Pro-Age Blogger Mimi Ison of "Hey Middle Age" Upgrades Our Midlife (And Dance Moves)
Show Snapshot:
Meet Mimi Ison, pro-age blogger, midlife movement evangelist, and creator of what’s about to be your favorite social media account Hey Middle Age. We get into at-home exercises to boost strength and mobility, being midlife scared and doing it anyway, TikTok dance moves, and a simple 10-minute goal-setting hack to help you upgrade your midlife.
Plus, recommendations on social media accounts to follow for wellness advice and killer dance moves.
In This Episode We Cover:
How health issues ranging from a bad back to osteopenia got Mimi Ison to stop running on sugar and caffeine and launched her into the world of exercise, movement, and midlife blogging.
Why it took Mimi 2 years to launch her dream creative project.
What to do if you want to exercise but hate working out?
We get into strength training, HIIT, boxing, TikTok dancing—and social media accounts to follow to get you up to speed (and learn killer dance moves).
How to find your “fitness why.”
No, it’s not your imagination—we lose muscle mass as we age. Here’s how to make muscle-building a part of your daily routine.
The midlife upgrade—redefining what getting older looks like.
Midlife challenges—aging parents, “vintage vagina,” and the urgency of a shorter runway.
Show Links:
Mimi’s Website
Mimi’s Instagram
Mimi recommends these social accounts:
For fitness: @HerGardenGym
For dance moves: @Forward_Space
Mimi is reading: The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond
Quotable:
There’s an urgency now. I don’t want to waste time. I want to be intentional about where I use my time, right? And who I’m with, and what I’m listening to, what I’m reading...I just don’t want to waste time anymore.
Transcript:
Katie Fogarty [0:27]:
Welcome to A Certain Age, a show for women who are unafraid to age out loud. As much as I adore podcasting, grabbing a microphone, and dropping into your ears via your AirPods as you walk, drive, or cook, for the first time since launching this show, I wish A Certain Age featured video. My guest this week danced her way into my heart during an Instagram scroll session that set me down a rabbit hole of her low-key, lo-fi but high-energy dance workout video sessions and her elevated style. Every time her feel-good videos pop up on my feed, it’s a scroll stopper.
Please meet Mimi Ison, pro-age blogger, midlife movement evangelist, and creator of what’s about to be your favorite social media account, Hey Middle Age. Welcome, Mimi.
Mimi Ison [1:17]:
Oh, Katie, what an intro! Thank you so much! [laughs]
Katie [1:21]:
I’m so happy that we’re doing this. I feel like I know you because I watch your videos. I adore the content that you share. It’s so energetic and inspiring, and lovely, and warm, and I’m so thrilled that I get to sit here and talk to you, although I wish our listeners could see you in action. Hopefully, they will go check you out after this show.
Mimi [1:44]:
I hope so too. Thank you so much.
Katie [1:47]:
You’re welcome. I know you launched Hey Middle Age in your late 50s, and I know you’ve had multiple careers. I would love to just start with some stage setting. Why did you launch Hey Middle Age into the word?
Mimi [2:00]:
Well, in my mid-50s, I’m 59 now, and I started to have a lot of physical issues. It started with a frozen shoulder, I had bone spurs, I was diagnosed with osteopenia, and worst of all I had a herniated disc in my back, my A1C level was rising, you know, all these things were happening. So, I just started to dig in, and look at what I could do to improve my health, and along the way I was learning about things that happen in middle age. So, I realized that the truth was I really wasn’t taking that good care of myself. I was running on caffeine and sugar, and I thought, “Well, I work out two to three times a week, that’s sufficient.” And it’s really not because I was sitting on my butt for 8 to 10 hours a day, and I know now that we really need to move our bodies throughout the day.
So, as I was gathering information and learning about things, I was looking for sites and blogs and I didn’t really love a lot of stuff that was out there. The messaging was either really sunshine positive, which I think is unrealistic, or the messaging was, you know, there’s a lot of things wrong with you at this age. You need to be fixed. So, I just thought, well, I’m going to take some of the things that I’ve learned, and I’m going to write a blog. Why not?
