Skeats Strength

Getting up from the floor and other things…

As we get older some tasks become harder. My first indication was the need to wear reading glasses because I was holding pages further and further away to read them! I am sure many of you are familiar with this. I also felt myself slowing down a little in my late-fifties, that is quite common even if you are fit and active.

There is increasing evidence indicating that our bodies change at specific points in our lives, the ages of 40 and 60 are key times when our bodies change despite changes in attitudes to aging:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/aug/14/scientists-find-humans-age-dramatically-in-two-bursts-at-44-then-60-aging-not-slow-and-steady

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drastic-molecular-shifts-in-peoples-40s-and-60s-might-explain-age-related/

Your body will be inclined to gain weight and stiffen up over time. As you move into you 60s and 70s, day to day activities such as walking upstairs or remembering why you walked upstairs, become more of a challenge. However, this is not a good reason to put on your slippers and take to your sofa. I am sure you know by now that remaining active both physically and mentally will help you age gradually and continue to enjoy life.

Keeping active does not need to be uncomfortable or challenging. Walking, swimming, cycling and exercise classes all keep you supple and fit. They often lead to social interaction, keeping your mind healthy as well. There is increasing evidence that strength training is also important for both muscles and bones; maintaining the ability to climb stairs, get out of chairs and perform everyday tasks such as cleaning and gardening.

Much of the work I do involves helping individuals regain muscle strength, improve balance and go back to being able to everyday tasks with confidence. The training targets key muscles, strength is built slowly and safely and the weights lifted are small. Many clients begin to enjoy the lifting and find they can lift more than they thought could previously.

Although it is better to begin strength training before you start developing health issues, you can begin at any time, I have clients who are over 70 and find the training really does make a difference. Don’t allow age or health conditions stop you from seeking help, you may be asked to gain medical permission to exercise for everyone’s wellbeing, however, I’ve never known any doctor refuse consent.

For many older people the ability to get up off the floor becomes increasingly difficult and worrying for them. This is not a barrier to exercise; there are adaptations to get round the issue and strength training can sometimes help. The work I do targets both upper and lower body so you can use arms as well as legs to help yourself up. The links below are to a physiotherapist’s site on YouTube who gives helpful suggestions for different ways to get up from the floor. He is a bit alarmist, ignore that, he gives some exercises you can do at home and advice about what to do if you have had a knee operation and can’t kneel to get up from the floor. It is wise to practice when you have others around who can help you up if you do get into difficulty. Knowing what to do could make a real difference one day.

Getting up from floor links (Copy and paste into your browser)

New Year, New You? Which type of exercise is right for you?

Most of us have overindulged over the Christmas period and for many, thoughts are turning to how to burn off all that excess. Most gyms look to cash in on this New Year enthusiasm by advertising free sign ups and other offers. How do you make the most of what is out there?

Gyms and leisure centres are very busy at this time of year, but numbers often drop off as people lose motivation because they haven’t spent time deciding what is right for them.

So a good starting point is on your sofa, with a cup of tea or coffee and pen and paper.

It’s important to choose something you will like doing as you need to sustain your exercise habit. When you stop, you lose all the benefits. What type of physical activity have you enjoyed in the past? Do you enjoy dancing, swimming, walking in the park or being part of a team? Choosing an activity you enjoy will help you keep going.

How often can you put aside time to exercise? The advice is 150 minutes a week, but not all at once. Two or three one-hour sessions or five 30 minute sessions is a good starting point. Will booking and paying for a class keep you motivated to attend, exercising on your own takes a lot of self-discipline?

What can you afford to pay on a regular basis?

What do you want to achieve? Give yourself small steps as this is more motivating than a big goal you can’t achieve easily. You won’t drop three dress sizes in a few weeks, but you can start to feel that your clothes fit better, and see your weight is coming down in a short period of time. Remember that you can’t out exercise a bad diet, changes in your diet will have to be made as well.

Once you have done this, you can start to look at what’s available near you. There is plenty of choice:

Free stuff

Many people have lost weight and become fitter and healthier by simply walking further and more frequently. Leave the car at home when the destination is walkable, get off the bus early and walk to work or organise family weekend walks. You can increase the impact by alternating fast and slow walking.

