Training for Life

Sarah Gilks and Tanna Payne
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Fitness
  • Updated Weekly

Join Healthy Role Models founder, Sarah Gilks, and Master Trainer/Elite Olympic Weight Lifter Tanna Payne, in the 'Training for Life' podcast. With a combined 5 decades in health, fitness and training women of all ages, they share candid conversations with you from the peaks and valleys of their lived experiences. Their goal? Laughter, inspiration, and guiding you towards becoming the healthiest and happiest version of you. www.healthyrolemodels.com @healthyrolemodels

  1. 3d ago

    The Choices Nobody Sees: How to Build an Identity You're Proud Of

    Who you are when nobody’s watching: Sarah and Trainer Tanna dig into integrity, identity-based habits, and the power of the words that follow “I am.” Plus this week’s challenge: write your own identity statement, a compass for the moments when no one’s cheering you on. Most of your life happens when nobody is watching. Your workouts, your choices, your self-talk. That’s where your health is built; and that’s where your character shows. This week, Sarah and Trainer Tanna talk about integrity, authenticity, and the shift from chasing goals to becoming a person. Identity comes first; the habits follow. In this episode Why real integrity is what you choose to do, think, and feel with no applause, no validation, and no accountability The goal of being the same person on stage as off it, and what happens when the mask slips Why trying to be who you think you should be is exhausting; and why being yourself attracts the right people Identity-based habits vs. outcome-based habits The power of what follows “I am,” and why Oprah’s line about it has stuck for years How repeating “I always fall off” or “I’m not athletic” turns opinion into “fact” Why “I quit halfway” describes an action, not who you are How following through builds self-trust, and self-trust builds confidence Being your own cheerleader and accountability partner in a home workout Why curated, constantly posted lives make it harder to know who you are when it’s quiet Key takeaways Choose who you want to become first; then pick habits that match. A past action is not a identity. “I quit” is something you did, not something you are. Every promise kept to yourself is evidence of who you are. You can have more than one identity statement, one for each area of your life. This week’s challenge Remove the audience and the noise. Sit with yourself and ask who you want to be. Then write your identity statement, starting with “I am a person who...” Sarah’s include “I am a person who follows through” and “I am a person who prioritizes her health.” Trainer Tanna built one live on the episode: “I am a person who prioritizes peace.”

    The Choices Nobody Sees: How to Build an Identity You're Proud Of

  2. Oct 12

    When You Can’t Do What You Used to Do: How to Navigate Injury + Keep Moving Forward

    Injury, surgery, or six weeks in a boot can feel like losing everything you worked for. Sarah and Trainer Tanna share how to stop the all-or-nothing spiral, redefine success for this season, and build a simple four-step setback plan. Healthy people get hurt too; there is always something you can do.Navigating Setbacks An injury, a surgery, or six weeks in a boot can make an active woman feel like she's lost everything she worked for. Sarah and Trainer Tanna (this episode came from a listener suggestion) talk about why physical setbacks hit so hard and how to stay in the game while your body heals. Why setbacks feel so big Workouts are stress relief, social connection, confidence, routine, time for yourself, and part of your identity The all-or-nothing spiral: "I'm going to lose all my progress," then "why bother?" A setback can reach back to old feelings of being unworthy if the mindset isn't addressed What to do instead Treat it as a season, not a failure; this is your rebuilding season before your performance season Swap "how do I stay fit?" for "how can I best take care of myself while my body heals?" Work with your medical or rehab professional to find what you're cleared for; walking, upper or lower body, core, mobility, a stationary bike, rehab exercises Make your rehab your workout; put it in the calendar, track it, and celebrate it Lean into your community; show up to a Zoom or an event even if you can't do every exercise Be dynamic, not black and white; sometimes all it takes is a nudge from someone else Change the scoreboard; did I do my rehab, respect my restrictions, sleep enough, eat to support recovery, and stop when my body told me to? Fuel the healing; protein and good nutrition support tissue repair, and community helps you keep making good food choices Be softer with yourself; "look at everything my body is doing to repair" Use the extra time for the pieces you've been neglecting, like mindset or a new vision board Feel the frustration, then move on; you can visit, but don't unpack your bags and move in The four-step setback plan What has my healthcare provider told me I can do safely? No internet diagnosis; no comparing your recovery to anyone else's. What healthy habits can I keep? Protect your normalcy. What's my new scorecard? Rehab completed, sleep, nutrition, patience. What am I working toward? Hiking again, getting back on the bike, pressing play with the community. The takeaway: Healthy people get injured, need surgery, and get sick. Being healthy doesn't mean your body always cooperates; it means figuring out your capacity in each season and always doing what you can. Reflection for the week: Instead of focusing on everything you can't do right now, what's one thing you can do to support your recovery?