So, I did that in January 2021, yeah January 1st is the day I launched that. This is actually, I’m going to go back a little bit because I decided to start it in 2019 but was scared out of my mind to do it. It took me two years to launch this, and if you look online, "How to start a blog,” you could literally put one up in a few hours, but I just kept, you know, creating distractions for myself because I was just really scared and nervous to put myself out there.
Katie [4:02]:
Mimi, I want to stop for one second and say, I love this because it took me two years to launch this podcast. [Mimi laughs] It’s so funny that you said two years because for two years I kept saying to myself and no one else, "I’m going to launch a podcast.” And I didn’t do it. And then the year that I turned 50 I said I’m doing two things, I’m throwing an amazing birthday party with all the women in my life that I love. I had this epic 7-hour lunch, it kind of ran long. And then I literally got the podcast up 35 days before I turned 51. Because I said to myself, "You said you were going to do it, Katie, you said you were going to do it when you’re 50 and you’re about to be 51, you better get in action.” So, I love that. Sometimes it takes us a few years to throw our hat over the wall and go for something.
Mimi [4:47]:
Well, I’m going to tell you something I did that was different than you. I told people I was going to do it. I told people because it was going to create accountability and put me on the hook, and I still didn’t do it for two years. [laughs]
Katie [5:00]:
I know. I started telling people. Once I launched the podcast, I said I’m going to keep going. And I agree, when you tell the universe what you’re up to, you create a series of accountability partners. I hired Dave, who is my sound engineer, and I invested in a couple of shows and said all right, I’ve told everybody I know now that I’m starting a podcast, and I’ve spent some money, so I guess I’m going to keep going. So, you kept going.
First of all, I also want to say that I’m shocked to discover that you had this series of health challenges because when people click clack over to Instagram and look up @HeyMiddleAge, I would assume that you grew up as a dancer, you arw in phenomenal shape, you are so limber. Did you grow up dancing? Did you grow up moving and then sort of take a break as you got older?
Mimi [5:53]:
Yeah, I mean I always grew up doing something. In high school, I was a cheerleader but then I always took dance classes. I started doing hip-hop in my 20s and going to the gym. I loved step aerobics in the ‘90s, which I still do on Instagram. When I was 40, I started adult ballet and I did that for 10 years then when I was 50, I started boxing classes and I’ve been doing that ever since that’s my favorite workout.
But yeah, the back issue was probably the worst, well the frozen shoulder was really bad, but I got over that. The back issue is the worst, and I’ve, you know, I’ve done a lot of things for it and I sort of created my own protocol to manage the pain. It took a long time and I experimented and tried different things but I’m probably about 90% pain-free.
And so, you know, doing all the things I do from strength training to HIIT, just moving and always... I mean, movement and mobility is really my priority, and I do that because one, I want to do what I’m doing today, but I want to be able to do that in the next 10 years and 20 years and beyond. That’s really my message, my mission is to inspire people to just move, whatever that means for you. I’m not an expert, I’m not a coach, I’m not a trainer so really, I feel like the first phase... That’s how I got to do a lot of things I saw people, I watched people doing it.
The first time I took a boxing class, it was a total fluke; it was not something I was looking for. I was scared out of my mind, it was not the thing for me, and it was the hardest thing I’d ever done, and I was going to leave and like, “Okay, that was okay.” But I saw women in the ring doing combinations and hitting hard punches and I thought, “Okay that. I want to do that.” And that’s what made me come back again and again and again, and now it’s been almost 9 years. But I think that can be really helpful. I don’t think people should be doing what I do, I just hope I’m motivating people to start to do what’s right for them.
