I started dealing with depression and anxiety at the same time and working with Physicians you know they're a little bit quick to push medication on you it was until I found a physician that was running marathons herself where she suggested actually getting stronger and when I saw what kind of 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 J shett J shett the one the only Jett 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 sonada grea a world-renowned thought leader in Fitness and Wellness sonada is the founder of We rise a female empowerment platform that takes a holistic approach to health wellness and personal development sined is also the founder of zenoa a women's athletic apparel brand that has outfitted thousands of women around the world with high performance and stylish active wear sonada has been sought after by some of the biggest names in the world she's trained Miranda Kerr be rexa amongst many others and currently Sonata works with Kim Kardashian I'm so excited to welcome to the show my friend an incredible thought leader Sonata Greer Sonata Welcome to our purose 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 DMD you a while ago and we got connected you came over to our home we were hanging out you've got to know RI and I definitely feel like before we dive into the fitness conversation I felt like there was a soul connection when we met absolutely and and I think that's what made me so excited to have this conversation with you so thank you for making time thank you so much for having me here I'm so excited and like you said there was that spiritual connection with both yourself and Rie and just yeah 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 kind of 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 st how do you start I actually a great statistic that I just reviewed from the rise app is that people were on average by week um doing three and a half workouts I was like yes something is working so far as 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 know you want to climb that mountain one step at a time versus you know doing a uh a dayong trip so to speak so take the smallest step you know start with 20 minutes if we cannot start with 20 minutes start with 5 minutes or even 1 minute it and then build that habit because it's about creating that consistent habit day after day that will carry you through you know a lot of the time we think that motivation is what's needed and it's not it's it's that habit that we create on a daily basis so 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 to stick to it create an environment that is supportive of you working out so if you are working out at home create a little space for yourself with all of your items workout items and 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 their workout clothes to sleep and because it eliminates another step so how can you make it more accessible mhm and easy for yourself to 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 you know this is the best time to work out um for whatever reason it's like what what time is best suited for your life and lifestyle I would suggest if possible for most beginners to to have it in the morning so you you know kind of get it out of the way and don't leave it up to chance for later in the day things occur you know wor and kids and a million things that you have to do throughout the day so if you leave it up to chance you most likely are not going to do it um but if you're confident if you're if you you know 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 in the afternoon for myself um there is some studies that suggest that the optimal time might be between 11: a.m. and uh and 5:00 p.m. but again I say when is it more accessible to you that's that's key absolutely that let's say someone I 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 like what can you get in five minutes you'll start to create a habit and that's what's key about making Fitness a long a lifelong activity because I see it as not uh you know Sprint it's a lifelong Marathon you want to stay active throughout your entire life for as long as you can um 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 uh it does take some time for for for a habit to be especially when it comes to Fitness to to be St Lish somewhere between 21 days might be when you're like starting to to create a foundation but some research f um shows that it's actually around like 60 66 days when you really solidify that that habit of working out so while in the you know in the immediate term like it doesn't really provide results that five minutes will just set you up for Success absolutely I think that's such a good point like we look at it as like oh five minutes isn't doesn't have any value but you commit to something for 5 minutes a day and you keeping that promise to yourselfa to turn up every single day that's what matters about the five minutes exactly it builds that self-confidence too in yourself you know 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 that habit and you're also saying like yes I got this I'm doing it you know I'm dedicating five minutes uh to myself for myself absolutely so let's say someone's listening right now and they say Sonata J 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 uh you can let's start with a treadmill you know we can um just warm up for a minute do maybe a few squads just some of the basic movements um and maybe deadlifts I you know where I'm going to this it's a little bit more more strength training focused for me but um you know do something to warm you up for for a minute or so and then go into some squats going into some deadlifts going into some like 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 someone's at home and they don't have any gym equipment and don't equipment you still you still utilize your body weight it's perfectly fine to do so even if you're starting out out squat to see so basically just squat to your seat stand up squat to your seat stand up um you can do hip thrust back uh 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 the K 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 um and it's it's doable will 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 CU you know in Albania we have to kind of like Forge a little bit for ourselves and or like um on rooftops um just just an active kid I played Sports um so I've always been active not necessarily like strong fit more active into the teenage years unfortunately that's shifted where you know your body changes so I was trying to deal with this extra weight that I was like starting to