A New Attitude

Hi {{first_name|friend}},

There’s a lot of talk right now about the negatives of aging. An entire industry’s been built up around longevity and staving off physical changes. Less attention has been paid to what might actually be more important to aging well — the mental-emotional journey.

Our interviewee this week, the star fitness instructor Jenn Sherman, applies a can-do positive attitude to both. Our conversation with her reminded us of our own aspirations to use what time we have to become a more interesting, and interested, person.

There’s never been a better time to try to enrich yourself. All sorts of culture — literature, film, music — is at our fingertips. We aren’t the only ones feeling the urge. Bloomberg reports that there’s a literary renaissance afoot driven by interest in “difficult” novels like the seen-everywhere debut Lost Lambs from Madeline Cash, or the polarizing Booker Prize winner Flesh. (Speaking of the Booker, they just announced their 2026 longlist; we put a few on hold at our local library.)

In our book club, ladies are talking about the theater (the theater!). Other friends are joining groups to discuss philosophy. In the art world, there’s a boon of new biennials. (Speaking of art: women are now spending more on it than men.) At home, we can take in arthouse cinema via Mubi, Criterion, or even on mainstream streamers like Netflix, where we stumbled upon the strange ‘80s Scorsese cult classic After Hours. Where our music access was once limited by geography and what was stocked at our local Sam Goody, we now can queue up almost any song from any genre.

Yes, there’s a lot of nostalgia for the monoculture of the past. (People are painstakingly recreating old school Pizza Huts, for Pete’s sake.) But would we have discovered an artist like Charlotte Cornfield via MTV?

Navigating this complex new world does take time, energy, and intention. You have to make the choice to not simply accept what is served up to you, but to instead purposefully seek things out. At least, that’s what we’re trying to do.

Bye,
Your friends at Gloria

Jenn Sherman came to work in the fitness industry by happenstance. It was almost 20 years ago that, “A friend dragged me to my first spin class and I became obsessed,” she says. “I connected to it from the very first sweat. It might've been the teacher, it might've been the day, it might've been the music, whatever it was. I fell in love with indoor cycling.”

She started going to classes almost daily, then decided to get certified to teach. Sherman was working at her local studio in suburban New Jersey while her kids were in school. Peloton came calling, and the rest is history.

These days Sherman is an empty nester, known both for her fitness career and the videos she posts with her best friend, Pam “Sunny” Sunshine. She’s started talking more publicly about aging, menopause, and facing the next chapter of her life with enthusiasm instead of dread. I spoke with her to find out what’s shifted for her physically and mentally in her 50s, the new habits she’s trying to build, and the advice she gives to women who feel too busy to work out.

The indoor cycling era was so cardio focused. How have you evolved what you're doing physically as you are getting older?

I was that girl. I was that cardio-chasing lunatic. I’m not saying I never picked up a weight here or there, but it was never my focus. Around 50, things were just not working the same way. I still love indoor cycling and I teach at Peloton. But what's important in terms of taking care of my body and my mind has completely changed.

What were you experiencing?

Even before menopause, I was already starting to feel those shifts in hormones. I wasn't feeling like myself. My mood was all over the place. I was doing the same things at the gym, and eating the same way, but I wasn't getting the same results.

I'm 58 now, but around eight years ago, things were starting to happen cognitively — just forgetful little moments and things like that. I won't remember our conversation in three hours. It's that insane. 

I wasn't prepared, and I'm now hearing from so many women that they weren't prepared either. And so we're trying to get that conversation going.

Aside from your ability to build community, I’m struck by your positive mindset. Is that a part of what you're pursuing in terms of your health?

I'm trying to reframe the narrative. You can either come into your fifties and start to shrink away and just give into all of this stuff, or you're going to come in loud and be like, you know what? This doesn't have to feel like negative energy all day and all night.

It's an era that comes with privilege and wisdom. If you ride with me at Peloton you know I say what I feel. I don't hide it. I am so not one of those people that tries to make it like it's rainbows and unicorns all day long. But I am in such a good place with where I am and how I'm feeling at this age. I've got myself a plan.

What I tell women of my age is: Life is not over. You’ve got to make some adjustments. Women are overwhelmed. Just start small.

