Stop Shrinking and Start Strengthening

In this week’s episode of What They Didn’t Tell You From Core to Floor, Millie sits down with Zoe Corin for an honest and grounded conversation about shifting from shrinking to strengthening. Together they explore what embodiment truly means, how strength changes the way you see yourself, and why so many women are finally realizing that chasing “small” never leads to long-term health or confidence.

Millie and Zoe open up about the pressure to be thin, how their own communities shaped their early views on their bodies, and the moment they each realized that strength offered something far deeper than aesthetics. They talk through the realities of bone density, aging, postpartum changes, and why lifting weights becomes one of the most powerful tools for long-term health.

They reflect on how strength training changes the way you show up in your life, how it breaks self-limiting beliefs, and why taking up more space physically and emotionally becomes a form of empowerment. This conversation is real, vulnerable, and full of perspective for women in every stage of life.

At the end of the episode, Millie and Zoe share the details of their six-week strength and core program designed to help women build confidence, understand proper form, and finally feel strong and connected to their bodies. If you’ve been waiting for a place to start, this is your moment.

Links:

Reconnect With Your Core in Just 5 Days

Join the waitlist for Millie Schweky and Zoe Corin's Core Girl's Club!

Follow Millie:  @milliedpt

Join the Core to Floor community: https://millie-schweky.mykajabi.com/intimacy 

Connect with Zoe Corin: @strongerwithzo

Chapters

• 1:13 How the conversation on shrinking versus growing began
• 3:05 Seeing strength as more than aesthetics
• 6:30 Bone health, falls, and why strength protects you as you age
• 10:45 Growing up with a thin ideal and how community shapes body image
• 13:20 Finding the balance between how you look and how you feel
• 16:25 How strength training changes your self-image and confidence
• 19:15 Training choices, cuts versus building, and seasonal shifts in goals
• 21:50 When lifting heavy feels right — practical advice for progression
• 24:00 Embodiment, taking up space, and the psychological benefits of strength
• 25:51 Perimenopause and why it’s never too late to start strength work
• 27:00 Quick overview of the six-week strength and core program
• 27:53 Closing encouragement and sign off

Transcript

Hey sis and welcome back to what they didn't tell you from core to floor. It's your girl. Dr Millie Schweky pelvic floor physical therapist here to teach you everything you need to know about your body Today I'm back with Zoe Corin.

Hello ladies, and we're gonna have a chill, but not so chill Talk with all of you Today Zoe actually suggested that we talk about We're talking about embodiment not thinking about shrinking rather growing love it. I love it I think it's deep and also like I want to say like oh, this is what's been going around This is not what's been going around that I'm about to say when I think but I think a lot of what you're about to hear comes from Who you surround yourself with? And I'll just say that what I surround myself with is that I grew up in an environment where shrinking was great and I'm currently in a place where people around me care more about being functional and strong Not to say that we don't care about our bodies and how they look because I think there's a degree to which you could care And should care but it's not about shrinking yourself at all. So let's get into it What made you want to bring this up? I felt like there's a lot of times where I see things online like Instagram or I know I'm not Twitter person but you know the whole like Facebook world and I come and there's a lot of trends that go around and I'm like, oh, that's just another trend There's just another trend and actually this is kind of this this trend of like let's not shrink.

Let's strengthen I'm really loving and I'm like well if this is a trend I'm gonna catch on to and talk about because I think it's so amazing because Strengthening your body is so much more beyond the aesthetic part of strengthening your body. You're giving like real gift to the health of your body and there's so many things out there that there's just so many opportunities in our life where we could choose to take a direction of of Wanting to kind of be skinny trying to like, you know, take whatever's out there Absorbing it and being like, oh, I'm gonna I'm gonna now start my diet tomorrow. I'm gonna start this gym tomorrow and whatever but we all know that how this how that usually ends and I feel like for us we really are looking for long-term health and especially as we are getting older and We're post baby or whatever It may be like we are looking for long-term health and this is long-term health like think of the older people You know that I like very very very small or spent their whole life trying to get skinny They end up getting fragile and I don't want to be fragile.

I want to be strong Did you know the stats for falling? I can't remember the exact number We had to learn it in PT school, and I'm sure the status changed since then but if you fall Above maybe it was around 75 The likelihood of fracturing your hip like just if you're like one of the average people is Really high because on average like woman bone density is not good at that age and then the risk of getting something called a vascular necrosis, which basically could kill you if you Fracture your hip that risk goes up. You know what hold I'm pausing this because I want to look up this stat Did you know that there's a stat that about 95% of hip fractures in older women are caused by Falls woman aged 65 and up make up approximately 80% of hip fracture hospitalizations basically what happens is that once we hit the menopause and even before menopause our estrogen decline declines and that's actually responsible for our bone density and so your risk of falling if you don't work out goes up and then if you have low bone density your ritual of Absolutely, you don't work out exactly a bone density. Exactly.

