I don’t know about you, but Christmas has me stuck on the couch.

All the food, alcohol, sweets and treats have me buried under a mass of lethargy.

All my get up and go has got up and gone!

This brings me to one of the most poignant things we have in the back of our minds, but don’t like to discuss

What do many of us fear as we age?

Is it forgetfulness, losing our good looks or even our hair?

No.

For many, myself included is right there in the title.

What we fear losing most is our independence, and more importantly our physical independence.

– We fear getting stuck on the couch and needing a hand to get up.

– We fear not being able to get in/out of the car.

– We fear not being able to walk more than a few metres without feeling buggered.

– We fear not being able to play with our grandkids.

Father time waits for no-one.

As we age, our ability to perform simple movement patterns deteriorates.

We lose strength, which in turn means we lose balance, co-ordination and confidence.

We spend more time inactive, leading to muscle atrophy or wastage.

Life just gets hard.

But here’s the thing.

It doesn’t need to be this way.

It doesn’t need to be this way. Going quietly into the night isn’t your only option.

Staying active as you age is realistic. Having an exercise routine suited to you is possible.

Retaining your independence is infinitely achievable.

How Do I Retain My Physical Independence?

Let’s go back to the title; ‘I’m stuck on the couch’, what’s needed to prevent this from happening to you?

The basic movement pattern of getting on and off the couch is the squat.

The squat has remained the single most fundamentally beneficial movement for athletic development.

For you, that means it’s the best exercise to keep you healthy.

Click here to see Coach Deb demonstrating this fantastic movement.

It doesn’t mean you need to be at the gym breaking your neck with excessive loads and movements you can’t do.

It means you need a modifiable version of the movement, best suited to your current physical and mental confidence levels, under the guidance of a coach who firstly cares about you, and then about your goals.

As your confidence in your ability grows, then so do the additional benefits of the movements.

You can add a little extra load to your squat, which allows you to build a little muscle.

This process can also help you offset the effects of osteoporosis (bone fragility), something that occurs in all of us as we age.

How Do I Get Started?

Our Legends (45+) programme has been running for the last two years and these are just some of the results:

• Reduced blood pressure
• Removal of type 2 medication
• Lower heart rate
• Reduced body fat
• Increased muscle density

And those are just the tangible benefits.

The intangible effects have been even more profound:

• Increased confidence
• Better mood
• More energy to play with the grandkids
• Better outlook on the future
• No more getting stuck on the couch

We have both individual and group options for adults wanting to enjoy the second half of life as much, if not more than they did the first half.

What does this mean in the real world?

A perfect example presented itself in a client goal session.

The client in question has been a member for just over a year and was recounting her experiences from Christmas day.

Even though she thought herself active, Christmas Day 2018 saw her on the couch and inactive as the rest of the family went about their tradition of backyard cricket on the big day.

Fast forward to 2020 and how things had changed.

Not only was this client able to take part in the activities, but it was also her volunteering to drive to the park which made sure the tradition continued.

Having confidence in her physical independence allowed her to be an active part of the families tradition.

Combine that with some runs on the board and a few quick singles between the wickets and you can see what the difference a year makes.

Now, this client isn’t an elite athlete, nor does she aspire to be one.

What she does aspire to is a high-quality standard of living as she enjoys her retirement, being able to enjoy her garden, having fun with the family and feeling confident in her physical abilities enabling her to remain independent.

If you’d like to get some runs on the board instead of being stuck on the couch, click here to arrange a time to talk to me about our Legends health and wellness program.

Cheers

Paul and the Ignite team.