Good Morning,
I was in the gym the other day and it was full of young people in great shape, doing all sorts of different activities. I must admit I felt a bit sad and was envious of the opportunities the younger generation have available to them these days. Even the gym kit looks different with climbing frames, boxes, medicine balls, rollers, kettle bells and so much more, it can be quite daunting if you have no idea what to do.
I watched a few people doing exercises that no-one really bothered with in the past, unless you were a weight lifter or an athlete. It was fantastic to watch ‘normal’ people trying different things and no-one bothered how they looked or if anyone was watching them, they just got on with it.
I took Sandra (My wife) in and, after a 20 min warm up, started to get her doing a quick circuit with box jumps, burpees followed by squats with a kettle bell and rounded off with some sit-ups. We did 3 sets and then went off and did some traditional exercises on the resistance machines. She loved it (Especially when it was over!) and was keen to do more ‘different’ stuff which means I have become her personal trainer!
I often think “I wish that was around when I was young” or “I would have been good at that, if it was invented a few years ago”. The reality is though, I was only ever interested in traditional sports and didn’t look beyond that. I played football, rugby and did gymnastics and when I got older I focussed on football as my main sport. Now I am moving into another decade of my life (in a couple of years) I have diversified and got involved with some of those crazy activities like CrossFit, tough mudders or spartan races.
This is possible, and encouraged, because the people who organise these events recognise there are people of all ages that should be active and able to join in at an appropriate level. I can (Don’t always) compete with others and post my achievements online, to be measured, worldwide, against people my age – it’s fantastic.
If we encouraged the older generation to get out or their ‘death chairs’ get active and maintain / improve their strength, mobility and balance, I think we would increase the quality of life for thousands (tens of thousands) of people.
I remember forcing my Mum out of the house on numerous occasions to walk along the river, just so she kept moving. I did feel like pushing her in a few times but we always had fun and it didn’t matter what the weather was like, we still went for a walk, somewhere.
Unfortunately, neither of my parents are with us anymore, so, the focus is on me (for my family) as I am the next in line 🤔. If I am not in the gym, training in my mates home gym (The dreaded rope climb), walking along the beach or even having a freezing dip in the sea, my wife and kids are concerned.
As you get older, how active are you? Are you on top of things, keeping fit and healthy? It doesn’t have to be CrossFit or throwing weights about, it just needs to make your body do what it was designed to do – move!
Have a great week, get up out of the ‘death chair’ and move more 😀