Keri McKibbin Personal Training

I’m starting to hear of quite a few people retiring, some very early, some hanging on until “they get an offer” and many wanting to go on the holidays they have always put off all their lives.

Some retire and then get another job straight away or even start a business, good for them I say it keeps their mind active.

I am thrilled for them, and extremely happy for their shows of joy.

But……..it will never be for me.

I’ve always focused on getting a little bit better all the time, and the people I train-YOU-are constantly pushing me to keep on getting better.  The demands are only RISING, there a problems to constantly work out in terms of training solutions and I love it.

The more challenging people that walk in the gym, the more my I sharpen my craft, the more I realise I have to get better, and the more as a gym I realise we have to keep delivering more and more.

Our sense of purpose at the gym has never been higher and this depends entirely on who walks through the door, and we have NEVER been so excited to keep coming up with more new stuff that will take you all to new unexpected personal bests. We have the highest expectations for you all

Retiring for me would be the beginning of ageing quickly, for losing our our big purpose in life, and the beginning of the end and a sign to throw in the towel like I’ve seen so many do, and a sign I don’t want to work on my craft anymore-couldst think of anything worse. 

I realised long ago that getting better to serve better is a lifetime pursuit ( we never know it all),  and serving people feeds my mind and spirit and gets me excited to wake up early and get going each and everyday.

Our minds thrive on challenges, deadlines, problems, and to a degree stress (good stress I mean not horrid stress that can destroy so many), we need the feeling “can we do it this time” as well as self doubt which makes us rise to the occasion and prove so many people wrong, and the last thing we need is mind numbing predictability that never stimulates us and makes us much older and degenerates us way before our time.

As I was growing up, I became aware that some of the people I came into contact with were either “up” or “way down” in terms of their moods.

The callous comments from some would come in thick and fast-they are on “uppers” or they are on “downers” in terms of pharmaceutical help for their big mood swings.

As I started training people, I became aware that these prescription drugs were in wide circulation and very common, and the more I became aware of them, the more I saw they were an everyday part of life for so many people.

Then I started hearing about the side effects and addictive nature of some of these pills, and these conversations and reports continue in a big way today in the media.

When I started training yet more people, I became aware of the powerful effects of exercise on the people’s minds I was training-this time with no side effects.

The more people showed up, the demeanour of so many people changed-for the better. When they had time off training, their mood swings started returning, anxiety and depression started to return, and some couldn’t get back in the swing of turning up for training again because life felt so dreadful once again-even if it did not on the outside.Most prominent doctors and experts now in the field of mental health put exercise right in the FRONTLINE of the battle for good mental health and there is strong science to prove it.

Many of you struggle with mental health issues and all of us a susceptible to a a few bad days turning into something far more permanent and in some cases life-threatening.

If I have seen a big range of cases, I urge you to keep showing up, keep exercising, keep coming into to have a chat, have a laugh, have a pick me up and remember what the best FRONTLINE strategy is to face down your demons and put yourself in a much better place mentally every day.