carry and um I started to work out for the wrong reasons which I would consider is you know trying to be as skinny as possible limiting food intake to be as thin as possible so it shifted in that fashion and that was not a healthy way to work out um and then you know I started dealing with depression and anxiety at the same time I think everything kind of like hit at the same time and um working with Physicians you know they're a little bit quick to push medication on you which which I I did um I did take but it wasn't until I found a physician that was running marathons herself where where she suggested you know actually getting stronger and that's what 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 um for my mental health and when I saw what kind of a difference working out did for my mental health whenever is when everything changed now I was nurturing my body for health versus um dieting it to to be as skinny as possible so it has taken the Journey of Fitness for me has taken a bit of uh uh of a of a path of a different path throughout the years and then but when I found strength when I found strength training is when I found the strength in me and um I was able to overcome a lot of the things that were that were Weighing on me that were affecting me like depression anxiety Y and then eating disorders walk us through how just you know 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 right really helping ourselves in the right way of course I mean you if you're working I mean there's there's extremes to everything so while working out is good doing workouts to the extreme for hours on end while Mal nourishing the body can be detrimental to your physique where you're not uh incorporating those nutrients that your your body needs so you're depleting yourself to uh to extreme levels both with the nutrition and the physical activity so um it it's it is not healthy it's not healthy mentally it's not healthy physically your your your body starts to deteriorate you know you see your like gums and teeth deteriorate and you know everything else that goes on internally um that goes with that so it is not healthy it is not healthy while being thin naturally can absolutely be healthy it's 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 to extremes that's when it becomes unhealthy yeah walk us through the different types of exercise you obviously focus on strength training I want to hear about the benefits of that but you know 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 hit workouts do I need you know there's just so much on offer today especially in LA but there's so much on offer all over the world people are just wondering what's going to work I was telling you earlier that you know 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 you know strength training or and it's not powerlifting by any means is is strength training but I do incorporate like hit sessions and and some cardio because you need I value all of the components uh all of the different modalities but for me strength training is sort of like the 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 um that not every modality has you know strength training is proven to to increase like I said bone bone density and muscle m w which are so crucial to longevity and a healthy longevity and you know longevity now has become such a buzzword and if you could do one thing for your longevity is strength is strength train what's actually happening when we do strength training like 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 you know as you get older and if you fall over you need the strength to pick yourself back up but like what how is strength training in other ways really impacting our longevity yeah I mean because it is in our bone 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 or a wrist and then the chances of recovery from that are much less so that leads to death I think there is like 32,000 deaths caused from Fall injuries in adults like 65 and older and obviously if you can build and muscles the same way you start losing after the age of 30 believe it or not you start losing um muscle mass at about 3 to 8% um every decade so that's that's an 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 um it will help you carry yourself through and and healthier in the in the older years in the in the later years of life because again you can either prevent yourself for falling or you can recover faster from an injury because your bone density um is where it it 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 um and by by menopause the the numbers are staggering as to that bone density loss um and for men actually even though the ostosis um instance is less than women their causality of death their death due to Falls is higher than women oh wow so I mean a lot of the time I know it's like when we're in our in our 20s or even our 30s we think of ourselves as Invincible you know we've got these amazing bodies they're they're incredible of course but how do we prepare ourselves now when it is possible for the future ourselves our future self will will think 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 right 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 you know when I had a couple of my own personal challenges with health it really kind of 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 fit and stronger 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 so you know how or how do you get 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 is a lot better than you know getting up and getting moving but it's uh we we don't rely on that you know you take that you take those feelings you put them aside and you put your shoes and you keep going cuz that's what you do it's like brushing your teeth you there's no there's no for me there's no um it's a non-negotiable working out is a non-negotiable not just for right now not because of Aesthetics but for longevity like we were talking about quality longevity um Aesthetics come it's beautiful once you do the things the right things for your body with nutrition and working out Aesthetics are a byproduct that will come because a lot of people take that approach of like wanting to look a certain way which I find can be motivating but for it's it's shortlived especially if the results are taking 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 like I want to be as strong as I can in this body so this body can carry me forward in a healthiest possible way for as long as as uh as possible so that is the the biggest one that I face is like how do you how do I get motivated how do I stay motivated