If you decide to have a go at running, use a couch to 5K app as this will encourage you to build up slowly. The biggest mistake most people make is to try to do too much too soon. Start slowly and build. I decided to return to running after a break recently, and tried the NHS couch to 5K app, this is actually couch to 30 mins, but otherwise a good program with added extra information about stretching and a support group. Running is not entirely free as you need a reasonable set of trainers (you can buy trainers online quite cheaply if you don’t buy this year’s model, you don’t need to spend £100).

Once you can run for 30 minutes you can try a run/walk system called Jeffing which has a lower impact than continuous running. I’m giving it a go at the moment. Parkrun is free and encourages covering the 5K distance at whatever pace you like.

Local authority leisure centres

When I first started exercising, I chose an aerobics class at the local leisure centre because I used to enjoy dancing (Zumba has replaced aerobics if you like to dance). Leisure centres can be good value for money and offer a range of alternatives without being tied into a long-term contract. You can swim, take a class or use the gym. This gives an opportunity to try different types of exercise. For example, you may start off thinking you want to swim and then find you enjoy the group exercise classes.

Group exercise has a lot to recommend it. Independent exercise requires a lot of commitment and self-motivation. With a class, you have a specific date and time to put in your diary, and most people find that this encourages you to attend, you are less likely to change your mind. A qualified instructor is present ensuring you exercise safely and there is a social element, people talk, joke and encourage each other. I have made many friends over the years.

Gym chains

Gym chains advertise aggressively so many individuals think they are the best place to go. They can be expensive, and you may find yourself locked into a long-term contract if you are not careful. These gyms are often very busy at peak times of the day and classes book up quickly.

However, they do have some advantages, they offer a wide variety of alternatives and often have a lot of equipment. Many offer induction packages where trainers show you how to use the equipment. Some have pools and saunas.

Take advantage of some free trial days; how busy is the gym when you are free to attend, does the equipment suit you? Are the trainers interested in helping you if you have not signed up for personal training? These gyms are often entry level jobs for new trainers who lack experience and sometimes write generic programs for new gym members.

Independent gyms and sports clubs

Most towns and cities have a range of smaller, independent gyms and sports clubs. They are often run by experienced trainers and coaches. Independent gyms are usually small and friendly, the trainers will get to know you well enough to genuinely say hello and are more likely to write you a personalised program. I have happily used this type of gym for 15 years.

If you enjoyed team sport at school, you may be able to find a club near you which has a team for non-elite members. Playing for fun is great for your wellbeing.

You are less likely to be locked into a long-term contract and some even allow pay as you go. The people training in the gym are more likely to be well motivated and use the equipment respectfully – fewer individuals sit on equipment texting their friends. It’s easier to get to know other members which makes you feel at home. My gym limits the number of members, so it never gets too crowded.

These gyms are often priced competitively for day-to-day use. However, the one disadvantage is that the induction packages, although personalised, can be more expensive. It is worth visiting a few independent gyms and talking to the staff.

I hope this blog post has been helpful. Many people are put off joining a gym because they feel self-conscious, however, most people have been in your position, they know how you feel because everyone has to start sometime. They are not looking at you, they are getting on with their own training.

An exercise habit is something to add to your weekly routine for life, so take time to explore the huge range of opportunities that are out there, keeping you fit and healthy well into your later years. Remember that it’s never too late to start!

What does 30 plants a week look like?

The headline said, ‘Eat 30 plants a week.’ So, I started counting. I am a vegetarian, yes, but I am not here to give the hard sell, I have seen too many people start enthusiastically and then go back to eating more meat than they did before. It’s better to let people make their own, informed, choice.

The funny thing is that I don’t even like vegetables much, so this is more a philosophical choice than a taste choice. I hide the vegetables I don’t like in dishes with plenty of other flavours. It’s worked for 40 years on and off, mostly on, and a plant based diet could work for you too.

