Sudden Loss Sparks A Health Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Dear listeners, in 2015, my guest's father died suddenly from a heart attack. No warnings, no signs, God. And in the aftermath of that loss, something became very clear to him, not as a coach, but as a son standing at a graveside, asking himself the question we all eventually ask, What am I doing to make sure I don't leave the people I love the way my father just let me that question became a business? But more than that, it became a mission. And today we are going to talk about what it means to stop reacting to your health and start investing in it before the urgency decides for you. So hey dear listeners, welcome back to another powerful episode of Healthy Mind Healthy Life where we talk about wellness not as a afterthought but as the foundation of everything else. I'm your host, Evig, and I'm really glad that all of you are here today. And today's guest is a health and fitness coach with over 20 years of experience, the founder of TA4 Fitness, and a specialist in helping people over 40 stop feeling weak and out of shape and start feeling strong, mobile, and genuinely energized again. His TA4 system integrates strength, mobility, breathe, work, and nutrition into a cohesive approach to what he calls health span. Not just how long you live, but how well. So allowing much of a time, let's get started and please welcome my guest, Stephen Alhein. So welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Thank you for having me. Really appreciate being here. Amazing, amazing.

From IT To Coaching Full Time

SPEAKER_01 2:21

And how that changed everything for you. So what did that loss teach you about health and time that 20 years of coaching before it hadn't quite reached?

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Yeah, so um that's a great question. So at that point in my life, I I had been pretty lucky. I hadn't had any major traumas. I hadn't had uh um, I had a pretty lucky life, I have to say. And out of nowhere, a loss like that when the family history didn't have any, his brother was still alive, 10 years older than him, his sister was still alive. She's 20 years older than him. And his his grandma lived to or his mom lived to 99. So it was just a surprise that the the youngest, youngest uh of of them, you know, went first. And uh, and so it was it was just such a shock to me, not having dealt with that kind of trauma in my life before, that it really made me um just have so much more perspective that life is short and that and that you should, you know, after I I grieved for a bit, I had to, I had to think about things and put life into perspective. And and when I realized, you know, that that the the main thing that life is short and that I should do what I love the rest of my life, it really kind of made me launch on this career change. I had been coaching part-time on the side, and um, I didn't love what I did in IT, um, did it for 20 years, but um, but I like the people, and I probably would have never left that career if it wasn't for what happened to my dad. And so I I took that as an opportunity to to just get some perspective and um and kind of kind of relook at my life again. And so it was 2015 when my dad died, and three years later I I left my career and and launched uh my business. And um now I help people um hopefully not have that happen to them. And so my focus is a lot deeper than just what you see in the mirror. It's about um training for life, and there's a lot of different components to it. And so I'm just much more happy now, and it definitely was a perspective uh switch in my life for sure.

Proactive Health Without Perfectionism

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Exactly, exactly. And and um I mean, most people's relationship with their health is reactive. I mean, something goes wrong, a diagnosis, an injury, a scary result on a blood taste, and then they start paying attention. You are making a case for the opposite. What is the core misconception that keeps people waiting until the urgency arrives rather than investing before it does? So if it can shape.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Yeah, no, that's that's an excellent question because so many people are in that situation. They they wait to make those life changes after something major has happened and they've already, you know, lost time off their life. And so my perspective on it is is different. I think uh, especially when it comes to people who are high performers or working really hard, we have this concept that we think that that a workout has to be perfect. We need to have four hours a week to devote to it when reality is that anything is is better than nothing and and not putting up a zero for the day, as I like to say, um, and just getting out of your chair to do some air squats, do some box squats, anything like that is gonna just start giving you wins that give you the confidence to do a little bit more and a little bit more. And when you get to the point where you've gotten some wins, one thing I always tell everybody is is just like you should get blood work every year, uh, there's an important thing called a movement screen you should also have done. And that's gonna show you weak weaknesses in your body and areas where you have opportunities to improve. And when you work on those things, those weak points and those areas that you find in a movement screen, that's where you can start making these small improvements and building a better foundation. And when you have that foundation, it's like, it's like um you would never want to build a house on a bad foundation because you're just gonna have problems with the house. And if you fix your foundation through movement screens and fixing what's kind of underlying there, making the invisible visible, then you can, then you can have a much better future of health and your body already has a better baseline. And so things get easier and it makes you want to focus more on your health because you're not suffering from these injuries and these small things, and you've got these winds building up, and it just kind of compounds and it just opens up the door for you for a healthier life.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Exactly.

What Changes In Your 40s

SPEAKER_01 6:41

And here uh, I mean, I would like love to uh mention it like and over the 40 uh population specifically, because that's that's who you work with, and that's where the stakes become more or most visible. So, what is happening in the body that in that decade that makes intentional investment in the health both uh I mean more urgent and more impactful than any earlier stage?

