You start a family in your 20s or 30s. Most of your time, focus and energy goes towards the children. Your personal level of fitness and your healthy habits slowly start to drop off. Fast forward 20 years and you've become a self-proclaimed couch potato.
Does this story sound familiar?
With three children of his own, this was Gordon's situation in a nutshell. In spite of being super active throughout his entire life, his family became fit while he fell to the back of the pack.
At almost 60 years old, Gordon woke up and said "I have to do something." A cross country cycling trip with his wife Nicolette and his good friend Jeff (both Evertrain members as well), was the the catalyst to get himself going.
"You start to understand your mortality and that life is a gift. I know what it feels like to be fit and active. I sat there and said, I can't live the remainder of my life like this. I need to be able to feel fit and do things with my wife like cycling and hiking. It was clear to me that I couldn't keep this up."
Now only 6 months in, Gordon is shocked that he can feel this much better if he just sticks with it. He accredits a large portion of his success to doing this with his wife.
"Doing this with my wife is great because we encourage each other and are accountable to each other."
Taking the leap
Gordon had heard from his wife that one of their good friends Catherine (2017 Evertrain Member of the Year) had been working out, losing weight and becoming super fit. Gordon was intrigued as she said she was very happy with her experience.
In his 30s Gordon and his wife had spent time being coached by US Olympic team cross country ski coach Marty Hall. Marty taught them how to race, how to train and how to workout. In Gordon's words, "it was frankly a life changing experience."
Thanks to his experience working with a coach in the past, Gordon understood the benefit of having a mentor when it comes to training.
"I was a little anxious about what I was able to pull off. I had a 30 year old back injury and a recent car accident. I was older than I was the last time I had been fit. I was worried that I would get injured during the program. I was definitely excited and keen to do something, but wasn't certain of what I was getting myself into."
After a meeting with their coach, both he and his wife committed to 12 months on the LeanAfter50-VIP program.
The game plan
Gordon has been consistently performing 3-4 weight training workouts per week with one in person session with his coach. On other days, he performs cardio workouts either in spinning classes or at home.
Gordon has really embraced the importance of rolling and stretching and makes sure to thoroughly warm-up before training.
He still can't get over how flexible he's become in such a short period of time. In fact, he's convinced that the time he spends on his mobility is one of the most important factors in his success.
In what feels like little time, Gordon has excelled. Not only has he hit his lowest weight on the scale in decades (lost over 20lbs), he's mastering exercise technique on key exercises and he's starting to really develop his strength. In the last month he's introduced more advanced exercises like Barbell Front Squats, Band Assisted Chin-ups, amongst others.
An accident on the ski hill
Everything was going great for Gordon and he had the results to show for it. He was losing weight, feeling better and more fit than he had been in a long time. Then on a day at the ski hill with his family he was chasing his daughter down an expert mogul run and took a bad turn.
"Half my body went one way the other half went the other way. I could barely walk after. To my surprise I recovered quite quickly. Because I had been training I was flexible and mobile (which made a big difference). I saw a physiotherapist and got some exercises to do. I made a few adjustments to my workouts and recovered very quickly."
Healthy eating, improved mobility, strength training, rest and recovery all played a role in how quickly Gordon was able to recover.
To teach Gordon what good scapular retraction looks like in a chin-up, his coach had him perform a few reps shirtless so that he could see the difference.
How has your view of yourself change?
"It's totally different, I've lost a bunch of weight (over 20lbs in 6 months). I look and feel different. I won't be embarrassed to get into a bathing suit this summer. My performance in spinning is radically different. My level of downhill skiing is significantly better. Getting out of a chair, getting out of bed, going up the stairs are all painless now. There is constant feedback through activity that says 'you're doing better.' Feeling toned, is a huge confidence builder as well."
How do you feel about your future?
"I feel pretty good. The short term goal of the bike ride in July is 3.5 months away. I feel way more confident that I will be able to pull it off and pull it off gracefully. As a result it will be enjoyable. 3 legs across Canada over 3 years. I feel pretty confident about this. I am looking forward to the summer. I look and feel better. Longterm if I can stay fit and make a life change as opposed to just losing some weight, then that's life extension, longevity, life without pain. It's aging gracefully as opposed to just aging. I am pretty pumped about it!"
While training at the resort gym in Costa Rica, Gordon received compliments from personal trainers on his form and workout preparation.
What have you liked the best about working with us?
"The coach interaction and the program is great. I do like the approach to the exercise and the nutrition component. I like the focus on behaviour change. But at the end of the day, the coaching interaction is more important than I thought it would be. Having feedback ,attention to detail and having accountability on a weekly basis."
Advice for someone like him
"It's hard to start. It's hard to keep going on your own, even if you know you need it and you know you'll benefit from it. But doing it alone is hard. It's easy if you're not accountable beyond yourself to come up with excuses and reasons why you can't workout or you can't do something. You'll slowly come off the rails. Also, it's easy to go into a gym and hurt yourself if you don't have the right program. It's worth it, give it a try and take your time. It can take several months before you feel the change, but for me it's been transformational!"
If you would like to learn more about a coaching program like the one Gordon is on, simply click the link below. We would love to speak with you on how we can help you overcome obstacles and reach your goals.
