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Kent Probst of Long Healthy Life Blog: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Keep Stress Levels Down. Let’s face it — stress is a fact of life. There are many sources of stress in our lives, but if you let stress overwhelm you, it can result in many health problems. One of the secrets of healthy aging is to keep stress at a level where it doesn’t have an adverse effect on your health. There are a number of options for reducing stress in your life. Taking a holistic approach will serve you well. Consider adding self-care activities such as meditation, spending time with nature, journaling and massage as ways of managing stress in your life.

As a part of our series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kent Probst.

As a personal trainer, kinesiotherapist and bodybuilder, Kent Probst has dedicated his life to optimal nutrition, fitness and natural remedies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a master’s degree in exercise science. Now he’s taking his experience and knowledge to the next level by helping others through blogging.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness?

I saw friends and family suffering from health problems and a low quality of life that I felt could be prevented. I didn’t want to go through what they were experiencing. I was convinced that a high quality of life can be maintained and most health problems prevented with great nutrition, fitness and natural approaches to wellness. At that point, I embarked on a career in health and fitness to help others achieve optimal health throughout their lives.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Since I started my career, the most interesting thing that has happened to me is that people are always asking what my secret is regarding health and fitness. My health and fitness regimen works so well that people don’t realize what my actual age is.

Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

When I first started in a health and fitness career, I tried lots of fads to become healthy and fit. I realized that there are no safe and effective shortcuts to health and fitness. You have to do the work.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

For more than twenty years, I’ve successfully worked in the healthcare and fitness industries as a personal trainer and kinesiotherapist, amassing a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills. I’ve helped everyone from athletes to men and women wanting to become fit to people needing rehabilitation. I’ve made it my priority to live the lifestyle I impart upon my clients and audience — great nutrition, fitness and natural remedies. I’ve been a member of Life Extension for twenty years.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My parents gave me the most help and encouragement to become the person I am today. They were always there for me, making sure I got a good education, providing emotional support, discipline and a well-rounded childhood. Playing sports when I was growing up greatly influenced my interest in pursuing a healthy and fit lifestyle.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

  1. A common blockage that prevents people from taking action is that they may not be ready to change. Before they take action, they usually go through the pre-contemplation, contemplation and preparation stages of change. Sometimes people don’t realize their behavior is a problem.
  2. Life events and lack of social support often cause people to relapse to their bad habits. John Lennon said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Life events such as divorce, loss of a job and a death in the family can cause you to relapse. Realizing that there will be road bumps along the way will make it easier to stick to your plan.
  3. Another obstacle that prevents people from integrating health and fitness into their lives is that they don’t have accurate information and they’re not sure which direction to go.

Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)

Follow a Diet That Promotes Healthy Aging

We’re constantly bombarded by diet advice and the latest diet fads in the media. It’s no wonder people are confused about what to eat. So let’s clear up the confusion. One of the secrets of healthy aging is to eat like people who live in the Blue Zones. Eating like people in the Blue Zones is essentially following the Mediterranean diet. Valter Longo, PhD, author of The Longevity Diet, has spent decades researching aging and improving the Mediterranean diet. Dr. Longo is the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences and the Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. The Longevity Diet is a clinically tested diet program, based on decades of research, to fight disease, maintain an ideal weight, and live a longer and healthier life.

Keep Stress Levels Down

Let’s face it — stress is a fact of life. There are many sources of stress in our lives, but if you let stress overwhelm you, it can result in many health problems. One of the secrets of healthy aging is to keep stress at a level where it doesn’t have an adverse effect on your health. There are a number of options for reducing stress in your life. Taking a holistic approach will serve you well. Consider adding self-care activities such as meditation, spending time with nature, journaling and massage as ways of managing stress in your life.

Get Adequate Sleep

Another one of the secrets of healthy aging is to not only get enough sleep, but to get quality sleep. The National Sleep Foundation says that a third of Americans experience insomnia. It’s an epidemic problem. A third get less than 7 hours of sleep per night. Did you know that chronic insomnia can lead to heart disease, poor learning and memory, diabetes, depression, weight gain, and premature skin aging? Insomnia also weakens your immune system by increasing levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), which promote inflammation. A weakened immune system also increases the risk of bacterial, parasitic and viral infections. Getting a good night’s sleep (7 to 9 hours) helps you detox your brain of beta amyloid plaque, the substance found concentrated in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. When you improve your sleep quality over the long term, you’ll be happier and more productive during the day. Beating insomnia means significantly improving your health by reducing the risk of all the health problems that go along with it.

Maintain a Good Social Network

Another one of the secrets of healthy aging that people often don’t think about is maintaining meaningful relationships.Emotional support may be just as integral as diet and exercise in promoting healthy aging. Meaningful relationships can help stave off depression that can result from spending a significant amount of time alone. Even having a pet, such as a dog or cat, can be a source of emotional support. Sources of building a social network:

  • Volunteering
  • Group exercise
  • Church
  • Hobby groups
  • Book clubs
  • Dog parks
  • Neighborhood groups

Get the Right Amount of Exercise

We all know that exercise has many benefits. What’s not as well known is how much exercise is recommended, as well as the type of exercise and frequency. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous cardiovascular exercise to significantly reduce the risk of disease. Your maximum heart rate can be determined by subtracting your age from 220. If your age is 40, then your maximum heart rate is 180. Vigorous intensity is 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. Moderate intensity is 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. Not everyone can do this much exercise starting out. Breaking it up into 10 minute segments is a great way to make it more manageable.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

  1. Staying strong and maintaining muscle mass is a biomarker for longevity.
  2. In addition to increased muscle mass, other benefits of strength training include increased walking speed and better balance.
  3. Resistance exercise can improve cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?

  1. Weight bearing aerobic exercise such as jogging or walking.
  2. Strength training 2–3 times per week.
  3. Everyone should make flexibility a component of their fitness regimen for optimal fitness.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies: Proven Remedies Medical Doctors Don’t Know by Mark Stengler, ND was a major game changer for me in how I approached my health. I’d been having side effects from prescription drugs and problems of efficacy with traditional treatments. This motivated me to look at alternative medicine. In my experience, natural medicine has been more effective and safer.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I’d like to see cities build more parks with outdoor exercise equipment and trails. This would give people more options for staying fit beyond just going to a health club.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

“The first wealth is health.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson. This quote resonated with me because being healthy is such a huge component of quality of life. Life is miserable if you’re sick much of the time, not allowing you to live life to the fullest and shortening your lifespan.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

If I had the opportunity, I would like to eat lunch with John Mackey, CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods Market. I’m impressed with what he’s done to pioneer natural, healthy and organic foods, as well as advancing conscious capitalism and leadership.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Readers can follow my work online at Long Healthy Life Blog https://www.longhealthylife.co/

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Kent Probst of Long Healthy Life Blog: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.