Lady Mary Peters gives Joe Wicks a run for his money

The former Olympic gold medallist has launched Move with Mary, a series of five exercise videos, which will be released online this week and cater for every level of capability, ranging from simple seated stretches, to balance, strength and gentle aerobic exercises suited to older people.

The launch comes as health experts have warned of the dangers to older people from a lack of regular movement and as UK research reveals that 40 per cent of older people are worried about the effects of the lockdown on their mental health and physical wellbeing.

Linda Robinson, chief executive of Age NI said: “Our service users and their families are telling us that they are worried about the effects of not moving as regularly over this past three months: they are stiffening up, muscle strength is diminishing and this can affect their balance – which is a particular worry for older people.

“Our real concern is that this is storing up the next health crisis for our older population. We need to do all we can to avoid further loss of independence or the need for additional medical treatment in the future.

“That’s why we wanted to do something to help older people to keep moving while at home.

‘‘With the success of Joe Wicks and his online school PE classes, we thought we could do something similar. We are thrilled to have Lady Mary Peters leading this important campaign at such a challenging time.’’

Lady Mary Peters added: “To me, movement is life; it’s so important as you get older to keep active. These exercises are nice and gentle, and trust me, they will help you to feel good during this difficult period of lockdown. We have some stretches you can do whilst sitting in a chair, moves you can practice while standing waiting for the kettle to boil, or brushing your teeth, even working up to a bit of kitchen dancing if you feel up to it!

‘‘One of the added benefits of regular exercise is the feeling of community you get from doing the same as others. Hopefully we can create a little virtual community of what I’m calling my “golden oldies” all doing these daily workouts together.”

*The Move with Mary exercises will be available as a download from www.ageni/movewithmary with the series of five short workout videos being released across this week on Age NI’s social media on facebook.com/agenicharity, Twitter @Age_NI and Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/agenitv

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