When the f**k did I become old?

Guest: Julia Chi-Taylor, relationship coach, mentor, and international athlete who has been running for over 60 years. Julia works with people on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels and is still competing in her late 60s.
 
Key Takeaways
•        It's never too late to start running. Begin with lots of walking and a little running, take it slowly, and find a guide who understands you emotionally as well as physically.
•        The belief that recovery takes longer as you age is just that, a belief. Mindset and narrative around pain can spiral things down as much as the injury itself.
•        Blue Zones (Japan, Sardinia, Okinawa, Loma Linda, Ikaria) show us a different model of communities living well into their 100s through movement, plants, purpose and community.
•        Running as meditation: the goal is non-attachment to outcome. Aiming for something AND letting go of the result is the ultimate practice.
•        Staying visible as you age is a choice. You can disappear into it, or you can keep showing up with energy.
•        If you're starting to exercise later in life, the goal isn't pace or distance; it's whether you enjoyed it. That's the measure of success.
•        Reactivity is an arrow to past wounding. Real stillness in running and in life means not reacting from old patterns.
 
Timestamps
00:09  Meet Julia: 50 years of coaching, running since age 6
02:34  How to start running later in life
04:59  Miracles in recovery: real stories
07:24  Jo's deadlift injury and healing journey
09:52  Blue Zones, aging myths and the beliefs we're fed
14:36  Being the oldest in the gym (and why it's great)
16:51  Making yourself invisible  and how to stop
19:11  Julia's spiritual path and the running-meditation connection
26:04  How Julia would coach Jo to start running
29:00  The Happiness Curve and the striving trap
33:13  Where to find Julia + Jo might actually take up running!
 
Find Julia
https://juliachitaylor.com

Ever looked around at your life and thought “is this it?” This week, Jo and Kev are joined by Rosie Freshwater: serial entrepreneur, wife, mum and now a DJ playing gigs across the UK.
Rosie's story is one of the most honest midlife reinventions you'll hear. Perimenopause and the empty nest landed at the same time, she started disconnecting from everything she'd worked hard to build and found her way back through music, TikTok and a whole lot of not giving a f**k what anyone thinks.
From borrowing her brother-in-law's decks to building a TikTok following as Roo's Renaissance, putting on the UK's first 80s modern remix dance event and planning to swap a country house for a one-bed in Hackney, Rosie is proof it's never too late to start over.
 
Key Takeaways
•        Perimenopause and empty nesting can collide and that identity crash is real
•        You don't need a course to start something new; YouTube and borrowed kit will do
•        Your existing friends might not get it. That's okay. Go find your tribe
•        Reinvention puts pressure on relationships, talking (and therapy) can get you through
•        The daytime rave scene is growing and it's genuinely multi-generational
•        Success looks different in midlife: happiness and freedom over money and status
•        Don't wait for permission. Try the thing. Don't give a f**k what anyone thinks
 
 
Timestamps
01:55 — Introducing Rosie + the midlife pressure points
04:10 — How the DJ journey started
06:10 — From borrowed decks to TikTok and paid gigs
08:03 — The 80s modern remix concept and live event
10:41 — Why creativity beat career: the total escape moment
11:48 — “ Bit old to do that aren’t you?”
12:45 — Finding a new tribe when your old one doesn’t get it
15:23 — Day raving and the multi-generational club scene
16:27 — Partner and kids: how family reacts to your reinvention
19:42 — Downsizing: letting go of your old identity
22:21 — Empty nest: how the boys are handling the move
25:35 — What’s next: Rue’s Renaissance as a brand and community
29:00 — Rosie’s advice if you’re standing on the edge of change
 
 
Find Rosie
TikTok: @roos_renaissance Instagram @rosiefresh
Event: 80s Modern Remix Dance Party — 18th April, Bermondsey Social Club, London, 2pm–9pm
 
 
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Fit, Fabulous & Flaunting It: Fitness Over 50
What does it actually mean to be fit and fabulous in your 50s and beyond? Jo and Kev dig into the science of why fitness matters more than ever at midlife, covering strength, cardio, and flexibility, while getting real about the overwhelming amount of conflicting advice out there. They celebrate some genuinely inspiring role models (and debate whether their abs are achievable), break down why you wake up feeling like a broken robot, and share practical tips for getting your body moving in the morning without a complete overhaul of your life.
Key Takeaways
•        Strength, cardio, and flexibility all matter, but you don't have to do everything. Pick what works for you.
•        Morning stiffness has actual science behind it: tendons and ligaments shorten with age, and your joints produce less synovial fluid. It's not just you being lazy.
•        Hydration is more important than most people realise; your muscles and ligaments are 70% water.
•        Maintaining weight loss is harder (and less glamorous) than losing it in the first place.
•        A simple morning routine; box breathing, knee hugs, hot shower, ankle rotations can genuinely help.
Timestamps
00:09  Why fitness matters over 50, strength, cardio, flexibility
02:34  The benefits: bone density, muscle mass, mental health, sleep
03:20  Inspiring role models; Mel C, Gwyneth, JLo, Gillian Anderson
09:43  Dylan Jones on male style and fitness over 50
14:33  Alison Cork's 10 tips for maintaining weight loss
21:23  Jo's progress and why it's harder than expected
23:47  Why you wake up stiff: the science explained
25:00  Morning mobility routine to fix it
Resources & Links
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Skiing, Anxiety & the Power of Mindset — with Louise Pode, Ski Mindset Coach
 
