Grandparenting is an endurance sport, and you train for it the way an athlete trains for a season: with hydration, strength, stamina, and daily habits that keep you able to get down on the floor and back up 50 times a day.
Kristen Coffield is a chef, wellness coach, TEDx speaker, and author of Active Grandparenting: A Guide to Modern Family Dynamics, Healthier Habits, and Functional Fitness. She explains why grandparenting today means partnering with your adult children rather than parenting them again, why capability is what earns you time alone with the grandkids, and how a simple hydration practice supports your energy, mood, and muscles.
We get into lifting heavy for a 34-pound toddler, functional strength over machines, stacking balance and grip work onto habits you already have, and building stamina by walking. She closes with her three strategies for wellness: hydrate, sleep, and keep moving.
Time Stamps:
03:55 The Active Grandparenting book
05:18 Why grandparenting wiped out two fit people
06:48 Fit for task and active grandparenting
07:34 How #ActiveGrandparenting went viral
09:39 Partnering with your adult children, not parenting them
10:14 Capability: keeping the kids and yourself safe
11:54 The early window for the grandparent bond
14:09 Hydration as a daily practice
17:48 The lymphatic system and why strength matters
18:46 Lifting heavy for a 34-pound toddler
20:48 Protein, egg yolks, and counting nutrients instead of calories
21:56 Functional strength with free weights and stairs
23:53 Habit stacking for balance, mobility, and grip
25:10 Building stamina as we age
28:47 Training, not exercise: one lap around the car
32:49 Training today for graduations, weddings, and travel
36:52 Future wellness and recovering faster
37:49 3 strategies to get and stay well
Links:
- Active Grandparenting: activegrandparenting.com Kristen on Instagram: @kristencoffield Hydration quiz at The Culinary Cure: theculinarycure.com