    When You Can’t Do What You Used to Do: How to Navigate Injury + Keep Moving Forward

  3. Oct 5

    The Seasonal Shift: How to Feel GOOD Through the Darker Months

    Shorter days shift your sleep, mood, appetite, and motivation, and it's not just in your head. Sarah and Trainer Tanna break down what's happening in your body each autumn and winter, then share a simple five-part toolkit to keep your habits, energy, and connections steady all season. Autumn is here, the mornings are dark, and the couch is looking very good. Sarah and Trainer Tanna get real about why this season hits differently, and what to do about it. What's actually happening Less daylight shifts your circadian rhythm and keeps melatonin around longer, which is why you feel tired and want more sleep. Lower light also affects serotonin, a key mood and appetite regulator. Hunger and fullness signals (ghrelin and leptin) shift too, which brings on the comfort food cravings. Vitamin D tends to drop with less sun, which can add to fatigue and affect immune resilience. Seasonal affective disorder is real, and it's common in Canadian autumns and winters. This is normal human adaptation, a holdover from when our bodies needed to conserve energy. How to navigate it Chase daylight. Get outside on a break, or face a window if you can't. Light therapy lamps and even sunny photos can help. Protect the habits that protect you. Summer activities need to become intentional in winter. Dark outside? Raining sideways? Cold? Press play. Plan for recovery. Your recovery needs may go up this time of year. Connect on purpose. It's easy to hibernate. Go first: plan the walk, book the dinner, join the class. Keep your sleep timing consistent. Same bedtime, same wake time, even when it's pitch black out. Always have something to look forward to. Anticipation lights up the same pleasure centre in your brain as the event itself. A concert, a hike, a new book, or a quiet evening listening to the rain all count. Consider vitamin D supplementation. Keep protein and fiber on your plate. They help with satiety when appetite signals ramp up. Lean into the season. Slower evenings, Crock-Pot meals, puzzles, reading, and cozy rain days are all fair game. Build your autumn and winter toolkit Light: How will you get daylight most days? Movement: What's your minimum commitment when the weather is rough? Connect: Who keeps you connected this winter? Anticipate: What's on the calendar that you're genuinely excited about? Enjoy: What about this season do you want to lean into?

    The Seasonal Shift: How to Feel GOOD Through the Darker Months

  4. Sep 28

    Sarah & Tanna Unfiltered: Health, Confidence, Intuition & What’s Next

    This past weekend, Sarah and Tanna spoke at BOLDsoul, an event that blends health, business and spiritual mindset. They're nervous and excited in equal measure, so they rehearse here. To learn more about the event hosted by Janell & Lizzy, we will attach their IG handles below! Here's every panel question, answered honestly, with a few beeps along the way. It starts with the least glamorous habits that deliver real results. For Tanna, it's napping, including her famous lunch-break naps at the hospital. For Sarah, it's the same breakfast for almost 20 years. Then they share their leaps of faith. Tanna went from being told she was "too muscular" as a model to setting her sights on the world championships in Olympic weightlifting. Sarah found her calling in a lonely stretch of maternity leave, and it grew into a community that has helped tens of thousands of women. For women in their 40s and 50s whose bodies no longer respond the way they used to, the message is clear. Stop reaching over $100 bills to pick up pennies. Strength training is the $100 bill, and your muscles are a bank account worth making deposits into. In this episode: The boring habits that make the awesome things possible Why your gut feeling often points to what you need but don't have yet Going against the naysayers, from family to the people closest to you Muscle as a bank account, and what's really behind the "meno belly" The biggest fitness myths: fads that make you feel like the problem, and "older means weaker" Building self-trust by keeping the promises you make to yourself Someday goals: a motorcycle ride across Canada, and a summer lake house full of family Timestamps: 00:00 ~ Nervecited: getting ready for Bold Soul 01:30 ~ The least glamorous thing that keeps us healthy 04:30 ~ Our leaps of faith 10:00 ~ Energy, sleep and bodies in our 40s and 50s 15:15 ~ The BS we keep hearing 16:30 ~ One thing to nourish yourself, starting tomorrow 18:40 ~ Someday goals 21:50 ~ Salt and pepper: why they work together BOLDsoul, co-created by Janell Karst (IG @janellkarst) and Lizzy (IG @pause.rest.upgrade. They will be hosting another one in the Spring 2027, so be sure to give them a follow to stay connected!

