lifestyle – Page 11 – Never Give Up PT

The Test

My eldest came out of the school gates looking very pleased with himself. He ran towards me waving a piece of paper shouting “Daddy daddy, I got 10 out of 10!”

At the beginning of the week he had been given ten words to learn for a spelling test today. As well as my wife and I going through these words daily and his teacher teaching them he was well prepared for a test.

Schools, higher education and any learning environment have a similar system. We learn, practice and revise until we are tested on the subject. When you leave education, however, I find it a very different experience. Life gives you the test first, and then you learn the lesson.

Imagine my son having the test first and then learning the words after? It seems unfair, right? Ah, and yet our experiences in life are full of these examples.

What I try to provide as a Personal Trainer is a platform in which to learn, develop and achieve. An individual’s fitness journey has, admittedly, moments of enduring the test before knowing the lesson. In some ways that helps us deal with the challenges of success and failure. If we knew how to do it we’d already be doing it, so learning from life’s tests is a part of the process. And the process isn’t a smooth, linear path.

My job is not just to bask in the glory of a trainee’s goal being achieved like a PB or a weight loss target, but it is to navigate us through the difficult times. That’s not easy to do on your own. It’s doubly difficult when, even though you’ve put the hours in and worked with a plan in place, things still don’t go smoothly. Yes, you get given the words, you revise like mad, and you don’t always get full marks in your exam.

The problem is when you get given the words to learn, you revise like mad, don’t pass the exam and you give up. A few months pass by and again you get given the words, work hard and study but still don’t quite make the grade. Before you know it you are a year older and you are still stumbling through the tests, quitting, starting again…the cycle continues.

This, for me, is where the role of a coach is vital. There’s plenty of people that will count your reps on a rocking ab machine. But a coach will provide knowledge, technique, expertise, experience and the ability to get you to your goals. Even when the test becomes tough, they know what to do to get you through to the other side.

My son might only get 9 out of 10 next week, even if he works hard in his revision. But that in itself is a lesson. How I react to it and how he dusts the disappointment off is the difference between his future success and failure. If he learns how to deal with that disappointment it becomes even more important than learning the word he got wrong.

Life is ironic. It takes depression to know happiness. It takes stress to understand calm. It takes failure to recognise success.

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Negative Reps

In an earlier article I discussed the three types of muscle contractions during exercise. Of course, all three have a huge bearing on how well we progress in our training goals of strength, hypertrophy, fat loss or endurance. But when it comes to those exercises that just seem to be a little too tough to master, I may have a solution…

…the negative rep AKA eccentrics.

Eccentric movement is the lengthening of the muscle. This is commonly seen as the lowering of a load such as bringing the bar to your chest in a bench press. Performed by experienced resistance trainers to work through a plateau or to challenge their muscle fibres, negatives can be a great inclusion in your training programme, especially for the exercises that you just can’t seem to master.

Pull Ups

Because the pull up is one of the most common exercises that I hear people say is one that they find extra difficult, I’m going to use this as my example. Pulling your own body weight up can be one of the most difficult exercises to do. A mistake that I see regularly with a pull up is the lack of core engagement. To an extent, you can get away with poor core engagement on many exercises. You won’t get the results that you want and injuries are much more prevalent in those who do not engage their core during exercise, but moving a weight from A to B is still possible. Performing pull ups, however, requires full engagement of your core to be able to do it. The best way to practice this is through negative reps.

Core Engagement

Your core can be described as everything but your arms and legs.

Some of the most common ways that I have heard in how to engage the core is to brace yourself as though you are expecting a blow to the abdomen. Another is to imagine squeezing an orange under your arm pit. And for your glutes, you just need to squeeze the hell outta those butt cheeks! Try them now… no-one is looking!

Negative Rep Pull Up

Standing on a box below a pull up bar, grip the bar and get into a flex hang position as pictured below. You should breath in at the point of your flex.

Hold this position for a few seconds (each practice you want to be able to hold for a little longer) and slowly lower yourself into a dead hang position (arms fully extended) whilst breathing in.

