Small Steps, Big Changes: How to Start Your Health Journey Today

The episode dives into topics like overcoming shame in the gym, how movement improves mental health, and why building resilience through setbacks is the true secret to long-term transformation. Steve shares personal stories from his own journey—from the prison service to becoming a passionate PT and mentor—and reveals why mindset, motivation, and community are the foundations for change.

Whether you’re just starting your fitness journey or getting back on track after injury or burnout, this episode offers grounded, realistic steps to help you reclaim your health, build confidence, and enjoy movement again.

🎧 Tune in to learn:

• How to get started when you feel stuck
• The mental shift that makes fitness enjoyable
• Why movement is medicine—physically and emotionally
• How to normalize vulnerability in health spaces
• Simple steps to build strength, mobility, and confidence at any age

This is more than a fitness episode—it’s about choosing yourself again.

About Steve:

Hi I’m Steve, currently PT lead at Nuffield Health Stoke. I’ve been in the fitness industry for over 15 years and have always been active. 

 Over this time my training methods and interests have changed and adapted to meet my needs and current trends.

 I’ve a passion for helping others achieve what they think is impossible and to guide them through any life changes that helps them to achieve their goals. 
 Along the way I’ve also taught fitness courses to 100’s of new PT’s and gym instructors and continue to look to help people get into the industry and improve the quality of PT’s through my jointly owned training centre Advanced Fitness Careers Limited.

 I like to set myself challenges and prove that you don’t need hours upon hours in the gym to train. Having said that next week myself and Ryan are running the London marathon to raise money for Hospice UK which will be the biggest challenge yet to complete so if you can support us all donations will be welcome.

Transcript

0:00

In this week's episode, we talk about lasting health and how shifting your mindset around food and nutrition from punishment and control to nourishment and performance, how the power of consistency. 10 times better than intensity and beasting yourself. We talk about how to overcome gym anxiety and shame, and how resilience is built through setbacks and how real change comes from sticking with the process, even when motivation dips or obstacles appear. Welcome to Man: A Quest to Find Meaning, where we help men navigate modern life, find their true purpose, and redefine manhood. I'm your host, James, and each week, inspiring guests share their journeys of overcoming fear Embracing vulnerability and finding success. From experts to everyday heroes. Get practical advice and powerful insights. Struggling with career, relationships or personal growth? We've got you covered. Join us on Man Quest to Find Meaning. Now, let's dive in.

James: 1:14

I believe that true wellness is a balance of physical fitness, mental resilience, and overall health. For me, movement is not just an exercise, it's a celebration of what my body can do. Nourishment is about my, not about my restriction, but about fuel, all in my body and mind for strength, energy, and longevity. My mental wellbeing is just as important as my physical health, and I prioritize both on my journey. Good morning, Steve. Tell me more.

Steve: 1:46

Morning James. I think for me, everyone's kind of health and wellness comes down to, as well as being physically able to do everything that they need to do. It's also, I think one of the things that gets overlooked more is that kind of mental health side. And when people look at nutrition, it's usually in a negative fashion and it's really about looking at fueling yourself for what you need to be able to do. So that you can be as fit as you can do and able to mentally prepare yourself and be in a place where you want to be, rather than letting things bring you into a negative aspect, really. So for me, yeah, looking, sorry, everything and putting it all together gives you the best tools as you are gonna move forward in life.

James: 2:37

Yeah. Yeah. It makes a complete sense. It's like everybody. Season magazines and wants that perfect body with a six pack big chest, big arms. But they, and that's all they focus on. But when it comes to the general, every day, there's the mental side. But also the nutrition side. It's obviously with the mental side. If you don't, if you just focus on the physical side and forget about the mental side, that can have an impact on your every day and that kind of stuff. But at the same time, they always say that 80% of. Our diet should, 80% of getting into a trim shape is nutrition. Yeah. 20% is the physical side. And yeah, people forget that,

Steve: 3:29

That's it. And I think the mental aspect comes in into it as well, because you've gotta be in a. In a place where you want to do that. There's, I say, a small percentage of the whole population out there that get into those shapes that you see in the magazines compared to what you would see in the gym. Obviously, we both go to the same gym, and when you look around, you are not looking at people. That have that physique. It's people that are wanting to invest in themselves to be better and doing that, accepting I want to be the best that I can be and I want to be happy with my life and be able to do the things that I enjoy is more important than restricting yourself and putting yourself into a place where it then, rather than having a positive outlook on things and helping you feel better, be make you go the opposite way. I.

James: 4:23

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's also the idea I was hit 40 and there's a realization that I can't, I can almost live the same as in my twenties, but if I try and keep that up for a period of time, I get injured. Yeah. And so there's this idea that we think we can just keep going and going, and especially with my injuries. By having a good mental side to myself and indeed being able to deal with the mental issues, I'm able to overcome the injuries. Otherwise, you can get quite down when you're always injured.