    Sarah & Tanna Unfiltered: Health, Confidence, Intuition & What’s Next

  5. Sep 21

    Stronger + Softer: How to Challenge Yourself Without Being So Hard on Yourself

    You already know you need to be strong in midlife. What you might be missing is that softness is just as much a skill, and just as essential to getting the results you want. Sarah and Trainer Tanna break down "stronger and softer," a concept borrowed from Dr. James Rouse describing his wife's evolving approach to training, and show you why choosing one extreme, all grit or all ease, keeps you stuck instead of moving forward. They trace the idea back to "strong back, soft front, wild heart," the Buddhist-rooted framework popularized by Brené Brown, and translate it into something you can actually use: a strong back built on boundaries, integrity, and grounded courage, paired with a soft front of openness, compassion, and vulnerability. Tanna gets personal about her own journey from wearing "armor" in relationships and training twice a day, to learning that softening, in her relationships and her self-talk, takes just as much courage as pushing hard in the gym, and pays off just as much. You'll walk away with the physical case for strength training as you age (muscle mass, bone density, cognitive health), what mental strength actually requires day to day, and why rigid perfectionism eventually works against you. They close with a challenge for you to sit with: where do you need to get stronger, and where can you afford to soften?

    Stronger + Softer: How to Challenge Yourself Without Being So Hard on Yourself

  6. Sep 14

    What Are You Training For? How a Bigger WHY Can Change the Way You Take Care of Yourself

    Sarah and Tanna trace the wildly different reasons that first got them moving, and how those reasons have transformed over decades. Sarah's why started with fitting into size 27 jeans. Tanna's was chasing world championships. Neither one still applies today, and that's exactly the point of this episode. From Jeans to Role Model to Something Bigger Sarah walks through her own evolution: appearance-focused in her younger years, then shifting to being a role model for her kids as Healthy Role Models grew, and now at 51, thinking about what she wants her life to look like at 80. Tanna shares a parallel arc, from being laser focused on competition results, to feeling lost when she retired from competing, to eventually finding her footing again around strength and performance rather than outcome. Why Your Why Actually Matters They get honest about the days when motivation disappears entirely ~ bad weather, exhaustion, zero visible progress. A why that's bigger than a jean size or a single goal is what keeps you anchored on those days. An outcome-only why also has an expiration date: what happens once you hit the number on the scale or the size in the closet? The Five Whys Exercise Sarah and Tanna teach a simple way to dig past the surface-level answer. Start with something like "I want to lose weight," then keep asking why until the answer makes you feel something. The real why is rarely the first one you write down. A Visualization for Getting Clear Tanna leads a short visualization: picture yourself 10, 20, or 30 years from now. Where are you, what are you physically able to do, who's around you, what do you want to say yes to. Then ask what the person in that picture needs you to start doing today. Your Why Can Be Bigger Than You They close by pointing out that your why doesn't have to be just about you. Partners, kids, grandkids, friends, community all benefit when you're healthy, and being the example that shifts what's normal for someone else can be part of your why too. The Challenge Get honest with yourself about whether your why is actually clear, and if it's shifted without you noticing. Revisit it. Ask why, then why again, then why again, until you land on the answer that actually moves you.

    What Are You Training For? How a Bigger WHY Can Change the Way You Take Care of Yourself

  7. Sep 7

    Why the Fitness Industry Is Designed to Make You Fail...