Legs can be controlled easier if your feet are locked together, as above. Flailing legs can distract you from your core brace, grip and breathing.

Once you have completed one rep you can come down from your dead hang and repeat the process. Practicing these negative reps will create grip strength, core stability, confidence and time under tension which will all contribute to your progression onto full pull ups. The only thing that will make you fail will be your lack of patience, so don’t allow it.

A pull up is a classic gym exercise that not only looks impressive it confirms your technical skills and your strength, but to get there sometimes we have to put in the hard yards. So my advice?

Stay positive, go negative!

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Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

My eldest must think I’m obsessed. At 8 he has certainly got a natural talent for football and he is always keen to have a kick about in the garden in-between matches and team training. He will often just want to take shots at me which is fine as I firmly believe that doing the bits that you enjoy the most is what keeps us interested. But I do try to get him to do the bits that aren’t really coached yet at his age.

Throw ins at under 8’s is a classic example. A throw in is usually a foul throw (which the ref allows due to their age), the length of the throw is week due to poor technique and the decision making in who to throw it to is questionable.

Passing is another example. Instead of trying to ‘Messi’ it past 5 opposing players in his own penalty area (8 year olds don’t like to pass) I want him to make good, confident decisions on when to pass and create openings.

To master these he needs coaching and, although I’m not an FA coach, I do know how to coach.

One piece of advice that I can take into any type of coaching, expert at it or not, is to repeat the process over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. And when you think you’ve mastered it, repeat it again.

We move on too quickly. Either because we think something is accomplished or because we haven’t discovered a purpose for continuing.

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My eldest also brings home words to learn for a spelling test at the end of each week. It’s the same process. Tying his own show laces, eating foods that are nutritious but he doesn’t yet like the taste of, crossing a road, learning French all need repeating to be good at it. Despite some freakish ability by some people to have a natural talent at something, the rest of us have to work bloody hard to be good at it. And even then, don’t think that those with a natural talent don’t practice hard at what they do. They do, but what they do is just their knack. Their ‘thing’. We’ve all got a ‘thing’, we just need to find it. But if we are to persue different interests or to progress in certain areas then the chances are you will need to practice like mad to be any good at it. My son has a tendency to move on too quickly. Perhaps most kids do. Just because he has read his ten words for his spelling test doesn’t mean that he knows them.

I’d love to play guitar. I’ve even bought a couple in the past that look great as ornaments. Actually playing it will require time, patience, practice and repeating. I don’t do that. My excuses are time, my natural abilities aren’t good enough and getting blisters on my fingers. I know that I would be able to play a little if I stopped with the excuses. Maybe I’d never be Ed Sheeran, but I would learn the chords and be able to enjoy playing the guitar and far quicker if I hired a teacher.

My excuses for not playing guitar are exactly the same excuses that I hear on a daily basis in the gym.

Time, not good enough and injuries.

But me playing guitar or not isn’t affecting my health. Learning the chords won’t help my body fat percentage go down. Breaking into the intro to Smells like Teen Spirit won’t make me look and feel better in my clothes and my mental health won’t be any clearer if I can play the theme tune to Coranation Street. So I haven’t found my ‘why’. I haven’t found my purpose to playing guitar, therefore my motivation for doing it, as great as it would be, just isn’t there.

Passing a football through cones isn’t as exciting as smashing a ball into the top bins past his dad, but my son will develop and understand the game much quicker. And if he sees his work pay off on the pitch in a game then he will want to practice even more. He will want to repeat the process that allowed him to make the pass, shot, dribble or throw that won the game. Hopefully he discovers his reason for playing football. It might make him feel good. He might enjoy being part of a team. He might enjoy the buzz and excitement on match day or he might know how important exercise is to his physical and mental health. As long as he knows why he keeps going back for more he will keep progressing.

For best results I can’t help repeating certain movements for my clients to perform. Yet despite the repatition it is important to keep the reason for doing it fresh in their minds and also creating new challenges.

Yes you can squat, now can you squat deeper?

That is a good bench press, now create a slower eccentric movement for time under tension.