Exactly if you if you fall with low bone density your risk of fracture goes up and the risk of falling again Goes up within a year and there's something called a vascular necrosis, which is really a bad Sequela of a hip fracture like you don't want to get that a lot of women die from it that risk also No, it's just scary. It goes up. No, but it's actually something so crazy because it's extremely extremely common and extremely extremely Avoidable.

All you have to do is lift weights any protein like it's not that crazy You have to the hard part is like changing your mindset from shrinking to growing and preserving Your health like there's so many times. I want to post something online about Strength and I'm like, is this gonna resonate does my audience just care about shrinking like I'm scared to post this Like what if no one likes it because all they want is to be skinny So I want to ask you this question because I felt like this is something interesting for everyone out there You said to me that your community praised shrinking. Did you change or did your community change? I'll say like this in the community that I come from we have first of all, we're very blessed with our gene pool I think a lot of people are just very good-looking and have amazing bodies And there is a genetic component to it now because that's a lot of people I want to say majority, but a lot of people walk around just looking beautiful there's been a standard like unspoken standard that beauty is being thin and The culture of where I come from is Pretty much feeding into like not eating so much doing tons of cardio classes not really focusing on strength, I've definitely silently Been in that during like let's say my high school years, although I genuinely cared about being strong Genuinely cared about being strong But I also was always like I'll never be skinny like all These other girls and I for sure struggled with things like body dysmorphia I was just like I think I'm fat which is like I thought I was looking back at my high school pictures It's so crazy.

You're like, oh, I wish I'd look like that. I don't even wish I looked like that now I'm happy. I'm happy with where I'm at, but I'm like that I was so small like I was really a tiny little twiggy and like I had curves and that wasn't what a standard of beauty was a standard of beauty was like just be a stick with nothing and I was a Hardcore runner training for half marathons throughout high school and it actually came from a good place of self-improvement and motivation And I really loved all the ways that running shaped me and changed me as a high schooler I actually was introduced to lifting weights and I loved how it made me feel to lift weights and cross-train for a race and Like I saw that it wasn't making me skinnier, but that didn't make me Change my modality of working out.

I was like, I actually feel good when I do this. I love feeling strong after a good session I'm not gonna go do only cardio because that's what makes me skinnier. I actually was You know, I cared more about how I felt and how I looked so sometimes in the back of my mind I'd be like, I wish I was skinnier just so I could fit in But Not enough to make me go ahead and like not eat and Change my workouts.

Does that make sense? I think two things I think you just emphasize a really important point, which is the balance between how you feel and how you look. Mm-hmm, and If you have ever been on a crazy diet and knows what it's like to try and so-called shrink yourself You know, they usually don't actually feel so good And I think that's really where and and we also I also I'm a big believer in Aesthetically wanting to look a certain way and that's totally okay. So I think that's exactly it's the balance between Feeling good and looking good, which is totally acceptable and it's a really hard balance to get to yeah I don't think you'll always feel and look good at the same time.

I think it could for sure happen at the same time I just think as women were so dynamic that sometimes you'll look really good But feel like you're either over training or undernourished and some of the ones that keep and sometimes you'll feel really good Like these days I can tell for myself like I've been lifting heavier I've been hungrier and I'm leaning into it. I'm building muscle like it's what it is So what's the key because we I think as I think every woman wants we want that Yeah, what what how do we go about kind of creating that balance? I Think I don't have an answer, but I could give you just some of my thoughts recently Just some background of where I'm at now. I did a cut in the summer So I was deliberately eating under my maintenance calories and I was lifting pretty heavy But higher reps, okay So I was training more muscular endurance is a little bit less hypertrophy and I absolutely loved the way I looked and felt Then I changed my workouts.

I was doing heavier weights less reps Slash life circumstances holidays things coming going from America back to Israel I was like eating more and I was like, you know what? I'm actually really hungry from these workouts Like let me lean into it. I'm gonna build muscle. So it's not like it's you know all going to wait So anyway, I see myself and I definitely gained weight, but it's a lot of it is muscle You know what? I mean? So this is where I'm at now So now I'm at this crossroads where I'm like, do I continue lifting heavy and I could see myself like getting built like actually built or Do I like maybe switch gyms and do something a little bit lighter because I don't like how I'm looking but I actually feel really strong like today was my light day of back squat and I was I Was squatting just a few kilos shy of my own body weight That was my easy day.