    The fitness industry has a dirty secret: it's not designed for you to succeed long-term. It's designed for you to come back. Sarah and Tanna pull apart the marketing machine behind "bikini body," 30-day challenges, and extreme transformation programs ~ and why the pattern is always the same: unsustainable intensity, a short window, and when you inevitably burn out, the blame lands on you instead of the program. Why "Extreme" Gets Confused With "Effective"Quick transformations are compelling because they hit every psychological trigger we respond to ~ novelty, speed, immediate feedback. But the body doesn't care how motivated you were for two months; it cares whether the habit can repeat for ten years. Sarah and Tanna break down why more isn't always better, and why the real question isn't "will this get me results" but "can I still be doing this in five years." Comparing Yourself to the Wrong PeopleHalf the influencers setting the fitness standard are decades younger, with different hormones, different responsibilities, and a completely different season of life. Sarah and Tanna talk about why that comparison is not just unfair, it's mathematically impossible to win. Big Box Gyms vs. Real SupportAccess to equipment isn't the same as access to support. Sarah and Tanna unpack what's actually missing in the walk-in-alone, walk-out-alone gym model ~ and why nobody noticing when you don't show up is a bigger problem than most people realize. What Actually WorksThoughtful progression. Sustainable habits. Consistency with flexibility. Belonging to a community that doesn't have a finish line. Sarah and Tanna lay out the alternative to the crash-and-burn model, including why "continuing strong" beats "finishing strong" every time. The Real TestBefore starting any program, ask yourself: not just "will this get me results," but "what is this teaching me, and can I see myself still doing it five years from now?"

    Why the Fitness Industry Is Designed to Make You Fail...

  8. Aug 31

    The September Effect: Why We Feel Ready to Begin Again

    September isn't just back to school, it's a psychological fresh start. Sarah and Tanna break down the "fresh start effect," why four months is plenty of time to become who you want to be by January, and how to build anchor habits that actually stick, no extreme resets required. Why September Hits Different Sarah and Tanna kick things off with why September feels like such a natural turning point, cooler air, changing colors, and a return to routine after a looser summer. Turns out there's real psychology behind it: it's called the fresh start effect, a well-documented tendency to feel motivated to change behavior around temporal landmarks, new seasons, new semesters, new years. Four Months Is a Lot of Runway Rather than waiting for January 1st, Sarah and Tanna reframe September through December as a full quarter of the year, enough time to walk into the new year already living as the person you want to be. No countdown, no pressure, just consistent action starting now. Building Habits That Actually Hold The conversation moves into practical anchor habits: strength training a few times a week, a daily walk, a consistent bedtime, a Sunday planning ritual. The throughline is small and repeatable beats big and unsustainable. They also talk about scheduling health like any other non-negotiable appointment, on the calendar, protected, not left to chance. Avoiding the September Burnout Trap Sarah and Tanna call out the temptation to go "all in", cutting everything at once, overhauling the whole routine overnight, and why that pattern almost always ends in burnout by mid-month. The better approach: pick one or two anchor habits, build consistency there first, then layer on more. Getting Real About What Level Up Looks Like Right Now Both hosts get personal about where they're at. Sarah shares navigating loss and a family health scare over the summer, and how leaning into healthy coping habits helped her reset. Tanna gets honest about her go-to coping pattern of withdrawing and shutting down, and the two specific habits she's recommitting to this fall, reframing workouts from "have to" to "get to," and practicing an earlier wake-up time. Your Invitation The episode closes with a direct challenge: pick one ritual to recommit to or level up this month. Write it down, put it on the calendar, tell someone who'll hold you accountable. Fresh start doesn't mean starting over, sometimes it means building on what's already working.

    The September Effect: Why We Feel Ready to Begin Again
See All (79)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Join Healthy Role Models founder, Sarah Gilks, and Master Trainer/Elite Olympic Weight Lifter Tanna Payne, in the 'Training for Life' podcast. With a combined 5 decades in health, fitness and training women of all ages, they share candid conversations with you from the peaks and valleys of their lived experiences. Their goal? Laughter, inspiration, and guiding you towards becoming the healthiest and happiest version of you. www.healthyrolemodels.com @healthyrolemodels

Information

  • Creator
    Sarah Gilks and Tanna Payne
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    79
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 2026
  • Show Website
    Training for Life

You Might Also Like