You can perform 10 reps, now do 12 reps.

Exactly the same for my eldest at football. You scored with your left foot, now can you kick the ball with you right foot. It is still football. It is still repeating the process, but now we have a new challenge to consider. And it will take time. Practice and time. Lots of it.

Remember your reasons for doing something. If it is so important to you then you will continue the process and you must repeat, repeat, repeat until your body and mind knows exactly what it is that you are wanting from it.

If it’s important enough to you then you will achieve it. You’ll never give up!

Why?

Why…adverb…for what cause, reason or purpose. Why did you do it?

Merriam-webster.com gave me the meaning of the word why on their website. Nothing that we didn’t already know really, is it?

And yet I’m not sure that many of us use it enough. I hear lots of motivational speakers and psychologists telling their audience to say ‘yes’ more or sometimes even ‘no’. But maybe we should be saying ‘why’ more.

My kids are very good at this. ‘Don’t do that.’ I’ll say. ‘Why?’ Is often the reply.

‘Because it is dangerous.’

‘Why?’

‘Because you might fall.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it is not safe.’

‘Why?’

‘Because the tree branch is 200 years old and ready to snap and the rain has caused bacterial wetwood that makes it slippy. Plus, you don’t have the appropriate footwear and the A&E waiting times are horrendous at the moment and I don’t fancy a day in the hospital sitting with the all day drinkers.’

I never get to say that last bit. It’s usually more like ‘Just get down!’

But I don’t want to take their inquisitive nature away from them. And they’re kids who want to climb trees. I’m sure that there’s a grainy photo somewhere with me in my shell suit hanging from a branch. So asking ‘why’ is perfectly acceptable.

I ask myself ‘why?’ regularly. Sometimes it just gets me out of bed. Or it enables me to do the gym session I’ve been putting off that day. It makes me push myself in my work and I strive for better for my family’s future. It keeps me hungry. All because I reminded myself of my why.

When I am talking to a potential client wanting to train with me I ask them why they want to train. I get the usual type of answers which are totally acceptable to begin with.

‘Id like to lose a few pounds.’

‘I want to lose my belly.’

‘I want to gain some muscle.’

‘I am entering an event.’

All of these require another why. And perhaps another. And another.

I train to stay trim…why? To look good in a T-shirt this summer…why? Because I’m conscious that I’m not getting any younger…why? I have had injuries in the past and I know that age could cause these injuries to be painful in later life…why? I began training many years ago to fix my injuries which helped my mental health too…why? Because I felt more confident, strong, pain free and I became a better person…why? Because I knew that I was giving my future self a chance to live comfortably which would provide a happier life for my family too.

Because I knew that I was giving my future self a chance to live comfortably which would provide a happier life for my family too.

This became my why.

Mark Twain said,”The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

It is the most enlightening thing there is to find your why, your reason, your purpose, your trigger.

Losing a few pounds is a credible goal, but it happens so much easier if you know your why. Your why is the ultimate goal. And as long as you keep reminding yourself of it, good things happen along the way to achieving it.

You need a good reason to lose a few pounds. If you don’t have one, or if it’s to please somebody else for instance, you have no real motivation to lose a few pounds. Even if you do there’s a good chance that you won’t keep it off. Motivation is just a fleeting emotion, your why lasts forever.

Keep that child like inquisitive mind and keep asking ‘why?’

And keep asking. And asking. And asking. And when you find your why, you will find your way.

Skinnies

I feel that I might have been a little absent from y’all in the last couple of days. My wife and I managed to get away for an evening to a gig in York and, as much as I need my phone for my business, I managed to limit it to the necessities. Writing articles was not in my sights. However, plenty of inspiration for future blogs were always in my mind so here I am, back at home and back to real life. I enjoy my work and being daddy, but a couple of days away was a chance to recharge the batteries.

It was a chance to have a midlife crisis moment too! I bought some skinny jeans.

When skinny jeans first became fashionable for men I instantly said to my wife that I would never buy a pair. I liked straight leg, boot cut, baggy and even a daring grungy ripped look. But skinny was a bit 1980’s Axel Rose. Super cool at the time, but best left in the 80’s!

