I’d already run 7 miles before the China Sports Show in Xiamen opened.

By the time I walked through the doors of one of the biggest sports and fitness trade shows in China, over 1,800 manufacturers under one roof, my legs had already done more that morning than most people in that building would do all week.

And you could feel it.

Not in an arrogant way. Just in the way that when you’re genuinely fit and you walk into a room full of people who aren’t, there’s a strange disconnect. People selling fitness equipment. People whose entire business is built around health and physical performance. And the vast majority of them were not in shape.

I felt like an alien.

We entered through the outdoor fitness area first. There was a ninja warrior-style setup, a big trend right now, rings across bars, a spinning wheel with barely any grip surface, rotating bars. Being me, I jumped on it. Completed the whole thing.

Within seconds an entire factory team had surrounded me, phones out, filming. I’m probably on Chinese social media now. Could be worse.

We walked the show for hours. My team were exhausted. We hadn’t eaten since 8am and by 4pm everyone was running on empty. That’s when the head of my China sourcing team spotted a strength challenge. a chest press station set up as a competition.

A few years ago on another China trip I won my son a giant Kung Fu Panda teddy doing a dead hang challenge on a bar that span. He still has it. So when I saw this one I couldn’t walk past. The price this time… ¥1,000.

I jumped on not really knowing what was on the bar. The challenge was written in Chinese. First rep went up easily so I locked out and thought, is that it? That’s easy.

It wasn’t it at all. The challenge was 12 reps.

I tried, got to 9 and failed. We had a meeting to get to so we moved on. But it got under my skin. I knew I could do it. And honestly, as someone who leads a fitness equipment company, I felt a responsibility. It may sound stupid now and not just to myself but to the people with me.

My stepson is 23. He was there. One of the biggest things I want to show him is that fitness is a lifelong journey. That getting older doesn’t mean getting weaker. That you don’t walk away from something just because it beat you the first time.

After the meeting I insisted we went back. Everyone thought I was mad.

13 reps…. Done. The only person at the show to complete it. And a fancy dinner for the whole team that night secured.

Here’s the thing though. This isn’t a story about me.

I’m not the strongest person I know. Not even close. Put me next to a serious powerlifter and my numbers look like warm-up weights. Train with a specialist runner and they’ll leave me behind. Stand me next to a competitive bodybuilder and the physique comparison isn’t flattering. Calisthenics athletes will make me look like a beginner on the bars.

That’s not false modesty. It’s just the reality of what staying capable actually means.

Staying capable isn’t about being elite at any one thing. It’s about being genuinely fit and strong across the board. Fit enough to show up. Strong enough to be useful. Capable enough to serve the people around you — your family, your team, the people who are watching what you do and deciding what’s possible for themselves.

That last part matters more than most people realise.

If you’re in a leadership position, in business, in fitness, in life. People are watching. Not always consciously. But they are. Your team, your kids, your colleagues. They’re taking notes on what you do, not what you say.

A few weeks before China I took my UK team to Wales to do the Fan Dance, a 15 mile ruck across the Welsh mountains with 20kg on your back. Same principle. When you lead a fitness brand, being the most capable person in the room isn’t ego. It’s your job.

I see people all the time selling fitness equipment who are not remotely fit themselves. I’m not judging anyone’s journey but that disconnect does matter. How you lead in your body says something about how seriously you take the thing you’re asking others to invest in.

I’m 40. I ran 45 miles that week in China on top of 30,000 steps a day and won a strength competition at the end of it. Not because I’m trying to prove anything to anyone else.

But because being and staying capable is the standard I’ve set for myself. And the standard I want the people around me to see is possible. That’s what this is all about.