Staying in shape is never easy, and when you reach old age the challenge becomes even more difficult. Still, that didn’t stop former police officer Mike Collins, 84, from Merry Hill, Wolverhampton, who joined BMF in 2011, after being intrigued by a feature in the local paper.

Four years later and the miraculously mobile grandfather-of-two has gone from strength to strength, even recovering from a minor stroke in 2014, with BMF in his local park, Bantock Park. Mike, who is just approaching his 60^th wedding anniversary, trains twice or even three times a week, and balances his sessions with an active social life.

A lifelong sports enthusiast, Mike is also Vice President of Bridgnorth Cricket Club and a season ticket holder at Molineux, home of his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers. In his younger days, Mike played cricket for Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton Police, and once boxed in the same team as Tommy Nichols, an Olympic boxer who boxed with Sir Henry Cooper.

The well-travelled former RAF serviceman has also climbed Kilimanjaro, enjoyed scuba diving in the Pacific Islands and has swum a tributary of the Amazon River. However, following retirement and prior to joining BMF, Mike felt his fitness regime lacked purpose and competitive edge.

He commented: “For me, one of the best things about the BMF sessions is that I feel a form of military ambience. It’s the competitive, uplifting atmosphere; you’re much more motivated to complete the exercises, as opposed to doing solo training or running.”

Crucially, the sessions have helped Mike to overcome the minor stroke he suffered in summer 2014. After nine months out of action, he returned to training in April of this year and has been steadily building his fitness back up over the last few months.

Mike continues: “After joining BMF in 2011 I experienced a big change in both my endurance and suppleness, but following my stroke last autumn I was inactive for the best part of a year. I am now slowly regaining my fitness levels and the friendly trainers and participants at Bantock Park have really helped to rebuild my confidence.”

And the 84-year-old claims he will never stop. He concluded: “One piece of advice that I can give is to ‘keep it going’ – I shall continue as long as possible, although when the darker nights come I will have to cut back to Saturday mornings only, as with very diminished hearing, I have to follow the actions of others.”

“At the end of the day, I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities I’ve had, and also, to have a wife who doesn’t object to me making the most of them!”

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