So, going back to the 30 plants…

I started counting the vegetables we eat weekly on the back of an envelope. The usual range of fresh vegetables and fruit went down, but then I started asking questions. Does tinned and frozen count? I reasoned yes, as these still contain vitamins and fibre. Do I count fresh tomatoes and tinned tomatoes as different vegetables or the same? Do chickpeas and butterbeans count as one vegetable or two? Do grains count as plants? Herbs and spices? Peanut butter, dried fruit and walnuts on the cake I made last week? Chocolate, coffee and sugar are plant based – hmmm. There are so many questions (we should read the article!).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/plant_points_explained

https://zoe.com/learn/30-plants-per-week

It’s easy to get caught up in the headlines and start down a path which is not right for you. When I first gave up meat in the early 1980’s, there were few meat substitutes, so a healthy diet came naturally, and I lost weight. I was vegan for a short while, but that was tough in the 1980s and very challenging when you are pregnant, so I returned to eating eggs and dairy products.

What do we mean by a plant-based diet? There are two main types of plant-based diets. In a vegan diet, protein sources come from beans and nuts only. In a vegetarian diet, dairy foods and eggs are eaten, some vegetarians don’t eat eggs. Other plant-based diets are variations of these two. Pescatarians eat fish and flexitarians are vegetarians who occasionally eat meat or fish.

Many individuals are simply choosing to have meat free days as part of their weekly diet. You have a lot of choice nowadays; you can choose an approach to cutting down meat which suits you and your lifestyle. If you do this, you are more likely to sustain your choice of diet.

It is important to make the point that you should consider your health before taking on a restrictive diet of any kind. If you are on a gluten free diet for instance, there are further challenges if you decide to be vegan, as getting the right balance of amino acids needs consideration, some plant-based foods lack some amino acids. However, there are plant-based foods which have complete proteins such as soy and quinoa so you can be gluten and dairy free. Always do a little research before making a change to your diet.

So, what are the benefits of including meat free days or going for a plant-based diet?

According to ZOE.com ( https://zoe.com/learn/what-is-a-plant-based-diet), people eating vegetarian diets have a 22% lower risk of heart disease. Research has shown that prevalence of type two diabetes in vegans is 2.9% compared with 7.6% in those who regularly eat meat. Some studies have shown that people who eat a plant-based diet have a 34% lower risk of developing hypertension. Plant based diets are higher in fibre, so you are less likely to be constipated, there are anti-inflammatory effects and many people lose weight. However, the many vegan and vegetarian convenience foods on the market can reduce the effectiveness of plant-based diets – it is possible to be an unhealthy vegetarian.

As meat production accounts of nearly 60% of greenhouse gases, a plant-based diet can help to reduce your carbon footprint. Again, beware of convenience foods as these can be highly processed and heavily packaged, reducing the environmental benefits of a plant-based diet.

So, like many people, you are interested in making a change to a more plant-based diet, how do you get started? Everyone has their own approach. This is a different way of eating, and your taste buds make take a while to adjust, many restaurants make the mistake of over seasoning vegetarian foods. The advice is to make the change slowly, replace meat with plant-based products for a few days each week, pasta and curry dishes are often good places to start and build up gradually.

Variety is important (I eat about 25 different types of fruit and veg across a week), buy some cookbooks to give you ideas. Herbs and spices actually do count in your 30 plants a week and can make simple foods taste amazing. When I was living on benefits, herbs and spices helped cheap food go further.

Finally, never say never, it is important to remain flexible, don’t ban foods as this makes them even more attractive. Nothing stops me eating meat, I just prefer not to. The occasional take away or chocolate cake is fine, maintaining the right balance is the most important factor.

As a personal trainer, I have some basic nutritional training, but I am not a formal nutritionist. I can give support and advice which will help you make the change to a plant-based diet for most people but may refer people to a nutritionist if they need specialised help. Drop me a line or give me a call if I can help in any way.

Contact@skeats-strength.co.uk

07904969538

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Skeats (And partner) Skips Peaks – again

I have walked in the hills since I was a little girl, exploring the Long Mynd in Shropshire and the Quantocks and Exmoor in the South-West. I love strolling along, enjoying the fresh air and the countryside, often in the company of my partner or a group of friends. There is nothing quite like a flask of coffee and a cheese roll with your favourite people on a bright autumnal day in the Peak District.

If you are new to walking, here are a few tips to get you started:

Know where you are going, especially if walking alone. If you are a new walker, choose a well walked route, a country park or a trail such as the Monsal Trail to start with. Country parks often have waymarked trails and maps to go with them, a good way to learn how to read a map. We use a collection of great walk books which give us ideas and describe the route; I recommend the Jarrod series as their instructions are clear and accompanied by maps. We also take a paper map with us; it doesn’t rely on a signal or full battery to help you out if you get lost and we always check the route before we go, unless it is a very familiar route. Take note of the green dotted lines indicating a ‘right of way,’ keep to these paths as landowners are not always walker friendly.

