In today’s episode of the Razor Performance Podcast, I break down the one thing everyone ignores that keeps them stuck in the injury cycle — and why the site of your pain is almost never the root of the problem.

This is the episode you need if you’re a 35–55 year old dad who keeps getting:
• Back spasms during lifting
• Achilles pain during running
• Knee niggles that never disappear
• Shoulder pain that keeps returning
• “Random” injuries that seem to come out of nowhere

I explain the 3 types of injuries most people experience:
1️⃣ Direct trauma
2️⃣ Protective spasms
3️⃣ Creeping overload injuries

…and why the second two are usually caused by old injuries you’ve never truly fixed.

You’ll learn:
• Why old ankle or knee injuries quietly change the way your body moves
• How compensation patterns build over years
• Why your lower back often hurts even though “nothing happened”
• Why the injured area is rarely the real issue
• How your body redistributes force (the “dimmer switch” method)
• Why rehab fails when it only treats symptoms
• How isometrics can re-activate long-forgotten muscles
• What proper rehab should actually look like for men in their 30s, 40s and 50s

This episode will change the way you think about your body — and help you finally understand why injuries don’t just appear out of nowhere.

🎧 LISTEN IF YOU’VE EVER SAID:

• “My back just went”
• “I’ve had this niggle for years”
• “I keep getting injured when my training ramps up”
• “Physios only ever look at the painful area”
• “I feel like my body is falling apart in my 40s”

🔧 WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY

• How to trace your pain back to the original cause
• How to stop chasing symptoms
• Why isometric training is a game-changer
• How to rebuild your body properly by fixing old injuries first
• The assessment framework I use with Razor Performance clients

👇 IF YOU NEED HELP REBUILDING YOUR BODY

I specialise in helping 35–55 year old men fix long-term injuries, get strong again, and feel confident in their body — without breaking down.

There’s a link below to book a call.

https://calendly.com/razorperformance/30min

No pressure — just a conversation about what’s going on and whether I can help.

Rob Thirlby — former England 7s star, World Series leading try scorer, Commonwealth Games athlete, and one of the fittest men I ever played with — opens up about the injuries, setbacks, and mental battles that nearly ended his athletic life at 47.

For 18 months he was stuck in a cycle of:
• Constant niggles
• Achilles pain so bad he couldn’t run a mile
• Weight gain
• Stopping sessions halfway
• Losing confidence
• And feeling like he was letting everyone down

And then… he rebuilt everything from scratch.

In this episode, we cover:

• The hidden cost of training through pain
• How ex-rugby players carry 10–20 years of “silent damage”
• Why strength training becomes non-negotiable in your 40s and 50s
• What actually causes long-term Achilles issues
• Why endurance athletes break when strength isn’t there
• How to rebuild an athletic body after years of compensations
• The emotional side of losing (and regaining) your identity as an athlete
• Rob’s turning point — and how he got back to running pain-free
• The exact process we used to rebuild him from the ground up
• The mindset every 40–55 year old needs before starting a comeback

This episode isn’t just about injuries — it’s about purpose, identity, frustration, accountability, and the moment you realise you can’t keep doing this alone.

Whether you’re an ex-athlete, a dad in your 40s, or someone stuck in the same injury cycle…
this is the conversation you needed months ago.

If you want help rebuilding your own body, hit the links below and reach out.

https://calendly.com/razorperformance/30min

Training in your 40s is NOT the same as training in your 20s — and if you don’t adapt, you’ll keep running into the same cycle of niggles, flare-ups, slow recovery, and frustration.
In this episode of the Razor Performance Podcast, I break down:
• Why your wants and needs shift in your 30s–50s• How old injuries and compensations affect your training• Why squats and deadlifts might not be the best option anymore• Smarter exercises that keep you strong, athletic and pain-free• The recovery gap no one in midlife is talking about
If you’re a busy dad, ex-athlete, or midlife competitor trying to get strong again — this will help you understand exactly how to train for the body you have now… so you can still hit the goals you care about.

WHO I AM
I’m Andy Reay — former professional rugby player and strength & conditioning coach. I help busy men (30–55) rebuild their strength, get out of the injury cycle, and take on big physical goals with confidence.

NEED HELP WITH YOUR TRAINING?
Book a free 30-minute training audit where we’ll go through your current setup, identify what’s holding you back, and build a plan to move forward.
👉 https://calendly.com/razorperformance/30min

Welcome to The Razor Performance Podcast. I’m Andy Reay. I’m a former professional rugby player, and for the last fifteen years I’ve been working in strength and conditioning and injury rehabilitation, helping busy men in their late thirties, forties and fifties build strong, capable, resilient bodies again.

If you’ve ever felt like your body isn’t quite doing what it used to… if you’ve slipped into the cycle of niggles, false starts and frustration… or if you’ve got big goals but no idea how your current life load is going to support them… this is exactly why this podcast exists.

Every week I’ll be breaking down what actually works for people like you. No gimmicks. No fluff. Just practical strength training, smart rehab, and the mindset shifts that help you show up for your family, your work and yourself.

This first episode is here to set the stage. Who I am, what Razor Performance stands for, and how this show will help you rebuild confidence in your body, whether you want to run a marathon, complete a Hyrox, or simply feel strong again in everyday life.

Let’s get into it.