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Personal Training to help you feel strong, capable and confident to do all the things you love! There are no opening hours, as we are there by appointment only!

13/10/2026

You're at the tail end of physio but there’s still a gap between where you are and where you want to be.

The pain's settling down, you're moving normally again, back to most of what you were doing before and finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

But you're still wary of lifting things,
pushing yourself too much,
even bending over to grab something if you're honest.

And not entirely sure what you're supposed to do next?

Maybe your physio suggests some strength work, something more structured to help you build up.

It sounds sensible. You can see why it might help.

But it’s also unfamiliar... you're not sure what you'd be getting yourself into, whether it'll make things worse, or if it's even what you need.

Going back to what you know, what you were doing before, feels safer.

The same classes. The same routine.
Maybe a bit more treatment.
Just easing yourself back in and hoping things change.

And that's the crossroads, really.

You can stick with what's familiar and hope this time things turn out differently.

But there’s a quiet voice at the back of your mind worried about ending up in the same place, still trying to get back to normal.

Maybe another year going round in circles,
Still working around the same problem or injury down the line,
Still not quite trusting your back

Or you can try something a bit different, even if it feels pretty daunting at first and see where it leads.

Have you reached that point where you're better, but not quite sure what the next step is?

09/10/2026

‘I felt I was becoming the “Dad with the bad knee”’ 🦵

When I first met Adam, he was constantly second-guessing himself. Could he join family and friends for fun weekend activities? Or would one "funny step" hurt his knee and ruin the whole day?

Like when they were at Legoland and he spent most of the day sitting down.

To his credit, he never gave up and he reached out to us for some help.

After plenty of chatting and some basic movement assessments we found a place to start.

✅ We created the first objective - to be able to perform foundation exercises without bothering the knee. Things such as squats and back lunges.

✅ Next, we looked at movements in different directions and doing things on one leg.

✅ Then it was on to more complicated movements and things at speed.

Hard work? You bet.

Setbacks? Absolutely.

But with persistence, effort and a flexible plan, Adam got to a place where:

“I can usually do everything I want, unless you’re asking me to run a marathon! And most importantly I can do everything my wife and kids want to do too!”

Adam has been fantastic at embracing the challenges and tackling things, even when they made him nervous.

I’m really proud of where he’s got to and love hearing about all the things he gets up to with his family.

Great job Adam! 💪

What’s one thing you’d like to stop avoiding?

08/10/2026

🥺”This is the most unfit I’ve been in a long time." 🤦

Pain and injury can slow life down pretty fast.

Suddenly, you’re missing out on family walks or spending Saturday afternoon doing rehab exercises while friends are out cycling or playing tennis.

It doesn’t take long before being less active becomes the norm and suddenly you don’t quite recognise yourself anymore.

When being active has been a core part of your identity; it sucks for it to feel like it’s being taken away.

You feel less capable and less confident. It’s deflating, frustrating and if this is you… you’re not alone.

It’s something we hear all the time from people who walk through our doors in Sonning. 🙋

And it’s not that you haven’t tried to sort things out. But once you’ve tried a bunch of things without getting anywhere it’s normal for life to take over.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 You focus your time and energy on family and friends, rather than yourself.

💻 You throw yourself into work, finishing off that project in the evening, when you used to go to the gym or play football instead.

And these are worthwhile, but it doesn’t change the fact that you miss the active side of yourself.

So now what?

Sometimes you need a fresh start. A fresh direction and a fresh plan to not only reduce your pain and discomfort but get back to the sports and activities you’ve been missing out on.

What’s something you’d like a fresh start with right now?

30/09/2026

Know that shoulder pain that settles down, then plays up the moment you actually push it?

The shoulder that's fine round the house, then gets grumpy again after doing, say a climbing session on harder problems or a weekend match playing tennis or paddle.

You wouldn't say you're injured.

You don't exactly need to stop, but it is getting in the way, and you feel kind of stuck… like you always have to dial it back or be careful, maybe even quit eventually.

