whitman.com. And that the guide is called Find Your meaningful and magnetic purpose. But yeah, purpose to me is what you're put on this earth to do what lights you up what your mission is, and spiritual. I mean, it could tie into your spirituality, but I feel like the two don't have to be connected this can be its own separate relationship.
Philip Pape 15:40
Okay, no, I love that. So let's focus on the second pillar, which which I know we wanted to get into today, the physical and your personal philosophy of fitness. I think in our we had a text conversation and you mentioned the term H and M, to refer to hydration, nutrition, movement and meditation. So again, frameworks, I love it, you know, the acronyms and letters and all that. So the fact that you start with hydration is very interesting. But just tell us more about this overall philosophy. And we get into details.
Rebecca Whitman 16:08
Yeah, I believe in h&m, not the discount store. Although I do love the discount store. Like you said, hydration, nutrition, movement meditation. So hydration is everything. I'm actually drinking my water right now. And it's got phytonutrients and electrolytes in it. That's another thing, I promote a brand for health and wellness. And I believe hydration is so critical for just everything. One of the things that I do, as soon as I wake up is I drink lemon water, at least 16 ounces, and I have some electrolytes in that. And then I will have I do I do participate in caffeine, I'm not gonna say, which makes hydration even more important. So I believe that we should be drinking half our weight in ounces of water. I don't think the water has to be plain, I'm all about like putting extra supplements to jazz it up. But yeah, 90 ounces of water is so important, especially if you are taking a lot of supplements. And especially if you're working out because the body needs that water to process everything through. I didn't even drink a lot of water, like growing up, it wasn't a thing. Now all these kids are walking everywhere with their water bottles, and there's water bottle stickers, and everyone's like be hydrated. But it does make a great difference to me and my health and just in my skin. How I feel. So that's the first Yeah,
Philip Pape 17:44
let's just focus on that for a second. The fact you put it first is is kind of innovative because most most people don't write it, they'll put it in, they'll kind of put it as an afterthought. And I have clients all the time who say, you know, I'm hungry this week, or, or a client recently and said, You know, I started drinking more like you suggested and my energy is better is that a thing and it's absolutely like your body needs water for everything it does every function you can imagine. And the electrolytes is also good because people do drink a lot of caffeine. And if they can maybe complement that with a glass of water with some lemon and salt or electrolytes, it's gonna make a huge difference. And then your skin right, especially for ladies, you know, I know, I know, everybody skin is important, but you know, women tend to focus on that. So starting with hydration, very innovative. I just wanted to point that out, and they'll let you continue with the nutrition.
Rebecca Whitman 18:29
Yeah, and I love putting electrolytes in my water because a lot of us are mineral deficient, because our farmlands are depleted of minerals. So even though they're doing the same crops year in and year out, there's less and less minerals that the crops are garnering from the soil. So yeah, I'm all about electrolytes in the water.
Philip Pape 18:51
Well, let me let me ask about that. Which electrolytes do you find is magnesium high on the list? Would you say like which electrolytes do we find are most efficient? And how do you address those with with the electrolytes and also do you get it from fruit for example?
Rebecca Whitman 19:06
Yeah, well, I actually there's a product. It's got all the electrolytes magnesium is one of them. Plus it has Silla jet. Do you know what that is? I actually don't. It's a new superfood. It's it's like resin that they scrape off of caves in the Himalayas. Interesting. gives you energy naturally. So it's got electrolytes and she loves it and it I also use a brand called trace minerals. I put that in my lemon water, and they have just a general mineral formula and then they have one with fulvic acid. I also put molecular hydrogen on my water sometimes too. If I'm at a restaurant, I have little molecular hydrogen pills that I'll drop in the water to just again, jazz it up make it more exciting. Electric molecular Hi Hydrogen is really good for just cellular function, energy clarity. The next is nutrition. I am a believer in the Mediterranean diet, which is the blue zone diet. It's a low inflammation diet. It's a lot of vegetables, fish eggs, and I don't eat meat. I don't eat gluten. I don't eat dairy. And I don't eat. I mean up their sugar and everything naturally. I don't eat things with a lot of sugar. Though
Philip Pape 20:35
the Mediterranean diet does have lean meats in there for just completeness. Yeah. Okay.
