If you're over 50 and struggling to get back into shape, I'd like you to think about something.
Is your daily routine actually helping you become fitter and healthier, or is it making things more difficult?
You probably already know that you should be exercising regularly, eating better and getting enough sleep. But knowing what to do and consistently doing it are two very different things.
You might start the week determined to exercise three times, only to find that work, family commitments and other responsibilities get in the way. By the evening, you're tired, you haven't planned what exercise to do and it's easier to leave it until tomorrow.
The same thing happens with food. You want to eat better, but when you're hungry and short of time, you choose whatever is most convenient.
Before long, another week has passed without making the progress you wanted.
You Might Be Making Getting Fit Harder Than It Needs to Be
One of the things I've learnt from nearly 30 years of coaching is that people often make improving their health unnecessarily difficult.
They rely on finding enough motivation, discipline and time to exercise, eat well and look after themselves.
But there's another way of approaching it.
Instead of continually expecting yourself to make better decisions, start creating an environment that makes those decisions easier.
If you want to exercise regularly, have your training clothes ready, decide what you're going to do and protect the time in your diary.
If you want to improve your eating habits, make sure suitable food is available when you're hungry. That might mean preparing meals in advance, keeping protein-rich foods readily available or making healthier choices more convenient.
And if you want to improve your sleep, think about what's keeping you awake. Perhaps you need to stop working earlier, put your phone away or establish a more consistent bedtime routine.
None of these changes removes the effort required to become fitter and healthier. They simply remove some of the obstacles that make getting started difficult.
Why This Matters More After 50
As we get older, maintaining our strength, cardiovascular fitness and physical capability becomes increasingly important.
But if exercise is always something you try to fit in when everything else is finished, it's very easy for weeks and months to pass without doing enough.
Gradually, you might notice that everyday activities become harder. You feel less energetic, your confidence in your body decreases or you struggle to do things you previously took for granted.
These changes aren't always an inevitable consequence of getting older. Some are influenced by how active we are and the habits we develop.
The encouraging thing is that you can start changing those habits at any age.
You don't need to completely reorganise your life. You need a straightforward plan and an environment that helps you follow it.
How I Help Clients Build Better Habits
At my private personal training studio in Reigate, I work with people over 50 who want to improve their strength, fitness and overall health.
An important part of my coaching isn't simply deciding which exercises someone should perform. It's helping them establish routines they can maintain outside our sessions.
I use my WISDOM coaching framework to help clients understand why they struggle with consistency and what they can do differently.
The fourth principle, Design Your Environment, is about making the behaviours that support your health easier to perform and those that undermine it less convenient.
For example, we might establish a regular training schedule, simplify someone's exercise routine or identify the situations that repeatedly lead to poor food choices.
The objective is to make looking after your health something you do consistently, rather than something you keep intending to start.
What Could You Change This Week?
Here's something I'd encourage you to do.
Look at your normal routine and ask yourself two questions:
What could I make easier? What could I make harder?
Perhaps you could make exercising easier by scheduling two or three sessions into your week.
Perhaps you could make healthy eating easier by planning tomorrow's meals.
Or perhaps you could make staying up late harder by removing your phone from the bedroom.
Choose one change and put it into practice.
Because getting fitter and healthier after 50 isn't just about knowing what you should do. It's about creating a lifestyle that makes doing it consistently more likely.
Start Building Healthier Habits
If you're over 50 and want to improve your strength, fitness and health, I've created a free guide explaining the six WISDOM principles I use in my coaching.
Download my free WISDOM Guide to Making Healthy Habits Stick:
And if you'd prefer personal support, you can explore my one-to-one coaching at Reigate Over 50 & Strong, where I help people build the strength, fitness and habits they need to stay active and capable as they get older.
- Design