it's like act don't wait for the feelings act um 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 I'll even there there's been even arguments back and forth with people on Instagram you know 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 we analyze your day just analyze your day as to where you're you're spending time that you could carve out not saying don't watch TV or don't don't be on social media TV exactly do that how can you incorporate it I found that for me incorporating is so exactly and I'm I'm a big big believer of like not doing All or Nothing mhm 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 just like don't don't completely take things out try to incorporate uh in your life so find out there there's definitely always a little bit of time that you can find absolutely yeah when going back to the feelings Point yeah I found that things that are good for me feel bad before yes 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 and so I'm the same as you when I wake up in the morning I often go on a hike that's like how I like to start my morning I like fresh air I'm going 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 bus exact and I found that when I wake up in the morning I don't want to 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 kind of comes and goes exactly I want to eat a burger I ate 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 right and you're living with that feeling after for much longer than you're living with the feeling before very true very true so that's definitely help me and and the busy one is so true I mean 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 uh full I don't get to watch full games anymore because differents because I live in LA the gamees or in London or England and I will put on a highlights of the game which are like 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 yeah 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 or moving around so I I love that idea of incorporating things incorporating things and and that's true when it comes to creating habits that that are tough to to create in the beginning it how can you tack on something that that is is enjoyable like a little bit of a reward system and a reward system doesn't have to be that I get to eat you know whatever I want afterwards what is the right reward system for being fit because I think a lot of people think it isting getting to what you want yeah yeah yeah could be you know like you said you you like to watch the highlights you know a show that you that you enjoy or another activity that's enjoyable you know or if you want to treat yourself find maybe when it comes to food find a a healthier option I'm a great believer also in substituting you know 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 uh food so it's just for every person it could be it could be different um what that reward for them is but tack it onto it and you know our um in in the We rise app we have Dr Gina who's a habits expert habits building expert one of the I think four leading um uh researchers of habits and she has so much input and so much information on how to make habits sustainable you know I wish I had a Dr pocket G that I ask yeah but yeah she she'll have such an amazing uh insight as to how to create and sustain these habits yeah what's the biggest misconception with strength training what do you think people get wrong that woman will get like bulky and big and and gigantic that's like the biggest thing is 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 hear a lot and that is a huge misconception because uh in females our hormones are do not allow us to get to the levels that for example a man's physique can get naturally it is not biologically uh I 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 very at the end of the day you can just back off back off you if you are feeling but I guarantee you that once you start gaining a little bit of muscle you will be addicted you will because the the the the feeling of strength and confidence that it 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 any negative uh misconceptions I'm going to say misconception because it is it's you're not going to get big you're not going to get huge you're not going to be like Hulk I know I know Ry loves strength training like it's such a passion of hers and she loves that feeling of being stronger and loves that feeling of like it's it's amazing to see because I think you are right that we have this worry that our body's going to change and look a way that we don't want it to look yeah yeah yeah yeah what should someone eat right before a workout and right after especially a strength training workout so at before a workout about an hour maybe 30 minutes at uh at most because you don't want to eat too close I would eat um a combination of protein and carbs maybe a little bit higher in in uh in carbs and then afterwards um meal that is higher in protein so at least at least 20 grams of protein in that meal after the workout I mean the the studies are a little bit over the 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 uh or for somebody that is um trying to that is trying to 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 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 are you're reaching so not so focused CU a lot of people focus so much on before and after I would start with how do you feel before a workout do you feel you know if you're working out in the morning and you're energized enough um 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 how do you optimize for yourself how do you optimize for yourself how did 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 because a lot of the time you know uh people see my physique and say you know it's all genetics I actually had to fight against a lot of my genetics to get out of bed and work out my I'm predisposed to to depression and anxiety so battling those uh those factors that's a genetic factor that goes into play but then when it comes to actual physique building um yes it will you you'll vary as to like the muscle mass that you'll put on but you can always improve you know there's not let's not even bother working out because I don't build bigger muscles you know you don't even know till you've tried to what capacity you can build genetics will play a bit of a of a of a factor in the body that you're trying to achieve you know some people will carry a little bit more weight around their stomach so their abs will not be as uh easily uh visible as others so they'll have to in a healthy way potentially diet if they can but uh to see