Steve: 5:01

That's it. And I think it also, it can be the fact that you've, whether you struggle walking and then you physically walk for 10 minutes, that then has a positive effect on, you know what? I can't actually do this and I can achieve what I didn't think I could. So it can go hand in hand with each other in both the positive and negative ways. And I think train training does change as we get older. As much as we would like to continue to train, as we've trained from late teens into. 40 years now, but we have to modify it so that we can continue to train, feel good, because I know for me that if I'm able to train, it helps mentally, it helps me to switch off from whatever's going on around for an hour and I feel good, and then I can get back into a good place and deal with whatever I need to do for the rest of the day.

James: 6:00

Yeah. Yeah. Tell me what is your story? Where did your. Tell me about your earlier life, and then tell me how you got into the fitness.

Steve: 6:10

Okay. So for me, I've always been involved in fitness. I've grown up playing football well into my thirties. Job wise, I've always looked at jobs that have physically active more than sedentary, sitting at desks which led me to going into the prison service for 16 years. So started working the wings and then for 12 years I wanted, under two, then the qualifications to work in the gym area there which more of a supervised role, but it was my way into being in an active environment that was more fitness orientated. And at that point there as well, it allowed me to start delivering fitness qualifications for a training provider that I did all my qualifications through. So for probably best part of 13, 14 years now. As well as undertaking my own knowledge and developing myself. I've also helped probably hundreds of students come through their level two and level three PT courses and start their journeys now. And I think when I look at it, COVID was a big push for me to move from the prison service. And come into the industry that I've been training people and wanted to be in prior to being in the prison service. Yes, it's a big jump in anyone getting into wanting to be a pt. It is it can be a risk at start. You're not gonna get lots of money thrown at you by clients. It's, you've gotta take your time. And for me. Now I've got a better work balance being a pt. I get to see people and help people on a daily basis. For the last four years to walk around it during the day, be able to help people achieve their goals and achieve things that they didn't think they can do is more rewarding to me than the risk that I took by moving into that field. Alongside that, I've still got now a teaching business that I'm looking to develop and take further to help more students get into this industry. Because I think there can be improvements made. It is how we talk to people and how we understand and how we empathize with people. That leads us to offering a better service. And I think Covid and the pandemic and everything going virtual, reduced. That reduce within our industry. And for us it's having that physical element and those days to have contact with tutors to help improve confidence and knowledge in what we offer.

James: 8:58

This is it. Fitness and mental health is so important and. We need the more teachers out there to teach all this. Because if you are in a good place of physical health and men, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, then you're going to have more energy. And as you get older, you need to have, I think you need to do it more as you get older because obviously your body frails, your bones get weaker. So you've gotta find ways to strengthen stuff and to really progress.

Steve: 9:31

That's it. And I think for myself, my own training I was talking to a client today who'd seen a post that I put on Facebook ages ago saying what I was, when I was training just weights and I was 17 and a half stone. Wasn't able to move around much and wasn't able to do much cardio and I didn't enjoy that. So I made the change to do more functional lifting, bring cardio in because I wanted to move more. And I've been stable at the weight now. So it's proof that you can train one to one extent and then change because you're not happy or it's not gonna be what you think it would be. Yeah. And I think there is a lot of that there that we've gotta train for functionality. Especially as we get older clients that I work with, it is stressing why do we do things, especially older clients, to strengthen the ligaments, joints, muscles for doing simple things like sit to stands. And it is the transition of going from a squat when yeah, we're twenties and trying to lift as much as we can to when we're in the sixties and seventies. Just being able to stand up and sit down. Ni nice and easy. So Sorry, go on. Go. No, I was just gonna say it's relating those exercises and making it more functional.

James: 10:55

That's it. What I've noticed is the, I suppose over the last 20 years we've got so much more. As they, the word they use sedentary, so going from the out. So I was born up and grown up on a farm, so I got to go into the fields. I got to go and play in bales. So I had a really active outdoor life. But I feel as though back then parents were a bit more, I don't know if it's, we're a bit more willing to let the kids out and do what they want, whereas now I think it's a bit more of a guard on it.

Steve: 11:28

Yeah, de definitely, and I think I say, I can remember you used to go out in the streets, you play playing with whoever was in the streets or around, and you probably wouldn't come in until the lights come on in the streets. There's no phones to tell you what time to come back or so. Things like that. It would be you went back when you went back. And I do think that there is a lot more caution these days as parents because of, I think like social media news and everything like that, and the stories that come outta what people are capable of. And I think that does put or has put more concern over and we're taking more of an interest of where the kids are, what they're doing, not letting them go out. But also computers, it's easier to sit in a room and talk to'em on a mic rather than actually go out and play. So I do think, yes, part of it is caution from parents, and part of it is through technology that seems to have become less and less really.