But yesterday I couldn’t resist trying on a pair. After all, I don’t do ‘leg day’ to keep my pins kept stored away like a Maradona world cup winning shirt. I’d like people to see them.

And seeing as I have an unfortunate tattoo on my calf from my youth days of a naked female I don’t feel like I can wear shorts. I must get that tattoo covered up one day. But, I thought as I held up the skinnies in the shop, this might do for now!

I have all of the insecurities of everyone else. Sometimes, even wearing the most normal clothes possible, I feel like a dick. I feel goofy, uncomfortable, different from those around me. I know by now that I’m not the only one. Every day I talk to people who want to be body confident. It’s what I do. I work on myself everyday just like I work on my clients. That’s what sets me apart from Jeremy in Berkshire telling Gav from Bradford that he needs to eat chicken and rice four times a day. I want to eat what I want AND fit into some skinnies. Gav should do the same too.

Gav can still stay within his calories and macros, eat the Pringles and wear the fuck out of those skinnies. It might not suit our Jeremy, but Gav is happy wearing what he wants and is in control of his life, so who gives a shit about Jeremy and his two grand ‘fit programme’ who prays on the insecurities of his clients. I want to be happy in what I wear. I want to shake my booty in a pair of skinnies. I want to eat a kebab occasionally and I want to do the windmill in front of my wife without being judged. Gav and his missus should do the same. If you are happy and confident, you’ll feel sexy and in control.

I had to try a few sizes of skinnies on. They were either too long or too tight. But I eventually found some that made me think ‘yeah, I’ve still got it dude!’. Whatever stage you are at in your fitness goal right now, this second, always know that you’ve still got it too.

Everybody…I mean every BODY, is beautiful. It’s just society and our own individual insecurities that need to realize that. Change is good. Wanting to change is fine, just remember that you are beautiful to begin with. It’s so much easier to change if you respect what you want to change in the first place.

I wore my skinny jeans today. In fact I totally owned this fashion malarky. And one day I might even go for the ‘no socks’ look. If Gav from Bradford can, so can I!

The Pareto Principle

Although Vilfredo Pareto didn’t commit his work to the perfect exercise programming he did create a power law which developed the concept of quality control which has some significance in the fitness world. This power law, also known as the 80/20 rule, is explained in a number of ways.

In his work, Cours d’économie politique, Pareto showed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. He then discovered this to be true in many countries within the western world. In business management it is an adage that 80% of sales comes from 20% of clients. In taxation it is found that as recent as 2018 (USA) the top 20% of earners pay 80% of Federal income taxes. Microsoft noted that by fixing the top 20% of reported bugs, 80% of errors would be eliminated. Studies also find that 20% of patients use 80% of health care resources. In the USA The Dunedin Study founds that 80% if crimes are committed by 20% of criminals.

Yet perhaps, like with all research, theory and principles there are always exceptions. And in an amusing kind of way, 20% of us might subconsciously be using the Pareto Principle 80% of the time! Indeed, how true is it that you have 50 apps on your phone but only use around 10 of them most of the time? I have ten takeaway menus in my kitchen drawer but I will only use two for about eight out of the ten occasions that I order a takeaway.

The roads in your town that you drive on. The TV channels that you watch. The websites that you visit and the rooms during your waking hours in your home, roughly, will be spent on 80% of your time in just 20% of them.

So what is the significance of the Pareto Principle in our exercise routines? Already I have noticed that 20% of the gym members are spending 80% of their training time doing it correctly. But what is the correct way? How can we optimize our time to produce as much as possible from our exercise routines and hit our goals? Maybe this principle might help.

So we should expect 80% of our results in the gym to come from 20% of the work. Conversely, the remaining 20% of our results to come from the remaining 80% of the work.

This means that we need to learn, adapt and master the 20% of the work and THEN create a structure for your remaining 80%!