Like that's crazy. It also choose to Make a slight Cut in your diet and then the muscles are gonna show anyway, so I could do that But then the question is, but do I want a diet because what I do that I'm is so tired Also doesn't you don't have to even consider as a diet, but I call it a cut I call it a cut cuz I'm just eating a little bit under maintenance that it comes off slowly and sustainably and but I do I I do feel Hunger I'm a hungry girl. I could meet me to love me down with I could totally so wait going back to your Where we're from and how we grew up Do you feel like where you're from or your community? Do you feel like they've come cross like you feel like they've crossed that Bridge from leaning in more to strength or you don't feel like people are there yet.

So I think it's starting not even your community That's it. Yeah, I think greater greater, New York. I don't know I could talk about like people.

I've been I've been around I think like the people I just I'll tell you this like in general in the world I think from what I'm seeing more people are waking up for sure that it's not about being skinny that it's not Sustainable and I'm not in body shaming anyone who's naturally skinny. That's a line. This is a different This has nothing to do.

I'm just making that clear because you never know who's listening If you're naturally skinny, you're great. If you're naturally thicker, you're great It's more about like how much are you trying to manipulate that just going back to my point about You know, where's the balance between looking good feeling good? And then you're asking like where people are at now I think it's just like one big question and my answer is actually nothing to do with it. My answer is something along the lines of zooming out and realizing that you're more than just Your physical body, which I know sounds so cliche and gross but you're you're not that it's just a container that's holding you So right now in your season of life, you need to be lugging a super heavy double stroller up the hill And who's uh, like you need to be able to do that functionally now? Yeah, whatever kind of training is getting you there I think like you need to be eating and exercising to support your Lifestyle and also take your long-term health into consideration.

So sometimes what happens is there's like a mismatch between your training and how it's making you look and that's where you kind of have to dig deep and decide do I want to Focus on the physical or the or the you know, the more functional aspect of it. I don't have an answer I think it's like just a call that you have to make like what is it that I want right now? And I don't think there's ever gonna be a right answer. I think it's always gonna depend on where you're at in life So I think I can say for me when I was growing up I think specifically in like yeah around high end of high school and seminary time.

I was like a real cardio, buddy I used to run up I could run, you know for hours and I Spent very little time in the weight section If I did it was like, you know not to like lower anyone and there's weight Range, but I was like a three four kilos and I was you know, I was like really sticking to a lower weight range for me and At that time of being a cardio bunny and probably very very very slim I actually Didn't feel amazing about myself. And I think that's what's so cool. I found with strength training is that your body The body the way you see your body as you strength train also changes and I think that's the coolest thing I found over my end of my like middle of my 20s to now to like You know early 30s is that I've gotten stronger and the way I view my body Has changed by me getting stronger and I do not look smaller I definitely am not smaller than I was back in the early 20s, but I Appreciate my body and the way I see it is So much greater and I feel like that's the cool thing about strength training is it doesn't only change Your body it doesn't only change your longevity It also changes the way you view yourself Yeah, cuz you're focusing on not only growing physically, but you're growing you're doing something harder than you did last time You're doing something heavier than you did last time You're overcoming even a self-limiting belief Like I know that I was stuck when I was working out without like any classes or trainers I was like stuck in certain weight ranges like I couldn't lift heavier than a certain amount just because in my head I was like, I can't lift that heavy and you when you actually train properly You could break through these self-limiting beliefs and then that carries over into any self-limiting belief you have in your life Oh, I can't start a business.

I won't be a good wife. I won't be a good mom. You could literally Break through anything with strength training and work towards any goal and it's cool because the results are physical, right? Like you feel stronger.

You look in the mirror. You look stronger. It's like actually real-time evidence so that proves to you subconsciously that you could break through a plateau or overcome something difficult and I just love the way I use it in life and Even in business I'm always like I could I could you know I think I don't have any more reps in the tank and then bang out one more or I'm super tired or burnt out at Work, and I know if I just push a little bit harder.

