Aiko Sokolowski was not expecting to be a YouTuber at age 83, but her daughter, April Hattori, convinced her to give it a try during the pandemic.

“Originally, I thought it was just one video,” she told the Nichi Bei News. “She asked me, ‘Do you want to do a video with me? And we can go through the exercises.’ Sure, one video is fine with me, never thinking that it would become — what are we up to? 200, I think?’”

The mother-daughter duo publish videos on their YouTube exercise channel yes2next, that’s geared toward older adults. They have accrued some 356,000 subscribers online and 40 million views, earning them the YouTube Silver Creator Award, which sat conspicuously behind them during their online interview.

Sokolowski said it has been “a good ride,” and gratifying to know she is helping her daughter, herself and thousands of people she has never even met.

“I’m pleased to be here. It’s a second chance at life. At 83, that’s pretty good,” she said.

The opportunity was also a new start for 60-year-old Hattori, who moved out West from New York to be closer to her mother after her stepfather passed away.

She moved to the Las Vegas area in 2019 and transitioned from her work in public relations to become a personal trainer for older adults at a local gym.

“I’ve always been into fitness, ever since I was a young person,” she said. “… And it was a perfect time for me to kind of take a look at what I wanted to do with my life.”

As she started her new career, however, the global pandemic closed all the gyms and Hattori could no longer work with her clients.

“I was looking for a way to still help my clients. And so I started to just create videos for them,” she said. “And since I live with my mom, I asked her, ‘Hey Mom, wanna do these videos with me?’ And she thankfully said, ‘Yes.’ I don’t think she knew what she was getting into, but that’s how it began. That’s how yes2next began.”

Sokolowski, meanwhile, said she had always taken walks and stayed active, but was “never really into working out” per se. However, living with her daughter has helped.

“There are some benefits to living with your personal trainer, you know? I mean, she keeps me honest and keeps me going, and I’ve been doing OK. I like it,” she said.

They even workout outside of the Sunday shoots from their home.

“We’re moving every single day. Mom is doing at least one or two full-body-strength workouts a week. And I actually work out every day. I do at least two full-body-strength workouts a week, and I’m either running or walking every day, so I’m getting like, two or three runs in a week. So we’re keeping active throughout the week,” Hattori said. “And I think, eating-wise, we’re pretty healthy eaters. We focus on whole foods. I think we have an 80-20 rule. 80% of the time we’re eating healthy greens and good protein and good carbs, and then you always have to reward yourself.”

Sokolowski said she is often working towards a “good old hot dog.”

“I reward myself with a hot dog. That’s what I’m walking to. Walking for a hot dog,” she said.

Outside of walking, Sokolowski enjoys a number of exercises. She said full-body body workouts are good, but her favorite exercise is a chair stand-up, which she described as a squat, to help do the motion of getting up off of a seat.

“It just keeps your legs strong,” she said. “I would do that all the time, in every exercise, if we could do it. But then I get kind of boring.”

According to Hattori, seniors should stay active to prevent falls, which she said is the number one cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults.

However, she also said people should do cardiovascular work and strength training, as well as stretching.

“The goal is to aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, so that could be walking, doing videos with us, the walking videos that we do, and at least two strength workouts in a week,” Hattori said. “Targeting all of your muscle groups. And on top of that, you can do balance exercises two, three times a week, and stretching almost every day, because stretching, you don’t build muscle, but what stretching does is … really kind of gives you flexibility, enables your joints to move properly, muscles to move properly. So you need that as well. You don’t want to be stiff, right? So all those things are important to do on a regular basis.”

Above all, Hattori said it does not matter where people are starting from as long as they are starting to move.

“The more you do it, the stronger you’ll become. And also your endurance will increase,” Hattori said.

“It’s good for your brain too,” Sokolowski added.

When the duo started recording the videos, Sokolowski said she started out “a little quiet,” because she was unsure what to expect, but she has grown comfortable being on camera over the years.

“In fact, sometimes maybe I’m a little bit too exuberant,” she said. “I mean, a little bit is OK, but sometimes I maybe get carried away because I’m really enjoying myself.”

Hattori said she started working on the videos focusing on seniors, hoping to help even one person with their personal fitness, but that demographic has expanded. While most of the viewers are over the age of 60, including some octogenarians like Sokolowski, Hattori said the videos have also helped younger viewers too, including some in their 20s. She noted people who have limited mobility or are recovering from various ailments such as COVID or from knee or hip replacement surgeries also appreciate the gentle exercises to “get back into it.”

Yes2Next’s videos are all free and their Website features guides for workout series people can try. All it takes is to start moving and stay consistent.

“You can do it,” Sokolowski said. “If I can do it, you can do it.”

To learn more, visit https://yes2next.com.