Rebecca Whitman 20:39
For those who want to eat lean meats, it is in there. Yeah, absolutely. So that diet has really worked for me. I didn't do well, on the high fat, low carb diet, I actually blew up my gallbladder and needed an emergency gallbladder removal, because I was doing like too much fat. So I don't think that works for everybody. So I don't like avoid fat, I have avocados. And sometimes I'll have gi but I don't like put fat on my coffee every day or do that. Yeah,
Philip Pape 21:18
and then we talk about nutrition all the time here, you've got to find something that works for you. And even though no one diet can be proclaimed perfect for any one person, the Mediterranean diet definitely leans toward kind of the whole food health matrix, you know, the whole food matrix getting all your nutrients in there. So it's pretty solid. Yeah.
Rebecca Whitman 21:36
And I like what Dr. Gundry says that food is just a delivery system for olive oil. So I think that is that is that is the healthy fat that I can tolerate. So the next M is for movement. I changed my workout. When I hit menopause, I was doing HIIT training that was like, cardio, two minutes of weights and two minutes is sprinting on the treadmill. And I would walk back to my car just like in a puddle of sweat. I you know, it was a lot. And I did that for a long time. And then I, I hit menopause. And I changed it up because I studied it. And it's like, you're not supposed to work out that hard as you did like, as a youngster like so now I do HIIT training, but it's, it's with a gym franchise that you probably know Phillip called f 45. And they have like more resistance training. And it's still hit, you still do stations with you know, a few seconds of rest in between sets. But it's I do more the weight resistance days. And then I do that three days a week, I also walk my dog every single day. My goal is 5000 steps. I don't hit it every day. But that's my intention to hit it. I do yoga, once a week. And then I play tennis a couple of times a week for cardio. It's a game called live ball where there's a lot of running around a tennis court. So I really believe for fitness, it should be a combination of strength, flexibility and cardio. And I feel like I'm hitting all those things.
Philip Pape 23:22
I agree we you know, people are listening, and they always wonder like, what's the best program for them? Or how should they do it and like you said it, first of all can change with your life. Like when you said you had menopause you know, the energy needs change, and your capabilities change and all this other stuff. But also, you got to enjoy it. I mean, you've gotta have to enjoy it. You know, if you're if you're walking, walk out in nature with your dog, if you you know, if you want to be flexible or have some mindfulness yoga, or stretching or whatever works for you. And then throwing in some fun activities in there like tennis is great. So it's a good reminder to folks to to keep it well rounded and do what works for you.
23:56
The most value that I got from this was the fact that I had someone that I could talk to about anything and that there was going to be no judgement, it was just Well, here are your goals, here's the best way that you're going to achieve it. And then let's work together to help you feel inspired and motivated to do that. And a lot of people out there trying to be coaches and not all of them have done the work and also just be a genuine person that is positive and coming from the heart in terms of wanting to help and Phillip really embodied all of those qualities I would recommend him to just about anyone that's looking to achieve goals in that realm of their nutrition and building new habits.
Rebecca Whitman 24:41
I am a big believer of ClassPass before I joined F 45 I call myself a gym slet because I had a DD and I didn't want to like just go to the same gym and do the same workout all the time. I used to do before I really studied and understood how important weight Training was, I was the I called it my super model workout, 45 minutes of cardio on this on the step mill, or the bike, and then 15 minutes of stretching and abs, and I was doing absolutely no strength. And then I realized, wow, you can actually get leaner, and hotter. If you lift weights, it doesn't mean you're gonna like bulk up and be this bodybuilder if you lift weights, and that really changed my whole physique when I started lifting weights. And now, I'm 52 and I'm in the best shape of my life because I have incorporated weight. So that's why another reason I love the title of your podcast Wits & Weights, because weight training really changed my life.