Check the weather and daylength, particularly if you are walking in hills or mountains. Walking in the rain can be miserable and poor visibility dangerous, walking on a very hot day is often very tiring. We’ve only been caught out once by the weather, cloud came out of nowhere when we were walking on Kinder Scout, we could barely see to put one foot in front of another. Not a nice experience.

Wear the right clothing for the conditions you are walking in. Flip flops and shorts are great on the beach, but no good over slippery rocks, through muddy puddles or along a path with nettles each side. You don’t need to spend a fortune – waterproof coats and simple walking boots can be bought quite cheaply if you shop around and are a good starting point once you move away from country parks. I always take a hat of some sort and a waterproof coat because weather conditions can change quickly. The coat will keep out wind as well as rain. Wear several layers so you can take clothes on and off depending on how you feel – this can change over the course of a walk.

Take food and drink, your phone and a torch, even on short walks – sometimes short walks become longer walks and these may come in handy. Stopping to have a drink or eat a snack can leave you feeling revived and ready for the next part of a walk.

Enjoy your time in the great outdoors – walk at a comfortable pace, pause to take in the scenery and enjoy the company of others if you are walking with someone.

Where have we been skipping peaks this week?

The Longshaw estate

On Tuesday, the weather was not great, drizzle and mist, so we chose a very simple, short walk with clear paths and a nice café. The Longshaw Estate offers a combination of tended gardens, woodland paths and some heathland. Great variety and it’s difficult to get lost. The café sells great veggie sausage cobbs and coffee. We enjoyed an hour or so pottering around until we felt a little cold and wet so we went home.

Tideswell and Cresswell Dales

The sun came out eventually, so we decided to go for an afternoon stroll through Tideswell dale. As we were staying in Tideswell and didn’t have to drive, we could make the most of the afternoon. Tideswell Dale is a small, quiet dale with a river and towering limestone cliffs. If you follow the path down, you come to Litton Mill and then on to Cressbrook Dale. Here, you can walk along the banks of the River Wye undisturbed by traffic and crowds of visitors. The dale is prone to flooding and walkers must follow the route knowing they may not reach the bridge at the end, or may have to wade through the river to get to there. Limestone cliffs tower above your head as they do in Tideswell Dale, but this Dale is more wooded. Far above is the Monsal Trail, following the route of an old railway line and much busier. On this occasion, the path was very muddy but not flooded so we walked to the bridge at the end. We planned to cross the bridge and finish with a circular walk across local fields, but forgot the map! As the sun was sinking lower in the sky ,we decided to retrace our steps rather than risk getting lost in the darkness. It’s always important to have plan B up your sleeve! Besides, in such a beautiful valley, this was no hardship.

Castleton, Cave Dale and Mam Tor

Castleton is a popular tourist destination, with lots of shops and pubs, but most visitors are left far behind once you start climbing into the heart of Cave Dale. The walking is quite tough, much of the path becomes a stream after rainfall and the surface of the path is very uneven. However, the scenery is dramatic. Towering cliffs with an old castle at the top, used as a filming location a number of times. Once you leave the dale, the walking gets easier and mostly flat with easy paths crossing moorland and farmland, until you reach the bottom of Mam Tor, a local landmark and very steep climb. However, the climb is well worth it for the sense of achievement and view when you get to the top, with the whole of the Hope Valley spread out below you. The rest of the walk is downhill all the way, sometimes a little steep, back into Castleton again and a well-earned coffee (or beer).

I hope I have inspired you to dust off your walking shoes and step out into the autumn sunshine. As the leaves turn from green to golden brown our countryside, rivals anywhere in the world.

Evening mist in Monsal Dale.

What’s in it for me? Why should I read this anyway!

I spent ten years of my teaching career in one of the toughest areas of the country. Many children were not self -motivated, they were not sure what school was for. In those areas teachers quickly learn to adapt teaching to address the question ‘What’s in it for me?’, ‘Why should I sit quietly?’ or ‘Why should I put effort into my work? We learnt to address personal need and make learning interesting.