James: 12:34

Do you feel that what's your opinion on how. Technology has impacted our fitness. I think there's two sides to it. It's the good things, the keep an eye in being able to record stuff easier. And then there's the bad side people H hooked their phone.

Steve: 12:51

Yeah. I think, like I say, it depends. It depends on the way that it's used by the person doing it. Obviously for those that are training or trying to be active, it's good because it's going to show you. How many steps you've done, you're gonna be able to check your heart rate. It's all gonna link to like your iWatch, telling you what, setting your monthly goals, setting your step target, stepping your setting your things like that, or being able to look at your phone and see what workout it is and input all your data. So there is that good side to it. I think the bad side is I suppose the social media side, that everyone's there. Then whilst they're doing the exercise, scrolling on the phones, it's not necessarily the apps that are there to help you track and help to make you active. I think it's the apps that are there that are a convenience. As you, you'll probably see when you're walking around, you do your sat, do your apps try to move on. You can see someone there that's on the phone and they're scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. And I suppose it's, there's lots of images out there with people that will show an image that's in the gym and you training you can be like this, but the reality of that image isn't. What every day is. So I suppose that feeds into someone then striving to be something that's that person physically isn't. And it's hard to distinguish for that.

James: 14:33

In your opinion, how does regular exercise help? Somebody who feels stuck has a low confidence or maybe is feeling has struggling with anxiety or depression?

Steve: 14:48

I. Yeah. And as I said to you, starting this anything that I do that's new, I get anxious. I am not sure how it'll be received, and I can relate that to someone setting foot in, in a gym for the first time, or thinking I've not, I struggled walking to the shops and back, or, I struggle to do this. And I suppose until you actually try it and until, what you're capable of, that anxiety's always gonna be there until you commit to doing something.

James: 15:22

Yeah.

Steve: 15:22

Recently working with a client who was in that similar situation, had thought about P PT because of what they felt they were capable as. It put it off for a while and finally bit the. Said, I want to invest and help myself because I'm not gonna do this on my own. Simple things like coming and being able to use the equipment, have the confidence of knowing how to use the equipment, what they can do, and actually this person who said that they could only walk for five or 10 minutes before stopping, we walk for 20 minutes. So already that anxiety then starts to come down and the realization comes from, ah, you know what I've actually done. So I've got a sense of achievement. And this person now walked away from that excited about what they could do with a smile and every session that they've been in since. There's an accomplishment. It's this big picture that everyone puts up of, right? This is what I want to do. It's little baby steps that get us there. It's not a massive jump. It's we're struggling. We don't need to run. We walk. When we start walking more, we can walk quicker. We can walk on inclines, we can, if we're able to then progress the jog, then we jog and we slowly build it up. So piece by piece, we put everything together to get to where we want to be. It's not gonna be a magical key that gets handed to us.

James: 17:05

I've done over I think I've done over a hundred recordings, not for this podcast, but other things as well. And even now, there's times, especially at the beginning where I get a little bit uncomfortable and I have to say a sentence and, oh, I said something wrong and then I have to start again. And, but it's, I think it's one of those things. So for anybody who's thinking of. Getting fit or wants to improve their health or their mental wellbeing, what kind of initial steps would you first recommend?

Steve: 17:39

For me, I always say, and I always break it down'cause people always come in and say, I want to get fit. First of all, we want to get active. If you are not doing anything, the first thing is to get up and walk. It's weather's getting nice now, so why not get out for a walk? We're not. Telling you to get a gym membership, we're not telling you to do this initially. We want you to walk, we want you to get up and do stuff that you are keep putting off or not doing. And then as that comes down, so we're looking at getting active and healthy first. Once we get active and healthy and we're able to move a little bit more and a bit more freer and we are starting to work hard and long, then we can look more at the kind of fitness drive and look at how we can do that. But in those instances, it's small goals. It's the small targets, and I suppose from speaking to people, one of the biggest things that stops people is their perception of what other people will think. So walking into a gym for someone that's never been in a gym, never done anything, they walk in and we'll go, oof. What's everyone gonna think when I'm doing this, and will they think if I do something wrong or anything like that? But majority of gyms, everyone's gonna help you. No one's gonna be stood there looking at someone going, what are they doing? What is it? They're all involved in their own little world as well, because that's what they're there for. So sometimes your perception of what others are gonna think are gonna stop you from doing it. So if it's something that you want to do and your. Wanting to be committed to doing something.'cause that's what it's gonna take. It's not gonna have one walk, it's gonna change it. You are gonna have to commit to doing something daily, and I think it's 21 days to make a habit. So continually walk for 21 days, make little tweaks. With what you're doing. They've not got to be drastic changes, but it's just something that you can commit to doing. First of all, if you're wanting to go to a gym, commit to 20 minutes, 15 minutes and build that process up to longer, it's about doing something that you're gonna feel happy to go back and do not do. One session.

