Here's To Staying Active For Longer

Here's To Staying Active For Longer

In a way this blog is a really personal one but it ties in a lot of aspects that are talked about within the CrossFit methodology (even if we are not talking directly about it). You see I lost a family member (my grandma) recently, I felt, and in some ways still feel a lot of guilt for not being there at the end. Not being there for my family when they needed and still do need me the most (For context in 2021 we moved over 500 miles away to Dundee with my family living on the Isle of Wight). The one thing that gives me solace in the challenging moments is the knowledge that every time I talked to my Grandma, and every time that I talk to  my family, they always say how happy that they are to see the life that we are forging here and how happy we are as a result of the choice we made. It's a decision that changed our lives but for the better.

What's that got to do with CrossFit, Coaching, Nutrition or leading a Health Active Life? Well she was fiercely independent, loved to travel, went white water rafting in her retirement and whilst she never got to live it out, always dreamed of sky diving. Right up until she physically couldn't, after breaking her hip, she would walk everywhere and use her bus pass to the fullest of its extent to travel around our little island. Even after she broke her hip, which limited her, she stubbornly, without telling anyone until afterwards, walked the mile or so down to the local high street. She was only able to bounce back from that, and numerous other accidents, because she was so stubbornly active her whole life. When we look at CrossFits Sickness, Wellness, Fitness Continuum, (CrossFit | "What Is Fitness?" Part 4: The Sickness-Wellness-Fitness Continuum) she was someone who because of how active she was, lived in that zone between wellness and Fitness, meaning that when it came to it she had some buffer there allowing her to jump back to being active faster (some might say she often pushed the limit too quickly but ultimately it was one of the good things and certainly something that made her who she was and will always be remembered as).

 She was always someone who encouraged me to do the things I wanted, be that travel, adventure or quite frankly anything (talk about a number 1 supporter!). If her loss can be honoured in anyway by me it would be to say yes to every adventure, every opportunity and every challenge that presents its self (or that's what is going to get me through it anyway). It's why I have said to both a half Ironman and an adventure type race next year.

I wrote recently that I believe the CrossFit methodology has the ability to enhance, preserve and prolong life. I believe that whole heartedly. How as we get older we either use what we have or lose it, and the fact is that once we lose it, it's exceptionally difficult, if not near impossible, to get back fully. She was proof that if you stay active, you can live a full and happy life. The reason I became a CrossFit coach was because I wanted to help more people be able to do that, my 'Why' just got even stronger!

A remarkable person who's influence on my life will live on - I hope she knew that, in fact I know she did!