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Yeah, I mean, I I believe that's a great question. I believe that and so I'm 51 myself, and I believe that in your 40s, you you start kind of realizing that that um even in your late 30s, that that that young um body you had that seemed more indestructible and stuff isn't isn't there as much anymore. And what's happened though is it yes, aging does have an effect, but it's also everything we do in our lives. So it's it's the sitting, it's if you're not active, it all builds up and then you start getting these mobility compensations, and maybe you've had some surgeries. And so, so all these these factors start coming into play that that start increasing your chance of having something urgent happen. If you're when you're missing range of motion in your body, those small missing range of motion cause compensations. Those compensations over add up over time to a point where you might be saying, why is my shoulder bothering me? I I'm trying to exercise, but I'm having pain in my hips. And so there's these, there's a lot of things that start happening with our body as we age. And that's when it comes back to that really trying to get that foundation correct and and fixing the things that have happened to our bodies through life. And so that's why I think it's important as as we approach these points in our life where where our body's starting to feel our age, 40s, 50s, that we start addressing it and looking at differently from a standpoint of if I don't, if I don't address this, what's my life going to be like in the next 20 to 40 years? And so when you look at that picture, it really kind of opens the door that you know you're only gonna have more pain and suffering if you don't start putting at least a little bit of time into it today to build up those wins.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Exactly. Yeah. And um yeah, definitely. I mean, what you're pointing is I mean, uh kind of to a window, uh, I mean, a period like where the biological changes are real and accelerating, but um, where intentional intervention still has enormous leverage. Uh difference between someone who begins serious and consistent investment in their body at 42 versus someone who waits until 55 or a health crisis to motivate them is uh not a small difference in outcome. So yeah, exactly.

Strength Mobility Breath Nutrition Together

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Uh and and uh about uh TA4 system um uh it brings together four things, which is uh strength, mobility, brake work, and nutrition. So I want to understand like why those four specifically, like how they work together, because uh I mean most fitness conversations focus on one or two of these and ignore the others. So what happens when you get chair?

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Yeah, no, it's a great question. And I think it it comes down to um how our bodies work. And so I think that a lot of people will focus on um one aspect, like um like being a strength coach or something like that. And there's nothing wrong with that. Um, but but uh when when your goal is to build strength, if you look at it from muscle groups, you're looking at it from a segmented viewpoint. And our body doesn't work in muscles, it works in movements. And so as I started building my system up for adults over 40, I realized that the fitness industry has their um strength coaches, their yoga coaches. And but but they needed more of a comprehensive solution that addresses it all. And so when I when I started building my programs, I realized yes, we need to have um strength because skeletal muscle is the tissue of longevity. But then we also need to have good range of motion, and then you have to have all these supporting things like um a good base of uh breathing is just so important to so many different aspects in our life, how we sleep, um, our ability to deliver oxygen to our body, endurance. And so I started looking at these subcomponents. Um, one of which is also hidden in there is zone two cardio for heart health. And um, and when you start comparing all the things you should be doing in life rather than um just looking at one component, it really comes down to to a more of a system view and uh more of a health span longevity view of of how you take care of your body. And that's another reason why I call it training for life and not just looks, because there's there's much more that goes into uh training for life than just looks.

Breath Training For Calm Endurance

SPEAKER_01 11:36

And um like because I mean the breathe book uh because that's the one uh that surprises people most when it shows up in a fitness context. Most people think of breathing as something just that just happens, not something that you train. So, what does training your breathe and breath actually change in someone's uh body and daily experience?

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Yeah, um, that's a that's a great question because a lot of people don't understand breath work. And so so one thing I do with all my clients is I mentioned the movement screen is I test how well they breathe. And uh a lot of people don't understand that that um oxygen dropping isn't your your signal to breathe, it's carbon dioxide rising. And so if you have a higher sensitivity to carbon dioxide, um, you have more, a little bit more air hunger and stuff like that. And if you can have that come down by proper breathing exercises and learning to create air hunger, they can have a lot of shifts in your body. So people who have um cold hands and feet tend to sometimes be mouth breathers or have high sensitivity to carbon dioxide. And when you perform breathing exercises, you can actually feel um more blood flow go into your hands and feet. So you got different small effects like that. They have the mental health benefit because if you focus on your breathing, it can also serve as like a meditation, a mindfulness. And then thirdly, uh, a lot of people, I try and get my clients to tape their mouth during workouts. And the reason why is because you can be much more efficient when you learn to breathe properly through your nose, deliver more oxygen, but also, but also stay more calm and keep your heart rate down. So I see a lot of people in gyms who are mouth breathing and they're running. But if they learn to just breathe more efficiently through their nose, you can train yourself to um deliver more oxygen to your body over time and then be more efficient with your energy levels. And so there's just a lot of cool, interesting components to to breath work. Um, a lot of professional athletes are getting more into it now because they realize that, you know, if you're already efficient at a technique, say you're running and stuff like that, sometimes your biggest performance benefits can come from uh learning to breathe better and deliver more oxygen to your body.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Exactly.

Movement Screen Then Build Momentum

SPEAKER_01 13:49

And um, I would do also talk about um, like for someone who is listening uh or who is uh over 40 or who has been meaning uh to take their health more seriously, who has maybe tried things before and fallen off. So what does actually beginning with your approach look like? Like you start with a movement screen. Um like what is that? Like why is it I mean, if you can share?

