“Good training isn’t just for Instagram models and athletes but for all of us.
Whether we’re feeling a little older, injured, or just new to working out,
its benefits include physical and mental health, improved strength, flexibility, recovery, and work-life balance.” - Coach Jackie's philosophy

Jackie was quoted on "how important it is to remain physically active as we age" by journalist Janet Bodnar in the April 2024 Kiplinger magazine article (pictured above) "Singles: build a social network" (page 57).

The quote was an inspiration for Ms. Bodnar to emphasize not just staying active but of building a social network as we age, especially where single or without family members for backup.

The wider context for this advice is that America has a graying demographic trend per Census Bureau statistics.

• The Baby Boomers generation (born from 1946 to 1964) is almost 80 million strong, all of whom will be age 65 or older by 2030.
• In 2022, 29% of households are single-person households,
• In 1960, the figure was 13% of all households.
• The population itself is growing much slowly than in previous decades, whereby older adults (over 65) will outnumber children ( under 18) by 2035.

It’s no secret that staying consistent on your fitness journey can take work. So when an injury or illness comes along, it can be hard to balance the line between recovery and maintaining our gains. Knee jerk reaction, we freeze and stop all activity. We bemoan the loss of all the headway we’ve made on our journey and proceed to comfort ourselves. It’s a slippery slope.

Don’t beat yourself up. You aren’t by yourself. We all have these thoughts. NO ONE is immune. It’s okay to be in your feelings for a second, but then come up with a plan. Use the trainers at your gym as a resource. If there is something we love to do is help people break through obstacles.

As a fitness instructor, and a person on a journey of her own, I struggle with fears of losing progress. That fear led me to putting off going to the doctor after I twisted my ankle about a month ago. It was a careless accident stepping off a treadmill. I didn’t ignore the injury, but I also didn’t seek treatment immediately. Well, post doctor visit (one month later) I’m now in a boot with orders not to exercise. Now, I could AND DID have a pity party, worrying that the progress I was making was going to stall. I was sad that I wouldn’t be able to row and I ❤️ rowing. The horror! 😲 How was I going to work through my mind’s daily negative self talk if I couldn’t work it out at the gym? Then I started to spiral - it wasn’t pretty.

I’m glad to report the pity party ended. I took a deep breath or three and cleared the fog. Even though I have to eliminate exercises that require ankle flexion/extension or high impact there is a whole realm I can explore. My world righted itself again. Now, is it the same, no. However, it is an opportunity to focus on movements I don’t pay too much mind to.

It’s all about perspective.

When we experience what we perceive to be setbacks, we can focus on the negative OR we can shift focus on what we can do and continue on our path.

Remember, you aren’t alone. Things happen to the best of us. Pívot according to the situation. Use resources available to you. Don’t be shy. Make friends with your coaches, I promise you a judgement free place. We want to see you succeed.

Journey on!