Episode Description
Jo sits down with Louise Pode, a ski mindset coach based in the UK, for a frank and funny conversation about why so many women over 45 quietly stop doing the things they love and what it actually takes to get back out there. Louise shares her own journey from chronically anxious skier with two replaced hips to leading an international coaching practice and explains how psychology plays a far bigger role on the slopes than most people realise. If skiing has ever terrified you, made you feel like the oldest, slowest person on the mountain or left you questioning why you even bothered, this one's for you.
 
Key Takeaways
•        Your 'why' is everything. Before technique or training, Louise asks every client why they want to ski. That emotional anchor is what gets you through fear on the mountain.
•        Women over 45 are more likely to step back than step forward and it's not just about menopause. Decades of prioritising others, cultural expectations and internalised self-doubt all play a role.
•        Anxiety physically changes how you ski. Rigidity, leaning back, bracing; fear creates the very instability you're trying to avoid.
•        Learning to ski as an adult is genuinely hard. Expecting to crack it in a week sets you up to feel like a failure. Feeling comfortable on skis after a few days is already a win.
•        Environment matters enormously. Busy Christmas resorts with packed slopes are the worst place to learn or relearn. A quiet Italian resort beats Courchevel every time.
•        Men have anxiety too, they're just less likely to ask for help. Louise's one-to-one clients are almost exclusively women, but men do turn up at group masterclasses.
•        Overcoming anxiety is liberating beyond the slopes. Being able to look at a scary run and walk away with your head held high…that's the real goal.
 
Timestamps
00:57  Louise's background: physiotherapy, hip replacements and a love-hate relationship with skiing
02:06  The accident that changed everything and the sliding doors moment that followed
04:31  Why women 45+ tend to step back, not forward
06:52  Male-dominated slopes and the intimidation factor
08:57  How anxiety physically distorts your skiing
11:24  What good learning actually looks like and why your instructor matters, it’s less stressful
12:56  The coaching process; finding your 'why' before anything else
15:45  Louise's own moment of panic at the top of Mont Vallon and how she talked herself down
17:43 The hybrid skiing model for families of mixed abilities
20:06  Do men seek coaching? (Spoiler: sort of)
22:53  What Louise offers - five-session programmes, power-hours and a new online course
25:08  Masterclasses at Tamworth and Hemel Hempstead and what a full day looks like
27:28  Jo's experience and the best advice for anyone thinking of going back
 
Find Louise
•        Website: www.louisepode.com
•        Instagram: @coachingwithlou
•        Masterclasses coming soon in Hemel Hempstead

Mother's Day, it's more complicated than a card and some flowers. This week we dig into the real origins of Mothering Sunday (16th century, religious, nothing to do with Hallmark), why mums feel the need to be celebrated and the uncomfortable truth about how much of our identity as parents we've wrapped up in our kids.
 
We also get into delayed adult development, why young adults are struggling to launch, how we might be making it worse and why letting go is the kindest thing you can do. For them AND for you. Plus: the love letter that made Jo emotional, the Mother's Day plan that backfired spectacularly and what David Beckham got right about letting your kids fail.
 
Timestamps
•        00:45 — The real origins of Mother's Day
•        02:12— Why mums need to feel valued
•        04:20 — The love letter from Jo’s daughter
•        06:34 — Delayed adult development & the stats
•        09:54 — How our generation parents differently
•        10:48 — Tying our self-worth to our kids' outcomes
•        14:14 — Mother’s Day isn’t good for everyone
•        17:11 — The case for a day to yourself and Kev’s plan backfired
•        19:42 — Expectations vs reality
•        21:40 — Letting them fail…David Beckham
•        23:00 — Why you can't control the outcome
•        25:30 — How to detach without losing the relationship
•        26:45 — Finding your third chapter – the beginning of your post-parenthood
 
Key Takeaways
•        Mother's Day started as a 16th-century religious festival; the commercial version is a modern invention
•        Around 58% of 21-24 year olds currently live at home; independence is arriving 5-7 years later than in previous generations
•        Our generation ties its self-worth to our kids' outcomes more than any generation before us
•        Shielding your kids from every failure actually delays their ability to function independently
•        Detaching isn't about loving them less, it's about freeing you both to move forward
 
“When Our Grown Kids Disappoint Us” by Jane Adams