I can’t help you with the 80% of your time (unless you ask and then I can develop a kick ass training plan specific to your needs) but I will tell you the core exercises that you should be including whether it be for hypertrophy or fat loss. These should be your 20% to gain 80% of your results…

Walking

Walking shouldn’t be underestimated. In my previous articles I have discussed the importance in getting outdoors and walking. Not only can you burn calories if that is one of your goals, but it helps our cardiovascular system, brings us closer to nature, allows thinking time and, if you are walking with a friend or partner, enables good conversation away from normal life. I’m a treadmill Dodger, I admit, but I do enjoy walking which, not only does it tick the right boxes as above but allows me to crack on with the rest of my 20% in the gym.

Deadlifts

One of the greatest compound exercises you could ever begin to master. It is difficult yet very rewarding. It is so much more than a leg exercise or indeed a back exercise. To execute a perfect deadlift, every muscle needs to work hard. And it isn’t just a cardio machine that gets the heart racing. Give me 10 reps for 5 sets at a medium to heavy weight and tell me that you haven’t worked up a sweat! There are lots of variations to get to grips with too, so you’ll never get bored.

Bench Press

Again, this is a compound that should be incorporated into a complete workout routine. Known for working the chest (pecs) it is doing it a disservice to label it as such. The best bench press form actually comes from the drive from your feet and into your core before your push. Variations can be done by using dumbbells and different bench angles and isn’t just for men wanting impressive pecs! Females should perform them too! Also, depending on your weights and reps this will target your triceps and shoulders effectively.

Squats

With a barbell, with kettlebells, with dumbbells, with a weight plate or body weight, squats could possibly be the greatest exercise to master of them all. You can perform them anywhere! In the gym, at home, in the office or waiting for the bus. Great for your legs, of course, but your core will need to work hard for your perfect form.

Rows

Traditionally performed as a bent over barbell row, but can be adapted to be done with dumbbells and kettlebells with both hands or just single handed. In my experience of teaching these techniques it is possibly the one that is done incorrectly. The back muscles seem to be tough muscle groups to target without good ‘mind to muscle’ technique, therefore the biceps tend to do too much of the work without the proper scapular retraction needed. However, this is part of your 20% for the 80% benefits so I’d start getting used to them!

Isolation exercises are often used too often and too early within a workout. By isolating smaller muscle groups we don’t elicit muscle growth, hypertrophy, fat loss or strength in the way that we intend to, which can create frustration with our goals. The compounds suggested above should be your staple, go-to exercises, but weights, rep ranges and sets will vary depending on individual goals.

NEAT

I’m going to dive straight in with a phrase that you might have heard before but if not I don’t want you to think I’m getting all sciency. I’m not, but it is important in the context of this article.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenisis (NEAT)

Thermogenisis, according to sciencedirect.com, is defined as the dissipation of energy through the production of heat occuring in adipose tissue (fat) and skeletal muscle.

How I define it is if you move more you burn more calories due to the energy expenditure. The Non-Exercise Activity bit relates to the movement that you do outside of your exercise routines.

And by moving I mean by just being alive. The average person can burn 75 calories per hour by breathing. A person in a coma will generally lose weight as the body will still generate energy in order to maintain basic functions.

However, the latter is an extreme example of energy expenditure so let’s look at this sensibly!

If the average person were to stand for 6 hours instead of sitting they would burn an extra 100 calories. It doesn’t seem like much but it adds up to 2.5k within the year!

And yet, I wouldn’t fancy standing through the final series of Ozark so maybe that’s a bit unrealistic still.

If you were to take the stairs instead of a lift then you would use up to 7 times more energy than taking a lift. Again, maybe it doesn’t sound like a great deal but if you have an office job that requires a few flights of stairs that is some serious energy expenditure by the end of the year.

In a previous post I’ve talked about parking further away from the gym to warm up. You can take this even further by applying it to your grocery shop or parking further away from town to get more steps in. The average person uses 300-400 calories from walking 10,000 steps.

Sex, on average, burns just over a hundred calories, but I have no idea who discovered this or how long the experiment lasted!!

