Firstly, if you didn’t catch our podcast last week on staying Strong For Life, you can listen to it here! We talk about the ins and outs of staying strong as you age. Secondly, I wanted to quickly tackle 3 myths we often hear that we believe limits people from overcoming their challenges. (Excuse my rant) Myth 1. If You’re In Pain You Shouldn’t Do Anything This has by-far got to be the most frustrating thing we hear from people who are struggling with pain or injury. The more annoying part is that it’s often other healthcare professionals who peddle this sort of mentality. There is ALWAYS something you can do to improve your health. Period. Those who carry this fragile mindset, are often the ones who stay injured simply because they never push past this barrier and build strength. Which leads me to my second point… Myth 2. It Should Never Hurt The reality is, being uncomfortable is part of the process. Growth happens because we place the body under the right amount of stress, and so it adapts. Without that stress, there is no reason for the body to get stronger. Of course we understand that there are outliers and there is a time to rest or slow down, BUT, a lot of people sit on the sidelines because they are too afraid or have been told that their back is sore because they have a ‘weak core’ or ‘weak glutes’. No, your back is just weak and stiff and you need to move and get stronger. Myth 3. It’s All Down Hill After 40 We’re not going to deny that things get harder as you get older, but that typically just means you maximum potential for strength or performance isn’t as high. A lot of people (most) can still be improving and getting stronger well into their 80’s and beyond. We have clients in their 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s who are all the strongest they’ve ever been and are only getting stronger! You can’t write yourself off just because you’ve been told that it’s all down hill from here.
(that includes just accepting things like back or knee pain as ‘normal’, it doesn’t have to be!)
I’m sure you can tell that I’m quite passionate about this subject, and it’s largely because we see so much misinformation and ‘fragility’ being preached that causes people to stay weak, hurt and in pain.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
- Coach Sam
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