Bucks &amp; Oxon


<p>What age were you when you got into exercise? As a “non-sporty” child who didn’t make the cut for the netball team, it took me until university to make activity part of my weekly routine, and I know I’m not alone in my nineties to noughties school peer group. I went on hiking holidays with my family and occasionally swam laps with my mum, but PE lessons were focused around winning sporting silverware for the school, and let’s just say that I wasn’t quite in the running.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Thankfully things have changed a bit since 1999. “We’ve got this generation coming through that wants to work out, which is great”, says personal trainer and<a href="https://www.fitlife.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Fitlife</a> founder Steve Gregory. “You see groups of girls coming to the gym together now, whereas before it might’ve been groups of lads doing bicep curls. They’re often following workouts they’ve seen on TikTok or Instagram, which is fine — it gets them into the environment — but our role is to help them understand how to build a positive and sustainable relationship with it.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Steve-Gregory-Fitlife-and-trainer.jpeg" alt="Steve Gregory Fitlife trainer" class="wp-image-201883" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Steve-Gregory-Fitlife-and-trainer.jpeg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Steve-Gregory-Fitlife-and-trainer-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Steve-Gregory-Fitlife-and-trainer-1000x667.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Steve-Gregory-Fitlife-and-trainer-400x267.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Steve-Gregory-Fitlife-and-trainer-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Steve and a member of his Fitlife team</figcaption></figure>



<p>I didn’t know a cross-trainer from a stair climber as a teen, so this sounds promising, but schools in the UK have generally been slow on the uptake according to Steve.</p>



<p>“The biggest barrier is that our education system is still very traditional and sport-based. PE is about sport, not movement or wellbeing. So what happens is, kids who aren’t “good at sport” start to feel left out. It highlights who’s good and who’s not, and then those who feel they’re not sporty carry that story with them for life — “I’m not sporty, exercise isn’t for me.”</p>



<p>But exercise is a fundamental part of life. As humans, we’re designed to move. The problem is, modern life is so comfortable that we now have to make a conscious effort to move. Taking that away from children so young is incredibly damaging.”</p>



<p>Big yikes. So what’s the best way to foster a love of exercise from the off? Here are Steve’s pro tips.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-start-early">Start early</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1328" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Girl-with-ball-Unsplash-Anshu-A.jpg" alt="Little girl holding a tennis ball" class="wp-image-201886" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Girl-with-ball-Unsplash-Anshu-A.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Girl-with-ball-Unsplash-Anshu-A-800x531.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Girl-with-ball-Unsplash-Anshu-A-1000x664.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Girl-with-ball-Unsplash-Anshu-A-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Girl-with-ball-Unsplash-Anshu-A-1536x1020.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /></figure>



<p>The younger you start exercising, the better, but it’s never too late. So many adults come back to fitness twenty years after school, often because they were told they weren’t good at it and that was that. They’ve told themselves a story that gyms and workouts are only for people who are already fit. But that’s not true at all.</p>



<p>We’ve built a culture where people genuinely believe exercise isn’t for them and my team and I would love to do our bit to change that. We’ve realised that if we really want to make a difference, we have to begin early. That’s why we’ve launched Fitlife Academy. We go into schools now to educate kids about having healthy relationships with exercise, and we launched the initiative at <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/ashfold-school/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPwNjJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeSfxGgmPqAL4jX29AgRKcRNSvBMg_vRDlACqBrcmLaoBy8fylaqCtdLGpZ1Q_aem_GUxPU3flIeeAooXHrc24mw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ashfold School </a>near Thame just last month. Crucially, we’re not coaching sport: we’re embedding the values of movement, wellbeing and self-belief at a formative stage of life. Think movement as a lifelong gift, not a short-term fix.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-less-pe-more-play">Less PE, more play</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Boy-playing-with-basketball.jpg" alt="Boy playing with basketball" class="wp-image-201894" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Boy-playing-with-basketball.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Boy-playing-with-basketball-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Boy-playing-with-basketball-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Boy-playing-with-basketball-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Boy-playing-with-basketball-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /></figure>



<p>We’ve all heard the phrase ‘comparison is the thief of joy’, and it can apply to exercise too. I’m about building confidence rather than comparing kids&#8217; performance. PE lessons are getting better, don’t get me wrong — girls’ football, for example, is such a great development — but that inclusive mindset still isn’t consistent.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That’s why we’ve built the Fitlife Academy programme around play. The kids think they’re just playing, but every activity is designed around age-appropriate movement. A child doesn’t need to be sporty — he or she just needs to move and have fun. It’s about changing how they see themselves. Something clicks and kids begin to enjoy how moving their body makes them feel. They develop fitness without being forced into it.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-drop-the-pressure-and-labels">Drop the pressure (and labels)</h2>



<p>Speaking of which, progress over pressure is the aim. If kids are shying away from traditional PE and games, it can be easy to label kids as “just not into that”. Parents and teachers often mean well but can reinforce “sporty” labels and once those stick, it shapes how that child views themselves and their impression of fitness. But the truth is, there’s <em>always</em> something active they’ll connect with.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-reframe-movement">Reframe movement&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1339" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Kid-climbing.jpg" alt="Kid on climbing wall" class="wp-image-201891" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Kid-climbing.jpg 2000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Kid-climbing-800x536.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Kid-climbing-1000x670.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Kid-climbing-400x268.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/Kid-climbing-1536x1028.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /></figure>



<p>There are a million forms of exercise and we’re all just out here working on ourselves! Beyond the gym, football or netball, it could be dance, climbing, martial arts, whatever. The key is to help kids find it early so they grow up knowing movement is just a normal, joyful part of life.</p>



<p><em>Fitlife Academy offers sessions for pre-prep, juniors and seniors at <a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/ashfold-school/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPwNjJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeSfxGgmPqAL4jX29AgRKcRNSvBMg_vRDlACqBrcmLaoBy8fylaqCtdLGpZ1Q_aem_GUxPU3flIeeAooXHrc24mw">Ashfold School</a>, with more local school sessions planned for future.&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><br><em>Fitlife Haddenham runs Fitlife Academy Juniors sessions for children in Y3 – Y6 and Fitlife Academy Teens sessions from Y7 – Y11. Classes focus on building self-esteem through social interaction and making fitness fun, from using bodyweight strength to experimenting with technical movement and speed. Teens are also given personalised tools to help them get the most out of their gym trips. </em><a href="https://www.fitlife.co.uk/haddenham-timetable" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Check the timetable here</em></a><em>.</em></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wellbeing/how-to-stay-fit-trainer-tips/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">5 secrets to fitness success, according to a pro trainer</a></li>



<li><a href="https://muddystilettos.co.uk/wellbeing/nutrition/ready-to-glow-3-breakfasts-worth-getting-out-of-bed-for/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">3 healthy breakfasts worth getting out of bed for</a></li>



<li><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/wellbeing/best-wellbeing-events-retreats-buckinghamshire-oxfordshire/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The wellbeing events to book in Bucks &amp; Oxon for early 2026</a></li>
</ul>


How to raise fit kids, by a local PT

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