There are things that we have to pay attention to: body mass, muscle mass, balance, mobility. I don't know how you feel about protein, protein, protein, protein. It's like, ugh. But I have to actually pay attention if I'm getting protein or not. 

This isn't about what I look like today. This is about what I want to feel like in 10 years from now. This is about being able to pick up my grandchildren and being able to run around and play with them. And you can't just ignore it. This time in our life is coming, whether you like it or not. 

When you talk to women who haven't had a workout program, how do you advise them to get started? What about those of us who are in the phase of being very busy with responsibilities, kids, and work? What are the tips?

When I'm speaking to women in their late forties that still have kids in school, it's crazy hectic. I don't have children at home anymore. I gained much more free time. So I have to be cognizant of talking to a large group that isn't experiencing maybe the same exact moment that I'm in right now.

For people that are really stressed on time, I say: I know you can find 20 minutes. And that 20 minutes is going to make you a better partner, a better friend, a better mother, all those things that we've heard. 

No one's saying it needs to be seven days a week. Let's try three to four days a week. Three days a week is going to be better than no days a week. Walking on a treadmill or walking outside is going to be better than not doing anything at all. I was someone back in the day who was like, a walk wasn't a workout for me, and boy has my mind shifted. Obviously everyone knows the benefits of walking. 

Try to find something that you like. I've tried to be a yoga person. As much as I would benefit from it, it is not for me. I'm finding other things that I'm loving. There's something out there for everyone. Start small and you can make it happen. Everyone can make it happen. You just have to prioritize it.

Have you seen a shift in the way your body responds to exercise as you get older? I have noticed it takes a lot longer to build a baseline, so you have to be really patient. 

This is long haul stuff. It can get frustrating to go through phases where you feel like nothing may be happening, but it is happening. You are building that strength, even if it's gradual. You've got to keep the body moving. 

It’s not just that your muscle mass changes, but also your skin and the elasticity. You've got to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and know that this is just a part of aging. Forget about wanting to look like what I looked like in my thirties and forties. I'm trying to preserve how I think I looked in a pair of jean shorts from five years ago.

It's a cycle of your life that you can either go into, like I said, feeling really negatively about or know that you're going to come into it with a different mindset and seize it and do everything you can to feel your best. At this age, it shouldn't just be about physical aesthetics. It's about human connection and doing things that bring you joy. 

I talk a lot about the power of saying no to things at this stage of your life. Our whole life with raising kids and families and all that stuff, we've done everything for everyone else. We kind of take a backseat. When you move into this era, it's time for you to be a little selfish. Say no to things that don't serve you, that perhaps bring you anxiety, [or] things that you've said yes to in the past that you felt pressure to do.

Can you define what the Back Nine Era is? Will it be a program?

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TO WATCH In Netflix’s Vladimir, Rachel Weisz is a college professor slowly coming unglued due to an erotic obsession with a student. Also on campus: Steve Carell as a Carl Hiaasen-like figure experiencing a midlife crisis in the new HBO series Rooster (out Sunday).

TO LISTEN We’d never heard of ‘70s folk artist Cathy Hamer until we stumbled across two beautiful covers of her songs, “Gone” and “You Are Mine In Those Golden Days,” by her daughter, the singer-songwriter Kate Bollinger. Now Hamer, who recorded two limited-release albums in 1979 and 1980 before Bollinger was born, has partnered with Numero Group to reissue her work (preorders are open now, and will ship out in May). It’s wonderful — listen to this!

TO MAKE These easy, healthy skewers (by friend of Gloria Yasmin Fahr) are kinda like tasty, mini-size turkey burgers. We stuffed them, along with fresh herbs and crunchy cucumbers, inside pitas for delicious sandwiches.

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TO CONSULT If you’ve been noodling on the idea of repainting a room, but are stumped by what paint finish to choose (eggshell? semigloss?), this free advice from an interior decorator is a must-save.

TO SHOP Ruggable just dropped a new collab with Liberty, and the florals are really pretty. The prints come in full-size rugs and doormats, so you can get a little or a lot of pattern. And yes, they’re washable. Shop it all here. #partner

A fascinating new study links the gut microbiome to ovarian aging. • “Gen X, it’s time to worry about retirement.” • Private school madness in NYC and Miami. • Here’s Harry Styles running in teeny-tiny shorts. • Some interesting hints about the next season of White Lotus.

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