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Welcome to The Evolve Podcast, the show that’s redefining what it means to live well after 50.
Hosted by Sam, founder of Evolve Health and Fitness, this podcast is for everyday legends over 50 who are ready to invest in their health, build strength, boost energy, and enjoy life to the fullest.
We’re here to prove that fitness isn’t just for the young, it’s for the young-at-heart. With a powerful blend of expert tips, inspiring stories, and real talk about movement, mindset, nutrition, and social well-being, you’ll discover how to live stronger, move better, and stay connected, physically, mentally, and socially.
Because doing nothing has a cost. But choosing to evolve? That’s priceless.
Follow along and I promise to fuel your motivation, challenge your thinking, and remind you that the best is still to come.
Hello, hello, and welcome to the Evolve Podcast. My name is Sam, and I am the founder of Evolve Health and Fitness up here in Catrick. Now Evolve Health and Fitness is a private gym facility for people 50, and we offer small group personal training. We have an incredible in house nutritionist. We do social events which range from, you know, we might do something fitness related, we might do line dancing, we do craft work, we do wreath making.
Speaker 1:What else have we done? We go bowling, all sorts of things. Whatever you can think of just to get that social and community aspect in there. And yeah, now I'm actually only 32. And you probably start thinking, well, Sam, if you're in your thirties, why on earth are you wanting to work for the people who are 50?
Speaker 1:Now, there's a couple of different reasons, for this, and I do get asked it all the time. And my business mentor, Callum, he always asks us, when I say us, I mean it's not just me, it's a group of personal trainers, you know, who do you want to work with? Because at the end of the day, you are who we spend most of our working hours with, and we want to make sure that we're having a good time and that we're loving the business and who we're working with. So that brings me back to reason number one and that's because although yes, I am in the same kind of season and stages as people in their 30s and 40s in terms of buying their first home, maybe having a child or setting up their business and all those kinds of things and yes I love those chats but in terms of health and fitness and goals and purpose behind their goals I just don't resonate with them. I don't feel the urge and the push and the wanting to want to actually help them get wedding ready or beach abs ready or Ibiza ready.
Speaker 1:I I find it really hard to connect with them in the sense of especially nutritionally when all they want to do is drink and eat takeouts with their friends or whatever and then they come to me and they're wondering like Sam I haven't lost a hat, haven't managed to get into the clothing size, then they come to me with that feeling disappointed in their progress, and I'm like, I don't know how many times I need to tell you to stop smashing back the booze or whatever it is. So I resonate with them. For me, my reason for getting into health and fitness is not for beach habs, it's not for wedding ready and all that sort of stuff, which now actually leads me on to my second reason to why I work for people over fifty's. And that's because of probably my background, my upbringing, which is a little bit more personal, so I'll quickly just give you a picture of what I kind of grew up with. Now, I'm the youngest of eight, and my mum was also the youngest, was, one of eight.
Speaker 1:Now, I kind of grew up in a councillor state background. We joked about the whole being dragged up, not brought up kind of thing. Now, I was surrounded by drinking. Like, drinking every night was was the norm. Drinking every day was the norm.
Speaker 1:Smoking all day, every day was the norm. They were diabetic, high blood pressure, cholesterol through the roof, take out most, well, nine times out of 10. And that not me slating, this is just me being honest about the upbringing. I was surrounded by drinking, there were some drugs, and, you know, I grew up in a house full of fag smoke. I'm sorry, if you heard the biggest huff then, that was my little dog, Todd, is laying next to me.
Speaker 1:Life is hard, isn't it, Todd? Life is hard being a looked after cute Chihuahua. He was actually my mum's dog originally, but I took him on. Anyway, I digress. Oh, and I also have a little cat called Hazel, so they might be joining me for some of the podcast.
Speaker 1:You'll hear them play fighting in the background. Anyway, so that's the kind of upbringing I had. Now, unfortunately, my mum, she passed away back in 2018. Now, that was from drinking. She had stage four liver failure, cirrhosis of the liver, she smoked like a train, and we just couldn't get through to her.
