Seventy-nine-year-old PTI offers advice to personnel: Whatever you do, just keep doing it
A Physical Training Instructor has bid farewell to the Armed Forces with a final circuit training session – at the age of 79 – and has offered some parting words of advice.
Barry Atkins, who joined the Royal Signals in 1964 and worked at Army HQ in Andover for 25 years, told personnel: "Whatever you do, just keep doing it."
For decades, he treated voluntary tri-service personnel to spinning, extreme circuits and more – in a career that's seen huge changes within both the forces and fitness worlds.
"What I find with physical training is that the names change, but the exercises stay the same," said the retiring PTI – having laid out the cones and benches an hour ahead of his lunchtime class.
"This one's designed for large numbers because I'm hoping that a large number will turn up today – but if they don't, they'll still get the same. One person turns up – I run the circuit."
Still a fine physical specimen, having retained a consistency in his own health and a passion for biking, Barry's personal best half-marathon time is 1 hour 16 minutes.
Born shortly after VE Day, he puts his appetite for life and his all-consuming drive down to his mother – who was sent home after giving birth as Barry was not expected to live due to gastro-intestinal complications.
"She fed me on watered-down cows' milk, and I survived. So I really owe a lot to her," he explained.
After joining the Army, Barry couldn't follow the trade he wanted so asked to go into the gymnasium – he then left to become a physical trainer in a ladies' mental health hospital and joined the RAF not long after.
Barry then served another 17 years during which he took up adventurous training instructing.
Even in his last session, the trainer brightened up the gymnasium hall with his boundless energy during demonstrations and motivational battle cries.
"I'm glad to be retiring as such because I've got a life to lead – and I'm getting near to the end of that life, maybe," he said.
"But I'm getting very, very sad because I won't see all those lovely people that I deal with.
"As soon as you stop, you lose. And you lose it very quickly as you get old."
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
