Growing up!

Fitness as we age - how I see it!

I've always been of the mind set that 'age is just a number' and that being older shouldn't mean you can't do the things that people half or even quarter of your age can do.

In principle, I still believe this to be true and I know I certainly try my hardest to keep up with the youngsters. My head is most definitely in the game but the reality is... they body is not always willing.

I've known for the longest time that, for me 'less is more'. My competitive nature and desire to improve has meant I have often fallen victim to thinking that if I was to do that little bit more I would progress that little bit faster. In reality its never worked liked that and as I age its the worst thing I can do. Niggles start, injuries hit and the aches take ages to fade.

The hard bit is finding the correct exercise, food and sleep balance that allows your body to respond positively but still allows you to keep up with your busy, daily life. This is all well and good but who's Monday is the same as their Thursday, or who eats the same thing every day? It feels like one big experiment from one day to the next.

As youngsters, in our teens and early twenties, in reality, we had very few real responsibilities and could choose to fill our time how we liked. We could dedicate time to our healthy choices. We could get all the sleep we wanted. We had time to cook up healthy meals (not that we probably did), we had time and energy to hit the gym everyday, all while maintaining a thriving social life. Of course we probably never thought or realised this at the time. I would also have appreciated the 6-pack I had with out even working on it!

As we grow up, relationships and family come along. As much as I truly believed that having

a family would never change the healthy, active person I had always been, slowly and sneakily my time to workout diminished, my sleep patterns disrupted by a little person and family commitments ate into valuable 'me-time'.

Work is still work but once you have a family it needs to be fitted in amongst all those other family commitments. You can't just think of you and what you'd like to do with your time - your time is now shared. What you once considered priorities get shunted down the list and replaced with swimming lessons, homework, football practise, making pack lunches, packing school bags & cooking different meals to suit everyone! Once you have done all that you might get around to thinking about a workout.

However, I can still be done... you just need to streamline your approach to working out and keeping healthy. Allocating just 20 minutes here and there is way better than nothing and can

make a whole world of difference to both physical and mental health. PT's like me can program time efficient approaches to help you make the absolute most of your exercise time.

Making little changes in your day can help. The first thing I would start with is sleep. Sleep.... Now, I love sleep. Sleep is honestly EVERYTHING. Trust me, if you're not getting enough of it you are going to suffer (more about that in another blog). Even an extra 20mins a night will help.

Lists. Writing lists on a white board or in a pretty notebook with beautiful pens and funky post it notes (who doesn't love stationary) can help. Every morning I write down the things I need to get done and cross them off as I go - there's nothing more satisfying than crossing off the last thing on the list, However, keep the list realistic.

Meal planning. You know how writing a shopping list helps you when you hit the supermarket, extend it to include what you are eating on each day of the week. Knowing you have a meal plan for the week will mean you are less likely to grab a last minute take away (as I write this I have just eaten a Dominos).

Quiet time. Now I like to get up a little bit before everyone else. Just recently I have been going in the gym and rowing for 30 mins while watching a box set (how good is Virgin River)- this is something I have never done before - I rarely watch TV and I am loving the mindlessness of that half an hour. You could chose what ever you liked. Read a book, take a nap, sew, meditate, knit, chat to a friend or walk (you could even go for a poo - that's what the fellas do

- they disappear for hours, and more than once a day)! It doesn't matter. You just need time for your brain to calm, for you to ignore whatever else is going on around you. Also ask yourself - ' do I really need to be this busy, or is it a trap I have fallen into'? I do find some people seem to get a kick out of being busier or more tired than anyone else.

Count to 10. Staying calm is so important, getting stressed raises our cortisol levels (our stress hormone) which, to cut a long story short affects our hormones and the way all our endocrine systems function (more about hormones in another blog). When you can feel the

stress levels rising, see if you can stop, count to 10, and in that time, ask yourself if you need to be getting quiet as stressed as you are. Ask your self 'does this situation really merit all the stress I am offering it'? Can you put it in the f*&k bucket and move on with out screaming, shouting and slamming a few doors?

Making just one little change can make such a difference to how life feels. One little change can give you back some time, provide energy and give you perspective in your day. One little change, and then a few days/ weeks or even months, perhaps add another little change

If any of this resonates with you, your life and how you feel, reach out, speak to me, let me know how you're doing?