Katie [8:17]:
Yeah absolutely. Because Mimi, I love that you saw the women in the boxing ring. You saw them visually and said, “I want to do that.” Because I think that a big part of the charm and appeal of your videos is that it looks so inspiring and so inviting. You’ve posted stuff on your Instagram, I’ve seen you boxing on your Instagram, and I’ve heard that’s an incredible exercise. For listeners who are thinking, I probably need to be doing more. I’m getting older, like Mimi I’ve had a couple of speedbumps. What do you recommend? I know you’ve written a recent article entitled, “What to Do if You Want to Exercise but Hate Working Out,” and I would love it if you could walk our listeners through some of your recommendations
Mimi [8:58]:
Well, in that article, I wrote that you really need a big why, the reason why to do it, something that’s earth-shaking. So, I think it’s pretty common that people get into shape, whatever that means for you, for something that’s special, a wedding or a reunion. So somehow, we’re able to get motivated enough to do that. But then once we hit that and it’s done, sort of, you know, backtrack, let it go, and stop doing it. Well, that’s a big why but also, having a long health span, that’s a big why, or being mobile in the next 10, 20, 30 years, that’s a big why.
But in the article I wrote, if you get really, really specific... So, for example, traveling is not comfortable, but I want to be able to travel for 10, 20 years, and beyond so I want to be strong enough to put my bag in the overhead. I want to be strong enough to keep dancing when I’m 80. I want to be strong enough to... it can be anything it is. If you have a dog, do you want to be able to throw the ball with your dog? Do you want to play with grandkids or future grandkids? Really think about something specific that you want to be able to do years from now and then reverse engineer it and say, well, what do I need to do now, and tomorrow, and next year because it’s not a one-and-done, to be able to reach those goals? Now, obviously, life goes sideways. There’s no guarantee of anything; we know that we’re in middle age. But why not give yourself the best chance? Why not reduce the risk as much as you can?
Katie [10:50]:
I think that’s such a smart piece of advice, to really put the big picture out there. Because sometimes we think, I’d rather sleep in or I’m tired at the end of a workday. Am I really going to go to the gym? But when we don’t think of it simply as going to the gym but think of it as something that allows me to travel and to be there for grandkids or be on the dancefloor at a child’s wedding, that’s what keeps you going for the long run.
Mimi, we’re heading into a quick break, but when we come back, I want to ask you about some specific things that we can do to keep our mobility, keep our strength as we continue to age. We’ll be back after this quick break.
[Ad Break]
Katie [12:46]:
All right, Mimi, we’re back. You outlined such a smart piece of advice which is that we should all focus on our “Why” as the motivator for our exercise to increase our mobility and our strength.
I want to ask you specifically about one of your posts on your Instagram that caught my eye and cracked me up. You said, “If you grew up with a rotary phone that was attached to a wall, you are probably dealing with a loss of skeletal muscle mass.” And I had a laugh because I was like, "Hello, rotary phone!" I remember that. And then I was like, "Oh, wait a minute, that probably means I am dealing with skeletal muscle mass loss that occurs as we age!" It gets harder and harder to create the muscle that helps power our bodies. How do you make muscle-building a part of your routine? What might you offer to listeners as a starting point?
Mimi [13:38]:
Well, as I started reading and listening to resources about aging, one of the things I learned about was something called sarcopenia, that’s the loss of muscle mass, and it starts in your 30s. If you don’t do something to counter it, build muscle or maintain it, you can lose 3 to 8% of your muscle mass every decade. So, you can imagine by 60, 70, or 80, if you’re not maintaining your muscle, you’re going to have some issues with mobility and your strength.
I mean, you can look almost anywhere, and a lot of trainers they’re all going to tell you strength training is a good idea, that is a good idea to be part of whatever your fitness is. Now, I think for some people, it seems a little scary if you’ve never done strength training. And it doesn’t mean you’re grunting it out in a gym. It doesn’t have to be that. You can start small. You can start with a couple of dumbbells at home. There are just so many resources for how to do this. I’m actually doing a workout challenge this month with bands. Bands are a resistant exercise. They’re super lightweight, they’re really, really cheap, and they’re effective. So, there are things you can do.