James: 20:09

Gole not going back there. It's like the the CrossFit. So CrossFit gets got quite a bad in some respects and has some quite a bad name for getting people injured from my own perspective, shall I say?

Steve: 20:24

Yeah.

James: 20:24

And you walk into a CrossFit gym and they're doing all these weightlifting moves and these, they kipp the kipping and all that kind of stuff, and you're like, oh my God, what's going on? But what I found is that. You can get caught, you can get caught up in all the energy of the CrossFit gym and get and compete with people. And that's where I think people get injured is trying to compete all the time against everybody there. But what I find is that if you are there just to focus on a couple of moves, then there's this idea that it's take for example weightlifting. You got you got, what's it. Power cleans and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, there's quite a lot of complex moves. If you test it one bit at a time, gradually over time you get the movement and it's almost the same as when we look at lifestyle and habits and quite often people know exactly what they should do. They can't, they don't do it. Yeah. What do you think pe, what do you think really holds people back from honoring their health long term and how can we start to break it?

Steve: 21:35

I think it's breaking out cycle. People get into cycles of doing stuff. It's sim simple as. How many people order takeaways a week? How many people will have multiple takeaways a week? And it's easier to do that than invest in themselves for healthier options and alternatives and to do things. So I think it brings in that technology. It brings in the fact that we are not as active as we used to be and with prices and everything else that goes up with the economy at the minute. It is probably the last thing that people are thinking of to do that. And like you say, when you're talking about CrossFit and the. The exercises and breaking things down. Like I say, you walk into a CrossFit gym and you'll see people that have trained for years doing that and you think I gonna be able to do that. But it's piece by piece doing it, of starting with ring rows into bandaid, pull-ups, into it's pieced together. And the only way to do that in life again, is the small changes. And it's changes that you're gonna stick to. I always tell people like if it's nutrition wise, if you enjoy chips, if you enjoy chocolate and things like that, it's not about giving that up. It's about learning to moderate and learning that you can have it. It doesn't have to be a reward. But if you are having a plate full of chips or three chocolate bars a day and things like that, then something's got to give in it. You are not going to become healthier by continuing with your diet, but little changes and subtle changes that you are gonna be able to stick to. And now, oh, I can have chips and I can have this, but I need to have them in moderation. I. Then that's where we've got to head to with these changes is. Pick one thing, stick to it, and then change something else. If you try to change activity levels, nutrition levels and mindsets are all at once. That's a lot of things to go on with everything else that you've got to do anyway. So pick one thing, start to change that when it sticks, change something else. And as daunting as it might be, the only way to do it is to start and commit to it.

James: 24:07

There's so recently as a child I've eaten a lot of fruit and I've always had a sweet tooth, but that's also had an implication on my teeth. And so I've had two teeth taken out. And then just I think two months ago, I have a third taken out. And by that point, my dentist said to me, you need to cut out all sugar. Yeah. Otherwise I'm gonna have to have the, she was threatening to take the lower ones and I was like no, no more. So I've gotta, and you've got, I've gotta take out not just sweetss and chocolate, but fruit as well. Yeah. Now I don't get it wrong. I am berries in the evening with some yogurt and then I brought my teeth. But it's that idea that if most of the time we haven't got that emotional tie. To help us to break habits. Yeah. A few of us do. And it's quite lucky because I know that if I got any more teeth out the way I'm going, I'll have false teeth by the time I am 50. And I don't want false teeth by the time I'm 50. I want, I keep my teeth. So is that incentive, but for most people, how do you help people to build habits?

Steve: 25:17

I suppose for me it's just talking. Looking at what quarantine patterns are. So first of all, seeing what you currently eat and then seeing how we can make small changes to it. Most people, when you talk about fruit, for example, if you're trying to get someone to have more fruit, first thing that people will think of is, oh, I'll have a smoothie. I'll make it into a smoothie. But what happens when you make a smoothie, if you put the portion that you would usually eat into a smoothie maker. It becomes very small, so then you put more fruit in. So then again, you're adding natural sugars into it, which is one of the things you'd try to limit. But it's looking at kind of structure of things and how we eat. If we're more active, we, it gives us the opportunity to eat a little bit more because our calorie need will be more. People who I suppose think, oh, I want to lose weight. I am just gonna eat one meal a day or two meals a day. I'm not going to eat. But our body then starts to store these fuels. I. And doesn't burn effectively. So we actually hold on to eat for longer than we would if we ate just under what we needed. And I think there's a lot of things out there with regards to nutrition that people will promote and talk and hear. And it is a case of one, one style, one pattern does not fit all. You've got to find what works for you. And I think that's the hard thing with nutrition is the fact that you can't just give someone the, if you eat like this is gonna happen because everyone's body's different. You might find a few things that work off one thing, few things that work off the other. It's about having that healthy balance, and that's what we've got to try and get around to that. Foods aren't bad for us. This isn't bad for us, but we've got to have things in moderation for it to be good. And our body does need certain amounts of fats. It does need certain amounts of carbs and protein, and dependent on what we're doing when we're training, that's gonna depend on how our body's gonna react to it.

