01/02/2026
This one was for all my fellow over 50s Men.
Those of us whose bodies are but a shadow of our former selves. The slow failure of our knees and hips, the constant strained joints and a range of movement far shorter than previous years.
Our Muscle mass that seemingly shrinks daily and a yearning for those best physical years that are so far behind us now.
Yes, this was also for my ego. The battle within the battle. My fight to not let age get the better of me and to prove to myself that I can still move. And to hopefully inspire my children and my loved ones to reach for the stars and keep pushing.
My biggest critic is me. And my biggest motivator is YOU.
The journey to get here has been a hell of a ride. The training, the nutrition, the recoveries, the sacrifices and the mental fight to get up and just do it. It wasn’t easy but gee it was so worth it.
I started well. An easy first few runs and ski erg. The sled push and pull took a bit out of me but I was able to suck in some big ones and get my heart rate down quickly to move on. The burpee broad jumps were killers and I had to really slow my run pace down for that next 1km after that to recover and by the time I hit the rower I was feeling good again and I’d had a gel and some electrolytes coming in to that station.
I smashed the Farmers Carry ( 2nd in my age group) unbroken and then met the sandbag lunges. These absolutely destroyed me and my lack of prep for this particular exercise coupled with old injuries made for a tortuous station.
I honestly couldn’t have got through this one without my support team yelling out encouragement. These guys were my absolute rock and I cant thank you enough ❤️
When we talk about “digging deep” and “emptying the tank” it’s for these moments.
Over 12 minutes on this station for 100m with a 20kg sandbag says it all.
Then the ‘run’ that took over ten minutes after that…Coming in to the final station, the wall balls. By now my legs were like jelly and my lungs were screaming and I was dizzy and feeling sick. It was only afterwards checking my stats that I realized my heart rate spiked to 192!
But I carried on through all the no reps to inch my way to the magical 100 and then to the finish. I was ecstatic to finish but admittedly slightly disappointed with the time because those last 2 stations plus the run took me 34 minutes alone. But I was 19th in my age grade ( 55-59) and next year I’ll be 60 so I may have a crack at that 60+ bracket.
Yes, I have the Hyrox bug 😊
My whoop watch told me that out of 37,000 Men aged over 50 on Friday, my strain level ranked #2 in the world.
Hard bloody yakka.
My why? Why not. I work in an industry where I’m privileged to help people get their lives back on track physically.
I see people every day who are lost and have a feeling of hopelessness because they’re either overweight, grossly unfit, on cocktails of meds or struggle to see the good in their life or all of the above.
They have a fear of dying but fail to see that they have a fear of not living. This is not the life you were destined to have. You can have vitality and strength, energy and life. It starts one step at a time, physically, mentally and spiritually.
In these cases I’m not just a Chiropractor helping my patients negotiate some back pain. Im also the Rugby Coach, ex player, Mentor and Guide. I become a psychologist and psychiatrist too because there is far more underlying their condition than just a sore back.
We identify the ‘3 T’s’ which are Trauma, Thoughts and Toxins. Or Physical, Emotional and Environmental reasons for dis-ease.
These people are what motivates me to run programmes for Over 50s Men. Our su***de rates are through the roof. The pressures to be providers and protectors are enormous and we drive ourselves in to the ground to live up to expectations.
Instead of looking to physical fitness as a means to keep ourselves above water, we do the opposite and turn to the demon drink… And life goes in to a downward spiral.
I hear you and I see you.
And never say never. NEVER. EVER. It takes discipline but it also takes a ‘why.’
If not for you, then do it for your loved ones. You and them deserve the best possible version of you.
I aint perfect, far from it, but I’m trying my best. And I’ll be moving on to my next goal whatever that may be because age is just a number and I refuse to be dictated to by that.
Looking after ourselves is not selfish. It is essential.
Charity Boxing fight age 52:
Last rugby game on NH Stadium for the Knights age 56:
First Hyrox age 58:
What next?