Philip Pape 25:44
I mean, Rebecca, we are all over that. And it's a message that has to get out there for men men know it kind of but but you're right women, it's like a different approach. And you just think about what it takes to get bulky, like a man to get bulky. It's a lot of work, it would be, you know, usually on drugs too. But not often women are not going to get bulky. Like if you if you have that lean, strong physique. That's where it comes from. And guess what you get to eat more food, you don't have to be dieting, you know, you can be more functional, capable for the other things, the list goes on and on. So I always love to hear that it's a great message.
Rebecca Whitman 26:16
And I do have a cheat day. Friday is my cheat day. I call it fun food Friday. And I can eat anything I want. But I feel like even though I can have a total cheat day, I still still doing like, my cheat will be like, you know, a vegan, gluten free piece of cheesecake. But it'll still be like within the parameters. But I could, you know, it's nice to know that on one day, I can eat anything I want. So that's the the fitness strategy. And if I don't work out in the morning, it's not happening. So I believe in doing it first thing in the morning. It builds my confidence. It gives me that cocktail of feel good hormones, serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. And it's just a great way to start my day.
Philip Pape 27:03
Yeah, you know, let's hold on that because it's interesting, I used to be very agnostic about that. You'll find out I'm the kind of guy who like, I want to please everyone. So you know, I'll just kind of be agnostic on things. The morning versus the evening training, you know, the evidence shows that ultimately, whatever works for you works for you. And that, you know, afternoon training was shown to be a slightly better for lifting. But it turns out that morning training has tremendous amount of other benefits, like you mentioned, related to your cortisol, other hormones, the endorphins, also your mood, like so many things that probably far outweigh any other little benefit evening training has, again, you have to do what works for you, right. But I do want the listener to know that if they haven't tried training in the morning, and they're like, oh, I don't want to get up early and just do it. Just do it for like a week or two and see, see how it makes you feel.
Rebecca Whitman 27:52
It used to be really hard for me to get up early and train, I would work out at like a 930 or 10 o'clock class. And then I married a morning person. And we work out together we lift weights three days a week, he likes to work out at 530. I like to work out at 930. So we met in the middle and now I work out at like 730 or eight. And because of that I can do intermittent fasting and have a fasted workout. And that's also very controversial. I know, some people say you should have protein first thing in the morning before your workout. But I feel like I do a pre workout drink. And that gives me a lot of energy. And then I go to the gym and lift weights and and then I have breakfast afterwards. That's when I have my protein. And it really, it's been really working for me. I really like having a fasted workout. Cool.
Philip Pape 28:40
Yeah, it depends on what works for you. So if it works for you, because I've had I've had clients who I'll have them try training fed. And they're like, this just doesn't work as well. I think I'll say like eight out of 10 people seem to do better when they start eating but then you know, others will find the other. So it really depends. I don't know. Yeah, really? Yeah,
Rebecca Whitman 29:03
it really depends. And if I workout later in the morning, I do need to eat because I get hungry during the workout. Good feeling. So that's the H hydration and nutrient nutrition, M is movement. The other M is meditation. And that is mindfulness. So you can get that during a yoga class. I really like a guided meditation app called Insight Timer. I'm sure a lot of your listeners have listened to it. There's millions of people on there. And on Insight Timer app. Depending on how much time I have if I have anywhere from one minute to 45 minutes, I can find a meditation that works within that parameter and just set up the meditation with my air pods and just listen and just relax and I really enjoy guided meditation because you can have some with affirmations for abundance or confidence or whatever it is that you're working on. And you can find that guided meditation and it's kinda like reprogramming your mind on a subconscious level. And I gotta be honest, a lot of times I just fall asleep. But that's okay too, because I know that it's working on a subconscious level.
