A GRANDMOTHER from Weymouth has proven that age is just a number - by attending her first gym session at 80 years old.

Norah Tallon, from Preston, thought she was too old for the gym until a chance meeting with the fitness manager at her local leisure centre changed her mind completely.

After experiencing painful backache at the end of last year that didn’t seem to go away, Norah’s doctor recommended exercise and pain relief. She decided to start swimming again and was really enjoying her new fitness routine until all leisure centres were forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Following lockdown, Norah - a former school administrator - was keen to get back to her routine at Weymouth Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre and decided to drop in and find out when her sessions would restart. To her disappointment, the centre’s swimming pool was closed at the time, however Kayleigh Whiting, fitness manager at the centre, happened to be walking through the foyer and invited Norah to try out the gym.

The grandmother-of-two said: “I’d always walk past the gym and just thought it wasn’t for me. I thought I was too old to go at my age but Kayleigh told me that wasn’t the case and that they had lots of older members.

"I decided to go along and it was absolutely fantastic. She made me feel so comfortable, and showed me how to use every piece of equipment I was interested in using and now I really enjoy it. I look forward to every session, I call it my 'happy hour'.

“There is such a friendly atmosphere at the leisure centre and if I want to know anything, there’s always someone around to ask, but they don’t hover either, it’s perfect.

“I can’t believe I’ve started using the gym at my age. I wish I had started going years ago. It’s helped my backache massively and the main thing is I really, really enjoy it.

“My new fitness routine has also helped me to practice driving more, as my husband usually drives when we’re out, and it gets me out of the house more too. It’s a win-win situation all round."

Kayleigh added: “We’re tremendously proud of Norah’s attitude to stepping out of her comfort zone and finding a whole new fitness routine that she enjoys.

“As we always say here, ‘age is just a number’ and if you put your mind to it, you can achieve many things and Norah is a great example of that. We hope her story will encourage people of all ages to try out new fitness activities and discover a variety of ways they can stay active and enjoy themselves.

“Norah has become a part of the Everyone Active family here and always puts a smile on all our colleagues’ faces when she’s around. We look forward to seeing her friendly face as she continues her fitness journey.”

For more information on Weymouth Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre, visit www.everyoneactive.com