Semiahmoo Peninsula personal trainer Kevin Reid likes to say that when it comes to working with older clients, “I dispense with the fountain of youth.”
When it comes to seniors Glen Pirie and Sharon Young, Reid’s claim seems to have merit.
The White Rock couple first appeared on the pages of the Peace Arch News in 2012 – along with Reid, who was training them both – when Pirie was 80 and Young was 70. Now, a decade later, they’re still at it.
“We really enjoyed it,” Young said. “We took a little break when Kevin had some (injuries) himself… but we tried other things (to keep fit), but personal training was still the best thing for us.
“With (other options), it wasn’t the same as having someone right there cheering you on. Kevin just gets to know us and modifies our (workouts) depending on any issues we have. I had a knee replacement 10 years ago, and he tweaked everything around that while I was recovering.”
Pirie is currently dealing with a health issue and awaiting treatment, Young noted, and Reid has adjusted his workouts to once a week to ensure he can continue to be active without aggravating his problem.
“He works around that. I just did 200 row squats on the Bosu ball,” Pirie noted.
“It also helps you feel better mentally,” Young said of Glen’s regimen.
In addition to their weekly sessions with Reid, the couple frequently walks up and down the hills near their home in Upper White Rock. They’ve always been avid walkers, Young said, but it was a doctor’s suggestion a decade ago that they also focus on strength training that led them to Reid.
“I saw his truck with his phone number on the side, and it said ‘Couples Training’ and that was it. We met him and checked in right away,” Young said.
“We knew it would help us, but we didn’t know exactly how beneficial it would be.”
It wasn’t long before both Young and Pirie noticed the difference. For Pirie, who once worked with asbestos, his chronic cough, described in 2012 PAN item like ‘chest noise’, toned down to the point where her pulmonologist told her she no longer needed yearly visits.
And Young soon discovered better muscle definition in his arms.
“I started showing off my muscles to everyone,” he laughed. “I was getting some muscle definition in my biceps. And it’s the same with Glen. His grandkids were really proud of him when they saw videos of him hitting the big (heavy) bag and doing some boxing.”
Putting on some boxing gloves and hitting the heavy bag also proved to be a good outlet for both seniors, Young added.
“When we started, we were both going through a lot of stress, so it’s good to get that out in the bag, you can pretend it’s someone who’s bothering you,” he laughed.
While they have reduced their sessions with Reid to once a week (before they retired, they trained with him two or three times a week), neither plans to stop any time soon.
“As long as I can do it, I will,” Glen said.
[email protected]
I like in Facebook and follow us on Twitter