I really feel like people need to give themselves the power to go out, do some searching, and do some work. There’s no one answer for everyone. So again, I feel like my mission is to inspire you to go out and find out what’s right for you. And I know it’s working. I get messages every day from women because 97% of my audience is women who say, "Okay, I saw a video, and now I’m walking every day. Oh, you know what? I rejoined my gym. I’m dancing. I haven’t done that since I was a kid. You know what? I have this dusty hula hoop in my garage. I started using that.” So, I’m getting these messages. People are telling me, “Yeah, you know what, I saw that. I want to do that.”
Katie [15:58]:
One of the things I love about your videos. I mean, first of all, I’m so knocked by your ability to dance. You show both dance and exercise, and some of them are simple. You showed one where you’re sitting on a yoga mat, and I think you call it a butt walk, where you’re just sort of sitting and your legs and straight out forward, and you just move yourself forward on the mat. Everyone needs to go look at this. I’ll put it into the show notes, and I thought to myself, I can do that. It looks intriguing. It’s like a little, simple, snackable exercise.
Mimi [16:24]:
Snackable. Yeah, it actually works your glutes.
Katie [16:27]:
Yeah, I mean, it’s just a tiny little thing you can do. I haven’t done this, and I thought, that looks manageable. I can handle that. But some of your dance moves, I’m like, that looks a little bit complicated because I’m definitely a going left dancer while everyone else is going right. I have been my whole life. How do you learn these dance moves, and how can we learn dance moves if that’s something that we want to add to our exercise routine?
Mimi [16:51]:
Well, I do have a little hack that’s on my Instagram highlights. So, what I do is I do these remixes with the Reels. If you don’t know what a remix is, it means you can take somebody else’s video that’s on Instagram, and if they allow it, you can be side-by-side with that person. So, what I do is I’m side-by-side with these dancers, and I do their dance. The way I learn is I screen to record the dance several times on my phone, I AirDrop it to my laptop, and I watch it in iMovie in slow motion. And some of these things can take hours, Katie. Some of them–
Katie [17:34]:
I bet. I totally bet. Everyone needs to go look at some of these dances. I’m like, woah!
Mimi [17:41]:
Yeah. I spend a lot of time on some of them, and it’s, to me, some of them can be a challenge, and I get a lot of satisfaction getting through them because I’ll tell you, there are some, I’m halfway through, and I think, “Oh no, you know what? I don’t think it’s going to work; I’m not going to be able to do it. It’s too fast. No, it’s too many steps.” But then I just don’t give up, and if I continue doing it, it’s very satisfying.
Katie [18:11]:
You look so happy and joyful every time you’re doing them, and I thought, I need to try some more of this. [Mimi laughs] Exercises that you’re doing I can incorporate into my routine, but I’m just going to make myself accountable to my audience. I want people to ask me. I’m going to do a remix with you at some point, Mimi. [Mimi laughs] I’m not kidding. Because we can do hard things, that’s one of the themes of the show. Even though I’m a left while everyone else is going right dancer, I definitely want to do this because you look so happy and so joyful.
Mimi [18:46]:
It’s absolutely magic and joyful, and you know what, it doesn’t matter what you do, just do your own thing. Turn on some music, and be by yourself in your bedroom. It doesn’t need to be steps, it doesn’t need to be choreography, and it’ll make you feel great.
Katie [19:01]:
You know, and I think that message is resonating with a lot of people. I know from our conversation that you just shared you launched your Instagram under two years ago, you have 90,000 people watching and 90,000 followers, and some of your videos have millions of views watching you dance and exercise. My own Instagram is teeny tiny and is growing slowly, so I’m pretty knocked out. What do you chalk this growth up to? Is it the energy, is it the joy?