In fact what we do with out NEAT each day will probably burn a considerable amount of calories compared to what we can achieve in a workout, especially if one is fairly active anyway. But if we were to put all three factors together…NEAT…Exercise at least 3 times a week and a balanced diet, then we can lose weight sensibly.

And they all compliment each other. Being NEAT often leads to a more proactive attitude towards exercise and exercise tends to lead to better food choices.

Perhaps if you have a weight loss goal, instead of being so daunted about the gym or when to exercise your first steps should be to think NEAT.

Paella

I know that we will eventually have the big debate today. We will discuss with our guests if chorizo has any place in the traditional Spanish Paella dish. The tripod, burner and the paella pan were all ordered from Spain to keep our paella events as authentic as possible and the rice is always Valencia bomba rice. We love Paella days!

I remember a few years ago when Jamie Oliver shared a paella recipe that included chorizo and he was absolutely slaughtered by the traditionalists on social media because paella was never invented with the intention of adding chorizo! Adding chorizo, said some commentators, made it a ‘rice dish’ and not Paella. If this is the case then for all our attempts to create an authentic Spanish Paella we fail at the final hurdle by throwing in chorizo. The years of entertaining our friends and unveiling the evento principal and calling it paella might be a lie. But I still think that it deserves a little bit more of a build up than inviting friends round for a ‘rice dish’. Perhaps if we lived in Spain and we were to invite our Spanish friends round for paella we would leave out the chorizo, but I’m not so sure our English friends care too much as long as it is tasty!

I’d much prefer to get the paella pan burner out than the BBQ on a sunny day. Yes, there’s the traditional way of cooking paella, but you can be a little adventurous too. And with two kids that have different tastes and preferences it is difficult to stick to a recipe. One likes prawns and the other one doesn’t. One likes paprika and the other doesn’t. So a little bit of improvising is necessary. The BBQ will get a good run out over the summer as well of course. If I’m stood outside flipping burgers I’m happy too!

The last 6 months has been a long, grey and cold period on the North East coast of England and for all it’s surrounding beauty, i don’t appreciate it enough because I hate the cold, dark months so much that I don’t see enough of the natural beauty that I live amongst. So the first weekend where I could sit outside in a T-shirt and eat paella with friends was a celebration to me. It felt like the start of summer.

When I get asked why we plan to move to France I could spend all day discussing politics and business ideas, but the short answer would be for the weather. An older gentleman at the gym said to me that he can hardly walk the length of his street before he gets tired and needs to sit down. Yet when he went to Spain for 2 weeks he was walking the mountains. I understand this because I too feel much better when I’m in a warmer climate. My back pain, although I keep this under control with my training, is eased considerably in warm weather. And the research provides lots of evidence on the older gent in the gym and myself being accurate on our own health assessment.

Vasodilation, which is the dilation of blood vessels which improves blood flow, happens when the body is subjected to heat. This improves circulation in the affected areas and transfers deep into the muscles. I’m sure after a couple of days in the Spanish sun the older gent at my gym was like Charlie’s Grandpa Jo, skipping and whizz popping over the mountains. Back in blighty, the blood flow slows down, muscle and joints seize up and he can’t even get out of his street.

So I welcome this year’s British summer. I just hope that our paella day wasn’t the last of it! After all, I’ve bought all of the chorizo now.

The Balanced Plate

Calorie counting apps are useful to see how many calories you consume each day. But none of them…

Have a qualified PT inputting your data to ensure that you are not going too restrictive with your daily calories
Provide information on alternatives to your current diet
Create workouts in your very own exercise library on your app specific to your goals
Enable you to talk through your difficult days and have a live conversation with your PT (which happens to be me!)

I have created this challenge because I am my everyday client. I want to feel better and fit into my clothes but I also like cheese and biscuits on an evening washed down with a glass of wine. I work hard and want to indulge sometimes. And this is where I can help. I can prove that we can still enjoy the food we enjoy without guilt. I can show you how to balance the necessary nutrients alongside the other foods too. Nothing is banned, not if WE take control.

