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Adam was creeping up on his 50th birthday and was thinking about his future. He wanted to remain fit, strong and healthy into this next chapter of his life.
He had been running on and off for about 10 years, but he’d struggled to be consistent in his training. Adam works as a Judge and the cases can be very intense. It’s a high-stakes job that is vital to his community, but the stress takes a toll on him. When work gets busier, his training takes a back seat.
In the short term, this wasn’t a big deal. However, looking back over the last few years, Adam realized his running had been “more off than on” and he never really managed to integrate consistent strength training.
He was frustrated because he knew what to do to stay fit and strong, he just couldn’t seem to get himself to do it. He was worried about what this might mean for his future. He’d seen his Dad’s physical health decline as he aged and he couldn’t help but wonder what the next 40 years might look like for him.
I can definitely relate to this. Seeing my parents struggle with their health as they have aged is a huge driving force behind why I do what I do. As a Physio in a clinic, I was so frustrated with my limited ability to actually help people.
Sure, I’d help people get rid of the pain that brought them into the clinic, but what about all the reasons the pain showed up? Bad training, bad recovery, no strength work, poor nutrition. Not to mention a poor understanding of pain and adaptation. I always saw injuries as a great opportunity to intervene and really help people improve their physical and mental health.
Unfortunately, the physical therapy model of a few sessions of mostly manual therapy just really isn’t set up to make these kinds of long-term changes.
The fact is, life in the developed world just doesn’t lend itself to good physical health. For centuries, we had to work so hard just to get enough food to survive. Now, most of us don’t need to do any physical work at all to survive.
To add to this our jobs are often mentally exhausting. We often finish our day completely drained mentally. This was certainly the case for Adam and a big part of why he’d found consistent training so elusive. This is a huge part of why you might be finding it hard to keep running as you age.
When we discussed all of this on his free call at the start of this year, Adam already knew what he needed. A training plan that was designed for him that takes into account both his physical abilities and the constraints of his life. And someone to hold him accountable to it. He needed someone to take the planning off his plate and make sure he did the work.
So that’s exactly what we did. We settled on a plan that included 3 running workouts that Adam could do before work and 3 strength workouts that Adam could do from home each week. Adam had one day a week to take off or do some Yoga.
He was allowed to move the workouts around within the week but not from one week to another. This allowed him some flexibility without compromising the plan. We kept in constant contact with Adam to hold him accountable to the plan and make adjustments when work got busy.
Six months later Adam has barely missed a workout. He’s stronger and faster. He’s noticed everyday tasks like lifting up the 50 lb salt bags are easier and (in his words) “If someone invites me for a hike in the Adirondacks I am ready to go”.
When we first met, Adam was struggling to be consistent with his training. He was worried about his future physical health and frustrated that he couldn’t seem to do what he knew he needed to do.
Now he’s consistent in his running and strength training and relaxed about his physical health. He’s even thinking of running a half marathon next year and aspires to be in the best physical shape of his life when he hits 50.
If you’re struggling with consistency in your training and you want to keep running as you age, we can help. Just click the button below to book a free call with us.