While working out at the gym one night in late 2009, I suddenly realized that I was one of the few persons over 40 training with the young crowd (and standing my own).
This realization did not come overnight. I had been working out at various gyms in France, the Unites States and Belgium for the last 22 years when this fact occurred to me. 20 or even 15 years ago, I had been one of these 20 something warriors full of energy and hubris wondering whether I would still be in a gym past my 40s.
The funny thing is that as I was getting older more and more people would spontaneously come up to me at the gym for advice. This happened so frequently that in early 2009, after more than 22 years of workout experience I decided to get a personal trainer certification, which I passed in December 2009 (I am now a NSCA-certified personal trainer).
Needless to say that the flow of advice-seekers has swelled further since then. Yet in spite of my experience and newly acquired credentials, I did not want to become a personal trainer in the traditional sense of the word. My goal was to be in a position to help (and receive precious feedback from) a lot more “mid-lifers” than I would ever be able to meet as a PT.
This is how this blog saw the light of day on June 11th 2009, the very day the 19th Soccer World Cup opened in South Africa (I am a European, so don’t start me on this…).
My goal with “FitandWise” is to help middle-aged males and females to restore or maintain a level of fitness they thought was lost forever when the big 40 hit. In doing so I promise to abide by a sacred rule:
Never misrepresent or over-hype facts and figures, a phenomenon all too common on websites dedicated to fitness. I’d rather confront you with unpleasant truths (e.g. no, there is no “quick fix” for this) and lose readers in the process than paint too rosy a picture, just like the one you can find in glossy fitness magazines systematically featuring outrageous headlines à la “get washboard abs in just 4 weeks”.
In doing so I hope to earn your trust and prompt you to become an active reader and contributor to this blog.
