I didn't do a blog at the weekend, as I was saving it for today. Today is a bit of a big deal for me, it was three years ago exactly that I broke my back. It has taken three years to get to where I am now, and I am still not fully where I want to be.
Do we ever truly reach our fitness goals or ambitions, and as soon as we get there, then what? Usually it means moving the goal post further. Today, amazingly, an incredible thing happened. A lovely lady I have been training, proved just how quickly you can shift those goal posts.
She surprised herself so much that she was almost in shock as she never believed she would be able to do what she did tonight.
I had help set the original goals, goals she thought were well out of her league, and here she was conquering them within a few weeks. It was a life changing moment.
This lovely lady had believed her legs would always be too weak for her to balance on a step without assistance, and she also thought her knee was incapable of bending in a certain way, partly as a result of surgery as a child; as she was born with one leg shorter than the other. She suffers from atrophy in her calf, so is unsure of her footing due to weak muscles and poor proprioceptiion.
However, what we discoverd together was, it wasn't the biomechanical problems holding her back, it was her being told as a child by Doctors that she wouldn't be able to, and shouldn't do certain things after the surgery.
So, the biggest thing holding this lady back was in fact, a lack of confidence and that awful phrase that so many of you use and which I hate so much ......"BUT I CAN'T ....",
Unfortunately, she never had a decent follow up after her surgery, so all her life she lived by this ethos.
Well, we soon changed that!
Now, a whole experience has opened up for her, it means she will be able to cross stepping stones, walk on uneven surfaces, start jogging and who knows, maybe even take up surfing!
What makes this achievement so special, is that she also has osteoporosis, so gaining balance and strength, something she has never had before has become a vital skill that will make her condition, a much more manageable one.
What I am therefore trying to say to you is, sometimes you need to examine your goals, and question your own preconceptions about yourself, and this can mean sometimes challenging what other people say about you too, including those in the medical profession.
So, why not, as a New Year's Resolution, find one goal you have set .....and now push it FURTHER!
Do we ever truly reach our fitness goals or ambitions, and as soon as we get there, then what? Usually it means moving the goal post further. Today, amazingly, an incredible thing happened. A lovely lady I have been training, proved just how quickly you can shift those goal posts.
She surprised herself so much that she was almost in shock as she never believed she would be able to do what she did tonight.
I had help set the original goals, goals she thought were well out of her league, and here she was conquering them within a few weeks. It was a life changing moment.
This lovely lady had believed her legs would always be too weak for her to balance on a step without assistance, and she also thought her knee was incapable of bending in a certain way, partly as a result of surgery as a child; as she was born with one leg shorter than the other. She suffers from atrophy in her calf, so is unsure of her footing due to weak muscles and poor proprioceptiion.
However, what we discoverd together was, it wasn't the biomechanical problems holding her back, it was her being told as a child by Doctors that she wouldn't be able to, and shouldn't do certain things after the surgery.
So, the biggest thing holding this lady back was in fact, a lack of confidence and that awful phrase that so many of you use and which I hate so much ......"BUT I CAN'T ....",
Unfortunately, she never had a decent follow up after her surgery, so all her life she lived by this ethos.
Well, we soon changed that!
Now, a whole experience has opened up for her, it means she will be able to cross stepping stones, walk on uneven surfaces, start jogging and who knows, maybe even take up surfing!
What makes this achievement so special, is that she also has osteoporosis, so gaining balance and strength, something she has never had before has become a vital skill that will make her condition, a much more manageable one.
What I am therefore trying to say to you is, sometimes you need to examine your goals, and question your own preconceptions about yourself, and this can mean sometimes challenging what other people say about you too, including those in the medical profession.
So, why not, as a New Year's Resolution, find one goal you have set .....and now push it FURTHER!