As is often the case, my midweek conversations are shaped either by whatever is happening in my day-to-day life or by the brilliant chats that come off the back of previous posts. They often take me down paths I hadn’t originally planned for.
The business discussions usually go more or less where I expect them to.
It’s the midweek and weekend chats that continue to surprise me.
They’ve made me realise just how many adventurous, active over-sixties are out there, rolling up their sleeves and living extraordinarily fulfilled lives.
I feel genuinely privileged that so many of you share your experiences with me—including the genuine hurdles you’re overcoming along the way. The collective positivity across this community is quite amazing.
I also want to say a proper thank you to everyone who has commented on the evolution of the site.
I know some of you have found navigating the sheer volume of material I’ve put up a little tricky recently!
Over the next few months, I’m going to work on making the website much easier to navigate so it’s far simpler to find the topics you’re interested in.
And, of course, I’ll keep trying to tackle subjects that you find useful, interesting, or perhaps just worth having a good conversation about.
Which brings me neatly to a topic that has been weighing on my mind lately—and one that seems to come up time and time again:
Health. Fitness. Nutrition. And this rather elusive concept called “life balance.”
What Exactly Is Life Balance After 60?
Everywhere you look, particularly if you ever scroll through Instagram or TikTok, someone seems to be lecturing us on how crucial it is to achieve this pristine, perfectly symmetrical balance in our lives.
I’m not entirely convinced.
Think about anyone who has ever achieved extraordinary things.
The surgeons who sacrificed sleep and social lives to become the absolute best in their field. Those elite athletes who trained relentlessly. Many actors who spent years grinding away to break through.
The master mechanic, obsessed with perfecting their trade. And the business owner who poured everything into building a company from the ground up.
Did any of them have “perfect” life balance? Probably not.
At certain points in their lives, they threw the absolute kitchen sink at what they were trying to achieve. And perhaps that was completely fine for that season of life.
The same applies to family. If you’ve ever raised a large family, you’ll know that trying to juggle six kids, school runs, hobbies, demanding careers, weekly shops, cooking, holidays, and whatever unexpected curve ball landed on the kitchen table that morning isn’t exactly a zen, balanced existence. It’s more like organised chaos—and somehow, most of us managed to get through it in one piece.
So, What Changes After 60?
For most of the time I have been helping businesses, the majority of my business clients were over 50, many over 60.
In truth, the conversations I had with them over the years are the exact reason I started Ropho in the first place.
Time and again, sitting across a desk or over a coffee, I’d hear the same quiet regrets:
“I didn’t spend enough time with the kids growing up.”
“I didn’t nurture my relationship with my wife, and now we live like two polite strangers in the same house.”
“I have money now, but no one to share it with.”
Or one of the most common ones of all: “I’ve finally passed on or sold the business, and now I’m completely lost. I’ve improved my golf handicap, I do the gardening, but I don’t know who I am without the hustle and risk taking.
I remember one particularly successful client who said to me, “I finally bought my dream yacht, Steve. But everyone I actually want on board is too busy with their own lives. And the people who do show up, I realise I have almost nothing in common with.”
It was heartbreaking. He’d worked his whole life, spent every waking hour on the factory floor, and every holiday had passed him by in a blur of worrying about the next acquisition or the quarterly bottom line.
Some of this strikes very close to home for me (Not the yacht).
It’s a big part of why I’m stepping back from taking on new business clients and wrapping up my consultancy—to throw my energy into running Ropho.
I want to help myself and others find genuine balance without losing the drive that makes us tick, while broadening our horizons and trying new things.
Perhaps the answer isn’t that we suddenly need to discover some mythical, perfect equilibrium.
Perhaps we simply need to decide what is important enough to protect.
The Rule of Protected Time
In my years of working with business owners who were grinding out 60 or 70-plus hours a week, I always pushed them to adopt one non-negotiable rule: protect three hours a week purely for strategic thinking and planning, and three hours for physical fitness.
I noticed over the years that the most resilient, sharpest business leaders did have a version of balance.
They maintained their physical health—whether that was getting to the gym, cycling, or daily walking. A mentor told me decades ago: “Fitter bodies build clearer minds.”
No phone calls. No interruptions. No excuses.
Just three hours locked in the diary to step away from the relentless day-to-day grind and ask: Where am I actually going?
It wasn’t about “finding” spare time. There was never any spare time. It was about protecting time that mattered.
And I think the exact same principle applies to our health as we get older.
If you want to fit in three strength-training sessions a week, that’s three hours. Not thirty hours. Not an elaborate, six-day-a-week athletic regime. Three hours.
The mistake we so often make is waiting for those hours to magically appear in the week. They won’t. So put them in the diary. Protect them. Treat them as non-negotiable appointments with yourself.
If a major client wanted that hour, you’d find a way to reschedule around it. If a family member needed you, you’d make it work instantly.
Perhaps it’s time we occasionally extended that same courtesy to ourselves.
And I’m certainly not suggesting everyone needs to be lifting heavy iron in a gym.
For you, it might be daily walking, swimming, cycling, mobility work, or working with resistance bands in the front room. The only thing that matters is finding something active that you actually enjoy enough to keep doing.
