What happens when life doesn't go according to plan?
In Part 2 of our Healthy Aging Journey, Alli and Shawna continue their very personal decade-by-decade conversation—this time moving through their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.
If you listened to Part 1, you heard us go all the way back to childhood, our teen years, and our 20s. We shared stories about the experiences that shaped our relationship with fitness, health, and life—and discovered that even after years of doing this podcast together, there were things we didn't know about each other!
This episode gets even more personal.
As we move through our 30s and 40s, we talk about finding our paths, building careers, opening fitness businesses, relationships, major life transitions, and the unexpected challenges that can change your direction.
Alli shares her experiences with fitness competitions and what it was like to be sidelined by health issues—something that challenged her identity and relationship with fitness in ways she didn't expect.
Shawna opens up about raising kids, going through divorce, finding love again, and navigating the different chapters of her life while starting to build her career in fitness.
And because this conversation takes us into the decades we're living right now, we also talk about what it means to age with purpose.
Shawna shares what she has learned from being in her 60s, while Alli looks ahead to turning 50 and reflects on what this next chapter might hold.
In this episode, we talk about:
- How our priorities changed as we entered our 30s
- Building careers and opening our own fitness businesses
- The challenges of balancing work, relationships, family, and personal growth
- The pivotal moments that changed the direction of our lives
- What happened when health issues forced Alli to step away from the fitness world she knew
- Shawna's experience raising children while building her career
- Divorce, starting over, and finding love again
- The surprising lessons we learned in our 40s
- How our relationships and priorities evolved through midlife
- The fears and concerns that came with getting older
- What turning 50 means to Alli
- How Shawna's perspective on aging has changed in her 60s
- The joys, challenges, and unexpected gifts of getting older
- Why lifelong learning and staying curious matter at every age
- How our hobbies, friendships, careers, and passions continue to shape our lives
One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is that there isn't one right way to age.
Our lives have included successes, setbacks, reinvention, relationships, heartbreak, health challenges, career changes, and plenty of unexpected turns. And yet, every decade has given us something that the next one needed.
Healthy aging isn't about having a perfect plan or doing everything right from the beginning.
It's about continuing to grow, adapt, learn, move forward, and decide what matters to you now.
Whether you're in your 30s and building your life, navigating your 40s, approaching 50, or already in your 60s and beyond, we hope our stories remind you that your next chapter can be one of the best yet.
So grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and get to know the women behind Girls Talk Healthy Aging a little better.
And then ask yourself:
What has each decade of your life taught you—and what do you want your next decade to look like?
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🌐 Website: GirlsTalkHealthyAging.com
📧 Email: [email protected]
Follow & Message Shawna on Instagram: @shawnakaminski
Grab Shawna's book 'Lose Your Menopause Belly' and other freebies here: https://shawnakworkouts.com
Follow & Message Alli on Facebook & Instagram: Alli Kerr and @allikerrfitness (respectively).
Train with Alli at The Pink Physique in person in Macon, Georgia or Online here: https://www.thepinkphysique.com