Mary McEvoy became a qualified Pilates instructor at 66 years old.
The Glenroe star shared her incredibly positive experience joining a gym and how she found a sense of community there.
She explained that the attitude towards working out has shifted, whereas in the 80s there was a focus on restrictive diets and losing weight.
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Mary recalled walking into the gym Body Empowerment, owned by Olivia Purcell, for the first time.
She told RSVP Magazine: “The minute I walked in, I knew I was in the right spot. It’s right in the country in a field. The class that’s going on, is the class that’s going on.
“There’s no gym bunnies on the sidelines. It is all sizes, all ages and all weights. We all muck in together and we all encourage each other. I knew I was in the right place. There was a sense of community.
“It’s created by Olivia, she’s extraordinary. She wanted to get into my head on the day I joined to know what I wanted and needed. I was very open about my mental health, because I have a bit of a struggle with that. I got the most beautiful email from her the next day and I knew I was home.”
She highlighted how as long as your body is capable of it, your age doesn’t restrict you from getting involved at the gym - which was something she learned while studying to become a Pilates instructor.
“Other women can be very critical. We’re not very kind to our sisters at times,” Mary said. “I qualified as a Pilates instructor when I was 66. I remember going through the movements on the curriculum.
“When it came to older populations, if the person was fit there was no reason they couldn’t do it. There wasn’t one excluded. When I went to the gym, Olivia Purcell didn’t see my age, she encouraged me. I had a very weak knee so when we were doing step-ups, I started with a very low box.
“She kept encouraging me and didn’t say, ‘Don’t do that now’. She kept an eye on me. Now I’m very strong. She didn’t make any allowance for my age - in a good way. She said there wasn’t any reason why I couldn’t be strong and there was no reason I couldn’t do a pull-up if I applied myself.
“We must start thinking that. We need to move more and particularly with weights as you get older.”
The Biddy Byrne actress shared that there was a huge focus on losing weight in the 1980s, however Pat Henry, father to Operation Transformation star Karl Henry, had a completely different attitude.
“I went to a gym when I was on RTE because you wanted to keep in shape. Unfortunately, in those days it was tougher for women. It was all about weight. I went to Pat Henry, who is Karl Henry’s father, and he was all about health.
“I remember one day there was a woman. He told her, ‘Don’t be working out so much because you’ll get sick. Your immune system won’t be taken care of’. She said, ‘I don’t want to be well. I want to be thin’. He nearly died. The two of us just looked at each other, he was really shocked.
“That was quite prevalent in the 80s and restrictive diets. It was the patriarchy and the male gaze - that’s what it was all about. That’s how much it has changed and thank god it has.
“The MeToo movement changed so much. I have so much admiration for young women. I think they’re brilliant. They change it for older women by changing it for themselves.
“I think about the interviews I did as a younger woman, you would always be on your guard in case you were caught out or something that you would say would be twisted. Now it’s hugely different. I think the world has become a kinder place.”
Mary took part in a charity calendar in aid of The Irish Cancer Society. The calendar costs €20 and can be pre-ordered from the shop section of bodyempowerment.fit
English (US) ·