Philip Pape 30:16
I was joking with people about active mind syndrome, right? A lot of us just, we cannot shut the mind off. Even when we try to meditate. It's like, we get distracted. Do you have thoughts on that? I know, I've always heard the advice is just just keep doing it. You know, you'll get used to it. And it's okay. Even if you do have thoughts, like, it's all okay, but what are your thoughts on that?
Rebecca Whitman 30:34
I think of our thoughts as watching cars drive down the highway. And if you can learn to like say, oh, you know, I'm thinking about, you know, what I'm gonna have for dinner, I'm thinking about what that person said to me at work or whatever, like, and just name it, then you can detach from it. But the whole point for me of meditation is detaching from my thoughts and realizing I am not my thoughts, you know, I have a soul that is connected to the divine. And it's tapping into that again that relationship which is the first pillar of spirituality, and not getting caught up in my thoughts because I used to think I am my thoughts, I am my emotions, but I am more than that. And so are you love it?
Philip Pape 31:21
I love it. So like cars driving by I've heard the leaves floating on the river, right? Kind of just going by and you look at them and you detach from them is what you're saying. So that's beautiful. You mentioned your morning training, both the spirituality and the journaling. You mentioned fitness, was there anything else in the morning routine that you wanted to share?
Rebecca Whitman 31:43
I do too. It's a lot. I do take my supplements in the morning. I take a liquid collagen, totally obsessed with it. It's liquid collagen and hyaluronic acid. And it has completely changed my muscles, my joints, my my strength. It's really changed everything. That product I take first thing in the morning I take glutathione
Philip Pape 32:07
does. Let me quit. Quick question about that one. Does it happen to have curcumin or anything like that as well? Or do you know
Rebecca Whitman 32:12
the collagen? I don't think it I don't think the version I take does just curious. I take a glutathione in the morning, I take NAD and I take d H E A in the morning. And then I drink my lemon water. And then after that I will have coffee or tea I go back and forth. And I'll while I'm having my coffee or tea I will do my morning practice which is writing in my abundance journal, reading from a couple of spiritual books and doing a little bit of prayer meditation and and then I'm off to the gym.
Philip Pape 32:53
Now what about people who say, Oh, I can't find the time, you know, and I can't do I can't devote every morning to this whole ritual. Because I'm sure.
Rebecca Whitman 33:03
Yeah, it doesn't take that much time. I mean, taking my supplements, a lot of people say I don't have time to take supplements. But really, it takes like two minutes once you get it as part of your routine. Making the lemon water takes another couple of minutes. I don't do the lemon like premade I actually squeeze the lemon. I don't think it takes more than 20 minutes to do everything. The supplements making my coffee or tea sitting down writing. I mean I've I've got it down to 20 minutes at the most so I don't have like a two or three hour elaborate morning routine because I'm I'm to Taipei I'm too busy. I want to get on to the next thing. And I also really love sleep. That's another thing that is really important to my fitness that isn't an h&m, maybe I should call it h n h and m s because that sleep oh my god, like when I have seven or eight hours of sleep. I can function at such a higher level if I if I dip to even six hours of sleep and I know everybody's different. I just don't feel as good. Yeah,
Philip Pape 34:15
that is massive. And it's true. Everybody's different. And some people make excuses for being different. Like you know what I'm saying? Like they'll say well, I'm the kind that can get by on five, five and a half hours of sleep. And I kind of call BS on that usually like we'll try getting two more hours. This even tells me that it doesn't make a difference. It's funny because I I was getting consistently six and a half hours and I knew it wasn't enough and I have an aura ring to that kind of helps. But then then after I had surgery for my rotator cuff in the summer and I started sleeping more just because I couldn't train as much and I shifted an extra half hour that's all it was. And to this day I kept that extra half hour and that made all the difference. Like you go from like 45 minutes a deep sleep to like an hour and a half of deep Sleep just from that little extra change. And the other thing is I'm a big fan of like sleep hacks. I don't know, if you have things like a sleep mask or blue blocker glasses or like blackout curtains, do you have any kind of hacks that you'd like to use for sleep quality?
