Fitness Through the Seasons of Life
A few of my clients’ children have recently started or returned to university, sparking conversations about those times. Pulling all-nighters, living on takeaways and ready meals, and the irony of feeling like you knew everything while barely knowing how to “adult.” Whilst nice to reminisce, those days are behind us now, but it got me thinking about how our approach to health, fitness—and life—evolves through different seasons.
When we’re young, it’s easy to take our bodies for granted. Late nights, erratic eating habits, and sporadic exercise don’t seem to leave a dent. We recover far quicker, bounce back from regular overindulgences, and rarely do we consider the long-term implications. But as the years pass, we start to notice bit-by-bit that what once worked so effortlessly now requires a bit more thought and care.
Ironically, it’s not that we lose the ability to push ourselves, I’m confident that I could match or better any of the workouts, (or nights out…) that I may have taken part in in my early twenties; but I’m also fully aware that I’m likely to need far more recovery from either scenario that wouldn’t have been necessary in my University days.
In our twenties, fitness is likely to involve some form of peak performance - running faster, lifting heavier, getting leaner, more muscle, boundary pushing. The world itself feels so wide and open with minimal, if any, commitments that can stand in the way of any goals we may set, we’re eager to test these limits.
Sleep is an overthought, nutrition is a catch-as-catch-can, and yet we manage to power through, results come seemingly easy and life feels great.
But as we enter into our thirties, forties and beyond, priorities are likely to shift. Careers become more demanding, both in time, energy, and importance. Families grow. Time feels a scarce resource as weeks can roll into one and you’re already back round to Christmas and a new year begins again.
Fitness goals too may transition from breaking personal records to a greater focus on maintaining health, maximising energy levels, and optimising for longevity. Recovery becomes as important as the workouts themselves. A late night out may now require a full day to recuperate, and suddenly, the idea of a good night’s sleep holds unparalleled appeal.
Much like our approach to fitness, our financial strategies often reflect clearly our stage of life and evolving priorities. I remember in my first year at University, as soon as a maintenance loan or scholarship payment would arrive, you’d feel flush with cash. A few online purchases, a couple of nights out and you’re back to the baseline of just being a student with minimal income. In our youth, we take these risks, our knowledge base is limited, we don’t yet know what we don’t know. We make volatile decisions in the hope of potentially high returns.
But as we age, our strategy slowly begins to shift towards preserving wealth, focusing on stability, and long-term growth. Our tendencies become more cautious, not because we’ve lost our nerve, but because our goals have evolved. So much of life is to make sure you can continue playing the game.
Similarly, those behaviours we could get away with in our younger years start to catch up with us. Skipping sleep, neglecting nutrition, and ignoring regular exercise no longer feel inconsequential. They have cumulative effects, subtly impacting our health, mood, and overall well-being. A doctors visit now results in a few concerns over a recent check-up. The niggling injury that hadn’t stopped you from anything a few years back now becomes something that needs an ice-pack after each Park Run.
In my own life, I’ve noticed how that missing out on sleep when either of my two children are ill, restless through the night, or in our bed, doesn’t just leave me tired - it affects my focus, patience, my ability to communicate clearly with clients and maintain conversation, even how my body responds to exercise. Prioritising rest has become a non-negotiable part of my routine. The idea of setting alarm for bedtime, not just wake time, would be something that younger me would have scoffed at.
Likewise, nutrition plays a bigger role now than it would have done previously.
As the primary cook in the house, it’s not just my intake that I have control over, it’s the families. Gone are the days where I could realistically eat what I wanted, and just throw in a protein shake a day, all without a second thought. Now, I find that there needs to be thought to ensure that not only myself, but my wife and two young children, also get in the macronutrients and diversity of food intake that they need. There’s no diet we follow in the household, nor do we deny treats, snacks, or the occasional take-out meal, but there is a conscious choice to make sure we balance these decision out across the course of a day, or week.
Regular medical check-ups, once easily dismissed, begin to become more essential. For the past 6 or so years, I’ve paid for private blood work on an annual basis. Not that anything is wrong, but so I have the data available now to see how things change overtime in the event that something does come up in the future. I’m a believer that prevention and early detection are invaluable, much like regular maintenance checks keeps a car running, for the sake of £100-150 a year, you can take a look under the hood and see what’s going on internally. It’s about being proactive rather than reactive.
Community and personal relationships also begin to take centre stage as we age. In a very introverted person at heart, having time to myself in solitude is important. But engaging with others both personally and professionally, sharing experiences, and building meaningful relationships does contribute significantly to my mental and emotional health. It’s well researched that as we age, social groups tend on average to get smaller. Yet they also tend to get more complex and deeper. That takes time, honesty, and consistency.
Developing a sense of purpose becomes more prominent as life evolves. Transitioning from focusing solely on myself to becoming a husband and a father of two has undeniably shifted my perspective. Now, every decision is no longer about “I” or “me,” but about “us” and “we.”
Whether you find that within your own immediate family, through hobbies, volunteering, or pursuing passions, these activities enrich our lives beyond the physical. They offer fulfilment that we can’t begin to imagine at younger stages of life.
Adapting our fitness routines as we age doesn’t mean slowing down or giving up on goals. It means being smarter about how we approach them. It’s about listening to our bodies, understanding the balance between intensity and recovery, that neither are a sign of weakness, but a component of strength and maturity.
The key is to remain adaptable. Life is dynamic, and our approach to health and fitness should be too. What worked a decade ago might not serve us now, and that’s okay. There’s power in recognising change and embracing it.
This perspective shift isn’t limited to health and fitness. In our careers for example, we might move from chasing repeated promotions to seeking greater work-life balance. In relationships, we might prioritise depth over breadth, focusing on maintaining meaningful connections rather than expanding social circles endlessly.
Aging isn’t about decline; it’s about evolution. Each season of life brings us new opportunities to learn, grow, and refine what’s important to each of us. By adapting our fitness goals and routines, we honour where we are now while laying the groundwork for a healthier future.
In the end, fitness through the seasons of life is less about holding on to past abilities and more about cultivating habits that support our well-being now and in the years to come. It’s about being kinder to ourselves and others, appreciating the journey, and recognising that each stage has it's own unique strengths and joys.
After all, a tree doesn’t dwell on losing its spring blossoms; instead, it provides shade in the summer and stands strong through autumn and winter. In the same way, we can embrace the changing seasons of our lives, finding beauty, joy, and purpose in each stage.