Mimi [19:34]:
You know what? I just don’t think there’s an answer to that. When I started to lean in, I started to do these Reels. I feel like I got lucky, a couple of them went viral. I think I just, I don’t know, I picked something that happened to be trending at the moment, and I got this really massive surge, maybe four months in, five months in after I started posting regularly. And then I had another sort of, I call it a surge because suddenly I was getting a lot of activity. So, I had another one recently, and that’s where it’s coming from. I really, [laughs] there’s no magic, there’s no strategy really.
Katie [20:13]:
I just think people enjoy seeing people dancing. Do you think it’s also because they might be surprised? I mean, you are 59, as you shared at the top of the show. You’re in great shape and look amazing. But do you think people are surprised to see somebody 59 being so limber and dancing?
Mimi [20:30]:
I do, I do. I know that from the comments. I think the age piece is key, and I say it very loud and proud. A lot of the captions are, “This is 59.” And I do that purposely because it’s really about redefining what 59 is. And you know, people will tell me, “You don’t look 59,” or, “I can't believe that’s 59,” and I say, “Well, I am 59 so–”
Katie [21:00]:
This is what 59 looks like, exactly.
Mimi [21:04]:
But I have to say, I do purposely want to put a little element of surprise in each post because that’s my way of redefining what 59 is and what getting older is. I want to show people that it’s not all downhill, that quite the opposite, it is going uphill, it’s what... I just read this book. It’s called, The Upgrade by Dr. Louann Brizendine. She’s a neuropsychiatrist. She calls the time after being fertile or reproductive the upgrade. And I agree with her because there’s a lot of changes, a lot of positive changes, that happen where you sort of have this new freedom, I guess. At least, that’s what I’m feeling.
Katie [21:56]:
I can totally relate to that. That word upgrade is such a phenomenal word because I relate to that. I feel like so much has been upgraded about my life. My sense of confidence, my relationships, the relationships that I’ve nurtured over the years with friends, my husband, and my children as they age, I have young adult children at this point. And I feel like so many things in my life have been upgraded and strengthened and enrichened and have become richer as I’ve aged. So, I adore the notion of the upgrade. I’m going to put that into the show notes and check that book out myself.
I love that your website and newsletter really cover a range of midlife topics. It’s not just dancing and exercising on Instagram. You write articles about everything from thinning hair to ageism in marketing and the media. You wrote an article on whether or not it’s possible to age gracefully or if that should even be a goal. What resonates most with your audience? Is there something that gets people clicking over and over again every time?
Mimi [22:59]:
Oh, it’s kind of spread out all over the place because, honestly, the articles are a little bit all over the place. It’s just sort of what is on my mind at the moment, or I might see something, hear something, or read something and want to react to it. So, it can be anything from reacting to the Sex and the City sequel, or the thinning hair thing was just a recent one because... I try to be pretty positive around aging, but I have to say, thinning hair is where that’s my full stop. No, no, no, I’m not here for that. I’m going to do whatever... [laughs]
Katie [23:33]:
Yeah, no, we want to look at feel our best. We’re age positive on this show. I know that you’re a listener in addition to being a guest. We’re excited about this next phase of life because there’s a lot of goodness and richness that comes with it, but there are challenges. There are definitely speedbumps. It’s hard to have aging parents, being a sandwich generation, raising our kids while helping our parents navigate life. There are bodily changes. Everyone who has listened to the show has heard me talk about dry vagina and toxic rage, some of the surprises of midlife, the unwelcome visitors that you’re kind of like, “Beat it out the door with you.” So, getting older is not without its challenges.
Mimi [24:16]:
Oh, 100%. I mean, I call it the vintage vagina. [both laugh]
Katie [24:23]:
All right, vintage vagina! We love it. I’ve got one of those, all right. [laughs]
Mimi [24:30]:
I think what’s really fantastic is if you’re looking in the right places, including places like your podcast, we’re just more open. We’re talking about the issues that come along with midlife, and you know what? There are some really sucky things that happen. I’m realistic about that. I don’t want to dwell too much on that, but yeah, you know, we’ve all gone through some really, really hard things by now.
