Hello, I’m Kevin Hendy, I’m 60 years old and I have been a member for 4 years at Get active @ Jesmond.

For a number of years, I worked overseas in the Middle East. I decided I was finished with oil and gas and was going to come home. However, whilst I was over there, I got an email about a potential job in Canada which really caught my eye.

I sent my application away and got a response basically telling me, at 54 years old, I was too old. I replied saying if you’re ever in the Middle East I’ll take you for a run or around the gym and we will see who is too old!

That’s something that is always on my mind, despite me being 60 on paper I still feel 25 at heart. That chip on your shoulder spurs me on. I do believe that when you get to a certain age, people frown upon you and they look at the number.

I have so much life in me yet, I have experiences that many could only dream of, including cycling from Nicaragua to Costa Rica, cycling across across Vietnam and most recently, reaching the base camp at Everest!

As I was turning 60, I had a bit of a health scare over the 18 months beforehand. I found out I had blood clots on my lungs, causing me a real problem. I have to take medication for the rest of my life. I had a decision to make as to whether I accept or do something about it.

I chose to do something about it. I worked on my cardio and enjoyed it so I started cycling and could see that I could go further, faster and higher. That was my biggest inspiration, it was to keep myself fit.

I have cycled across Vietnam which was an incredible experience! A group of us from all over the world met in the morning and one guy in particular caught my eye. He was aged around his late 60/70s and you wouldn’t have thought it when looking at him. After the fortnight, what a respect I had for him. You meet such incredible people who never fail to surprise you!

I have gone to various gyms since I was in my early 20s. If I’m doing one of the adventure holidays then I know what type of programme I will need, whether that be strength or stamina. I have just signed up with a personal coach for the first time ever as I was to work on my BMI, that’s my target for the year.

I have done a few big adventure holidays and I have used Get active @ Jesmond for them all. Last year in 2023 I turned 60 so I decided to do Everest Base Camp. I booked it 8 months in advance and did a lot of research on what training I would need.

I saw I needed a good blend of muscular and strength. You couldn’t be too big or muscular as the higher you go, the less oxygen there is available. I had to cut down on my use of weights and focus more on cardio vascular training.

Being based at Get active @ Jesmond made this really easy, as the venue has a lot of good classes that keep you interested. They have spin classes, body pump and also a lot of good stuff you can use on your own. I would find myself using a weights vest on the treadmill which was really helpful.

I also used it for runs around Seaton Park which got me a few funny looks! However, Get active @ Jesmond really helped me to tailor my training around what I required ahead of doing Everest.

Everest was an incredibly hard challenge; there were around 14 people in our group and on the first morning when we arrived, we were all introduced to each other. By the end of the fortnight, I

became really close with a lot of people. Getting to know everyone and the other adventures they had been on really inspires you to try different things.

A particular challenging part of the Everest adventure was breathing; it was really difficult the higher up you went. It was an 18-day trip, which was really daunting. Base camp is around 5,800 metres and you could feel the impact on your lungs the higher we climbed.

We also had to carry a large amount of our own stuff. It was tough going on my legs, but they would recover quickly after a rest. However, my lungs did struggle due to the lack of air at that height. It was tough.

In the evenings it dropped to minus 15 degrees with no hot water and we were staying in sheds. The vast majority of the sheds were made of wood and everything else was brough up by Sherpas – that was quite an experience!

The mental side was something completely different. You’re hiking 8 to 9 kilometres a day minimum and most of that time you’re ascending. I just had to keep reminding myself that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We were also given an itinerary, so you knew what you were doing every day. I didn’t want to be on my flight back from Nepal saying I missed a bit or didn’t manage to do that bit. You found the strength within yourself to keep going.

I tried to distract myself when I was finding it tough. It was almost like being in the army thinking “left, right, left, right” or counting out 100 paces to keep your mind occupied. It was little goals to keep going. To think of the overall target of that day, whether it was the distance or the ascension then it could be quite daunting. However, if you broke it down into little one-hour segments then it made it so much more achievable.

I think that would be my advice for anyone in fitness across the board. Everything starts with the first step, you need to break things down. That goes across all aspects of life, not just in fitness. If there’s a challenge or task that feels daunting or overwhelming, you need to start by chopping it down into bite size pieces.

If you try to do it all at once, you stack the odds against yourself. Doing the likes of Everest, I found myself doing that and it made the achievement feel even greater. It’s all about staying positive.

I have a thought at the back of my head, I’m not sure if I will be able to do it, but I want to try reach the summit of Everest when I’m 70. At this moment in time, if my health holds up, I would love to try that.

The most important part of anyone’s fitness journey is to be mentally strong and to not expect too much too soon. Set yourself small, achievable targets and chart your progress. That’s where you will start seeing results and as I mentioned above, make sure you always keep a positive outlook!

Doing things off the beaten track like the adventure holidays really makes you appreciate life more. You can stay in 5-star hotels, but I have been able to see so much more by getting out and being active. It gives you context for the life you live, and I love every second of mine!

If you feel inspired by Kevin’s story and want to challenge yourself in 2024, don’t miss out on our brilliant Fitness membership offer where you get February completely free! Click here to find out more