the the visible abdominal abdominal abdominal muscles not that that that is a golden standard of anything just hypothetically saying that it will take them longer than others to to do to to achieve that yeah because again genetics do play a role in that talking about that what is the health benefit of having a lower body fat percentage like what is the goal right 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 even with that you want to maintain a healthier one you 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 to get messed up and we don't want what happens if it goes too L um if it goes too low so then we start to you know 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 um when he goes too high then you're starting to deal with cardiovascular issues um you know insulin resistance and all of the things that will then lead to an unhealthier individual so there's a range there that we should be talking about cardio you said that you incorporate cardio yeah 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 NE that's not true um it's it's all about calories in versus calories out so if you're talking about strictly losing weight is how many calories are you putting in your body and how many calories you're expending so if you're deciding to utilize strength training as a way to expend those calories great if you're utilizing uh cardio great there is some studies again that suggest that you'll get faster into that fat burning phase if you're doing strength training before and then cardio after and also cardio if you're doing strength training also before and cardio after you're you're not compromising your strength training process um as if you were to do cardio beforehand how much cardio that also is an IND individual basis um cardio a lot of people hate cardio U 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 exercises upper body focused and then 30 seconds to a minute of sprinting and then another you know exercise or set of an upper body focused and then so that's what how I make it finding 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 you know adding a a a steady state cardio session after a separate day a separate part of the day um because you're wanting to be at a more of a caloric deficit that's completely fine as well it sounds like you don't like cardia I don't love cardia that's good for us to know I I so I ran marathons and and that was great around three marathons I 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 you know benefit to cardio in the sense that some people feel more of the Endorphin and the Feelgood hormones during H sessions or cardio so there is a benefit to that um and at the end of the day what is so while so let's say while I value strength training pick your poison at the end of the day or pick your remedy I should say pick your Elixir you know what would that be for you as long as you can get some activity in so while there is hierarchies of you what you want to achieve so if you want to build muscle strength training really is like the golden standard right but if you know you absolutely hate it um 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 like what what did you 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 one of the plans this was quite a few years ago um that kind of buil um slowly and it worked on like hill hill Sprints and and you know just a different variety of of things that you need to work on when you're running a marathon but it basically started to started with three miles and then increased to five miles and then after a week or so increase so incrementally increasing the length that I would run till I got to the to the marathon I guess yeah never you never run the whole Marathon when you're doing when you're practicing it's more like up to like 18 miles but it was just slowly over time building up to that yeah and definitely feeding that that that those calories that were burning almost couldn't couldn't keep the weight on me at that point yeah because you're spending so much energy what would you now say is a great nutrition plan while someone's strength training like what kind of 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 8 to 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 and fats um but that's what I always say prioritize Protein that's what's going to help not just building muscle but just your pH physiological iCal um needs you know protein is the building block of our of our body and what you can leave out is the infamous sugars you know the refined sugars and um so opt more for uh for complex carbs um I still like eating fruit I know there's been fruit suddenly has become controversial like if you're eating fruit and vegetables you're good just uh fit into the macro um what especially if you're starting out and you want to you have a specific goal it is important to find out what your appropriate macros are for for the day and macros are the macronutrients so what are what is your daily intake of protein carbohydrates and fats um but I always prioritize protein and with the protein I mean most of us are not getting close to that most of us are not um like I said for let's say 10 20 pound person like a gram so you need 120 grams of protein uh or around that per per day so you know there in a piece of like palm of your hand of of of uh let's say chicken there's like 20 gram of protein so you need to be a little bit more um Discerning of your meals so always include protein with every meal and maybe even with your snacks yeah I think for most of us if feels like protein takes up probably that 20 G and then we're filling the rest with carbs fats and 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 even for my friends who eat me even they were saying just how challenging it was for them like it's not easy across the board and so raising that up to that yeah yeah it is it's important especially as we age Believe it or not like we we need to intake even more protein you've 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've shared with us have really been powerful yeah I mean the the the muscle loss is huge the um like I said the 32,000 deaths per per year which actually crazy enough has has almost doubled from like 2012 to 2021 if I believe if I remember correctly and I wonder what's gone into that like why there's been such a drastic increase and like that's due to Falls during um this time like maybe we've become less um we've become less mobile uh maybe there's medications in the market that are affecting our bone density it's actually when it comes to to depression and anxiety mood disorders it is has been found that even