This ankle injury has had an impact on my whole right side. The limited range of motion has put pressure on my knee and my hip. This week I decided to really focus on mobility and do all that I could to regain my range of motion. It seems to have worked. Yesterday, I was able to do some lower body lifts. Light weights with higher reps. It felt really great to see progress so soon. Mobility is the gateway to strength.

Coming back from a setback: what actually keeps you going? A) A plan B) A buddy C) A goal on the calendar D) Pure stubbornness I'm a D, working on becoming an A. Tell me yours below. 👇 Pain is a tricky thing to figure out. As we age, some pain becomes part of daily life, and we have to learn how to manoeuvre around it. Muscle pain is easy for me. I've learned to love it. It means I've had a good workout, and I barely think of it as pain anymore. I know when to expect it and I know when it will fade. Joints, tendons and ligaments are a different story. Those injuries need to be managed more carefully. But we can't let pain stop us completely. Working through it is what eventually makes it go quiet. Motion is lotion. A body in motion stays in motion. So many catchy phrases, and every one of them is true. When I started this journey over five years ago, I was in a lot of pain. Over time, most days became pain-free. If anything flared up, it was my elbow, usually from pushing a little too hard (pull-ups!). My workouts kept my joints and tendons feeling great. I like to think of our bodies as a high-performance vintage vehicle. Let it sit idle too long and the rust sets in. The moving parts creak and groan, and eventually they seize up. That's what we want to avoid. This week I've been feeling it in my ankle and my elbow. Many people our age would stop here. I know better. My physiotherapist's guideline is to work through pain up to a 3 or 4 out of 10, and no higher. I keep that in mind, listen to my body, and push it just enough. Manageable discomfort is often a sign things are healing. So I'll keep going. The pain-free days are coming back. I know it. What about you? How do you keep moving when your body pushes back?

Honest check-in after a few busy days: yesterday I was sore, tired, and not feeling strong. I went anyway and did a short mobility and rehab session. I'm going again this morning. What does your bare-minimum day look like? Let's build a list we can all borrow on the hard days. Losing my ability to just get up and go has been a struggle. My ankle recovery is going well but it is taking a long time. I am not great at sitting around. i worked on mobility today. It was a very good session and I felt better for having done it. I am very pleased with how well my ankle is healing. I was able to do a lot more than I expected. I took the time to work on my shoulder and elbow mobility as well. I will take this time to focus on some of the areas I have been neglecting and building a good base of mobility and strength. Take a look at the mobility routine I have posted in the classroom. I am doing this with intention. In invite you to do this everyday this week and let me know how you feel afterwards.

I went to the gym planning an upper body workout with a bit of mobility. I wanted to test the range of motion in my ankle and do some gentle rehab. I started with the mobility exercises from our Classroom here. To my surprise, I could do air squats and Cossack squats with a band for support. Then I couldn't help myself. I headed over to the leg extension and leg curl machines. No problem! My ankle handled pressure on the front and back. Next came the adductor and abductor machines. Woohoo! I even managed a few reverse hack squats at a very light weight. I worked all of it in between my upper body sets. It felt so great to lift again. I'm still walking slowly, and I won't be bouncing for a while. But I'm thrilled with the progress. I started slow, listened to my body, and kept going, and I did so much more than I expected. Things can change quickly. We're all stronger than we think, and sometimes it's worth just trying. When was the last time you surprised yourself? Tell me below. 💪

This year has been a doozy! So many challenges mixed in with so much joy. This month I injured my ankle. I've said over and over that my biggest fear is getting injured. Well, it happened, and I survived it. Not fun, but I'm managing, and after 12 days I'm finally feeling like I may be okay after all. The rest has actually been good for me. I've had time to think, reflect, and plan. At first I panicked about missing my workouts. Now I'm grateful for the rest. I'm getting excited about being settled in Texas, hopefully by the end of this year. We've secured an apartment in a great community with a state-of-the-art gym where I can train clients, a beautiful pool, a golf simulator, great walking trails, and even a fishing stream. It will be a huge change from our beautiful home in London, but a great place to land while we decide where to buy our next home. Our family business is doing very well here, and that will let me focus on this community and on encouraging women to get strong so they can keep playing right to the very end. I'm proud of myself for staying consistent. I've been in the gym twice a week for most of this year. The ankle had me on the couch for a few days, and I'm slowly getting my strength back. This morning I'll do my second upper body workout and whatever lower body mobility I can manage. It's all going in the right direction. My challenge now is to take it slowly and rebuild strength in this ankle. I don't want to sprain it again. It was just over five years ago that I transformed my body and got hooked on strength training. These past few months have been my first real setback. Setbacks happen, and they can be managed. I have some work to do. I've gained some weight and lost some strength. I'm ready for the challenge, and I'll share it as I go. I looked in the mirror this morning and realized I'm somebody new. For five years I feared sliding back to my overweight, sedentary self. She is no longer here. I'm strong, I'm fit, and I'm completely committed to this healthy lifestyle. Life is so very good!