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December 9th

I was 18 years old and I wanted, thought I deserved 2 weeks off training because so many people I knew were dong it.

This had never happened before, but everyone said I should do it. After all, they were too.

Gyms in those days were closed for 2 weeks for Christmas (apart from ours when we were open most of the time), one in particular was closed for 3 weeks, when members were encouraged to go out drinking every day, and to eat rubbish in copious amounts and you would be a true “hero” if you did. Treat “Cheat day” as EVERY DAY.

The less exercise the better, black jumpers and leather jackets could do “wonders”.

So the first exercise run after Christmas came.

My breath started off hard to catch, then impossible.

I had to walk up the hills I normally ran up, and my face was purple coming back. I felt terrible all night after it, I couldn’t move the next day and my wheeling was terrible in every session for a few days. A soul destroying experience.

That Christmas brought my asthma back in a big way. It was deeply unpleasant and I had to find an emergency pump.

This I promised myself would be my LAST Christmas when I did nothing. I would at least do a run, and I would least make an effort to not be an absolute pig every day.

This Christmas, although you may think you are a hero posting on social media all the chocolate you continuously eat, all the alcohol you throw down, it may be a better strategy to have some of what you fancy, but still put in the hard yards at the gym right up to Christmas, so you have none of the associated breathing problems, none of the colds and flu’s the headache companies hope you have so they can make more money out of you.

Keep your immune system strong, keep fit and you will be a LOT MORE BENEFIT to your family and all those closest to you.

Let’s aim for TWO more Huge weeks at the gym and still feel amazing.

Twitt
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Thursday, 22nd November

“Status” is a funny thing to define.
 
Some people think they are better than they are.
 
Some value themselves way less than they are actually capable of.
 
Some value themselves by how much money they have or what car they drive.
 
The facts are that your “status” is determined by others.
 
How much you help people, how much positive impact you have in others’ lives, and how you treat people.
 
We have all shapes and sizes in the gyms, all levels of ability and medical conditions, all levels of self-esteem and confidence, and everyone has the same “status”.
 
EVERYONE gets the same opportunity. No favourites. No “who you know” situations with us.
 
We realised a long time ago that often individuals who come to us with some really serious problems can often emerge with some of the greatest recovery stories.
 
In times of darkness, sometimes the greatest characters are revealed and they turn into champions.
 
The status I admire the most is the person who has risen to the challenge of tough times, learned a lot about themselves along the way, treated people with respect, stuck at getting their health right by showing up three times a week to the gym, eating right when it was easier not to, and not let negative people talk them out of their great recovery no matter what.
 
Status is never about money, it’s about the journey in life you take, the people you affect on the way, and eventually the legacy you leave.
Twitt
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Wednesday, 21st November

We pride ourselves on being positive, and exercise playing as much a positive part on our mental health as it does our physical health.

We discussed today the power of hanging out with positive people, and the long term effect this has, which is incredible over time and literally life-changing.

We discussed negative people today who used to play a role in the community, but are no longer here to exert any negative influence.

But here’s what I was reminded of yet again. Even a FIVE minute conversation about negative people and the negative impact they can have makes us feel bad.

I don’t really want to talk about dark times when negative people threaten to have some sort of influence on any of us. Giving destructive influences ANY TIME is your biggest waste of time and will threaten your happiness and mental wellbeing.

WHO you hang out with, WHO you associate with, WHO you choose to spend your time with is so highly important.

Lots of you have finalised realised this and it may even come after YEARS OF PUTTING UP with people who constantly run you down and make your own self-worth disappear each and every day.

Put VALUE on yourself, put value on YOUR TIME, you are better than all those negative influences that threaten to disrupt and destroy your mental health.

Don’t hang out with anyone because “it’s company”. Have time to yourself, give deep thoughts to good things going on in your life and realise you have heck of a lot going for you, and life is WAY TOO SHORT to worry about ANYONE who doesn’t want the very best for you.

Twitt