There are certain people who come into our lives and change our direction.
Sometimes it’s a parent. Sometimes it’s a teacher, coach, colleague, friend or business mentor. They might only be part of our journey for a short period, but the lessons they teach us can stay with us for decades.
We often associate mentors with younger people who are still finding their way. But I think the opposite can be true.
As we get older, more experienced and more comfortable in our routines, having the right people around us can become even more valuable.
Because no matter how much experience you have, there will always be another level you can reach.
The Right Coach Can Help You Break Through a Plateau
I experienced this personally with marathon running.
I had been running and training consistently, and I knew how to push myself. But there was one goal I really wanted to achieve: running a marathon in under three hours.
I could have kept doing what I had always done and hoped that eventually I would get there.
Instead, I engaged a running coach.
Having someone look objectively at my training changed things. There was more structure, better progression and greater accountability. Instead of simply working harder, I was training with greater purpose.
Eventually, I cracked the three-hour barrier.
The lesson wasn’t that I suddenly became more motivated.
It was that the right guidance helped turn my effort into progress.
The Same Lesson Applied to Business
Years later, I experienced something similar with Live Well.
I had plenty of experience in the fitness industry. I knew personal training, I understood our members and I had already spent years running a business.
But experience alone doesn’t mean you have all the answers.
I decided to work with a business coach who specifically understood the fitness industry.
That relationship helped me look at Live Well differently. I was challenged on how we operated, where we were heading and what was possible.
Importantly, it gave me greater confidence to grow the business and eventually take the leap into opening more studios.
Again, I could have tried to figure everything out myself.
But having someone in my corner helped me move forward faster.
Why Do We Think Our Health Should Be Different?
This is something I see all the time in health and fitness.
Someone decides they want to get stronger, improve their fitness, lose weight or become healthier.
So they join a gym.
They find a few exercises online, repeat the same workouts and try to motivate themselves to keep going.
For a while, it might work.
Then progress slows.
The weights stop increasing. Motivation drops. Training becomes inconsistent. A few aches or injuries appear. Eventually, they start wondering whether their age is the problem.
Often, age isn’t the issue.
The program simply hasn’t progressed.
This is where having a good personal trainer or coach can make such a difference.
A Personal Trainer Should Do More Than Count Reps
Good personal training isn’t about having someone stand beside you and count to ten.
A good coach should understand where you are now, where you want to go and what needs to change to help you get there.
That could mean improving your strength and mobility. It might mean changing your exercise selection, progressing your weights, improving your technique or simply providing the accountability to keep showing up.
Most importantly, a coach should educate you.
Our goal at Live Well isn’t to make someone dependent on their personal trainer. We want our members to better understand their bodies, their training and what they need to do to stay strong and fit as they age.
Coaching Becomes More Important as We Get Older
Your fitness goals at 50, 60 or 70 can look very different from your goals at 25.
It becomes less about how you look in the mirror and more about what your body allows you to do.
Can you travel without worrying about whether you’ll keep up?
Can you get down on the floor and comfortably get back up?
Can you carry your luggage, groceries or grandchildren?
Can you maintain your balance?
Can you continue playing sport, hiking, skiing, gardening or doing whatever brings enjoyment to your life?
And most importantly, can you maintain your independence?
Strength training, cardiovascular fitness, balance and mobility all play a role.
But simply exercising isn’t always enough.
You need to keep progressing.
That’s where coaching can become incredibly valuable.
Mentors Help Us See What We Can’t See Ourselves
One of the biggest advantages of having a mentor or coach is perspective.
When you’re in the middle of something, it can be difficult to objectively see what needs to change.
A good mentor can tell you when you need to push harder.
They can also tell you when you need to back off.
They can challenge your assumptions, point out your blind spots and help you avoid mistakes they’ve already made themselves.
Whether that’s in business, sport, relationships, career or health, sometimes another person’s perspective is exactly what we need to move forward.
Who Are the Mentors in Your Life?
It’s worth taking a moment to think about the people who have helped shape you.
Who taught you something that changed the direction of your career?
Who believed in you before you believed in yourself?
Who challenged you when you needed challenging?
Who helped you achieve something you weren’t sure was possible?
And then ask yourself another question:
Where in your life are you currently stuck?
Maybe it’s your career.
Maybe it’s your business.
Maybe it’s your health.
Maybe you’ve been saying for years that you want to get stronger, lose weight, run an event, improve your energy or simply feel better.
Rather than asking, “What do I need to do?”
Perhaps a better question is:
“Who could help me get there?”
You Don’t Have to Figure Everything Out Yourself
There is something powerful about accepting that you don’t need to have all the answers.
I’ve benefited from running coaches. I’ve benefited from business coaches. I’ve benefited from mentors and people who have challenged the way I think.
And I’ll continue looking for those people.
Because whether you’re 25, 45, 65 or 85, there is always an opportunity to learn, improve and take another step forward.
The right mentor won’t do the work for you.
But they might help you discover just how much you’re capable of.
At Live Well Health & Fitness, that’s ultimately what we want to provide through personal training: the coaching, education, progression and accountability that helps people stay strong, fit and independent for the decades ahead.
Related blog post:
- Staying Strong as You Age: Why Consistency Matters More Than Perfection
- Why Progressing Your Workouts Is the Key to Getting Stronger After 50
- Healthy Ageing: How to Map Out the Final Decades of Your Life.
- Fitness Mindset: The Secret to Long-Term Fitness Success
- 11 Tools to Help Achieve Your Health and Fitness Goals