Katie [25:01]:
And we’ve navigated them. It allows us to navigate new challenges and take new things on for size. Even though it took you and I two years to launch these creative projects [Mimi laughs] that we had as long, simmering goals or ideas for ourselves, we finally did get ourselves into action. What would you say to a listener who is thinking, I have this 2-year goal that I haven’t yet achieved, that I’ve been kicking around, and I haven’t gotten into motion on? How would you encourage a listener to get in action, and work on their own upgrade? Is there something that worked for you that you can pass along?
Mimi [25:37]:
You know, I do have an exercise that you can try. It’s really to have a really honest, neutral conversation with yourself. So, what changes do you want to make? What’s missing in your life? So, get a piece of paper, and have two columns. The first column is all the things that you want. Write them down. Column 1 is what you want to do. Column 2 is how to make it happen. And you don’t get a column 3 with all the reasons why it’s not possible, so take that off the table completely. If you do that, it’s just a more proactive way of figuring out how to get there versus what I call automatic no syndrome because I had a really huge case of that. No, no, no, no, no, you find all the ways why you can't do something. Well, just flip that around, don’t even let that be part of this conversation you have with yourself. It’s how do you make it happen?
Katie [26:40]:
I love that exercise. First of all, that is so smart. This is not a three-column situation, [Mimi laughs] it’s two. Listeners, we have a two-column situation. If we want something and we’ve written it down, what are we doing to make that happen? I love this notion of just not allowing yourself to have a “No,” not allowing yourself to have, you know, that inner voice that kind of gets in your way because even though I think as we age, it’s been my experience, it’s been the experience of women that I’ve talked to on this show, that we are better about not listening to our inner voices, our inner critics, our inner no’s but sometimes they’re still there because we’re human.
Mimi [27:22]:
They’re there, and they’re strong. Those voices are strong. We have these biases that we’ve had, you know, forever. And sometimes, you really have to be very intentional about just knocking them aside. You’ve got to find a way.
Katie [27:39]:
Everyone who has ever done any sort of thing has done that. They’ve overcome. And I think people forget that sometimes. I remember doing some sort of professional development training a number of years ago and really drilling down into this concept of the inner critic, and when it was really top of mind, going to a cocktail party where I felt nervous. Everyone worked in different fields from me, and I just felt a little anxious. And I reminded myself that every person in that room felt the same way I did. And they, too, had this inner voice, which allows you to not stop yourself by thinking that other people have it all figured out. Sometimes when we’re younger, I think we think other people have it figured out, and we realize that that is not true.
Mimi [28:28]:
I would also say, to add to what you just said, don’t stop yourself because of your age. I hear it all the time, "Well, I’m too old for this. I’m too old for that.” And that’s just not true most of the time. Yes, things happen because of age but a lot of times, it has nothing to do with anything. There’s not some invisible line that you suddenly cross where you’re too old to do cartwheels or wear shorts. The line doesn’t exist, people.
Katie [29:01]:
100%. The too old syndrome is something that I hear as well from listeners and from people in my life. From my day job, I hear that anxiety about aging. And it’s getting older, and ageism in the workplace and society is real. It’s not that it doesn’t exist. But if you believe that it is stopping you, you’re right. I have a yoga teacher who always says, “If you think you can’t, you’re right.” So, don’t be right about this. Don’t assume that you’re too old to do anything. Does it mean it’s easy? No. Does it mean that you might not have to work a little harder or look for a different avenue or a different path to make your dream a reality at a certain age? Maybe. But if you think you can't, you’re right, so let’s not think that we’re right that we’re too old to do things because it’s not true.
Mimi [29:54]:
But the agism piece is real. We know that is a massive issue. It’s what we grow up with. It creates these biases. It’s in marketing. It’s in the workplace. I think a stat I read is it starts for women in their 40s, which is just mind-boggling to me because to me that’s very, very young.