When it comes to exercise many people ask similar questions; ‘What’s in it for me?’’ Why should I give up valuable time and effort to exercise?’

Most of us need encouragement and incentives to take part in an exercise program, particularly when we start out. We need to find the ‘What’s in it for me!’ to get started and then keep going. In my experience, until you identify that personal reason for developing an exercise habit, you won’t stick at it.

So, what is in it for you? Why give up some of your busy schedule to exercise? Why chose strength training when you do? The answers to those questions are often very personal. For example, a medical reason or a broken relationship, but they have common roots related to health and self-confidence.

So, what’s in it for you? Here are some good reasons to choose strength training in particular.

Strength training builds and maintains muscle, giving your body shape and tone but not necessarily huge biceps! This will help you maintain stability and movement late into life and you’ll look great in those jeans.

Strength training is low impact and helps to maintain joint strength, enabling you to move without injury well into old age. This makes it especially useful for older adults, the people most turned off by gyms.

It is a form of cardio exercise when performed with little rest, pushing your heart rate up, giving you a workout and helping you lose weight. In fact, research has shown that strength training is better than cycling or running for reducing the risks of a heart attack by up to 70 percent, depending on how often a person trains.

Lifting weights helps you burn calories and creates lean muscle mass, helping your body burn energy more efficiently. With strength training, there is a longer period of burning calories after you have trained. Again, all of this contributes to weight loss.

Strength training supports and improves bone density so that you have a lower risk of osteoporosis as you get older. If you fall over, you will be able to get up again, rather ending up in casualty with broken bones.

Strength training can make you feel more confident and positive, it gives you a sense of achievement. There is evidence that it reduces the symptoms of depression.

There is also growing evidence that lifting weights can help you live longer, and, just as important, maintain your independence for longer. That means you can dance, walk in the hills, play with your grandchildren and generally enjoy life deep into old age.

Strength is not only about lifting barbells and gym machines. Yes, these are useful tools but bodyweight work, including Pilates and Yoga and smaller weights such as dumbbells and kettlebells, can also be very beneficial. However, much of the research is suggesting that including actual weights in your exercise regime does improve life expectancy more than bodyweight work. There is no reason why you shouldn’t mix it up, combining yoga sessions one day, with a session involving kettlebells on another day.

A personal trainer will help you identify the ‘Why’ the ‘What’s in it for me.’ Identifying personal goals is an important first stage. What do you want to achieve and why should you stick at your program? A good personal trainer will keep you on track to achieve that goal, monitoring your progress and encouraging you to keep going. They are on your team!

If you are interested in finding out more, the consultation session is free, there is no hard sell and no obligation to go further. Why not give me a call or send me an email and we can set up a time to meet and talk through your needs.

You can find me and message me on Facebook and Instagram.

You can contact me by email:contact@skeats-strength.co.uk

Text me :07904969538

Walk and Lift – keeping it simple.

I have just been out in the garden harvesting some of this year’s crop, which set me thinking, exercise and gardening have a number of things in common.

They both burn calories, the amount varies, depending on the degree of exertion. An hour of gardening can burn 300-500 calories.
They are both beneficial for both mental and physical health.
Gardening and exercise are addictive when you start to see results.
It’s easy to over complicate matters. Here are some potatoes I harvested recently. I grew them in a bag with minimal fuss and attention.

A friend of mine came to me for advice because he had been told to lose some weight and exercise, but he didn’t want to join a gym of go running. We went for a walk in a local park and talked about keeping things simple and just walking…

Depending on your pace and how steep the path is, walking can burn 200-350 calories an hour. I once wore my Garmin on a walk in Derbyshire, by the time we had only covered a quarter of the distance, I had burned 300 calories (and we hadn’t reached the hill yet).

But you don’t have to walk for hours in the country; a brisk 10-minute walk every day contributes half of the 150 minutes of weekly exercise the NHS recommends. There are many ways to find these 10 minutes; walk rather than drive when possible; use the stairs rather than the lift; get off the bus earlier and walk the rest of the journey or make a date to walk with friends, family or simply the dog.