Rebecca Whitman 35:12
The only hack, and this is a really tough one for people is not to bring my cell phone to the bed. That is a boundary that I set with myself. It's a hard one because I'm addicted to my phone like everybody else is. But I'm just like, I'm just not going to bring my cell phone into the bed. Because I don't want to look at the blue light right before I go to bed. And I turned my cell phone to airplane mode.
Philip Pape 35:41
Because there's like, yeah, all the notifications. Oh, you mean the EMG? Yeah, like some
Rebecca Whitman 35:47
frequency that's not good for your on a cellular level. Yeah, when the internet and everything and all the Wi Fi is going through your phone. I also keep my phone in another room. I don't keep it right next to my bed. So those are some of my you
Philip Pape 36:02
know, there's something to that with the electromagnetic waves, right? Because we got a new microwave like a year ago that leaks compared to our last microwave. And you could tell because it starts to interfere with Bluetooth and Wi Fi when devices near it. And you're like, Oh, this is good. You know, this is good. But they're all in the similar frequencies. So that kind of tells you something. We think microwave radiation is super dangerous, right? If you get exposed, right. So that's that's funny. Another thing related to fitness that you shared in the text we were talking about, I think was the hiatus you took from tennis. And then you wanted to talk a little bit about that. You took a 25 year hiatus playing? Yeah, okay. Tell us about that. Yeah,
Rebecca Whitman 36:37
I was really burned out on tennis. Because, again, I did not have a spiritual awakening until I was 20 years old. I thought that if I wanted tennis, I was a worthwhile human being. And if I lost a tennis I was not a worthwhile human being and hitting a second serve. And a third set, tiebreaker was like am my body the same as like, you know, jumping out of the way of a freight train, like it was just really putting my adrenals into overload. And it just wasn't fun anymore. And it was a really tough decision. But I got into Princeton to play on their tennis team. And then I quit after my sophomore year. And I went to Italy, and I realized they had a whole different philosophy of life. It was like a two hour lunch. And everybody was in a good mood. And they're living like to enjoy life, not just to get results and to win and to get accomplishments. And I was like, I don't want to play tennis anymore. So I came back from that junior year abroad, I quit the tennis team. And then I didn't pick up a racket for 25 years, I was just into working out taking classes. I was like, I don't want to do competition. I'm over it. And then a friend of mine asked me to hit with him a high school friend that happened to me living in LA. And I did and I had fun. And then I found out about this fun game of women playing in the park. And I had to remind myself like okay, this is like a bunch of middle aged women playing in a park I do not need to like get stressed out like this is the finals of Wimbledon or something. So I had to like really work on calming my my sense of competition down so I can enjoy it. And I made friends with everyone. And it's I've been playing ever since and getting better ever since. So I play like once or twice a week and, and it's been a lot of fun to have a fitness activity that I'm that I'm really good at. And I also feel connected to my younger self, you know, a teenage version of myself that I've kind of like left behind. I've reconnected with that part of myself. And it's been really healing.
Philip Pape 38:52
I love that story of rediscovery because you don't just because something you had a bad experience connected with something doesn't mean that that that thing was the cause of it, per se, right. It was other factors of how you approach that back in your younger days. I had another guest on recently was a runner, similar experience. He was like, burned out from running marathons. He was in the Boston Marathon, all that when he was younger, took a break came back to it older and wiser and was like, just gonna, like, take it easy. Have fun with it, you know, like, really enjoy it. So people can learn a lot from that. And I guess anyone listening who, who feels stressed out by something that they're doing doesn't have to be that way, right? You're saying it's
Rebecca Whitman 39:30
gonna be fun. Like, that's the whole point of fitness. Like, who wants to do it if it's not going to be fun? Yeah.
