Fitness Trainer Dave Frost: 5 Things You Should Do to Optimize Your Wellness After Retirement

My goal in this chapter of my life is to encourage others to Join the Movement to KABOOM their way to party past ninety — holistically. Our national statistics for HIGH and escalating health care costs for boomers can be mitigated by conscious habits and lifestyle choices. TWENTY percent of all cancers are preventable! The top cause of death in America just may be our American diet! Most cases of adult diabetes, metabolic syndromes, and non-alcoholic fatty diseases can be mitigated with wellness and lifestyle HABITS. Yet, the first steps are hardest. MOVE, as Motion is Medicine.

As a part of my series about the “5 Things You Should Do to Optimize Your Wellness After Retirement”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dave Frost.

David E. Frost is a NFPT-certified Master Fitness Trainer, a rowing coach, champion competitor, and award-winning adjunct professor. After decorated careers in the US Navy and business world, he founded Well Past Forty LLC to promote wellness and longevity for others, like him, who are baby boomers. David earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the US Naval Academy, and his Master of Systems Management degree from University of Southern California with a focus on human factors.

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 backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I needed to rise, like a phoenix, after herniating my L5-S1 spinal disk in 2001. What I learned (or re-learned) in my recovery after spinal fusion served as my context and content for: authoring “KABOOMER: Thriving and Striving into your Nineties”, for becoming a Master Fitness Trainer, and for offering “peer” professional training/coaching to others who want to KABOOM.

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

This story is why you haven’t seen me in streaming videos or on the big screen:

When serving as president of the San Diego Rowing Club, I received a surprise phone call. A jingle from a movie producer about a sports movie. A flick with my special sport, rowing, as part of the storyline. A storyline that commissioned real actors Christopher Lloyd and James Galdofini. We shot our cameo crew scenes on Mission Bay one morning and hoped for a big screen release. Well, the big screen never arrived. Our marquee lead, James Galdofini, passed away before his “shoots.” That was my last $58.00-day as an aspiring actor, but that was far from my last day of rowing (thankfully). Add Galdofini’s “way of life” diet to his ample alcohol consumption, and what resulted? Muerto. Your Koach asserts that a clean diet woulda coulda improved Galdofini’s lifestyle and longevity.

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?

My mistakes are many, yet I hope that this Koach has learned from those.

One rather erroneous story is about the word ERG(ometer) which means “work” and how we have come to define indoor rowing machines — which are a big part of my livelihood as an athlete and group fitness instructor.

The Ergometer

“…an awful torture machine that should be illegal under the

Eighth Amendment, but that gets out of jail free under a loophole

that it is ‘fun.’ Commonly used in the regime of an evil

dictator by the name of ‘Coach’ and his/her faithful servant,

the ‘coxswain.’ Originally derived from the Greek word meaning

‘to work,’ which is what one does — very, very hard, for a

long, long time.”

My lesson(s) learned? Listen to your coach and coxswain, laugh 15 minutes each day, and remember that the only easy training day was…yesterday.

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?

You bet!

For marital harmony and much more, my grateful shout out is to my wife of 44 years — Mary.

Others call her “Saint Mary” for a good reason!

My own story about STAMINA for stayin’ alive might have ended prematurely if St. Mary hadn’t encouraged me to go to a sleep professional.

I might have died from an apnea-induced accident or health condition.

She was sure that my breath stoppages for over a minute, dozing and snoring were Unhealthy. Bless her!

Now, I can share up close and personal how precious one’s restorative sleep is if one is to build her or his physical 401(K) portfolio!

If I may stretch past the number “1”,

I am particularly grateful to my New England forebears and parents, to my wonderful wife, Mary, and to my collegiate rowing coach, Carl Ullrich, who is of the Greatest Generation known to mankind. Two incredible kids helped make this Koach who he is. True thanks to my artist, Austeja. High kudos to Uncle Sam and his extraordinary soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, plus their dependents who serve US every day. I proudly tip my naval cover to Academy colleagues,“fl ower children” classmates, and to my shipmates for the tangible and intangible gifts they proffered to me. And to my many hundreds of students and clients: Gracias! KABOOM.

What advice would you suggest to your colleagues in your industry to thrive and avoid burnout?

Remember that we are born to move and sweat. Your lives are long journeys rather than sprints, so pacing is important.

When you don’t have anything that must be done, DON’T do something!

Conversely, when be that somebody in Charles Osgood’s Responsibility Poem when something needs to get done!

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

I hugely believe that exemplifying a Platinum Rule is excellent for best cultures at work and play.

• Do unto others as they wish to be treated!

