You Don’t Have to Love Working Out: Fitness After 40 Starts with 11 Minutes

What if the secret to aging well isn’t harder workouts but smarter ones you can actually keep? Kat Corchado opens up about the myths we cling to—endless motivation, perfect routines, and the idea that soreness equals success—and replaces them with a simple, powerful framework built on consistency and care. The heart of it is an 11-minute practice that lowers resistance, respects your nervous system, and reliably sparks momentum, even on days when you don’t feel like moving at all.

We walk through the mindset shift from chasing aesthetics to building capability: standing up without your hands, stepping off a curb with confidence, and traveling without fear of pain. Kat breaks down how to match movement to what your body needs today—strength to protect muscle and bone, simple cardio like walking or step work to lift your heart rate, and mobility to rotate, reach, and hinge the way real life requires. You’ll hear how to spot your body’s quiet signals at the desk or on a busy day, then respond with small, intentional actions that compound over time.

You’ll also learn Kat’s “10-minute rule” for overcoming mental fatigue, why a no-perfection policy keeps you consistent, and how showing up for yourself builds trust that lasts decades, not seasons. The goal isn’t to be who you were; it’s to stay capable, confident, and independent as life evolves. Eleven minutes isn’t a compromise—it’s a commitment to longevity, mental clarity, and feeling good in your body.

If you’re ready to swap guilt for momentum and perfection for progress, press play and build your own 11-minute plan today. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a gentle reset, and leave a review with your favorite quick movement ritual.

Chapters

• 0:00 Mission And Sponsor Shoutouts
• 1:14 Rethinking Fitness And Aging
• 2:11 Motivation Is Flaky, Commitment Isn’t
• 3:35 Listening To Your Body’s Signals
• 5:12 Flipping The 11-Minute Idea
• 6:31 Why Short Workouts Work
• 7:21 Intentional Strength And Simple Cardio
• 9:06 Capability Over Aesthetics As We Age
• 10:47 Consistency, Trust, And No Perfection
• 13:29 Closing Reminders To Keep Moving