James: 27:37

It's get it's out open now. We probably both know that there's been, in the past there's been a big war on bats. Yep. And we've been told, and schools still teach that bad, that fats are bad for you. Yeah. And so let's get us out in the open. Bad fats are not bad for you. The, too much of the wrong facts can have an implementation effect, but good fats are good for you.

Steve: 28:04

That's it. People out there will stress carnivore diet, which is your meats butter, your good fats and thing, things like that. Eat is all cooked with fat and there's very limited carbs in it. And again, not, it's not gonna suit everyone. People are gonna need to have that carb fuel in carb sauce. Is, when we look at the nutritional values for protein, carbs, and fats, fat is the heist for every gram of fat that we have, it's nine calories for every gram of protein that we have. And carbs, it's four calories. So when you weigh it up, obviously we are gonna have more calories if there's more fat in there. So it is about limiting certain meals or and foods and making sure that it meets what your body needs a day. Obviously, you craze a few years ago or might still be intermittent fasting, where you're gonna eat for that eight hour period. You are still going to eat the same amount of calories as you would in the day. In that eight hours, you are still gonna need those basic requirements of calories. So if you've got a family and you've got kids and you're at work, is that eight hour window gonna work for you? No, but you can try and it's about trying and not being afraid to go, you know what? It's not working. What can I tweak to make it suit me? And it's like with the training with nutrition, take the best way that, and the better results that you are gonna have is by taking ownership of it and not being told what you could do. Because I dunno about you, but if I'm told to do something, I'm probably less likely to do it than if I choose to do something. So that's the mindset that we've gotta get round to is we can give people all these options of how to get active, what we can do, what they can do, how they can eat, how they can think. But unless they've got that mindset that they want to change, it's gonna be very hard to get them to do all the other bits consistently. To get the change that they want. And that's where, for me, everything links in together because it all starts with the mindset of, you know what? I want to make the change and become healthier. For me it's, I'm going on here and go, you know what? I'm gonna do something where. I'm gonna be uncomfortable, but I'm going to come on here and talk about something that I'm passionate about and that I like. And you know that I'll walk around the gym for every hour that I'm there. Talking about health related stuff and working out ways that people who say, oh, I can't do this. Oh, have you tried doing it this way? And then they go, ah, actually, and it just makes a little bit of difference. Starting with that positive mindset and showing someone that they can do the smallest of things.

James: 31:24

There's an idea that if somebody doesn't wanna do it, they probably won't do it. They might start it if they're forced. Yep. But then they'll probably stop. But it's more almost like you become the example. If you want somebody to do something, you become the example of that. And then they'll see that and they'd be like, oh, I like what he's doing. I'm gonna try that. So then suddenly they've just, they've just said, oh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do it.

Steve: 31:51

Yeah. And it is. And the thing is, through each little stepping stone that you do becomes a sense of accomplishment that then makes you do something. So it is that positive reinforcement that you get. And that's why I suppose. People who enter into making these changes with a good supportive network, whether it's their partner, whether it's family, whether it's friend that want to commit to do it, it's more enjoyable and they can hold each other accountable. Taking to these changes, and I suppose we've both trained on our own, we've both trained with others and you do get that enjoyment more with someone. So for someone not having not done anything before, if you can come with a friend, if you can do start to do something with someone, that's the first barrier broken down. And then you're gonna start talking to people and then you're gonna get drawn into different, whether it's classes or going to different things, going for walks on a weekend. You get drawn into doing more the more that you are around people that are a SI similar mindset.

James: 33:04

Yeah. Yeah. We all know, as we talked about earlier, that as we get older, our body changes and what we can do changes. So what type of training do you recommend people do? In their thirties, forties, and fifties, if they wanna stay strong, mobile and energized.

