You ever watch a friend do something stupid and think — I should say something?
Yeah. Me too.
I've known Trevor since grade five.
That's over 40 years. He's one of my five solid friends. The kind of guy I'd tell anything to. The kind of guy who'd do the same for me. So when he called me last month and said he was "getting back into exercise," I was happy for him.
Trevor hadn't done anything serious in years. A walk here and there. Maybe some yard work. But nothing structured. Nothing with a plan.
Then he watched some video online. Some guy half his age doing high-intensity interval training. Burpees. Box jumps. Sprint circuits.
Trevor decided that was the move.
At 57.
With no warm-up routine. No assessment. No conversation with his doctor.
He just went for it. Here's what I saw when I visited him two weeks in.
He was training like he was 25. Trevor was following a program built for someone in their twenties. Same exercises. Same pace. Same recovery time. He didn't adjust a single thing for where his body is now.
I used to be a ski instructor thru university. I played rugby all four years. I know what hard training looks like. And I know what it looks like when someone is ignoring every signal their body is sending.
Trevor was ignoring all of them. He was skipping the warm-up every single time.
Five minutes of movement before a workout isn't optional at our age. It's the difference between a good session and a torn muscle. Trevor told me warming up was "a waste of time."
I almost choked on my coffee. He was pushing through pain like it was a badge of honour.
His left knee had been swelling for a week. His shoulder clicked every time he raised his arm. He said it was "just soreness."
It was not just soreness. He was doing zero recovery work.
No stretching after. No rest days. No ice. No sleep adjustment. Just full send, every day, like recovery doesn't exist.
He was getting his entire plan from one random video.
Not a physiotherapist. Not a trainer. Not even a friend who knows what they're doing. One video. One stranger. One program designed for a completely different body.
Here's the thing most people miss. This isn't a motivation problem. Trevor has plenty of motivation. That's actually part of the issue.
This is an information problem. Trevor doesn't know what questions to ask before he starts a new routine. He doesn't know how to evaluate whether an exercise program is safe for someone his age. He doesn't know what a proper warm-up looks like at 57. He doesn't know the difference between good discomfort and a warning sign.
He's got the drive. He's missing the filter. And that filter matters more now than it did 30 years ago. Because at our age, one bad injury doesn't just cost you a workout. It costs you months. Sometimes it changes what you can do permanently.
I told Trevor he was going to hurt himself. He said he was fine.
He was not fine.
Tomorrow I'm going to show you the exact prompt I gave Trevor.
It's designed to take any exercise plan — from a video, a magazine, a friend, wherever — and check it against your age, your fitness level, and your injury history.
Before you do the first rep.
Before your knee swells up.
Before you lose three months to something that was completely avoidable.
One prompt. Five minutes. And you'll know whether that workout is built for you or built for someone half your age.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Until next issue,
Stay in Win Mode!
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