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Yeah, definitely. So I I like to say that I start with two things um that are definitely different than most coaches. So most coaches will say, What's your what's your goal from a weight standpoint or body composition? What do you want to look like? I started a little differently and I say, Well, what do you want to do in life with your body? And and what would being healthy in 80, and and what do you still want to be doing at 80 with your body? And those answers will start somewhere along the lines of, well, I want to continue playing golf or sports or hiking, um, traveling, I'm playing with my grandkids. And since most of my clients are over 40, those are a lot of things I hear. And so when you start looking just at that avenue, all those components that all those things that they mention have a movement component to them. And so if your underlying ability to move well is strong, then all those things are going to be easier. And so that starts looking at different components then, like countries that have people sitting on the ground and getting up from the ground uh often have low, lower fall risks, a lot more um health, health patterns and stuff. And so when we start thinking of movement, getting up from the ground, balance training, um, all these different things, that's where the assessment now comes in. So then I take my clients after they tell me their goals, which are usually all movement related. And then I say, okay, well, now we have to do a movement screen to see where you're at on that pattern. And a movement screen could be anything from it's gonna have some strength tests for sure. It's gonna be baselines of strength, it's gonna be mobility, movement, balance control. There's some longevity tests in there, like get up tests. Can you get up from the ground without your hands? And they're all done at different levels because I have all different different clients. So if I'm running a basic 90-90 hip mobility test and someone's having a hard time with that, then they're not gonna graduate to one of the GitHub tests from there. So we know we have to work at a at a safer, lower level. And so, so yeah, so once I have that complete picture of how they move their goals and um what their they do want to have a you know, a healthy weight, um, then we build the program from there. And so it has a much more comprehensive view, and then it also gives me a lot of data points to show progress. So if I have a 20-point movement screen on someone, then when we retest in three to six months, we have 20 points of data outside of just the mirror and the scale to show how much you've improved.

Legacy Mindset For Showing Up

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Very true.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Yeah, and um also like uh you talk about your clients' results as a part of your father's legacy. That's a meaningful way to uh carry grief, uh to let it uh become purposeful. So, how does thinking about legacy, about what kind of body and health you're building for the decades ahead, change how someone approaches the daily unglamorous walk of actually showing off for this?

SPEAKER_00 17:08

Yeah, I I think so. I mean, um for for me personally, and then I I'll go into how I how I relate it to my clients. I use um I use loss, that loss as a strength. And so there are days where I don't want to work out, where um I've had a really long day. Uh most of my days start at 4:30 a.m. and end at 8.30 p.m. Cause I love what I do and I'm always trying to to work and get better at it. And there's days where I'm just tired and I don't feel like working out and say it's in the afternoon and I have it scheduled. But then I think, you know, what would what would my dad give to still be here today? And I can kind of summon up like that pain almost on uh even right now, almost on uh an instant because because he should still be here. And so for for me, I I I like to say that that my example um of strength that I I like to use is in and legacy is from my dad. And so when I talk to my clients, I say, you know, I don't have kids, but a lot of my clients do. And I say, you know, what kind of message do you want to, you know, send to your kids? Um, how long do you want to be here for them? And so I think it's it's about finding what is gonna um motivate them and digging a little deep to understand, you know, what message they want to send to their kids or or what have they felt in their life that can be something that helps them motivate themselves to uh to do the right things and take care of their health. Because uh every day is is a challenge. And I think one of our programming with our body is that our bodies want to conserve energy because, and that's been since you know, for a long time with us, because we back in the day when we used to have to run for our lives from tigers and stuff, we don't have to do that anymore, but our body still wants to conserve energy. And so you have to have like a little bit of a of a motivation there and a little bit of knowledge that you're capable of more than you think you are, and then use that the motivation to uh to just go ahead and know it's you have to put in the work to make sure you have a uh a good life and live a good example.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Exactly, exactly.

Connect With Stephen Final Takeaways

SPEAKER_01 19:15

And um if listeners want to connect with you, what would be the great medium to connect?

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Yeah, I'm on all of the socials except for probably the only one I'm not on much is uh is Twitter, um, but which is now X, but I'm on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, um, TikTok, YouTube. And then you can always find me on my my webpage there too, and uh and learn a little bit more about me and fill out an application there if you're interested in learning about how my my coaching works.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Exactly. Amazing. Great. So uh dear listeners, what I'll do is I'll put all the links of the details into the show notes for the easy reference. And um, that's enough for today's episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life. And if this conversation made you think about what you want your body to be capable of in 10 or 20 years, and what you are doing today to build toward that, please let that thought become an action, even a small one today, right? So uh Stefan's details and TF4 fitness will be there in the show notes. And if someone in your life is uh in that 40 plus window and has been putting this off, I'll probably share this episode with them. With this hope, this is your host again. This is Helly Man, Helly Life. I'll just say train for the life that you want to live, but not the one that you already managed to take care of yourselves and see you next time. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Okay.