as little as 150 minutes of activity per week can relieve symptoms to about 40 to 60% 42 to 60% while as compared to psychotherapy and pharmaceuticals the numbers are uh 20% to 30% in relief of symptoms so even the highest the higher upper end limit of pharmacological products and uh 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 like that's that's mindblowing what you can achieve because and I'm not negating the need for Psychotherapy or or far pharmacological products absolutely you know where it's necessary but why not start with exercising like start there you will achieve results that might be even higher than what you can do with with pharmaceutical products that's like just over 20 minutes a day yeah exactly just over 20 minutes a day that's incredible yeah absolutely that's pretty amazing to know I mean wow like yeah 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 and liit exactly exactly that's yeah and and you're right again we're not telling anyone not to take things that they need to take but absolutely the idea that why not have the full package like exactly why not have the full package that's what it is because a lot of the time it can be that Psychotherapy or pharmacologics don't necessarily work for for some people I think there is some statistics of like 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 sign ific relief I mean firsthand I'm standing here as somebody that has um achieved that kind of relief without now being on any Pharmaceuticals um I I this is why I work out every day I don't want to experience those symptoms of depression and anxiety uh any ever so this is why I keep going so powerful so powerful so inspiring to hear that as well thank you so inspiring to hear that what what was it for you that was causing that where was that coming from for you personally H it's been I mean there's so many factors I think you when you're talking about being anxiety and depression experiencing that I think some of it is genetic um some of it is being a teenager and moving countries going from Albania to to the United States and completely in a new world a new space um my family didn't know English at the time I was the only one that did so I had to support them so I had to assume the role of an adult at a fairly young age so I was 145 at the time where I had to become an adult in my family so I think there's a cornicopia of like things that that kind of came together for me to experience um anxiety and depression and trying to fit in and not you know being a foreigner at the time and the teenager and being bullied and made fun of um all kind of let pave the path a little bit for me to experience that and um I do feel for for for teenagers and I do feel for the um the the generation that is that that is living through through these times it's not easy it's not easy but find find find comfort in that discomfort of working out and and 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 like walking that's that's that's great uh 10 to 12,000 my uh my dad does it every day he's committed to it uh it's a good starting point it's a good starting point but it's how you make those steps Quality quality steps you know do you work out every day of the week most days but I do you have a rest day I 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 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 even speaking like throughout the day to get up and and and take a little bit of a walk like every half an hour every hour so I do 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 days off really no days off I love it a body and stays in motion yeah yeah no I know what you mean it's it's so interesting how much yeah staying sedentary is the cause of so many of our issues we had Dr Daran sha 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 exact 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 your rest day is my best workout day basically 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 I love that you do you work out my best is your you're you're you you just told me you were into calisthenic so yeah you work out yeah that's so funny I love it um one thing I wanted to dive into you 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 and you guys training together what 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 she shows up shows up on time and it's ready to 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 wow that's very impressive I'm not surprised she did say her workout was one of her favorite things she's very dedicated for sure yeah 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 like you get really we we we dial it in we dial it in for sure I you moved to LA for I did and I ended up staying here for a little bit longer than I was uh yeah was expected what was it like when she first reached out you and said I need you to come over what was that like what was that conversation like yes I'll be there um because obviously it is cim 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 to come with big muscles you know but if I can send that message of strength to especially young women then to me I've done my my purpose is fulfilled it'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 like are you know are you going to give me a day here and there because that's just not going to achieve anything for you or or or myself so uh you have to be serious about your health um and I I'd like to make it even though somebody comes to me saying that they need to look look a certain way I always try to make it about Health and Longevity yeah it's similar in coaching actually whenever I take on a client I found that clients who are willing to dedicate and commit time exact see phenomenal results I've had clients that I have met for 2 hours a day every day for 2 years and I had clients that I met twice a week Thrice a week for three to six months and then I have someone who's like kind of checking in once a month kind of checking once a quarter cancel doesn't have and you just start to notice and 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 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 to be that commitment absolutely you talked about the purpose of strength training what is the purpose of workouts like Pilates and yoga and and other forms what what is the purpose of those kind of workouts compared to strength training they like I said I respect and utilize have utilized myself all modalities you know I love yoga but I think they're are great additives they're great in addition to strength stren training because they will not most likely build uh muscle mass in the way that strength