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Sisters in Service Podcast, the space where stories from active duty veterans, military spouses, and even military brats finally get the spotlight they deserve. I'm your host, Kat Corchado, Air Force veteran, movement specialist, and the heart behind this podcast. I started Sisters in Service because too many stories from our community were going untold. Stories of resilience, transition, identity, and the strength it takes to serve and to thrive beyond the uniform. This podcast is about connection, empowerment, and reminding each of us that our service didn't end when our military chapter closed. It simply evolved. Sisters in Service is proudly sponsored by Fit for Life Alliance, a space where people are committed to feeling better in their bodies every single day, and by MySexy Business, where you can own a business that doesn't own you. So grab your coffee, your journal, or your walking shoes because every episode is an invitation to listen, learn, and lean into the powerful stories that remind us service is a sisterhood that never fades. Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Why Not Wellness. I am your host, Kat Cortada, your movement specialist. You know, I wanted to have a real conversation about fitness aging and the expectations that we put on our body and on ourselves. I get asked a lot of different things. People say, Oh, you're in the fitness industry, you shouldn't be having cookies, cupcakes, ice cream, whatever. I've also heard things that, you know, people think that I should be excited to work out every day. I can't wait. No. No, no, and no. Because I've been in the fitness industry, I do not, do not wake up every day excited to work out. I just don't. If you think longevity and fitness equals nonstop motivation, gold stars, and perfectly planned workouts, let me just gently put that idea to bed. What I do wake up with is a commitment. I understand what exercise does for me. I get that ROI, that return on investment, when I do work out. I do understand that. And so I wake up with this commitment, perspective, and a very clear understanding that movement has to fit into real life, especially as we age. And we're gonna talk about the 11-minute workout in a minute, but let's get down to brass tacks. Motivation, in and of itself, is flaky. If you are waiting to be motivated to work out, it's not gonna happen. It's not going to. Even when my husband reminds me, he calls it a uh, what do you call it? A something service announcement, public service announcement, PSA. It doesn't matter how long you've been teaching, training, or moving. You know, some days, I don't know about y'all, but my body feels great, and some days it feels old and stiff and tired and just not interested in the plan I have to work out. And you know what the truth is? It's normal. As we age, fitness stops being about pushing harder and starts being about listening better to your body. Let me give you an example. How many times have you been sitting at your desk working and your body's talking to you? You're like, you keep doing this with your shoulders, you keep stretching your neck, or you round your shoulder. That's your body saying, excuse me. We need to stretch. How often do you listen to that little nudge from your body? And what do you do about it? You know, when I was younger, workouts were longer, louder, and more intense. More was always better. Sweat meant success. Soreness meant you did it right. And just FYI, I still like being a little sore because it just lets me know that I worked those muscles the way I was supposed to. Um, I know it's weird, right? But that's just me. Fast forward a few decades, and now I asked different questions. What does my body need today? Does it need strength? Does it need stretch? Does it need just a gentle walk in the park without one wondering about my how many calories, wondering about my heart rate? What can I do consistently? And what will support my strength, mobility, and independence long term? And that's exactly why I talk so much about the 11-minute workout. And by the way, let me say this. People say, Where'd you come up with 11 minutes? I was reading an article about how they had done this study, and it was about high-intensity interval training and how they did 11 minutes of interval training and everything that came with it and what the results were. And I was like, okay, I get it. And I kind of stopped in my tracks and I said, wait a minute. What if I flipped the 11 minutes on his head? And instead of doing high-intensity interval training, people started with 11 minutes. Right? That's what I said. Hello. Here's the thing: in 10 minutes of just movement, whether you're walking, stretching, your body starts to produce those good feeling hormones where we go, oh, this feels okay. I'm good with this. And that's why I put 11 minutes because when people hear 11, they go, oh, what? You didn't say 10, you said 11. Because it gets people to listen. The 11-minute workout isn't trendy. It's not necessarily easy, but you know what it really is? It's realistic. 11 minutes removes the biggest barrier people face with fitness, overwhelm, and time. How often do you hear the, oh, I don't have time to work out? Because we have in our head that 30 minutes, 45 minutes, one hour, hour and a half, two hours, however long, is the way to go. You don't need an hour. You don't need perfect conditions. You don't need to feel motivated. You just need to start. You know what 11 minutes does? It lowers resistance, it builds consistency, and it respects your nervous system. The other thing I love about the 11 minutes is I've always had this, what I call the 10-minute rule. You know, when you just say, Oh, I'm tired, are you mentally tired or are you physically tired? Or do you know? And if you know, then we need to talk because your body does not understand the difference between tired here and tired here. It just says you're tired. So my 10-minute rule is I say I'm tired. I said, Let me work out for 10 minutes. And then 95% of the time I get that ROI, that return on investment. I start to feel the good feel hormones. The good feel, the feel-good hormones. And I'm like, oh, I could go longer, but you know what? I don't. I do 11 minutes. The 11-minute workout meets your body where it is and not where it used to be. Think about that for a second. I was an athlete. I was a good athlete. But as I've aged, and I will be 69 this year, I have to be kinder to my body. What does my body need? Let me be clear. 11 minutes done with intention matters. Strength work to keep your bones and muscles healthy. Simple cardio to support your heart and stamina. What do I mean by simple cardio? Walking. I have a step. Remember stepaerobics? I have a mini step. I might do 11 minutes of just steparobics. Nothing fancy, nothing crazy, but my heart rate goes up, and that's what I want. These are movement patterns that help you get off the floor, carry things, rotate, reach, and live your life without fear. Have you ever had someone that's had a leg injury, but they're afraid to step off of a curb? And I get it. I've had a knee, not a knee injury, but I had a knee issue. Or they're afraid to reach because they had a shoulder issue. Or all they talk about is my knee, my foot, my ankle, my. I don't want to be that person. I don't want to talk about what's wrong with me. I want to be able to move around on my own accord when I want to and if I want to. As we age, fitness becomes less about looking a certain way and more about staying capable. Mobility. Do I want to still have a body that I had in my 20s? Sure, I'll try it back on for a day or seven. Remember back when in your early teens, or maybe in your 20s, 30s, whatever, and you go to the gym and you could miss the gym for two weeks and come back and nothing shifted, you still look the same, right? I can't do that now. But you know what? I'm still here. I'm healthy. I'm capable. We want these things to help you. As we age, fitness becomes less about looking a certain way and more about staying capable. I said that before, and I'm saying it again, because I want you to understand that it's not about looking a certain way. I want my waist to be this small and my hips to be this and my thighs to be this. Can you stand up without using your hands? Can you travel without worrying about pain? Can you recover quickly when life throws you off routine? That's the goal. That's where the 11 minutes comes in. I can't tell you how many times I've had a whole workout set up and something, life happens, okay, something comes up. And I rely on that 11 minutes every single time. Every single time. And that's the goal. And here's something I really want you to hear. Doing something consistently means doing everything occasionally. What does that make you think of New Year's resolutions? Hello. How about we make a plan for your fitness instead of a list? You know, 11 minutes becomes a gateway. Some days it stays 11 minutes, and some days it turns into more. But either way, you showed up. Not for me, not for other people. You showed up for you. And you know what showing up does? It builds trust with your body. Your body goes, I remember how to do this. And maybe it's not perfect. You know what? It's okay. So building trust with your body. This is how movement becomes sustainable instead of exhausting. This is how you stay active for decades and not just for seasons. You don't need to punish your body to respect it. You don't need to love every workout to benefit from it. And I can tell you, in my community, I'm very upfront with the people who come to my class. I'm like, you know what? I'm not feeling this today, but we're going to do this anyway. That's why I have a no perfection policy. That no perfection policy isn't for just you, it's for me too. You just need a plan that fits your life right now. So if today you're thinking, if Kat doesn't feel like working out every day, maybe I don't need to beat myself up. You're absolutely right. Fitness evolves, you evolve, and that's a good thing. 11 minutes isn't a compromise, it's commitment to consistency, longevity, and just living well. Meet yourself where you are. Move with intention. And remember, the goal isn't to be the same forever, it's to keep moving forward. So I'm Kat Corchado, your movement specialist. And I always say to my community, let's keep it moving. So until next time, let's keep it moving.