Katie [30:18]:
I feel like this is starting to change, though. You’re a big part of this. There’s a wonderful community of women in midlife that I’ve met and sort of befriended from starting this podcast, and there are women launching companies that serve this market, bringing products to life that help women thrive in midlife and navigate some of the physical changes that occur, there are women creating content that’s inspiring. There are podcasts. There are books, and there’s you with all of the wonderful wellness content that you share on Instagram. I feel like it’s beginning to change. What is your experience?
Mimi [30:59]:
Yeah, I mean, again, if you’re looking in the right places, you can find it, and you can see it. That’s what I like to surround myself with. Who am I listening to? What am I looking at? Where am I scrolling? Those are the messages I do want to see. I want to see what we’re doing, how active we are, how we’re staying strong, you know?
Katie [31:23]:
Yeah, absolutely. Do you know Monica Corcoran Harel from the platform Pretty Ripe? Monica was a guest on the show. She’s phenomenal. We did a little age myth-busting when she came on, and we talked about the myth that you get invisible as you age. She shared her reframe on this, which is that you’re visible to a new audience. Maybe you walk into the bar, and you’re invisible to a bunch of young guys that you don’t want to be dating anyhow, but you’re visible in an entirely new way. And I love that reframe because I believe it’s true. You’re visible; I think that as you hit midlife, as you age, you’re visible to people for different reasons. You’re visible because of your expertise, your wisdom, or your experience. Or you’re visible because the people that are seeing you maybe have better taste themselves.
Mimi [32:19]:
I love that. Yeah, I love that reframe.
Katie [32:23]:
And I think that’s a big part of what you bring with Hey Middle Age. Also, Mimi, I’m a little bit curious. On your website, when I was on it, you say, "There’s no owner’s manual for aging,” [Mimi laughs] which is true. I’m trying to help give one, as are you. We’re sharing a lot of great information with women in midlife. And then you go on to say, "But one thing is for sure, the runway ahead of us is shorter than behind us.” This is true as well. When you’re looking at this shorter runway, what do you want to be doing with it next? And does a shorter runway help clarify, for you, what’s important?
Mimi [32:58]:
Yes, absolutely. That short runway, there’s an urgency now. I don’t want to waste time. I want to be intentional about where I use my time, right, and who I’m with, and what I’m listening to, what I’m reading. I do try to get kind of... Well, for example, I’m not reading the news as much as I used to. I don’t want to carve out the time for those things. I want to stay more focused on things that make me feel better and are going to get me to my goals and my future. But yeah, there’s definitely urgency, and I just don’t want to waste time anymore.
Katie [33:51]:
Yeah, it strips things away, things that are less important. For myself, I prioritize core friendships that I’ve had, but I also prioritize meeting new people. I love adding new, amazing women to my life. I’ve been so grateful that the podcast has connected me with new people. I’m prioritizing family, and I’m prioritizing my health in ways I didn’t do when I was younger. I really feel like that’s a big part of what I see with the content you share, that you’re never too late, you’re never too old to take up boxing, right, [both laugh] to take up TikTok dances, to take up all sorts of stuff.
What’s next in store for you and for Hey Middle Age? When you said you want to prioritize your goals, what would you like to see come next for this platform?
Mimi [34:42]:
Well, again, my mission is to inspire people to motivate people, so I’m going to keep moving along that path. I do have a couple of things that are in the works that I can't really talk about right now. But just doing something, just taking action, if you do that, things come to you. It’s really interesting. And so, again, when I started to lean into Instagram, I did my first post in January of 2021, I did my second one in December of 2021, and by then, I just thought, “Oh, what the hell, let’s just do this.” [Katie laughs] And that’s when I started putting things up regularly, and then things started to come to me. That’s how I ended up here talking to you, Katie, and I’ve met many other really amazing people, and so, yeah, I mean, I’m being asked to do some things, and there are some things in works.
