Episode 31: Five Rules I Break for Fitness Who says you have to follow the rules to get fit? Hilary Silver unapologetically shreds the fitness handbook and proves you don’t need rigid routines to look amazing at 52. Forget arm day, endless cardio, and those boring sit-ups! In this episode, Hilary shares the five fitness rules she proudly ignores (plus the one rule that she never breaks). Episode Highlights: Break the rules! Fitness isn’t one-size-fits-all. Hilary’s approach to fitness is proof you can break the rules and still get good results. Start trusting yourself to do what works for you. Cardio? Only if she feels like it. Hilary skips the treadmill grind and only walks or runs when it feels good. Fun fact? Many of Hilary’s podcast episode topics come to her on these walks and runs when she’s moving her body! Scheduled workouts? Hard pass! Forget those “arm days” and “leg days.” Hilary calls the shots when she hits the gym. She makes sure that she chooses moves that feel right for her body that day. For abs that turn heads, Hilary swears by twisting core-focused movements that sculpt without the six-pack bulk. Heavy weights? Only sometimes. Lifting heavy isn’t a lifestyle for Hilary. She balances strength training with light weights and Tracy Anderson-inspired routines for a toned, feminine look. Rest days are overrated. Moving every day doesn’t mean burnout; it means listening to your body and switching it up to keep things interesting. Learn how daily movement—on your terms—can keep your mind sharp, your body strong, and your soul happy. Episode Breakdown: [00:00] Fitness Confusion [00:42] Why Break the Fitness Rules? [01:35] Blending Brain Science with the Laws of the Universe [01:46] Breaking Rule #1: No Cardio Workouts [03:01] Breaking Rule #2: No Scheduled Workouts [03:43] Breaking Rule #3: No Sit-Ups [04:26] Breaking Rule #4: No Heavy Weights Regularly [06:10] Breaking Rule #5: No Rest Days [08:05] Hilary’s Self-Centered Approach to Fitness and Life Hilary’s self-centered philosophy is the foundation of her life; not just her fitness. If you want to unlock that mindset for yourself, grab her free mini video training, “This Changes Everything,” at hilarysilver.com/subscribe. Rewrite your own rules now—hit play and start putting yourself first!
Chapter 1: What are the common fitness rules that people follow?
There are a lot of rules and so much conflicting information out there. For working out and fitness, it can be super confusing which theory or method is best. And that can cause us all to go in circles, get overwhelmed, switch from one philosophy to another, and just throw your hands up in the air and say, never mind. Analysis paralysis.
Chapter 2: Why should you break traditional fitness rules?
And so while I'm not a personal trainer or a fitness guru, I have been working out my entire life. In fact, it's a huge part of my life. And I feel like I look better today at 52 than I ever have, mostly because of what I've been doing for the last five years.
And also whenever I post a workout video or a picture of myself on Instagram, I get a lot of comments and DMs asking that I please share what I'm doing. So today I'm gonna share the five fitness rules that I break to look super fit over 50 and stick around till the very end because I'm saving the one rule that I never break. Hi, it's Hillary. Welcome to the Hillary Silver Podcast.
Thanks for tuning into the conversation today. If you haven't already, it would mean so much to me if you'd take a minute to just click that five-star rating on your podcast app, leave a review and subscribe so you never miss one of my episodes. And if you're enjoying this podcast, please consider sharing it with a friend because if you like it, they will probably like it too.
Chapter 3: What cardio workouts does Hilary recommend?
So the first rule that I break is I don't do cardio. I don't do any cardio workouts just for cardio's sake. So the only cardio that I do is walking and running, and I only do it when I want to. I do it because I enjoy it. I do it because it's good for my mental health and my emotional wellbeing. It's good for my mind. And actually, I get really creative when I'm walking and running.
Chapter 4: How does Hilary approach her workout schedule?
