Steve Lay Personal Trainer and Sports Massage Therapist

15/11/2025

15/11/2025

🟡 Confidence is deeply personal.
Everyone defines it differently.

To some — and to much of society — confidence looks loud.
But true confidence?
Often, it’s quiet.
It shows up in silence.
It’s felt, not just seen.

Just like strength.
We often think of strength as heroic — lifting heavy weights, pushing through big moments.
But real strength?
It’s overcoming adversity in your own way.
It’s showing up when no one’s watching.
And just like confidence — strength is something you learn.

Same with calm.
You might see someone relaxed, unbothered, chilled — and think:
"I wish I could be like that."
But maybe they’re not naturally calm.
Maybe they’ve just practiced better coping strategies.
Peace can be learned too.

Now —
"But what about people with mental health conditions? It’s not that easy."
You’re absolutely right.
It’s not.
But it’s still essential that people are given tools, support, and the choice to learn.
Growth starts with awareness, and continues with access.

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🔵 Moral of the story:
When someone seems confident, strong, calm, or even just effortlessly capable —
Maybe they weren’t born that way.
Maybe they had to learn it.
And that means... so can you.

🟣 No truly confident person has had an easy past.
And it all starts with the management of wellbeing.

15/11/2025

I Was Fat-Shamed… Even as a Personal Trainer

I’ve been fat-shamed before — even while working as a personal trainer.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love my food. I enjoy it. And yes, sometimes my weight fluctuates. Over the last few years I know I’ve put on weight, and I fully acknowledge it. I’ve gone up and down like a yo-yo, and when I worked on the gym floor, a couple of people made comments about my belly.

This isn’t a pity-me post.

Being overweight can be a sensitive subject. People will let you know it — whether that’s in person or through the lovely world of social media. But for the record, there are FAR worse things to be than “fat”…
Like a fat-shaming cock-womble, for one. Just saying.

Yes, being overweight or obese is linked to certain health risks — that’s true.
But here’s the part people often ignore:

You can be overweight and still be fit.

There’s solid research showing that cardiorespiratory fitness is a stronger predictor of health than body weight alone.

Research here:
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/3/151

So before judging someone based purely on appearance, remember:
You don’t know their training routine.
You don’t know their fitness level.
You don’t know their story.

Fitness isn’t defined by how you look.
Fitness is defined by what your body can do.

In the late 1980s, one of us (SNB) published a study that demonstrated that individuals with a low (below first quintile=20th percentile) cardiorespiratory fitness level had a higher risk of mortality 8 years later, when compared with those who were at least moderately fit.1 Since then, many longitu...

11/11/2025

Christmas gift ideas for someone this year.
Check out this massage voucher.

11/11/2025

10/11/2025

09/11/2025

Burpees challenge Day 9
103 completed

09/11/2025

Day 7 Burpees challenge