Building on this solid platinum; my advice is to first understand yourself so that you can understand where others are coming from and where they want to head. Leverage your social skills, empathy, self-awareness and motivation. When you do — your workplace won’t seem like work.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Retirement is a dramatic ‘life course transition’ that can impact one’s health. In some cases, retirement can reduce health, and in others it can improve health. From your point of view or experience, what are a few of the reasons that retirement can reduce one’s health?

1. Change isn’t ALWAYS good on face value.

2. I married my spouse for life, yet NOT for every lunch.

3. Too many folks think I have the time and talent to tackle just one more volunteer task.

It is harder than ever to just say “NO.”

4. I may still be caring for an elder of the Greatest Generation!

[My sainted mother in law is nearing her century mark and being her first responder is heavy tasking!]

5. Life will become senescent IF I allow it!

Note that senile and senate come from that same word origin — senescence.

Vince Lombardi may have been correct about “fatigue making cowards of us all.”

Can you share with our readers 5 things that one should do to optimize their physical wellness after retirement? Please share a story or an example for each.

Gladly! Here are “tuneup” optimizers from KABOOMER KOACH Dave:

1. Move to sweat, no matter your current physical status.

Yet — get your MD’s approval first! Even if you have physical challenges.

Exercise is RARELY contraindicated for life extension.

Exercise (in fresh air when possible!) is a key factor in boosting natural immunity.

Baby Boomers [like me] who are deemed to be “at risk” for CoVID take aerobic exercise seriously.

2. Maintain your more-than-adequate consumption of “clean” food and HYDRATE before thirst!

A one-word summary for successful aging is BEANS (I am not kidding).

3. Remember what BLUE Zone centenarians have — and that is PURPOSE!

Social interaction with family, friends, and strangers matter!

There is a valid reason why doubles tennis and pickleball extends life — engagement.

4. Keep your mind active so that your mind-body alignment (and gut!) keep on keepin’ on.

Hobbies! Sudoku. Crossword puzzles. Grandkids. Board games — even after we clear this clamp down!

5. Chuckle ’til you Buckle.

Laughter is INDEED good medicine. Ask Dr. Patch Adams’ patients.

In your experience, what are 3 or 4 things that people wish someone told them before they retired?

1. I’ve learned that some folks shouldn’t retire (totally that is).

I suppose I am an example. Glenn Ruffenach, WSJ columnist is another.

And Chris Erksine, former LA Time humorist.

2. Find a non-profit that you’re passionate about, and

then donate “some” of your valuable time talent and treasure — without giving “too much.”

3. Always have gratitude! You will likely face challenges of this type, or that “horse of a different color’.

No one says that retirement is perfect. Face the inevitable!

Through it all in your “encore” performance, you awake each day with a new 86,400 minutes of opportunity to make this crazy world a better place.

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

There are many. Yet I’ll cite what is now a dated yet valuable work of relevance, Younger Next Year.

That book by Crowley and Dodge is a classic.

I gave it to my new personal trainer clients, until “my” KABOOMER was released, that is…

I first heard of “YNY” when I was in an executive training class held by my employer — AT&T.

The course’s theme was “Be a Corporate Athlete.” I extend that theme to “Be A KABOOMER athlete who will party past ninety.”

You are a person of great 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. :-)

Interesting!

My goal in this chapter of my life is to encourage others to Join the Movement to KABOOM their way to party past ninety — holistically.

Our national statistics for HIGH and escalating health care costs for boomers can be mitigated by conscious habits and lifestyle choices.

TWENTY percent of all cancers are preventable! The top cause of death in America just may be our American diet!

Most cases of adult diabetes, metabolic syndromes, and non-alcoholic fatty diseases can be mitigated with wellness and lifestyle HABITS. Yet, the first steps are hardest.

MOVE, as Motion is Medicine.

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

Sure!

The last “RIGHT” in my book is credited to Henry Ford:

“Whether you think you can or think you cannot — you

are right.” — Henry Ford

Aging is part of life. That’s right, as George Burns was when he offered that “we have to get older, yet we don’t have to get OLD.”

I’ve committed my ACT III to help others fight old age with discretionary habits to live longer AND better.

Right!

Years ago, I thought that I could with hard work, and a bit of luck, become a World Champion in my sport for my age group.

I was right.

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 :-)

Well, as Abraham Lincoln may not be available for a meet and greet in this life, it just might be Doctor Patch Adams.

Doctor Michael Joyner is a close second! Both are cited in KABOOMER.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Thanks!

Facebook facebook.com/wellpastforty/

Twitter @defptrainer

Instagram #kaboomerkoaach

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

I am honored! All thanks are mine.