Walking not only burns calories, it also makes your heart stronger, decreases blood pressure, strengthens your bones and eases joint pain and stiffness. It is low impact placing less pressure on your knees than running. If you take some time to walk outside, in green spaces, walking also helps to improve mental health, particularly if you walk with others.

With all this in mind, I am running a walk and lift group. The idea is partially stolen from the late Michael Mosely, who suggested interval walking, mixing periods of very brisk walking with periods of rest. This burns more calories, can stimulate mitochondrial development (the little batteries which give us energy) and there is some evidence that interval work keeps our brains healthy!

The group will walk together for 30 minutes in a local park and have the option to follow this with some low impact strength work in the gym guided by me, as strength work has also been shown to improve muscle and bone health. The group is free for the next four weeks and will meet twice a week. Sixty more minutes towards that exercise total!

If you live in Nottingham and you are interested in joining the group, the website page below will explain how the sessions work and where and when I am running them

.https://skeats-strength.co.uk/walk-and-lift/

Preparing for events and competitions.

A few weeks ago I took part in a Powerlifting competition, that sounds pretty daunting but, when you go along to little local competitions, you quickly realise they are pretty low key, friendly and welcoming. Here I am, feeling triumphant lifting a 10kg personal best, from 105kg to 115kg.

The word athlete conjures up images of Olympic performance but simply refers to someone who competes in a sport. I have been entering events and competitions for 14 years now. These range from a local 5k charity running event to international competition. They are not for everyone, but for many, they provide a focus for training, a new goal to work towards and give a sense of satisfaction when you cross that finish line. There are other benefits too, new friends and new meaning in life…

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/jun/10/a-new-start-after-60-i-was-partially-paralysed-by-a-stroke-and-it-felt-like-hell-then-i-found-a-new-sport-family-and-future

Preparing for an event does take some commitment (but that can be part of the reward), time to prepare and investment in resources. The level of commitment depends on the scale of the event, your personal goals and the type of event. Even a 5K ‘Race for Life’ requires some thought, suitable footwear and a little training to ensure you can run or walk the distance if you don’t walk or run regularly.

Let’s talk about training. The received wisdom is that it takes 12 weeks to prepare for a competition, however this does depend on how fit and healthy you are already, the type of competition and your goals. You can go from couch to 5k in 12 weeks and get round. Couch to marathon can take around 6 months as it’s important to acclimatise your body to the new challenge. For most sports, you have to train your body to move in the right way and develop enough cardio and muscle capacity to meet the challenge. For most people, competing to win takes several years of training consistently. Pushing yourself too hard, too soon risks injury and disappointment. Taking on a trainer or coach to help you through this process can really make a difference.

In my case, I learnt to leave plenty of preparation space between competitions and I engage a coach to help me through a safe and effective training program. I only compete two or three times a year. This gives me space to recover, work on skills and build the muscles I need, reduces the risk of injury and actually improves my performance. In the build up to a competition, those 12 weeks, I work closely with my coach who checks my form, and slowly conditions my body to meet the challenge.

Alongside specific preparation, I have a program of assistance exercises which develop specific muscles, those that are going to support the main muscles I will need to use. It’s important to introduce some variation in your training as this aids progress and protects against injury. Runners should do some strength training, weightlifters need a little cardio, kettlebell sport competitors need both.

Regardless of the type of sport, it’s important to start training at 60-70% of the level you expect to achieve at the competition. Runners begin running short distances and build up to the longer distances, weightlifters train multiple reps with a light weight and build up to that one rep max. Experienced athletes never run the full distance or lift the heaviest weight before the competition, they will train at around 95% for a week or so before the competition and then rest. Training at 95% of your ability all the time leads to injury and a plateau, it’s not helpful.

There are other factors which lead to better performance. Getting enough sleep is important, your body needs rest, psychologically and physically. Good nutrition is essential, a varied diet is important, but you don’t need a cupboard full of supplements and sports drinks. I have been a vegetarian for 40 years, a meat free diet does not affect your lifting. Nutritional balance is the most important factor, plenty of fruit and vegetables and the right type of protein (that does not necessarily mean meat). If you are considering a plant-based diet, do your research, ensure you have enough B12 and your protein sources are well balanced.

