As we age I think we become a little bit more accustomed to doing what we ENJOY doing, rather than doing what we SHOULD.  

In the case of prolonging your levels of activity, being strong and mobile are two things that are incredibly important in enabling this to occur.

Personally, I love to play sports and even at 35, I can still be seen kicking a ball around in my garden. To continue enjoying my sports I am aware that I need to be in the gym 2 x a week minimum and also out for the odd run.  This is because I want to stay injury-free and I also want to play at the highest standard possible.

This level of commitment can be hard to maintain but I remain disciplined as the alternative option of not playing is just not for me right now.

Research has shown that strength training has the most positive long-term effects on reducing injury occurrences and offsetting the effects of ageing.  As we age there is certainly no magic pill to remain youthful but there are things we can be doing to remain feeling younger and this might occur by stepping out of our comfort zone.

To remain feeling young I believe that:

• You should be engaging in resistance-based training 2-3 times per week and within those sessions, you should be looking to increase the load regularly.

• You should be consuming 2-3 portions of protein of approx 25 grams per day.

Now, I don’t think I am asking for a huge amount here.  All I am asking is for you to start thinking about how you want to feel in 20-30 years because I guarantee that if you don’t do those two tasks, I believe you will regret having not.

As a result, you will take longer to recover from activity and you will be more susceptible to soft tissue injuries.

I have worked with clients who lack the motivation to get their training in.  BUT, I reiterate, If you want to remain active, you must show discipline to get it done.

Motivation will always come and go yet discipline is what we need to remain consistent, which is when we will ultimately see improvements.  Consequently, you may have to do something you don’t like doing.

Just recently I moved to a new studio that offers a completely different training and rehabilitation environment.  I believe I offer something very different in our new studio, as the therapy bed shares the same floor as the gym equipment. The reason being is that I know I need to encourage everyone who comes through my door that the answer to them being free from injuries is by strengthening their muscles.   Strengthening the body will enhance all joints and bones to make them more resistant to injuries that could curtail their enjoyable hobbies and sports sooner than they would have liked.  

Being stronger and mobile, will 100% lead to a more fruitful enjoyable life.  Regular massages or manipulations may give you that nice feeling for a day or so but you will be back.

Improving your strength doesn’t have to occur within a gym, it can be done within your home.  I offer 1-2-1 sessions from the studio (https://www.chris-mears.com/personal-training-2/) and we also have some fantastic home programmes.  Our programmes are geared up to be time efficient and progressive.  You can check them out here: https://www.chris-mears.com/programmes/