Get Strong Fit and Happy is about helping people achieve an amazing level of health and fitness in the years beyond 40 without it dominating their lives. Our approach can be summed up in four key themes:
One: We’re all unique so it’s not a one size fits all approach
As we’re all unique what strong, fit and happy means to one person will be completely different to someone else. It will also mean different things at different stages of our lives.
It doesn’t matter whether your goal is to run a marathon or to run for the bus without getting out of breath. Our aim is to provide you with:
- A wealth of information so you can make informed decisions about what’s going to be right for you.
- A wide range of resources to choose from to support you in achieving your specific health and well-being goals.
Two: Keep it simple
Life is for living. Our goal therefore is to provide simple and practical tips that can easily be integrated into the busiest of lives.
We tend to steer clear of complicated dietary regimes and fitness schedules or making drastic changes overnight. These are difficult to follow and much harder to sustain.
The synergistic effect of combining a number of small changes is far more powerful in the longer term. We focus on helping people to create new habits as these will build a solid foundation for their long-term health and fitness.
Three: Being wholistic – looking at the wider picture
Long term health and well-being is not just about diet and exercise. We believe in a wholistic approach. (We spell “wholistic” purposefully with a “w” because it’s about looking at the whole picture. This spelling was introduced to Stuart by one of his most inspiring mentors, Dr. Plaskett, when learning naturopathic principles.
It’s important to address a diverse range of factors such as:
- Hydration
- Stress
- Sleep
- Pollution
- Digestion
- Work-life balance
- Career fulfilment
Four: Focus on feeling good
When it comes to health and fitness, it’s easy to get into “should” mode:
“I should eat more healthily. I should go to the gym. I should be more flexible at my age.”
This outlook can lead us to be overly tough on ourselves and to work against rather than with our bodies.
It’s also easy to get into “I’ll be happy when…” mode. “I’ll be happy when I’m slimmer. I’ll be happy when I’m fitter” etc.
This outlook can lead us to be self-critical rather than self-accepting and nurturing.
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change”
Carl Rogers
We therefore encourage people to feel good about themselves, to accept themselves without judgement. We also believe it’s important for people to focus on what they want to achieve rather than what they’re trying to avoid. This is a far more empowering approach to health and fitness.
Whatever your starting point, simply focusing on feeling good is a great basis for the way forward. Focus on feeling full of energy, being flexible and indeed focus on being strong, fit and happy!