I could be done and relax and do my break and And it carries over the other way, too there's times when I'm at the gym and I have one more rep and I'm like I Moved to Israel with a five month old and a two-year-old with no family I could do one more rep of this row and it totally works like that and it totally carries over I think I remember once Listening to a peloton instructor that said The way you do this workout is the way you're gonna do your day and I do believe that I think There are times when we don't push ourselves. Okay, I'm not in for always pushing yourself, but there are times but like yeah You see to yourself like I don't know how I'm gonna do another round and you do that other round and then you walk out Or you walk out of wherever you are and you walk out the gym and you're like I'm actually gonna do that thing. I wasn't gonna do because you felt empowered But I'm saying specific and I agree with you in a hundred percent on the way you view yourself and the way it takes over To your life, but I'm saying in terms of also the way you view your body in the mirror Changes because you get stronger and what you see is being Beautiful and strong Changes with strength training.

It's because you feel embodied in it Like you feel like you own it more like you yeah, I do I did this I earned this. This is mine Yeah, I remember I was I was training a client. Okay, so when I was in PT school I was a certified personal trainer and I would go to people's houses and do small group classes So I was training these two girls and they were both naturally thin and they both genuinely wanted to become stronger So we were lifting weights and every week I would Bruno bring heavier and heavier dumbbells And there was one week that I remember they looked at me Like they were looking at my arms and they were like looks at each other Like I it looked like they had spoken about this before I walked in and they were like So if we lift really heavy like how much heavier are we gonna get until like our arms start to look like yours? In a way of like, oh your arms are too big like they were looking at my arms and they're like We don't want they were basically telling me like we don't want arms like yours Like we don't want to get to how wrong were they? No, I was so happy Actually, I was like I worked so hard and in they're kind of like Insinuating that my arms are too big and you know what? I respect to them.

Totally I was like, I totally get that. You don't want to get bulky if You see that you're bulking up We will just plateau at a certain weight range and we'll go through muscular endurance and just change up the lifts and make it So that you know your sleeves still fit you on your shirts. I actually love Occasionally when I put on a dress, I haven't worn in eight for ages and it's like Shabbat and I'm pushing a buggy and I'm like Oh, I can stretch my arms that I had this dress anymore and that like makes you feel great So I think also I just think with time meaning at your high school Zoe would have been like, oh my god Yes dress.

So I think how cool is that and that for me has come from strength. So I feel like you're giving Yourself such a gift because it comes from so many aspects it comes like for actual your blood test results You're the way you see yourself the way you like see a box and you're like, I could pick that up If we're gonna list all the benefits, yes. Sorry.

I'm not laying for it We'll never ever ever get there because like we're really obsessed But shoot, I just lost my thought you were saying about are we just talking about a second ago before you went down that list? Oh Okay. Yeah. No, I remember.

Um about how you see yourself yeah, so I recently was I was not here in this area was traveling and There was like a random Pilates class and I was like, I'm just gonna go like I need to get a workout in I'm not feeling motivated today to work out a meal I'm gonna go to this Pilates class and this class was like a very young crowd and Typical Pilates people like I think most of them play a sport and do Pilates that's like kind of what it seemed like they play different like tennis soccer volleyball and They and they also like to Pilates couple times a week. That was like the crown and very young very chill They probably also like we're young enough that working out is new to them like it was pretty I was like a grandma in the class and and looking at myself in the mirror in the class and Like I never really thought to like look at myself next to someone also like usually I'm in a class that has men so like I'm wearing clothes and I just like don't see what I look like in the mirror while I work out and I'm watching myself do this workout class and everyone's like so little and like even like they seems prepubescent, you know what I mean, even though they were like adults, but like young adults And I'm looking in the mirror and I'm like, I'm muscle Like look at my arms doing a lot everybody like oh my god, if I looked like her having I know it Don't even matter what I wasn't I wasn't even thinking about what I were thinking I was just thinking about what I was thinking because I was that make you feel I felt I might you know I felt so good. I was like I'm looking in the mirror.

I'm like I'm like taking up so much space right now and I'm also rocking this workout and I feel really good doing it and I'm looking at myself and taking up all this space in this Pilates class where everyone's like really string bean and I'm just thinking about how proud I am like no how proud like younger me I was gonna say how is younger you all this? Because I'm like, wow, look at look at how far I've come Like I was that like I was that string bean at a point. I thought I wasn't but I was And I'm like looking in the mirror Holy cow, I'm actually a muscle mommy Like I never saw what I look like with this current body with like no shirt on you know what I mean? Like it was really empowering to watch it myself with a mirror But I think it's also pretty empowered powering to see the way you're the way you view yourself as change exactly I normally I would be like, oh my gosh, my thighs are so big my butt is so big my with my this my that but I'm like first of all, it's pretty rock-solid and You are and second of all like the little fluff around it like I'm not even seeing it so much because I'm seeing all the Positive, you know what? I mean? Yeah, I do know you mean and I think I think if we were to sum up the embodiment idea, I think how do you fell if you were a You are a 20 year old girl 23 year old girl listening to your podcast right now. What do you want to tell them choose? The workout that makes you happy don't worry again about getting too bulky Choose the workout try to fit some strength in it's also like a hard balance for me to say like do what you love but Also do strength try to fall in love with strength.

