Keri McKibbin Personal Training

You have heard the statement before “the older I get, the less I care about what people think of me”-very wise.

They go onto say, “the younger I was, it was all that mattered, what people ‘thought’ of me”!!-Very true!

I will add this part “it’s not important what people think of you, AS LONG AS YOU KEEP DOING THE RIGHT THING, according to your principles in life.

When you exercise regularly, not everyone will like it-especially those who never exercise or had the discipline to stick at it, they won’t like you improving so much.

Lots of people will try and persuade you eat badly-especially those who’s eating has gone way of control and feels helpless to fix it themselves, and often use food as an emotional crutch.

Lots will want you to have a drink every day because they are-but most don’t see hell that can sometimes be unleashed behind closed doors in many people’s lives despite the “life is perfect” illusion-nobody can “master” alcohol its a very dangerous game when drinking everyday is “normalised”.

So many people will try to put you off striving for a better life, you are “too old, too overweight, too slow, too unintelligent, you haven’t go enough money, not enough qualifications, no enough friends, not enough talent, you don’t know enough people, not enough whatever!!!”-DO NOT BELIEVE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE FLAT OUT LYING!!!

Live by your OWN standards, your own principles and you showing up in all areas of your life guarantees you a better future and a better right now!!

Here’s a thought on why you train. If you are lucky enough to get into your 60s, 70’s, 80’s 90’s or even a 100, then the first thing you think of is physical and brain decline, most people accept it but at the same time we never think of it right now.

I was walking my golden retriever the weekend and a thought came into my head. I was walking up small hill in the sand dunes, then down again and I had to steady myself, then on unsteady sand, and back on uneven ground in very windy and wet conditions etc.

When my dog is 12 months he will be pulling a lot more on the lead, that will UNBALANCE me and put me off my stride.

He will put my back under pressure, one side more than the other I’m guessing as he will jolt at times, especially when he sees a cat etc.

I will have to ACCELERATE quickly to keep up, then DECELERATE to stop quickly.

When you think of it, a fully grown big retriever will take a lot of physicality, balance, speed control, my tendons and ligaments will have to be used to stress for me to think of it as “no problem”.

We ALL get older, would that full grown dog be acceptable to walk for a 60, 70, 80 or 90 year old even?

The RESERVES we need to put in RIGHT NOW to keep us healthy, strong and athletic as we age are vast, and this is why we train as we do. Don’t accept that poor health and pain is simply “inevitable”.

Strength, balance, coordination, better movement, core strength, agility speed (acceleration/deceleration), boosting leg power and explosiveness, are all at the heart of what we do to mimic real life as well as help people reach athletic excellence performance in sports,

We all want to live longer, but living longer with a high quality of life as we age takes daily work, training the right way, eating right and laying the right foundations to hold off as long as possible any future declines.

That’s why we have members in their 80’s still improving and having that mindset to match. You CAN get better as you age, all it takes it simple daily strategies. 

I get motivated about stories of members when they overcome the “odds”. I hasten to add the “odds” are only someone else’s opinion of you, and they never take into account the lengths you are prepared to go to excel, and of course prove everyone wrong who wrote you off through your big relentless efforts.

I had one story about a member’s relative this week being consigned to a chair due to various health issues, and emotionally they had given up on life at that exact moment, and two years later they were dead.

I was talking to a member this morning who doubted how well he was doing, and offered a bleak assessment of himself.

I pointed out that he was now doing two valuable new exercises that he could not even do ten days ago, and that was a clear sign of progress he started to believe in himself a bit more.

What turned the belief system around too was when I told him about his late wife, when she was headteacher and she doubted whether she had the ability to do the job, I asked him how did you get rid of her doubt?

He told her that she always had the ability, some hadn’t and still did the headteacher’s role anyways, but his wife was talented, consciousness and a “people’s person” and would be fantastic in that role, which would eventually change so many pupils’ lives for the better over many, many years.

When we doubt ourselves, when we are at our lowest lows, all we need is a little encouragement and a reality check from people who can uplift us by stating facts that somehow we miss when it’s far easier to see the situation from the most negative point of view.

To keep going no matter what shows courage, grit and determination that’s a fact, but making sure we are always around people who will keep us going in our darkest moments is just as valuable.