Olympic golden girl Lady Mary Peters is taking a leaf out of body coach Joe Wicks’ book for a new TV campaign designed to help OAPs boost their health and fitness.
The 85-year-old, who struck gold at the Munich Games in 1972, is one of a number of experts demonstrating exercises for people at home in Fit Round the Table.
She hopes to replicate the success of an Age NI campaign that went viral during the Covid lockdown, with people as far away as Australia joining her exercise classes.
The new series, which is on the community channel NVTV and YouTube, is the brainchild of broadcaster Mike Gaston (75).
He said: “The aim is to encourage less active older members of our community to exercise at their kitchen tables, encouraged by age-appropriate trainers.
“The series benefits from the lifetime skills and experience of the stellar team of local athletes and trainers who helped develop the concept. Anyone can get fitter at any age. All you have to do is join us and give it a go”
In the first programme, Mary demonstrated simple seated stretches and gentle aerobic exercises to enhance balance and strength.
She said the importance of keeping fit in older age could not be overstated.
An instructor leading pensioners through exercises in one of the classes
Mary added: “People who have had sedentary jobs maybe went to a keep fit class or aerobics or the swimming pool, and they may not have thought that exercise was important as they got older, but it’s actually more important to keep the joints supple and the body healthy.
“Exercising for between 10 minutes and half an hour at a time is enough for most people, but they need to it regularly. There’s no point doing it one day and leaving it for the rest of the week.
“Life is about movement, and if you don’t move your body, it won’t work well. It’s like leaving the car for months in the garage and then expecting it to perform well.”
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The exercises in the new series can be done at the kitchen table or even while washing the dishes.
Mary said kitchens were perfect for standing routines because people at home can hold on to tables or chairs.
Some of the routines can be performed on kitchen floors, and in one episode, Mike is seen working out on a table.
She herself still goes out of her way to get plenty of exercise.
“I know that as people get older it can be hard to get up and get out, especially on a cold winter’s morning, so these exercises are designed to be done in the home,” she said.
“The fitter people get, the more they can get out and about. I’m 85 now and I’m still enjoying doing my exercises regularly.”
Lady Mary on the show
Mary also attends Pilates classes, but a back problem has restricted the distance she can walk at the moment.
She believes every nursing or care home should introduce daily exercise sessions.
Mike said the TV series was a natural follow-up to the teaching work he does in the community about improving fitness for older folk.
He added: “As well as Lady Mary Peters, I approached experts who, among other things, do Pilates and boxercise.
“The stories that they told me were fabulous, so I invited them to appear in the series as well.”
One of the guests is Mike Bull, a double Commonwealth gold medallist and Olympic finalist in pole-vaulting.
“Mike Bull is still pole-vaulting at the age of 77, and he was another willing recruit to pass on his advice about fitness,” said Mike Gaston.
“I have found that exercise in seniors promotes a reduction in falling. If you have a strong core, you are less likely to fall through muscular failings, and if you are much more confident, again you are less likely to have a fall.”
*Fit Round the Table is on NVTV, (Freeview Channel 7 and Virgin 159) every night from tonight (Oct 20) to October 26 and on NVTV’s YouTube channel worldwide.