And sometimes I actually create these podcasts in my head while I'm out there. I can't help it. It's just what happens to me. And my pace is really determined by the music that I'm listening to, so how inspired I am, or actually where my thoughts are taking me. And so that's it. I literally stopped doing cardio all the time. And some of the other workouts that I do give me some cardio benefit.
Chapter 5: What alternative core exercises does Hilary prefer over sit-ups?
I will sweat and I will sometimes lose my breath a little bit, but I'm not just grinding it out on the treadmill or the elliptical to get 30 minutes of cardio in. I don't believe in that at all. So the second rule that I break, I don't do a scheduled workout like arm day or leg day or push day or I don't write down my weights and my reps in a notebook or anything like that.
Chapter 6: How does Hilary incorporate weight lifting into her routine?
What I do is I just get myself to the gym every day and I do what I want. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm going to be doing until I just get there and I figure it out as I'm there. It's more like, what haven't I done in a while? Which movements do I feel like doing today? What part of my body needs attention? What movement will make me happy today?
Chapter 7: Why does Hilary believe rest days are overrated?
And that just means that each day is always different for me and it's more enjoyable and it keeps my body guessing. Number three, I don't do sit-ups. Yep, I have the abs that I do and I never do sit-ups. ever. Instead, I do core workouts and twisting movements. I feel like sit-ups actually push my muscles out rather than sculpting my midsection in a feminine way.
Chapter 8: What is Hilary's self-centered philosophy on fitness?
I don't like the way the six-pack looks. I have one, But I don't really like that because to me, it doesn't look feminine. I want a strong core that supports my body and my back and that is also feminine and soft and sculpted all in the right ways. And I feel like doing hardcore ab workouts is the opposite of that. Number four. I don't lift super heavy weights regularly. I know, I know.
All the gurus say as you get older, lift heavy, lift heavy, especially for women. And I just disagree. I don't want to be bulky and super ripped and muscular. That is not the body I want. I don't want to build my body. Now, I do want to be toned and fit and feminine and strong, but I prefer to sculpt my body to look how I want it to look.
This means I only do heavy weights about one to two times a week for strength, but I'm not doing the same movement heavy weights every twice a week. So meaning I might do squats and work out my glutes with heavy weights. The second time during the week, if I do heavy weights, I'm doing my biceps heavy weights.
The rest of the workouts throughout the week, I will mix it up and do light weights with lots of reps. I also do some kind of Tracy Anderson routine about five times a week that is very heavy on the core and on the booty. And for her, like when I do one of her routines, I'm not doing the whole thing.
So if you've ever seen her workouts before, she starts off with arm workouts and it's kind of like dancing. And I don't like that. I feel like an idiot, but So I skip that and I just do the mat workout. And so sometimes I do the whole mat workout routine and then I'll mix it up with some finishers at the end or I'll mix it up with some weights at the end.
Or if I've done a weight workout that day, I might do a 15-minute body boost and just do 15 minutes of booty on the floor with her. But I like to mix it up. Now, she's this guru. And if she had her way, I would do only Tracy every day. And I would do it like from beginning to end. And I, again, I break the rules because that doesn't work for me.
I'm taking the best of the best of all the different things that I like and putting them together and making it my own. With Tracy, her workouts work the smaller muscles rather than just the larger ones. And this really prevents bulking and it tightens in all the right places. I feel like instead of bulking, I've shrunk. actually, but I'm still strong, kind of like a dancer.
Dancers have super strong muscles, especially in their legs, but they're not bulky. And her workouts have actually helped me with flexibility, which is really a big deal. As we get older, we want to stay flexible. It prevents injuries. I've been streaming Tracy Anderson since before COVID and I love it. I highly recommend checking it out.
But the rule here that I'm breaking is heavy weights only and all the time. Number five, you may not like this one, but I don't take rest days. I move my body every single day. A rest day for me is a day when I do a long walk or a run and nothing else. Or a I'll do something active that isn't part of my normal routine.
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