Steve: 33:27

So I suppose again, the energized bit comes down to fueling and sleep. So what we're eating and making sure we're getting enough sleep to recover and be for what we want our bodies to do. Because if we don't have a good quality sleep and we are not eating enough, we are not gonna feel that energy to want to train and do everything that. We want a need to do daily training wise, again, I think it comes down to a lot of what you like to train and your backgrounds for training, because obviously there are still people that will train heavy into their fifties, into the sixties and so on. For me, as we're getting older, becomes less about the importance of weights and the weight number, but more important about functionality and range of movements within, especially like hip joints, knee joints, shoulders, elbows. Those are the tendencies that we seem to see at the gym where people do start to suffer as they get older. And it's looking after the joints. And obviously every, most people will start lifting heavier into the twenties, but like you say, you get little niggles. If you try to push through that lifting heavy, we are gonna have some repercussions coming later and we need to take care of our joints. So for me, the weight side of things becomes more about making sure that we're hitting that full range of movements. Taking it from right, I can squat my body weight to can I lift myself up out of a chair without putting my hands on my knees and putting my hands on the side? Because that is something that I know we will struggle with as we get older. Knee replacements, hip replacements, numbers seem to be going up. With them. So again, looking at how we can best support those joints, and I'm a firm believer that if we have, if we've got to have some sort of treatment done or we have to have medication to help us, then if we're active enough, then hopefully we can have the lower end of whatever we need to have. But cardio wise as well. Okay. We're gonna get to a stage where I'm not gonna want to run. But I'm still gonna want to walk everywhere and be mobile and keep my independence. So I think looking at your lifespan, it comes from, as a child, you run around like a nutter doing everything you can without a care in the world. We then get to a stage where we can go into a gym or somewhere and be active and train, and we might get involved with weights, but then. As we get older, things will start to take the toll and eventually we start to think of how am I gonna keep my independence? What do I want? And we want to keep active and keep moving and be an environment that helps us to be there. I know that speaking to many members at the gym, it's a very social gym. They come there, it helps them with mental, the mental side of things because they're able to talk to friends, they sit have coffees after they've done various classes or activities upstairs. I think it's definitely gonna be something that as we get older, the more active we've been, that hopefully the better independence that we have and the quality of life that we have, because we'll become rest less reliant on. Medication or AIDS for our body. But at the same time, our bodies are wonderful things. That's sometimes they like to throw spanners in the works and go, no, you need a little bit of help. And if we need that, then we've gotta look at, but we've gotta help ourselves as much as we can.

James: 37:17

You mentioned about looking after your joints. How can, so knowing what I know, how can people in their thirties and forties look after their joints so that when they hit sixties, seventies, they're still able to to walk and do the as better, do suffer as best as they can.

Steve: 37:37

I think especially when it comes to movements and things like that, it's definitely warming up, making sure that joints if we're in the gym, joints are nice and warm before we do any weight training on'em. Explosive training, obviously, making sure nutrition wise we're eating enough so that the nutrients are getting around our body to help su. To supply adequate provisions to, and obviously you've got the supplements out there as well, but I think it's look, looking at kind of the, from an activity point of view, it is, rather than thinking I'm just gonna load this bar up and do this, or leg press and do this, because I suppose knees would be the first one or knees or hips are the first joints that people would think of as we get older. It is making sure we've got that full range of movement in them, not limiting what we can do. Because at the end of the day, as we get older, that's what's that's where we're gonna struggle. If the more we put on them, the more kind of wear and tear that we have in general, wear and tear is gonna come. If we're out running. Obviously cartilage on cartilage within our knee joints, things can wear away. So we've just gotta be mindful of the fact of what activity that we do in our thirties can impact us later on. Do we need to run every single day? Personally, I don't, but I'll do a couple of runs. But I am, but I'm conscious of what I saw my granddad who used to do marathons and everything doing in his sixties, seventies, eighties, how the knees started to play up and things like that. So for me, it's a conscious of, from what I've seen from family, that I don't want to run hundreds of miles a week and things like that. But I will do it occasionally, and I don't mind. So I think it's just taking the care at rest, not overdoing it would be for me. So nutrition, warmup activities, dynamic warmups. So moving nice and steady through full range of movements. Rest and just taking care of any little niggles and injuries as they come up.

James: 39:58

We all know that. As things happen, we get injuries, we get, we can sometimes feel, get depressed, get anxious. How can we start to build resilience? So for those of us who, so when it comes to discipline and resilience, where do you see most people fall? And how can these people start to build the resilience they need?