training can MH they will build maybe endurance they will build some endurance they'll build um flexibility and some strength but not to the level that lifting weights uh will will will not in so in the way that lifting weights will build your bone density um yoga and pilates unless you're doing some crazy yoga pilat um they they will not do that so but again there is a great place and time in addition I believe 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 they could be one and the same because again at the end of the day um um when you're building muscle you're you're challenging yourself you're challenging your muscles with a weight that you're you're lifting which is expanding calories and that's what you need in weight loss as well you need expenditure of calories that 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 know you can work out um you can challenge yourself with the duration of the workout and then maintain your nutrition or you can um eat less basically so be at a deficit in in calories and then lose weight so doesn't have to be the any difference there it's just how you manage nutrition versus output got it 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 to continue to get stronger or to continue to sh shift because I find like most people are working out with that or trying of course they can use the Weise app and have that that's what the Weise app does right absolutely so I'll give you the guideline if you you'll give you the 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 uh reps are between 8 and 12 when you get to that 8 or 10 9 10 12 rep like how are you challenged can you do can you do 10 more if you're doing 10 more after that or if you can do you're doing you're doing too little weight so you need to increase the weight that's where you have to keep in mind I also value strongly that mind muscle connection um so truly thinking about the working muscle there actually studies that that show that if you are thinking of the muscles that you're working that that actually creates um the muscle gets bigger uh there is there studies to that so if you are slowing down the movement thinking about the muscles that you're working I some times try to touch you know this is working it sends that signal from your your 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 stud the idea of people almost doing weights in their mind yeah yeah yeah there were studies that they just simply just did that without any weight lifting and uh they found uh significant difference yeah yeah yeah that's the power of the mind is incredible what what else have you done for the power of the mind to affect your body like what other practices have you taken on at a mental or spiritual level that you feel have positively impacted your physical health well meditation um is 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 um in in in bodybuilding competitions in the Bikini level so that I found when it came strictly to like the physique if you are it's it's basically manifestation you know at uh at that cellular level when you're thinking about the way that you want to to look um or feel or present yourself so meditation is huge I try to incorporate that every day um journaling um 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 for your body absolutely absolutely I had to learn that I had to learn that I 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 end up let they're going to let you down because you're going to look for that yeah 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 and that Lang the words that we use are so important you know just in the in in this recent Journey that just shared about before with you um that was one of the big lessons that that I learned is the way that sometimes uh we talk to ourselves the words that we use whether they're out loud or even just spoken in silence to ourselves are are huge are huge so if you tell yourself you know like I hate my body like I want to change this like I hate I don't know like my stomach like that's not coming from a place of love you're less likely to achieve results if they're if that's coming from a place of negative sentiments towards yourself I always that's another thing that I always try to impart on whoever I'm working with especially in person is like I want us to from a place place of love for ourselves not from I need to lose 20 lbs because that again comes from like I hate this 20 lbs that's on me um but yeah starting from a place of love for wherever we're at and for I want to 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 uh we end every episode with a final five these have to be answered in one word or one sentence maximum and so Sonata grea these are your final five the first is what is the best health or Fitness advice you've ever heard or received well the advice not necess well it it's 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 to embrace your unique self and stay true to it um the advice that I would give when it comes to to Fitness though um 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 and that's not the case yeah yeah at the end of the day it's also let's not judge people for how they want to look you know if they want to appear a certain way if that's what drives them that's what they they want let's allow question number three what's your hope for people in 2024 uh just to do everything from a place of Love whatever that is so whether it's working out nutrition or um 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 for me recently was to allow and stop being so much uh needing to to control everything um so maybe this is more on a personal level but I think if we allow for the good in our life for the love for the right type of circumstances um I think there's so much to gain from that it's beautiful Sonata thank you so much thank you for being here everyone who's been listening or watching sonata's app is the We rise app uh 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. grea 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 uh and Sonata is going to be a big part of making that happen thank you so much s again for 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 if you love this episode you'll enjoy my conversation with Megan Trainer on breaking generational trauma and how to be confident from the inside out my therapist told me stand in the mirror naked for 5 minutes it was already tough for me to love my body but after the c-section scar with all the stretch marks now I'm looking at myself like I've been hacked but day three when I did it I was like you know what her thighs are cute