I’m not a lifelong athlete. I didn’t grow up training, and I didn’t spend years in gyms. For most of my adult life, I did the opposite. In my late 30s I was smoking 40 a day. By my mid-40s I was eating around 6000 calories a day. Outside of walking the dog, I was largely sedentary.
- No strength training.
- No mobility work.
- No real structure.
And if I’m being honest, I wasn’t in a great place mentally either.
I stopped smoking in December 2013. I stopped drinking in December 2020.
Those were big changes, but they didn’t suddenly make me fit or healthy. I still wasn’t looking after myself properly. I had a full-time corporate job, a family, responsibilities — all the usual reasons people use to put things off. I used them too.
I didn’t start training seriously until I was 47.
- No background.
- No base level of fitness.
- No real idea what I was doing.
I just knew I didn’t want to carry on feeling like I was slowly declining.
Over time I found my way into structured training, including CrossFit. Not because I wanted to compete, and not because I was chasing a particular look, but because it gave me a way to learn properly.
Through that, I’ve learned:
- how to build strength safely
- how to improve mobility and move better
- how to develop cardio fitness without overdoing it
- how to fuel properly instead of guessing
- how to pace myself and recover
None of that came naturally. It was all learned gradually, by showing up consistently.
At some point, my thinking shifted. It stopped being just about feeling better or looking better — although those are important. It became about something more practical. I realised that if I didn’t take responsibility for my health, I was increasing my chances of running into problems later that could have been avoided.
This isn’t about extremes. It’s about doing the basics properly.
Putting the work in now so that:
- I stay mobile
- I stay independent
- I reduce the risk of avoidable health issues
- and I give myself the best chance of living well for longer
I’m not an influencer. I don’t have a six-pack. I’m not in perfect shape. I’m not trying to present myself as someone who has it all figured out. I’m just an average bloke who left it late and decided to do something about it.
I’m a husband, a father of two, and I work a full-time corporate job. I train around that, not instead of it. That matters, because most people I speak to are in a similar position. They don’t have unlimited time. They’re not looking to train twice a day. They just want to feel better, move better, and stay capable.
What I’ve learned is that most people don’t need extreme programmes or complicated systems.
They need something that:
- makes sense
- feels doable
- fits around real life
- and works over time
That’s it.
This is why I put these plans together. Not to impress anyone, and not to overcomplicate things. Just to give people a clear, sensible starting point, especially if you’re coming into this later in life.
If you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s or even 70s and you feel like:
- you’ve let things slip
- you’re stiffer than you used to be
- your strength and balance aren’t what they were
- or you just don’t feel as capable as you’d like
- then you’re exactly who this is for.
You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to go all in overnight. You just need to start, stay consistent, and build from where you are.
Where I Am Now
After around 12 months of consistent training, I entered my first CrossFit Open. I didn’t do it to compete with anyone else. I did it as a way to measure where I was. The result was simple. I completed it. That might not sound like much, but considering where I started, it mattered.
Now, approaching 49, I’m in a position where I can hold my own in workouts with people 10–15 years younger than me.
Not because I’m exceptional, but because I’ve been consistent.
Stronger For Life 