Philip Pape 39:35
And it's funny with lifting weights. A lot of people will say, Well, yeah, I don't really like lifting weights. And when you look at the mode that they lift with, you find that it may not be for them, like the way that they live. Let's say they're lifting, they're doing 10 movements, and they're doing a circuit style, and they're just sweating and hate it, you know, and they like, Well, why don't we just lift really heavy but you only have to do these three things and with all this rest period, and all that sounds hard to and then they do it like, wait a minute, this is fun, because it's not associated with the negative things about lifting that I had before. Anyway, I'm rambling here, but with the pillars, we talked about quite a bit about physical, which of the others would you say, contributes the most or you'd like to talk about relative to physical fitness. So once you have the physical stuff kind of dialed in, does it then really enhance one of the others more, or just one of the others, if you work on it really enhance your physical fitness?
Rebecca Whitman 40:29
I think the fitness really enhances the emotions. Because when you are feeling fit and strong, you are just happier you're confident you. And that affects romance, because you are going to be more attractive to the opposite sex when you're feeling fit and strong and comfortable in your body. So I would say those two and also I mean, they're all connected to fitness, because also money. You know, when you feel like you've done a really hard workout, and you lifted heavy weights, and you've really challenged your body, you're like, wow, that's the hardest thing I have to do today, like having that Zoom or having that meeting is, is going to be easier than lifting that heavy weight. So I feel like it really fitness affects all the areas. And that's why it's, you know, the second pillar, because it affects all the areas and I believe that you should schedule your workout on Sunday night, schedule your workouts and prioritize and make your your week work around your fitness and body before business. And if you don't have the money to go to a fancy gym or hire a celebrity trainer, like Philip, you can just walk. There's so many videos on YouTube, like during the pandemic, Amazon sold out of weights, because everybody was just doing weight training at home and on YouTube, there's so many ways to work out if you really, really want to do it. So whether you have the financial means or not, if you really want to do it, I mean, you could just do walking and push ups and sit ups like anything you can do to move your body is it's just so worth it. And another thing, a huge hack that I'm going to share with your audience that changed my life is having affirmations with your weight training. So if you're doing weight training, and you're bored, you can combine having affirmations with your weight training. Like I am enough, I have enough, I am willing to set myself free. And that is called an incantation. And that is something I learned from Tony Robbins that really reprograms your mind on a deeper level. When you combine affirmations with physical movement, there's so
Philip Pape 42:51
much that I love so first of all, you have a couple of what my friend Carla called notable quotables that I'm gonna mention here. One was, make your week work around your fitness. I love that. I love that so much. Because the biggest excuse is consistency in time. Like I don't have time for him. Like if this is the most important thing for you, you're gonna have time for it. And other things are much less important and shouldn't even exist. Not not shouldn't exist, but they won't exist without your fitness. The other thing you said is body before business. That's a good I'm sure you said that before because it came right off here. rolled off your tongue body before business. Not having financial excuses. Like you know, big box gyms are pretty dirt cheap. Like, I mean, maybe this is gonna sound inappropriate. But I've heard how homeless people will get a membership at a big box gym big ticket their showers, because it's the cheapest way to go. You know what I mean? Like, yeah,
Rebecca Whitman 43:41
yeah, 10 or 20 bucks a month. Yeah, so
Philip Pape 43:43
that shouldn't be an excuse. And then the affirmations are their weight training. That's an interesting one. My friend and former client, Alan and I always talk about how lifting is a form of mindfulness, especially if you turn off the music, right? If you're doing it like especially if you're in a home gym, and it's very quiet. Just getting under a heavy squat can be a form of, you can't think of anything else, the thoughts go away, and you're just focused on the activity and you're breathing and you're bracing. So the folks listening like this is kind of a form of habit stacking, right, doing multiple things at once and getting the most out of it. I love it. I just wanted to comment on that. But yeah, so you also mentioned resilience, like when you work out hard, you feel confident. I think that's a really important message too. So when we talk about developing resilience, because that's another topic you you talk about, is that is that one of the important ways to do it, or how does it align with the different ways we develop resilience against obstacles? Well, weight training