Competition/event day is always nerve jangling, no matter the level of the competition or your experience, witness the queues for the toilets at running events. I used to look calm when standing on the platform waiting to compete, but in my head, I was fighting the urge to run away! This is natural, it means that you care about what you are doing. Channel the adrenalin you are producing to improve your performance and try to enjoy the experience. Win, lose, come somewhere in between, the life experience is priceless.

Although I can now write my own programs, I continue to work with a coach. There are three reasons; they bring their extensive experience, make sure my form does not drift and is efficient and, most importantly, push me harder than I would push myself. If you are considering signing up for a event, whether a 5K ‘Run for Life’ or a powerlifting meet and would like a helping hand, get in touch, tap into my experience; contact@skeats-strength.co.uk

What age is ‘old?’

There is currently a debate in the media about when we start to call ourselves ‘old.’ I’m now in my early sixties, an age which used to considered ‘old’ when I was younger, associated with frumpy clothes, shopping trollies and a shuffling gait. Improvements in healthcare and living standards mean that the experience of being ‘older’ is different now. Like many of the individuals interviewed in the media, I feel different, but I don’t feel old.

Something surprising happens as you get older, much of the pressure associated with being ‘young’ dissipates. The big decisions in life are largely behind us; life partners, children and careers have been decided for most people. Children have grown up (and grandchildren can be handed back), we no longer need to impress the new boss by working 12 hours a day and many people are starting to look at reducing work hours or retiring altogether. In my case, the pressures of my challenging job were taking their toll on my health, I did the calculations and decided I’d rather be financially poor than health poor so I retired. We are also more at peace with ourselves, who we are and what we look like.

This is the time to chase our dreams! Yes, you read that right – a phrase normally associated with the young. These are slightly different dreams (in the main), chasing those long-cherished wishes to visit the Taj Mahal, run a marathon or learn to paint. Older people now have the time and the brain space. My father and his friends cycled up Mont Blanc, my mother designed beautiful quilts and my mother-in-law obtained for her long- denied degree in her eighties. In 2023, a 90-year-old man finished the London marathon. Edith Murway, set a record in 2021 for the oldest competitive Powerlifter – she was 99.

There is plenty of evidence to show that keeping active and taking on new challenges can pro-long life and, just as importantly, ensure that we can enjoy retirement when it comes without being in pain or losing cognitive abilities. Google, ‘How to live longer and have a healthier life,’ and a whole plethora of articles pop up. They all say roughly the same thing:

“The key to healthy aging is to engage fully in life—mentally, physically, and socially. “Transitioning to older years isn’t about sitting in a rocking chair and letting the days slip by,” … “Older adults have unique experiences, intellectual capital, and emotional involvement that can be shared with younger generations. This engagement is really key to helping our society move forward.”

NIH News in health

https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2016/06/can-you-lengthen-your-life

“Our research findings suggest that adopting a healthy lifestyle is important for both public health and personal wellness,” said Xuan-Mai T Nguyen, a health science specialist involved in the work at the US Department of Veteran Affairs.

“The earlier the better, but even if you only make a small change in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, it still is beneficial,” she added.”

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/24/eight-lifestyle-changes-extend-your-life-researchers-say

What might this look like for you? You don’t have to run a marathon or Powerlift, just make sensible changes in your life; walk more and add some pace to that walk, eat a balanced diet, get some sleep, don’t smoke, take on some mental challenge to keep you brain active e.g. quizzes, crosswords, read regularly and catch up with friends and social contact is important. Find different ways of allowing the stress of your working life to drift away.

Joining a gym if you are not already a regular gym attender may seem daunting, but it needn’t be and there are many benefits to be gained from lifting. Resistance exercises using even light weights have been shown to have huge benefits for older people. As we grow older, we lose muscle and bone density, this change can begin in our 30s, and can lead to problems with balance and health issues such as osteoporosis and arthritis. Most gyms will have trainers who can show you how to use the equipment and write you a program which suits your age and ability. Look, around, visit a few, not all gyms are cavernous and loud, some of the smaller, independent gyms are quieter and friendlier.

Do I walk the talk? I was never sporty at school and found gyms daunting when I started exercising to lose weight. I have tried different forms of exercise over the years and finally found my home in a small gym where people are friendly and there is easy access to the weights I need. I recently qualified as a Personal Trainer, both a dream achieved and a new challenge. I feel different in my 60s but I don’t feel old.