An Interview with Author David E. Frost

David E. Frost is an NFPT-certified Master Fitness Trainer, a rowing coach, a champion competitor, and an award-winning adjunct professor. After decorated careers in the US Navy and business world, he founded Well Past Forty LLC to promote wellness and longevity for folks in their “middle ages.”

He specializes in nutrition, endurance, and strength training—adapting sessions for people dealing with cancer, MS, PD, CP, diabetes, and Metabolic Syndrome. He is a volunteer coach for veterans in Wounded Warrior & Freedom Rows projects.

David earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the US Naval Academy and his Master of Systems Management degree from the University of Southern California, focusing on human factors. He also gained post-graduate education at the Naval War College and the National Defense University.

With his professional NFPT certifications, Koach Dave provides certified group and one-on-one online training sessions for athletes of all ages to add life in their years and years to their lives.

He leads indoor rowing classes for The Row House, both online and in-person.

His accolades include an Eagle Scout badge, a Technology Achievement award from Lockheed Martin Corporation, an Outstanding College Athlete of America (1975) award, Naval officer medals and commendations from our Cold War days, USNA’s Rusty Callow award, and a 2016 Distinguished Faculty award from the University of Phoenix.

Hailing from Vermont, David lives in San Diego with his wife of over 40 years, Mary. She and he celebrate two wonderful kids and three grandkids. He home-brews IPAs and Irish stouts.

In 2019, his writings about 21st-century knowledge workers became a chapter in Advances in the Technology of Managing People: Contemporary Issues in Business and Education. He prolifically writes professional articles about longevity, wellness, elder care, and anti-aging.

You can learn more about David and his work beyond Middle Age at wellpastforty.com.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

Having author Ralph Waldo Emerson as my forebearer was one trigger for my writings. He wrote of the “Felicities of Age” and stated that “Strong men believe in cause and effect.”

I served as an executive speechwriter for a spell, learning from great writers and speakers like Sir Winston Churchill. I came to enjoy the cycles of “writing as re-writing” to make my fitness manual as enjoyable, science-backed, and sweat-based as possible. Peggy Noonan, who wrote and writes so eloquently and purposefully, is a main influencer.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

I believe and advocate that strength training is a powerful natural medicine. Indeed, functional strength is one of the most important things in American adulthood—whether those in Generation X believe it or not. Fact: Folks with strong grips did not go to ICUs, or die from COVID-19 cytokine storms. Strength saves! This is by no means a modern conviction. I also ascribe to the writings of stoics like Socrates who wrote: “No one has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training.”

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Choosing my title was easy. My career naval experiences included many sung renditions of the Navy Hymn, with its key operative of “Strong to Save” in it. The Cathedral of the Navy at Annapolis, Maryland has this Strong to Save mantra set high in its impressive dome. My wife and I were married under that Chapel dome. Strong to Save was an easy and fitting choice to make.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

My Strong to Save soundtrack includes:

“Let’s Get Physical” (Olivia Newton-John)

“Hips Don’t Lie” (Shakira)

“Push It” (Salt-n-Pepa)

“Afternoon Delight” (Starland Vocal Band)

“Finish the Mission” (Kyle Allen Music)

“The E.N.D.” (Black Eyed Peas)

Describe your dream book cover.

My dreamy cover has a pair of adults as workout buddies who are—strenuously yet enjoyably—working their skeletal muscles for good cause.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

1. America’s Navy.

2. America’s Defense and Aerospace industry.

3. Academia as an adjunct professor.

4. Personal Services as a Master Fitness Trainer.

5. Master’s Rowing Champion.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

I leveraged my first book—KABOOMER – Thriving and Striving into your 90s. My principal research works included:

Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss.

Practical Programming for Strength Training – Rippetoe & Baker.

Breath (James Nestor)

When (Daniel Pink)

Discourses of Epictetus

Lifespan (David Sinclair)

Secrets of the World’s Healthiest People (Bowers & Bowers)

YOU Staying Young (Roizen and Oz)

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

My ideal readers will learn how to safely move heavy stuff as very good medicine. They will thereby embrace the work to extend their health span. As I stress, most adults can gain 7-10 extra healthy years by using resisted motion as medicine.

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