Pat’s own ‘grey power’ (From Echo)

Pat’s own ‘grey power’

8:00pm Monday 6th December 2010 in Echo Woman By Louise Mackenzie

POWERLIFTING pensioner Pat Tombs says at 64 she is in the best shape of her life.

Pat is a familiar face at the Gallery Fitness Club, in Clacton, where if she’s not working, she’s in the weights section, lifting weights people half her age would struggle with.

Having joined the gym four years ago, she is proof it’s never too late to start exercising.

Pat says: “There is no age limit for getting healthy and into exercise. You have to start slowly and build up.

“I used to go to the gym in my forties, but nothing like I have since joining this gym. I’m exercising now like I never thought I would and I am in the best shape of my life.”

Nowadays, Pat trains up to four times a week as well as cycling everywhere she goes.

Powerlifting is an intense regime that sees 5ft 1ins and 56kg Pat lift a whopping 80kg above her head.

She said:“I do surprise myself sometimes at what I can lift, but you can’t go into something like that cold, you have to warm up and a lot of it is about technique.

“To lift that weight above your head you have to focus, brace yourself and use the techniques.

“When you watch the Olympic champions, it’s hard to see how they can lift such heavy weights. My trainer Dave Gunning says it is about the momentum.”

Pat’s diet had a complete overhaul to make sure her body was well fuelled for all the exercise.

She says: “We devised an eating programme that would keep me healthy, without gaining weight.”

Prior to her fitness mission, Pat dedicated 20 years to Clacton Hospital as a staff nurse. She took early retirement at 50.

She says: “There were a couple of years when my exercise regime slowed right down, but then I discovered tai chi which really helped me. It is all about repetitive movements and one of the most important things, I think, is people start moving.”

Some eight years later, aged 60, Pat joined the Gallery.

She says: “I started at the gym and then surprised myself by booking myself in for a personal training session with Ed Williams, the manager.

“It really helped me come out of my shell because he got me going to classes and meeting people.”

Pat began working at the gym as a cleaner and funded herself to study for a level 2 in basic gym instruction, for which she qualified in November 2008.

Pat says: “Once qualified, I started as a part-time instructor, cleaning and opening up the gym in the morning.

“I planned to save up and do my level 3 advanced, but in 2009 I had the opportunity to start an apprenticeship with Otley College, in Suffolk, and the gym.

“It takes two years and I will be qualified April 2011.

“It’s not for promotion at work or anything like that, I am doing it for myself.

“Eventually, I would like to train as a personal trainer. I would like to work with older people and show them it is never too late to get into exercise.”