Steve: 40:26

I suppose it come again, it comes down to mindset. So when you want to make a change, the, you say you're gonna make a change and you might, new Year's resolutions. Everyone makes a New Year's resolution. What happens two days later or even the following day? I'm not drinking second. Oh, I've got some drink left. We may as well finish it off. Oh I may as well carry on.'cause So just because we fail at something I. Doesn't mean that we have to stop it and let it set us back. One bad meal, one chocolate bar a day isn't gonna throw us off course, but we've gotta continue in the mindset that we have. And I think that's where people fail. It's they see, oh, I'm supposed to be eating healthy. I've not done this, or I'm supposed to be going to the gym. I've not gone tonight. Oh. I've got a long day of work. I'm not gonna go tomorrow. I'll go the next. Any. They just keep them putting it off. Putting it off, so it becomes harder and harder, more so in their own mind than it, it actually is. So for me, it's having that mindset of, okay, I've not been able to come to tonight because of work, or I'm injured. I'm gonna go tomorrow night, I'm gonna swim instead. And if I don't go, I'm not gonna feel guilty about it, but I'm gonna do my best to go. I'm gonna have a bag packed when I go to work so that on the way home I can go to the gym rather than going home going, you know what, I can't be bothered to go back out again. It's about putting little steps to stop us from reverting back to that behavior. Trying to navigate it away from, and you are not gonna change 40 odd years of behavior, 20 odd years, 30 odd year in a week. You've got to learn and adapt to the new routines, the new behaviors of what you want over time, and it's not gonna be easy. And you're gonna have days where you're gonna have a setback. And points through the day where you might not feel like it, but coming and being around people can help you get that mindset and keep that mindset. And I think we, I said it earlier, is it is that surrounding yourself by like-minded people that want to help you to improve.'cause it can be a, it would be a lonely task on your own. And it would be hard. It's easier when you've got someone that you can talk to help you see that. You know what, it's just one thing. It's don't let it derail what you're trying to achieve. Because if we do, we're gonna be back at square one and then we revert back to. That loop that we were in at the first place until we then make another conscious effort to come out of it. So I do think with wanting to make changes and overcoming tho the barriers, that becomes more of a mental and psychological aspect then necessarily the physical because we're, we will overthink and stop ourselves before our body's going to.

James: 43:44

This is the, I think I mentioned to you before I was told that my feet splay out so it duck walking.

Steve: 43:51

Yep.

James: 43:52

Yeah, so that's you. I was seeing a physio about it and she, not physio, massage therapist, and she was saying that's probably the cause of my lower back pain and my issues and so happen to create. Correct. That's where I have to, obviously I have to turn my feet in. I also have to bend my knees slightly. Then there's having the arch, which I've got an insole for now, and making sure that my core is braced and my chest is up. That's a lot of modifications to make, and as you said I've done it for 40 years. So then suddenly going to have to change the way I walk after 40 years is a tough challenge. But it's that idea that in order to create that resilience, you have to take it a step at a time. Baby steps, as you said. And,

Steve: 44:45

and that's it. Like I say, if you come into a gym and I am trying to get you to lift to do a deadlift, lift the bar up off the floor, there are a million not a million, but lots of different cues that I could give you to set it up. But first of all, I'd want to see how you lifted something from the floor and stood up all with it, because then I'll just give you one cue at a time. To improve your technique, rather than saying right feet under the bar, hands this back in this position, hips down here short, it becomes a little bit more information overload. So it's got to be simple in the first instance for you to take on board. What's needed, and then as you do it more, we can increase and the points come more refined and the technique gets better and the weight gets more. And bit by bit you build it up until you're at the point where you're confident in doing it.

James: 45:52

In what you've seen, what are the mindset shifts that you see that help people go from inconsistent and overwhelmed to committed and empowered in their health journey?

Steve: 46:05

I, for me, it's kind, I suppose it's the seeing of the results or the feeling that they get of an accomplishment. I say not thinking that they couldn't walk for 10 minutes, walking for 20 minutes, which has then given'em the confidence to go out. I. And do walks outside of the gym that they'd previously not done it. This, the smile and the enjoyment that comes on the face from someone talking about that. For someone saying that they see differences, ah, I can. Top fitted better, dress fitted differently. As soon as they start to see that little change, or they feel a sense of accomplishments, it gives them the motivation to go, you know what? This is paying off. Or it's this is helping for my mental health. This is how I'm different after coming here. Okay? Whatever's going on in the day, I can call him. It helps me to switch off and I can go out and I'm de-stressed and I'm in a much better place than what I was when I turned up. And I know not everyone's gonna have that mindset. Not everyone will see the gym as an enjoyment, but we've gotta find a way of trying to make it as enjoyable as it can be. And as rewarding as it can be. While whilst they're there. And like I say, first thing I do is talking with people. What's your goal? Tell me your big goal and then wrap. Let's work down. Let's work on a small goal first, because these are gonna be the things that are gonna keep you accountable for doing every little step to get to where you want to be.

James: 47:50

Yeah. So for people who perhaps let themselves go or have basically have done nothing, what's one powerful first step they can take to basically turn things around?

Steve: 48:03

So for me, it's men mentally commit to making that change. Get up and move. I say. The more that we move, the more our body's gonna need. Energy. Energy comes from the foods that we eat. The more we're moving, the more we're gonna start burning. We don't need to eat more to keep up with what we're doing. Keep that the same, but move more. That you're not gonna see something in a day. You've gotta have a realistic term. But if you stick with it and you stick with the process, you will be able to achieve what you want to achieve. Whether that's losing weight, whether that's walking more improved health, running quicker. It's one little step at a time, not the whole picture.

