Keri McKibbin Personal Training

The biggest rates of growth you ever had was when you were a child.

Studies have shown too in that age group, that games were the area where the child learned the fastest, the child was allowed to think for themselves and figure things out as problems arrived in games against each other.

When you let someone problem solve for themselves, they become more resilient naturally in life, they have to dig deep when the easy way out isn’t there anymore, and that resilience builds when challenges are presented to that child in a game-like setting that is presented as fun.

As adults, and after the age when we stop playing sports, we tend to accept that our “best days” are behind us, and this naturally sends signals to our brain that we don’t enjoy being challenged anymore.

I also see it a ton of times with people still playing sport, and doing a programme on machines/exercises that have no relation to the sport they are playing, it often seems that “getting bigger” is the goal no matter what, often at the expense of movement, speed, and ability to change direction quickly which is actually vital in their sport.

I’m a massive believer that weight training will massively improve your sporting performance and even if you don’t play sports anymore, everyone will benefit from getting stronger.

The problems come when all you do is weight training (often on machines), your flexibility over time reduces and I’ve trained so many sports people who could be late 20’s and can’t even push their hands above their shoulders.

Encouraging more flexibility, better movement, working on tight hips for example which inevitably also cause a weak and bad back, along with a host of other forms of training (as well as training right with weights) will literally transform you and your performance.

Relying on medication to solve your back problems, moving less to save the pain in your knees for example are awful long term strategies that never come close to solving the underlying problems or weakness at the heart of it.

Re-creating those very fast rates of growth mentally and physically is what we are all about with training, making your body move much better, letting you think for yourself at times when you need to figure out the right way when challenges are presented to you, and creating the feeling again you are back in a game, this time you will win every time as long as you keep showing up with a great attitude and do your best.

The hardest task is always walking through the gym door, 

When you let your training slip, you may lose confidence and wonder whether you can still do it anymore, will you be embarrassed at losing some fitness, will you be self-conscious that you are in pain and can’t move so well?

I know that can be a daily battle for many of you.

I know we have a culture of improving everyone who comes in, but by now I will realise who has slipped back, and it’s important to bring you back to full fitness carefully and steadily, and not rush anything.

Most of all, by walking through the door, you WILL gain your confidence back, you WILL re-gain your self esteem, and you WILL feel much better every time you come, and before you know it, the momentum will return again which will make the whole gym experience seem like second nature again.

Everyone has their own ability level at any given time, everyone has a different confidence level at any one time, but the one constant you should know is that we are ALL IN on making you better each and every time you come in.

I would much rather be a maximum help and train people to the best of my ability gym and give it everything, rather than a bunch of rented machines in a warehouse type place who never gives a damn about their members improving.

Trust yourself to do great things, it may be uncomfortable always trying to improve and getting yourself out of pain,  but it’s always going to be the best way to feel much better physically and mentally, and you will always feel better when you can look yourself in the mirror telling yourself “today I did my best”!!!