Katie [35:39]:
Oh my god, well, you’re going to keep me updated, and I’ll update my listeners as we go along. But I want everybody who is listening to this to take this on as a personal mantra. Here it is: Oh, what the hell. Right? Because we all have something we want to be doing, and we’re standing in our own way, and you need to throw your hands up in the air and say, "What the hell, why not? Why not go for it.” I love this.
Mimi, this has been so much fun. We’re going to be moving into our speed round. This will be perfect for you because it’s a high-energy note that we always end on, and you have amazing high-energy. Let’s do this.
Launching Hey Middle Age was _____.
Mimi [36:22]:
Scary. [laughs]
Katie [36:23]:
Nice, we like honest answers. You frequently say, "Dancing is happiness,” which I adore. What else brings you happiness?
Mimi [36:31]:
Oh, my family, for sure, being with my family. Good chocolate. [both laugh]
Katie [36:39]:
Yes!
Mimi [36:39]:
Listening to Earth, Wind, & Fire. [laughs]
Katie [36:42]:
Nice. Okay, simplest muscle-building exercise that we should be incorporating every day: _____.
Mimi [36:50]:
Probably a push-up... That’s not so easy. A plank.
Katie [36:53]:
A plank. Okay. How about this? Work up to this more challenging exercise over time: _____.
Mimi [36:59]:
Start the plank and work up to a push-up. [both laugh]
Katie [37:03]:
All right. Beginner dancers should check out this online account for inspiration: _____.
Mimi [37:09]:
I love this account called @Forward__Space, and they have a website. It’s a studio out of New York, and I was a subscriber and there are a lot of great classes that you can do online.
Katie [37:21]:
Nice. I follow this trusted social media account for great health and wellness information: _____.
Mimi [37:28]:
I really like @HerGardenGym.
Katie [37:30]:
@HerGardenGym, okay nice.
Mimi [37:32]:
I tell people to go there if they’re looking for exercise or they’re just starting. Her target is women 50, 60, and above and she has great information.
Katie [37:44]:
Fantastic. Okay, you mentioned that you’re doing a challenge using exercise bands. What is another exercise tool that we should all have in our exercise kit?
Mimi [37:59]:
Some weights for sure. If that works for you, try using some weights. I’ve been using a kettlebell a little bit more, not that that’s right for everyone, but I’ve been having some fun with the kettlebell.
Katie [38:11]:
Those scare me. I have been using the Bala bands. My daughter introduced those to me, and I love them because it feels like you’re wearing amazing jewelry, but it’s actually helping you with weights. So, I’ll put those into the show notes as well. Okay, Mimi, finally, your one-word answer to complete this sentence: As I age, I feel _____.
Mimi [38:34]:
Limitless.
Katie
Love it! Love it. That’s my word too. I love it, love it, love it. Thank you, Mimi. This has been so much fun. It’s wonderful to connect with an Instagram friend over a microphone. Maybe someday we’ll get to do it in real life. I’m committing to doing a dance remix with you over Instagram, but hopefully, we’ll get to do a dance in real life one of these days. Thank you so much.
Before we say goodbye, how can our listeners find you and Hey Middle Age?
Mimi [39:02]:
I am at HeyMiddleAge.com, that’s my blog, and I’m @HeyMiddleAge on Instagram, and I’m pretty active there.
Katie [39:10]:
Thank you so much, Mimi.
This wraps A Certain Age, a show for women who are aging without apology. Join me next week when we dive into the taboo topic of female urinary incontinence with Aubrey Hubbell, the founder of Hazel, a company looking to disrupt the Depends market with a sleek, disposable brief that looks and feels like real underwear.
And before we go, have you had a chance to head over to our new podcast sister account over on Instagram? We launched @LetsAgeOutLoud to share more stories of midlife awesomeness, and I would love to feature your story. Head to Instagram @LetsAgeOutLoud to submit your story at the link in the bio.
Special thanks to Michael Mancini, who composed and produced our theme music. See you next time, and until then: age boldly, beauties.