Don't worry about getting to getting too bulky You'll get there when you get there and I'm not saying it's gonna happen I'm not saying it's not a woman woman could bulk over time, especially if you're new to lifting it'll happen a lot quicker Once you get to the point where you feel like you're not liking it Then you could readjust your workout but start by getting strong because at first you get strong You'll probably fall in love with growing before you hate it. I love that That's very true. And my last question to you is if you are perimenopause, would you tell them that it's too late? It's never too late However, the better the earlier you start the better so never say like I'm already 45 already 55 I'm ready 65.

I can't start. No, no, no, obviously, I'm gonna tell you well I'm not gonna say this to your face But you should have started when you were a lot younger when you're in your childbearing years Before but you need to start now because time is only ticking and I'm not saying this in a fear-mongering Sort of way. I'm saying in this I love you and care about your health so much and if you want longevity and quality of life as you get older You need to resistance train.

There's really everyone's looking for all these like fixes Botox filler highlights wrinkle cream to anti-age weight training strength training is Ultimate anti-aging thing so you could think of and it's also good for your skin It's also good for your hair and your libido and you're gone and all the things that you're trying to fix with I think all these other solutions when you're perimenopause and menopause your ability to Lose that kind of extra weight that you're trying to lose is so much hard I think that's the biggest thing I get for people like oh I'm really trying to like lose these kilos and I can't do it and I'm doing everything, right? That's easy. I'm doing everything, right? And then I'm like so we need to reevaluate and usually what it comes down to Is they aren't actually lifting enough and and that doesn't mean necessarily you're gonna lose those pounds But maybe it will change the way you see yourself Maybe you're gonna strengthen up and you're gonna look at yourself and be like, hey I might not be like five kilos less but I'm really damn strong and I feel amazing and that I feel like is the key For the future me maybe yeah, so do it now So that's 75 85 95 year old you could be that ripped-ass grandma on the gym Check out my biceps and I think this was a really honest episode. I'm so happy you brought up these questions Thank you for letting me bring up and if you want to feel stronger and more empowered in your body We actually just came out with a program Leaving an actual program, but you can do at home.

You could actually do it by yourself. I don't believe it This is Wow It's a six-week program that Zoe and I collabed on worked so hard on Poured our hearts and souls into because we want to give you exactly everything that we're talking about a lot of online Programs that work on strengthening you from a rehab perspective kind of like leave you off at a point of like Okay, so like I fixed my dysfunction, but now like I don't know what to do next in terms of working out This program takes you from Zero a hero. Yeah, I like that takes you from zero to hero Basically, like we start with breath foundations how to engage your core properly how to use your proper alignment when you work out basically like 101 and form in a really effective way that'll actually help you feel stronger and more connected to your body and then it leads you Into working out as the weeks go by into more legitimate workouts that you would find in an exercise setting It's it's pretty awesome.

I must say like I think I know I know we're biased, but I really think it's awesome I think it's really accessible and Non-intimidating and if you're a beginner that doesn't know where to start with working out This is totally for you. If you're postpartum and you don't know where to start This is also pretty much for you If you're in the perimenopausal phase and you don't know where to start this is free when the goal of the six-week program is to leave you off in a place where you could basically go do a Workout and have a foundation and not be like, oh, I don't know if I could do it I don't know if I'm doing right like no you've said you finish a six-week program You know that you are doing it, right and then you could just carry on from there. I'd even say beyond that I actually think it's for everyone because the amount of people that walk into my room that say to me I don't know about my form I don't have to breathe and they just that extra TLC and they don't want to pay for personal training, which is fair enough This gives that to them so you can really get your foundation solid by just getting this program And I felt like that is awesome because it's opening up a door for you that you wouldn't necessarily have and it's just for the cost of one American priced personal training session and you literally get six weeks worth and you have access to it for a year So if this sounds like the sign you've been waiting for to finally do it because you've been pushing it off for so long This is the time the link is in the show notes.

All you got to do is hit it. Just hit it lady. We're ready All right.

Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode and we'll see you next time excited. Thanks guys