Not only am I professionally qualified to help my trainees, but I live through the same anxieties as them. My takeaway habits have been out of control. I’ve had moments where I’ve gone through two, three, four packets of crisps on an evening. I created habits of eating chocolate every night after my main meal and I’ve had times where I haven’t given myself any days off of drinking alcohol for weeks. I became a personal trainer because I felt that I could connect with people like myself. I knew that if I could do that, armed with the knowledge of how to fix it, then I could help others.

Guilt around our food is the biggest obstacle. If you eat the high calorie food that takes you over your daily calories then I say,”I hope that you enjoyed it! Own it, you ate it. Now move on.” No guilt needed. We just try and get your next meal back on track.

I will probably have to check my takeaway, crisps, chocolate and alcohol intake again in the future. I have goals. I am confident at staying on track. But I’m human. I slip into old habits and when I do I’ll deal with it in the way that I know how. I don’t look for perfection from myself or my trainees. I look for effort and honesty.

The Balanced Plate Challenge has, by far, been my greatest online training success to date. The results have been amazing. But like anything that’s worth doing it isn’t always easy and the path is not linea. The challenge doesn’t stop there which is why I’ll continue to develope The Balanced Plate beyond its 4 week challenge. And like every challenge that I set for my trainees, whatever they achieve, this is just the beginning. Imagine what they can do moving forwards.

Do You Know What Your Problem Is?

Your fitness journey is a problem. Make it your problem.

Ok. So before you criticize me for being all Negative Nancy on you, let me explain.

This problem is not a bad problem. If you think of a mathematical equation, a riddle, a puzzle or a science experiment, these are all set to challenge us but are also something to solve.

To solve this problem there are no time limits.

I was asked today ‘At what point will you be satisfied with your fitness achievements?’

I think I answered probably by 70 years old, but that’s incorrect. To a certain degree I’ll never be completely satisfied. I want to keep on learning, developing, defying the ageing process and become stronger. To do this, my fitness journey needs to be my problem that I can succeed with, fail with, become really pissed off with, cry and laugh with.

Some logical decisions have been made to help me continue succeeding, but there are the ones that must be avoided and that is comparing myself to others. It doesn’t matter what Big Dave from sales is deadlifting. He’s a good 20 years younger than me, genetically blessed with quads of steel and is performing in the next Pro-Am bodybuilding contest. That’s HIS problem. I’ve got my own.

The only young whippersnapper I’m comparing myself to is my 30 year old self. I want to be ahead of him. If, as I get older, I’m still ahead of him then I’ll be a bit closer to cracking the code. One thing that I know now that my 30 year old self doesn’t is that once you crack a code, there’s a whole new challenge to engage with. The problems stack up. There’s a bigger puzzle at the other side of the door. He doesn’t know that and it immediately puts me at an advantage, despite my age, because I’m prepared for it.

My health is important to me, but maybe not in the same way as you might think. I won’t live my life just to stay alive. But I will live my life to enjoy it way into my later years. It is rare that I see an elderly person and think ‘I want to be like that when I’m their age’. Instead they give me more reason to get my ass to the gym. I don’t want to struggle when I walk or run. I don’t want to have weight issues that cause breathing difficulties and bad knees.

And, unashamedly, I want to look the best too. I want to be confident in my clothes. I don’t just want to be strong I want to look strong. Be it at 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90 years old. After that I might quit my gym membership and just watch Loose Women all day. I’ll decide on that if and when the problem arises.

What I can’t do, then, if I aim to achieve all of this, is give up on my problems. What’s the alternative to giving up on the gym? If I aren’t happy with my progression in my fitness goals then I’m certainly not going to be happy if I sack it off. The answer lies with the willingness to solve the problem and persist.

My favourite Einstein quote says,’It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer’.

To really begin to solve problems we must really dig deep and keep trying to find answers. If we quit, the problem is still there, it’s just that now it becomes an unsolved pain that we have to live with rather than one to embrace and celebrate after another success. And the success, no matter how small it might seem, is another piece of the solution.

We don’t have to be smart, we just need to never give up.