Each time you go back round that loop… it settles down - feels better - push it - flares up again… you lose a bit of faith in your body.

Honestly, I think it’s more frustrating than being properly injured in many ways!

You're still doing your thing,
Still getting on with life,
Just always having to hold back, never quite at the level you want to play at or maybe it’s more about the freedom you’d love.

After a while, it's easy to start thinking: "maybe it’s just how it is now, not getting any younger"

Totally normal headspace to drift into, and there's probably a bit of truth in it but in my experience, a niggle like that usually isn't asking you to stop or quit.

It's a nudge to do things a bit differently…

What's the niggle that keeps coming back, getting in the way when you actually push it?

03/09/2026

You did the physio. It helped. But you're after a bit more… just not sure where to find it.

I hear some version of that most weeks, at our private gym round the corner from Sonning Bridge.

Usually it goes something like this: something starts hurting, you see a physio or chiro for a few sessions, do about half the exercises you're given, and it gets better. Pain's less, you're doing more, maybe even back playing... kind of.

Then progress slows right down or even stops.

Your knee — or your shoulder, or your back – still isn't where you want it to be and doing the stuff you actually want to do properly feels out of reach. It still gets aggy and you're still half-expecting it to buckle going downstairs.

It’s around then you start wondering if this is just how it is now.

In my experience though, it stalls because nobody really shows you how to go from "less pain" to "I don't even think about it anymore."

So it feels like the right call to just keep being careful. Stick with the same exercises. Try Pilates. Book a few more physio sessions. Or just climb, run, play, and hope another few weeks somehow does the trick.

But more often than not, weeks drift into months and you end up stuck in an awkward middle ground. You’re not injured anymore, everything's "fine" on paper, but there's still niggles, nothing's great, and a fair bit of doubt. Never trusting it enough to properly go for it.

That's the gap I love helping people bridge after physio.

Not from pain to pain-free.
But to that next level, from "it's better..." to "I don't even think about it anymore."

Anyone else spent time in that awkward middle ground?

27/08/2026

It's always good to have a "why" for your exercise. 😂💪

25/08/2026

“I’ve got niggles, I’m slowing down and I don’t play as much as I used to … but that’s all part of getting older I guess”. 🧓

I’m not a fan of the “it’s all part of getting older” phrase. 😠

“I refuse to get old”.

I don't particularly like this one either.

Don’t get me wrong, ageing can be as irritating as it is inevitable.

There are the obvious downsides that hold us back from the active lives we want:

💥 The Physical Toll: Aches, pains and niggles.
📉 The Performance Drop: A loss of strength, speed, stamina and suppleness.
⌛ Longer Recovery Times: a body that just doesn’t respond to exercise and activity like it used to.

Heavy gym sessions or intense classes now take 3 days to recover from.

Playing your favourite sport is hit and miss because of your knees… shoulder… ah, this week it’s your back. 🩼

Now you face a dilemma – push on and accept the pain that comes with it or leave the active stuff to the younger crowd and take up your place on the sidelines.

These are the 2 choices I see people box themselves into. Push against it or give into it. ⚖️

That’s the reason I don’t like the phrases above. They’re a bit too black and white. One is too accepting and one is too stubborn.

I don’t think you need a different goal (although you are certainly welcome to one). You don’t even need to accept a different outcome (unless you’re expecting to start a career as an elite athlete).

But what you do need is…
… a DIFFERENT APPROACH. 🤔

Things do change as you age. Not only physically, but your life changes. How much time you have, your priorities, your preferences, everything. 🔁

Leaning into these changes and adjusting accordingly is, I have found (through doing a lot of the opposite!), the best method for staying healthy, competent and active in the long term. 🏆

So ...

1️⃣ Are you still trying to exercise and train like you did in your 20’s?

2️⃣ Are you accepting defeat to Father time?

3️⃣ Or have you found the middle ground?

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Unit 5, Mill Farm, Sonning Eye
Reading
RG46TR

Website

http://www.apscoaching.co.uk/

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