James: 49:10

The big thing there that I picked out was making the decision. Yeah, because first thing about 10 years ago I went for a breakup, which left me at my lowest anxiety depression, a whole lot. And it was that moment and that precision to take responsibility for myself, which put me on this tra this trajectory.

Steve: 49:31

Yeah.

James: 49:31

And it is the start. It is the decision to take that first step.

Steve: 49:38

It is, it's not being afraid of what other people think because you are doing this for you. You, I always use this, the phrase I'll control what I can control and what I can't. Why should it bother me? So I can control what I do? I can control what I put in me. I can control my activity. I can't control what anyone else wants. Wants me to do, I can't control what anyone else is doing around me, so why should that affect my mental state? Why should it so that it's like right water off a ducks back? What want people want to say? So long as I'm happy and I'm doing what I want to do, that's all that matters.

James: 50:21

What, with regards to people you've seen and your clients, yep. What role does shame or embarrassment play in keeping people away from the gym and asking for support?

Steve: 50:32

I think that's like a stigma that's I. People use as a barrier. I think like we've said earlier, it's people will always think, oh, they're gonna, they're gonna think I'm shouldn't be in here. What? They're gonna think this, they're gonna think that. And within certain gyms. Or I'm hoping all gyms, it's not the case. Once you're in there, you actually realize, oh, you know what? Most people are friendly. You know what, they're all in their own little world. As I'm walking on the treadmill here, I've got someone running down there. He is in his own little world with his headphones on. That's the biggest thing that stops people is the thought of what other people are thinking. But at the end of the day. Do you want to make that change? Like I say, it's there. It's something that you put on yourself more than anyone else would put on you. You wouldn't walk, I know. I wouldn't walk into the gym and know that people are gonna look at me or anyone else and go they did. They don't belong here. They look, oh, that's weird what they're doing, but. No one actually does. They're own in their own little world. They don't. What you are doing isn't gonna impact them. What they're doing isn't gonna impact you. So it shouldn't stop you from doing it. And like I say, it's getting into this, into the environment first of all, is that step to do. It's that mindset of going, I'm committing to this and going I'm in it for me. That's stigma of, oh, people are gonna think this, people are gonna think that I shouldn't do what you want to do is something that you should do. Yeah. And it shouldn't be held back because of a perception that you think is gonna be there when you walk in.

James: 52:29

You always hear people say, I will join, I'll join the gym when I'm fit.

Steve: 52:36

And that's kinda pointed out, oh, I'll do it at the end of the month. Oh, I'll do it next week. I'll start next week. And eventually it will kick in. And sometimes you do need the why to do it. So you do need the why to make a change, whether it's a doctor, a health check, a health scare, whether it's just something that's made you realize whether it's n. Not being able to do a walk that you used to do, whether it's something so simple that you're like, oh, you are gonna eventually want to make that change. So the sooner you go I've got that feeling. I wanna make that change. Commit to it and stick with it. Because sooner you commit to it, the sooner then you'll start to see the changes that you want and you want to get from it.

James: 53:36

How can we start to normalize vulnerability in health spaces?

Steve: 53:41

I su, I suppose in summary, some respects social media, again, out there, there is the true side of people. Pointing themselves out there and being vulnerable now. And it's okay to ask for help. And it's okay to be upset when you, if you're not able to do stuff, you put more pressure on you to do something than anyone else is gonna do. And I think that's where most vulnerability and most disappointment comes from, is from within rather than anywhere else. And I think it's obviously, it's okay not to be okay. And it's okay to ask for help because people will be there to listen to you. People will be there to help you, but you've just gotta, you've just gotta be ready to ask, felt, and say, put yourself. Out there to be helped in whichever way you want.

James: 54:45

Yeah. So for those people who are listening, what is it that you do and how can they get in contact?

Steve: 54:53

So obviously I'm a PT at Northfield Health, so obviously it's a private gym, so obviously members that can obviously book in at reception with me, see me on the gym floor. For anyone else, I'm on Facebook, Instagram drop me a message. Happy to do online coaching, whether that's from a fitness. Perspective activity, nutrition, all combined, looking at mindset work and things like that. But for me, I do enjoy helping people eat. Not just something that I see as a job, it's something that I'm invested in and I want people to be the best version of themselves that they can be and be able to achieve everything that they want. So for me, seeing that in people, that's as rewarding as anything.

James: 55:51

Just to clarify, that's Northfield Health in Stoke, Trent Stature uk.

Steve: 55:56

That's right.

James: 55:59

Thank you very much, Steve. No problem. Cheers

Steve: 56:02

for having me, James.