Anita Terlizzi of Scottsdale on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Anita Terlizzi and have shared our conversation below.

Anita, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
Thrive55+ is a fitness app that is about aging powerfully. It is about embracing this second act of life, with all of its new challenges and changes. The misunderstanding is when people think it’s just for “seniors” who are “old, aging, and fragile”. The Gen X and Baby Boomers are far from that. We are strong, resilient, and able to fight for the life that we want. This powerful population can still achieve the same results, with a different strategy for building muscle, improving balance & mobility, increasing our cognitive thinking, and learning to change the stereotype of growing older and look at this new body with a sense of humor and appreciation. Truly embracing this thing called “middle age”. Thrive55+ is a community of like minded men and women who are still driven, still creating, still dreaming of all that the future holds!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Anita Terlizzi. I have been a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and motivational speaker for 15 years. My company is called MissFit and I have recently launched a health and fitness app called Thrive55+. What makes this fitness app so different from the rest? It is specifically created for the 50+ community who are fighting for their future self. We wanted to make sure that this experience was very user friendly. We designed each workout knowing that men and women were coming from all fitness levels. There is a huge library of workouts to choose from. Thrive55+ offers seated and standing workouts, balance and stretch, low impact bodyweight or added resistance, you can choose the amount of time you would like your workout, and even what muscle group you would like to target. Of course, if you dont know where to start, a weekly schedule is set up for you. There are live classes as well. Imagine getting to know your trainer on a personal level and training with her in person! Each session is set against the breathtaken backdrop of the Southwest. Thrive55+ wanted to take our members to the beauty of the desert, the landscape, the mountains, all while taken care of the one body we have to carry us through this amazing journey called life!

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
It may sound corney, but carrying a baby and delivering a human into the world is, hands down, the most powerful experience a woman can go through. I dont remember ever “dreaming” of being a mom. I came from a home where I saw my mother not be loved properly by my father. It was painful to watch and I just remember being determined that I was never going to count on a man to take care of me. I had this stubburn attitude that I would build a successful career and never need to rely on anyone else. I did create that successful career in advertising, but I did not expect that God would give me the most loyal, caring, loving man that would change my mind about everything! I didnt even think twice about starting a family, and at 27 years old, I had my first of three children. My biggesst success story is my family.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
The power in FORGIVNESS! I was 29 years old when I learned to truly forgive, and boy, was that ever POWERFUL! I had a lot of anger against my step father who physically abused me and my siblings. I was always a believer in Jesus Christ. Some children might have not believed in any kind of god, wondering why a god would allow a child to be abused. I was the opposite. I knew that there was a God in Heaven, far better than any Earthly father I had. A father that saw me and loved me and had so much waiting for me. I can’t tell you why, it was a childlike faith that the bible speaks of. What I didn’t understand was that he needed me to forgive my stepfather. That part was hard to fathom. I thought, “well, God hates evil, I hate evil, my step father is evil…so its ok to hate him”. At 29 years old, for the first time in my life, someone opened the bibile and showed me the verse where it says Jesus was beaten beyond recognition of a man! He was up on that cross, wrongly accused, and Jesus looks at those who did this and said “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing”. Wow! That’s when it hit me. I never got beat beyond recognition and I suddenly knew that I was supposed to forgive my step father. This was not an easy thing to do. I did not even know what that looked like. I have lived so long not knowing what kind of heaviness I was carrying. I just knew that if I prayed for help in this, somehow I would know. I can’t tell you when or how long it took. I just remember feeling like a giant anvil was taken off my chest and I had this overwhelming urge to tell my step dad I forgave him and so did Jesus. Only God, right? That was certainly not of my own will power. Forgiving people quickly is life changing. Even if you think they don’t deserve it, leave that for God to judge. Unforgiveness can only hurt you!

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
Fads are short lived, popular crazes, typically driven by social media hype, while foundational changes can permanently alter how people think or operate. The key difference is the impact over time. Fads fade quickly, but foundational shifts have lasting power, create a new normal, and can make a powerful change in your life.

When applied to health and fitness, fads are short lived crazes that promise quick fixes and often focus on a specific product or magic pill, while foundational shifts represent deep, lasting changes in our understanding and approach to our health and longevity. The Thrive55+ app was created with the long game in mind. We believe that true wellness isn’t measured by a 30 day trial or temporary diet, but by your quality of life 10, 20, 30 years from now.

At Thrive55+ we focus on the “Longevity Lifestyle”. It’s not about quick fixes, or intense unsustainable routines that lead burn out or injury. Its about small, consistant choices every day, not competing or comparing, just being the best version of yourself. Our goal is to embrace and appreciate this “second act” of life, while building strength, stamina, and balance.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I think they would say that they would miss my genuine love for them, my positive energy and attitude towards life and the constant encouragment to keep fighting for their future selves. I treat every day as a gift and I get this unique opportunity to love on people, remind them they have a purpose, and to take care of the one and only body they have to live in, enabling men and women to thrive at any age!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mythrive55.com
• Instagram: @mythrive55
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mythrive55
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mythrive55