Eventus22: Personal Training Gym

Our gym has no mirrors, here's why...

When we designed Eventus22, we thought about floor-to-ceiling mirrors. It's pretty standard for gyms, most have them.

But then I thought about the person walking through our doors for the very first time, and how fast "how do I feel" turns into "how do I look" the second they catch their reflection.

So we left them out.

No mirrors means no distraction, no comparison, no catching yourself mid-rep and forgetting what you're actually there for.

What's left is people focusing on what their bodies can do, not how they look doing it. Celebrating wins instead of critiquing reflections.

That's the whole point of this place. It was never about looking a certain way.

It's about feeling strong, capable, confident.

Meet Jo 👋

Before joining us, she’d tried a typical gym but often couldn’t get on the machines, wasn’t sure what to do and worried about hurting herself or looking silly. Like many people, she thought walking regularly would be enough to keep her fit and strong.

Since joining Eventus22, Jo has made some brilliant progress. She can now squat, get up from the floor easily and has built the strength she needs to lift barrels at her pub job. She’s sleeping better, making healthier choices and feels mentally stronger too.

Jo brings plenty of laughs to her three sessions each week and has become a much-loved part of the community.

The pleasure is all ours, watching Jo grow stronger and more confident, both inside and outside the gym.

I asked until someone said it.....

I went round the gym this week filming a little experiment, how many members would I need to ask before someone said their goal was to get a "beach body".

One member just wants to move around comfortably again, squatting down without pain.

Another has been with us three and a half years and has come off her diabetic medication, now she's just focused on staying strong and healthy for the long haul.

One of our longest standing members, seven or eight years in now, said it plainly, as you get older a strong core and solid strength is what keeps you off the floor, not what gets you into a pair of swim shorts.

I asked every single person in that gym.

Not one of them said beach body.

That tells you everything about what actually keeps people training long term, and it's not what the fitness industry usually sells you.

You have a pension you might not be paying into, and it's got nothing to do with 💰

Most people plan to enjoy their retirement. Have plenty of holidays, and enjoy the fruits of their labour.

Almost nobody plans for the body they'll need to actually enjoy it.

You can have all the money in the world and still be stuck on the sofa.

Your body works exactly like a pension too, little and often, compounding over time. Start early, it's gentle. Start late, you're playing catch up.

The best time was years ago. The next best time is today.

DM us "PENSION" and let's get you started 👇

"My metabolism's shot" - no it isn't!

We hear this constantly from people in their 50s and 60s, they're convinced their metabolism has slowed down and that's why the weight won't shift.

It hasn't.

A major study tracking over 6,000 people found metabolism stays remarkably stable from 20 right through to 60. It doesn't fall off a cliff when you hit 50.

So what's really changed?

Life gets quieter.

We sit more, move less, and without noticing, muscle slips away if you're not doing anything to hold onto it. That's what people are actually feeling, not a broken metabolism.

The fix is simple, resistance training to keep the muscle you've got, and eating in a way that matches how you live now rather than how you lived 20 years ago.

One honest caveat, the same study found metabolism does start a slow decline after 60, around 1% a year.

1% really isn't much, even ten years after 60, you're only looking at roughly a 10% dip, which works out to about the same as skipping a slice of toast a day. Hardly the dramatic "slowdown" most people blame themselves for.

Either way, if you're 50+ and feeling like your body's working against you, it's very unlikely to be your metabolism.

It's your habits, and those you can change 😃

"Just rest it" isn't always the right advice for when you have injury or ailment

Total rest sounds safe, but the longer you avoid moving, the weaker your body gets.

Muscles start to waste away, joints stiffen up, and healing actually slows down. Your body heals through movement, not by shutting down completely.

That doesn't mean pushing through pain. It means finding safe, gentle movement, a or working with someone who can guide you through it properly.

Next time something twinges, don't head straight for the couch. Ask what's a safe way to keep moving instead.

Motion is lotion.

Fear is what keeps us stuck.

If you need a laugh today....

Some days you just need a reminder not to take it all too seriously, especially after last night.

So here's a little something to turn that frown upside down 😂

The strongest people your age aren’t that different to you.

They just started sooner.

No special genetics, no extra motivation.

Just an earlier start, and a refusal to let age become the excuse.

It’s not too late….it’s just time to begin!

❌ “I’m just not into exercise”
✅ Awesome! That’s near enough our membership criteria 😀

Nobody walks through our door because they love exercise, they walk in because they’re tired of being tired, because keeping up with the kids or grandkids shouldn’t leave them breathless, and because the next ten years shouldn’t be harder than the last ten.

Exercise isn’t the goal here, it’s the tool, and the life you build outside these walls with that energy, that comfort in your own skin, that ability to keep going, is what actually matters.

There are no egos here and nobody trying to be the fittest person in the room, just people quietly trying to be a bit better than they were yesterday.

And here’s the part that surprises most people, once you start feeling the difference in everyday life, exercise stops being something you have to do and becomes something you want to do, especially when you’re surrounded by others on the same journey, which is when your session quietly becomes one of the best parts of your day.

You don’t have to be “a gym person” to need one

You know the stereotype. Someone who lives on protein shakes and spends hours under a barbell, looking like fitness is just part of who they are. No wonder so many of us see that and think “yeah, that’s just not me.”

But here’s the thing. Being a “gym person” isn’t about any of that.

It’s about getting off the floor without that slow, careful, three-point-turn thing.

It’s about carrying all the shopping in from the car in one go, instead of dreading the second trip.

It’s about having a bit left in the tank to chase the kids round the garden, rather than collapsing on the sofa the second they’re fed.

You don’t need to become a different person. You just need to feel capable instead of knackered, and trust your body to do what you ask of it.

So maybe the question isn’t “am I a gym person.” Maybe it’s “what could my body do for me, if I just found the right place to start.”

Because once that clicks, and you find an environment that actually fits you, that’s when everything changes.