Rebecca Whitman 44:38
is resilience training, you have to break down the muscle before it can get stronger. So I think of certain people in my life that has that have caused me a lot of financial or emotional train pain as trainers, right? They broke me down financially and I had to figure out how to build my financial reserves. have backup or they broke me down emotionally, they hurt me. And they were like an emotional trainer for me. So it's a way to think of pain differently. I think. In the gym, we understand our relationship with pain, we know that no pain, no gain, if it doesn't challenge me, it doesn't change me. And we understand that there is some pain and getting in shape. But when it comes to life, we don't want to feel any pain. We will shop we will gamble, we will have sex we will, you know, do anything drink use drugs, not to feel pain, but it's the same thing in life. You know, pain is not to be feared. Because pain will teach you something and challenge you and it will, it will sculpt your soul the way the weights sculpt your body. So yeah, don't be scared of pain. And, and if you meditate, you know that you're not your emotions. So it's okay to feel the painful emotions, and then let them just pass through you. Bringing
Philip Pape 46:00
us back to spiritual, right? Like I love it. It all ties together. All right. So I know we're almost out on time here. But is there a question that you wish I had asked? And if so, what is your answer?
Rebecca Whitman 46:13
Oh, my God, you're so funny. I don't know you. This has been a very thorough interview, I think you've covered everything. I would just like to tell your listeners how lucky you are to be able to work out. Like you get to listen to a fitness podcast like Philips you get to learn about working out and diet and fitness. Because there's so many people in the world that physically cannot work out. They just don't have the strength or the wellness to be able to even work out. So the fact that we're even in this conversation is so like fortunate and we're so blessed. So I think if you think of your workout as a blessing, and something you get to do, rather than you have to do, it will change everything in your fitness like it is such a privilege to be able to move your body and workout that so many people would just only dream about.
Philip Pape 47:17
I love it your workouts a blessing. It's a privilege, something you get to do. This is this has been beautiful there. We did cover a lot. And I love where the conversation went. So I appreciate your time here. Where can listeners learn more about you and your work?
Rebecca Whitman 47:31
Yeah, so I would love to give you guys that abundance journal that has absolutely changed my life. And that will be in my link tree link. I also have a lot of fun events coming up. I have elegant Warrior Training starting mid January, right about when this podcast is coming out. We're starting a class where every week for seven weeks, we're going to do a deep dive into the seven pillars and give you tips, tools and strategies to get that area of your life to a level 10. We are going to help you overcome limiting beliefs and just slay all your goals for the new year. So I highly recommend that you message me or set up a breakthrough call. That's another thing. In my link tree you can set up a breakthrough call. I only open three spots a week in my schedule, and I give you free coaching for 30 minutes on how to get unstuck. And yeah, I would love to keep in touch with you through my website Rebecca Elizabeth whitman.com, or my Instagram clubhouse, Twitter threads. It's all Rebecca E. Whitman. And all of that will be shared in the show notes. So I look forward to staying in touch with all of you guys.
Philip Pape 48:45
You got it. It'll be in the show notes, even external the events, the website, the ID, all of it. And again, thank you so much for your time. super valuable listeners, I'm sure turn learned a ton from today. So thank you, Rebecca.
Rebecca Whitman 48:56
Thank you, Philip.
Philip Pape 48:59
Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits & Weights. If you found value in today's episode, and know someone else who's looking to level up their Wits & Weights, please take a moment to share this episode with them. And make sure to hit the Follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode. Until then, stay strong
