So you're an old fart, but are you really past it?

Do I need to apologise for the title again? Well.... truthfully I just want something to grab people's attention so that I get more views and more people love me. Plus I do always feel uncomfortable giving "advice" about how to live your life, preferring to keep things purely training based...

So, let's throw some perspective on this! Young people always look at old people like they don't have a clue, as if they're never going to get old. And older people look at young people with the same attitude: that they don't have a clue, they don't know what it's like to be older or they'd be doing things differently. The key thing is that eventually they will know, they're just not there yet, and you can't deny someone their own mistakes. Before we really get into this, I think that young people should support older people to keep up training, and older people should encourage young people to not give it up; it is such an easy thing to lose for each and every stud in the gym right now - even me, even if I am an extra sexy stud - but such a had thing to reclaim.

Life happens, it just does, and it's a silly thing to even enter into your thought process: it's a variable you can't control. Priorities change and your attention can get taken elsewhere, especially now I have started a family (even though I'm only 16 in my head) I am finding it harder and harder to fit in all the "me" time I used to because I am drawn to spending time with my my amazing kids Roxy and Seth. 

The funny thing is, the "old person" attitude can come at any age, I've met 25 year olds thinking they're "past it". Your perception of yourself is purely an attitude, it’s like that joke “you're only as old as the woman you feel”... unfortunately my wife is the same age as me.... whoops!

What's key to remember is that your life is your own. If you say to yourself that you want to do something that will benefit your health and the others around you, you do it. There are no opinions or whispers that should ever, EVER influence your decision on anything, especially your health. If you're the fattest, oldest, least fit person in the gym: you're an inspiration, and you've just as much right to be there as anyone else, more in fact, as it's easier to get fit when you're already fit. We've all seen the clips of the crazy 69 year old Grandads and Grannies doing bodybuilding shows, pull ups and handstands and they only started 5 years previous. The only difference between you and them is they had a thought, they used their experience to be smart and made gains faster than any little twerp that was "already strong". I can make any person with no previous injuries or stress strong easily, taking someone that's been through wars and making them feel strong, though? That's so much more worthwhile.

But where do you start?

FLEXIBILITY:
Firstly finding out how much flexibility you currently have is a big thing, if you have not moved for a number of years - or just never moved - well then squats and deadlifts could be the absolute WORST movements you could do. Does this mean you should never do them? No, but your initial training 'phase' should be to give yourself the adequate mobility to do those things. Yes you may be having to start even further backwards than everyone else, but something I learned when I was injured was patience and intelligence, yes it's slow now... but it won't be that way forever.

Have a go at some of these movements, yes you may struggle with them - anyone would at any point, I couldn't do any of them when I started training at 24, but the more you work at them and find ways to get better at them, magical things start to happen! Back stiffness goes away, you walk better, you feel taller and sex gets better.

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LUNGES:
To start building strength, lunges are your safest bet! There is a chance you could have balance or core issues so squatting may not be for you, yet!. The magic of the simple lunge is that it "accidentally" sorts a lot of that stuff out! You may have to hold on to something at the start but always remember when you're new to something it just takes time to become familiar with it! You WILL get better at it! Keep with the standard forwards and backwards first of all but a nice thing to work towards is clockwork lunges, this challenges your balance more but also strengthens your hips at some wonderful angles which are crucial.

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CORE STABILITY:
Next up is corework! If you see a Pilates class just sign up right then and there! Working on planks and leg lifts in those positions have so many benefits for keeping you strong and coordinated! Yes you may feel like you're horribly weak and embarrassing yourself but... if you're going to train anyways why not do something which carries over to real strength and stability rather than low resistance machines that teach your body nothing?

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RING ROWS AND BODYWEIGHT:
Upper body wise, anything that requires you to pull is stupidly important, most people will eventually end up with rounded shoulders so opening up your chest and strengthening your rhomboids is essential to good posture and avoiding neck pain! Having a TRX or a set of gymnastics rings is a great idea for training, you can't do enough of these type of exercises! A good goal to shoot for is to make bodyweight exercises so easy you don't rate them as an exercise anymore, like, I could challenge you to 20 push ups at any point in the day and you'd just say "Let's go!". Devoting 5-10 minutes every evening to push ups and rows/planks/lunges will add up over the weeks and months and you'd be surprised how fast your body adapts!

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JOINT BY JOINT APPROACH:
At the end of the day no matter where you are at you can ALWAYS improve your mobility. Assessing your joints day by day and challenging them ever so slightly will have SUCH a big payoff in years to come! Plus if any of the younger ones are still tuned in, I am finding keeping my joints happier is far more beneficial than any strength program for actually building strength. Not being in pain all the time means I can actually move more and practice better! You don't have to get overly complicated with it, and you don't have to go full yoga, just see how your body moves and what feels different from side to side, is your balance better on one leg compared to the other... etc!

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Lastly as a side note, have more fun, if you want to learn how to dance, go dance. If you enjoy trees and shit, walk up a mountain. Challenge your partner or kids to a race up the street. Never just sit wishing you could turn back time or be different, be the change you want to be now! It's a MINDSET!! Plus... You deserve it! You sexy beast.

Thankyou for reading!
Tom