Speaker 1:I remember growing up, we tried everything, we tried guilt tricking her, tried pleading, we tried the AA meetings, we tried everything. And this isn't like a no drinking zone or anything like that, but it's just to give you an idea that I just this is probably the way why I was pushed down this route, was helping and showing people that are 50 that there is still a life to live and to look forward to. Past your kids growing up. And it's helping people who are 50 to enjoy the next season and the next stages of their life. Can they be around long enough to watch their own kids grow up, to be able to hold their own grandchildren, to be able to go on active holidays with their friends and family, to be able to do their gardening and pick up 20 kilo bags of compost, to be able to do their own food shop, to have that independence to put things up and down from the attic, just getting up and down off the floor, in and out of bed, for as long as they possibly can.
Speaker 1:So it's that longevity side of things. And I think I grew up thinking, looking at my family and going, Absolutely not. I am not going to live my life drinking, smoking and falling victim to that cycle. I just chose. I'm not a fitness fanatic, and I'm not.
Speaker 1:I just train to keep me functional, I eat well, but I also enjoy the odd takeaway, and I encourage my clients to as well. If they want to drink, have a drink, I don't drink. Yeah, so that's of a bit more to do that's a bit of background as to why I do what I do, and why I work with who I want to work with. Plus, I do find the sense of humour so much better with people over 50s, I do think that is a generational thing. Conversation's so much better and the purpose.
Speaker 1:Your accountability for those of you who are over 50, 60, 70, your accountability for turning up is there, because you want to do it for the health and longevity, you know what's good for you, and I don't have to convince you that you already know what you need to do. And all I do is just provide the facility, the guidance, the programmes and nutrition to help you. And that being said, I also work with a lot of diabetics, so we work on reducing insulin a lot of the time, and now I've had some clients who have been able to come off their medication, which is amazing. A lot of people have arthritis, inflammation, it's about managing pain. A lot of us have got long term injuries and are dealing with chronic pain, so again, it's about you're in pain anyway, you might as well come to the gym and learn how to increase your bone density, work on building some muscle to support those joints that are inflamed, and you find that some of that inflammation goes down.
Speaker 1:So this is why I do what I do. There is just so much more passion behind it. So yeah. Now, throughout these episodes in this podcast, I'm going to be covering things to do with strength, the benefit of doing it, the benefit of working your mobility and how your mobility improves through exercise, mindset shifts, nutritional advice, working on sort of confidence, community and longevity. Oh, bye Todd.
Speaker 1:Always off to sunbathe. So yeah, we're going be covering those kinds of things. Now, this podcast and Evolve Health and Fitness is for those of you who may be a complete beginner and you don't really know where to start and you're not really sure about going to a buff male personal trainer, this is is a private facility for people 50, so you would be very welcomed and everyone's been in your shoes. This is for those people who feel unfit, maybe feel intimidated. For those of you who've actually been gym goers back in your younger years, but you've been out of it for a decade or two, and you just need some guidance to ease you back in.
Speaker 1:So this is probably the perfect thing for you to listen to, or maybe even come and visit us. It doesn't mean you have to gym, could just pop in for a brew. Like I said, we love a cup of tea. Now, the message to you is you are not too old, you are not too far gone and you are not too late. It's not too late.
Speaker 1:Now a perfect example of this is I have this amazing client called Vanessa. Now she won't mind me sharing this with you. She is in her early 30s and she is a golfer. Now Vanessa came to for my four week trial. I offer a four week trial for you to come and dip your toe in the water and to see if it's for you.
Speaker 1:And when she first started, she couldn't walk. I believe it was the first nine holes of the golf course. She had to use the buggy and her goal was that she wanted to be able to walk it. Now, in as little as four weeks, she has been able to walk the full 18 holes of the golf course in Richmond Golf Club, which is very hilly. That is absolutely phenomenal and mind blowing.
Speaker 1:So that just gives you an example about what is actually achievable. And she's in her early 80s, so it's not too late, you're not too old and you're not too far gone. Let's dismantle that belief.