Real Bodies Need Real Adaptations
One thing I’ve learned with a few more miles on the clock is that staying fit isn’t about pretending you’re 25 again.
Our bodies change. Knees get a bit grumpy. Shoulders don’t always appreciate movements they used to breeze through. Lower backs voice their disapproval, and wrists can play up out of nowhere.
Exercises that once felt completely natural might need adapting. That isn’t failure—it’s simply reality.
The answer isn’t to throw in the towel and sit on the sofa; it’s to adapt the movement.
Change the angle, reduce the load, tweak the range of motion. Swap a barbell for dumbbells, or bring in resistance bands. Find a movement that works the target muscles without infuriating whatever joint is complaining that week.
The objective here isn’t to impress anyone in a gym. It’s to stay strong, mobile, and capable enough to enjoy the things we actually love doing.
Walking, golf, travelling, gardening, kicking a ball around with the grandchildren, or simply standing up from a deep armchair without having to make a dramatic sound effect. Those are the things that matter.
A Little Experiment for the Ropho Community
This leads me to an idea I’d love to try across our community.
If you’ve discovered a clever tweak or adjustment to an exercise that has helped you navigate a dodgy knee, a stiff shoulder, a stubborn back, or any other little ache, tell me about it in the comments.
It doesn’t need to be a groundbreaking medical miracle. Just a practical, real-world adjustment that worked for you.
Every couple of weeks, we could pick one common issue and share the best practical workarounds our readers have tested in the real world. I’m increasingly convinced that those of us over 60 don’t need more twenty-something fitness gurus telling us what we should be doing.
Sometimes, we just need to hear what ordinary people living real lives have found actually works.
And Then There Was the Fish Pie…
Which brings me neatly, as always, back to nutrition.
Following on from our recent chats about hearty stews and casseroles, I’ve been thinking a lot about protein—specifically, how we get enough of it into our diets as we age without turning every meal into a dry, bland “fitness influencer” nightmare.
Now, I love a good fish pie. It’s the ultimate comfort food: fresh fish, seafood, crisp potatoes, and a rich, creamy sauce. The snag is that traditional recipes can end up pretty heavy.
So, earlier this week, I decided to experiment and bake a lighter, high-protein version. I put together a grand mix of white fish and prawns, whipped up a lighter sauce, and tweaked the potato topping.
Personally? I thought it was rather good.
Sharon, on the other hand, had a somewhat… different opinion.
Which probably tells you everything you need to know about my prospective second career as a celebrity recipe developer!
So, I won’t pretend I’ve unlocked the secrets to the world’s ultimate healthy fish pie just yet. I’ll keep tweaking the recipe in the kitchen, and if I ever manage to produce a version that gets a genuine nod of approval from Sharon, I’ll share it here straight away.
In the meantime, perhaps that’s as good a definition of “life balance” as any: trying to look after yourself without making life unnecessarily complicated.
Eat reasonably well. Move your body. Get a little stronger where you can. Protect time for the people you love. Do things that bring you genuine joy.
And occasionally? Just eat the bloody fish pie. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Related Read – 10 Best Protein-Rich Foods You Can Buy in the UK
FAQs
What does life balance really mean after 60?
Life balance after 60 doesn’t necessarily mean giving everything equal time. It can simply mean deciding what matters most and protecting enough time for your health, relationships, interests and the things you enjoy.
How can I stay fit and active after 60?
You don’t need an elaborate fitness regime. Walking, swimming, cycling, mobility exercises, strength training or resistance bands can all help. The important thing is finding activities you enjoy and can keep doing.
Is strength training important after 60?
Strength training can be a useful part of staying strong and capable as we get older. It doesn’t necessarily mean lifting heavy weights; exercises can be adapted using lighter weights, dumbbells or resistance bands.
How much exercise should I do after 60?
There isn’t one perfect routine for everyone. The important point is to make regular physical activity part of your week and protect time for it, rather than waiting for spare time to appear.
How can I adapt exercise as I get older?
Our bodies change, so movements that once felt easy may need to be modified. Changing the angle, reducing the load or range of movement, or choosing a different exercise can allow you to keep moving without unnecessarily aggravating troublesome joints.
How can I make more time for myself after 60?
Rather than hoping spare time appears, try treating time for yourself as an appointment. Put exercise, hobbies, social time or simply time to think into your diary and protect it.
What should I eat to stay healthy after 60?
A sensible approach is to eat reasonably well without making food unnecessarily complicated. Protein can be particularly useful to consider as we get older, alongside a varied and enjoyable diet.
Can you still improve your fitness after 60?
Absolutely. Getting older doesn’t mean giving up on becoming stronger, fitter or more mobile. The key is adapting your approach to where your body is now rather than trying to train as though you’re 25.
Does life after 60 have to mean slowing down?
Not necessarily. Life after 60 can be a chance to redirect your energy towards things that matter to you, whether that’s fitness, travel, hobbies, relationships, work or trying something completely new.
Do I really need to have perfect balance in my life after 60?
Probably not. Life rarely works that neatly. A better approach may be to decide what is important enough to protect — your health, relationships, family, interests or simply time for yourself — and make sure those things don’t continually get pushed aside.
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