Mavis has been going to the gym for about 20 years and is a member of the Papanui Club Ignite Fitness Gym in Christchurch.
She said she has always been very active, being involved with basketball and swimming when she was younger.
“I have just always loved exercise, I have always kept fit throughout my life,” she said.
Mavis said she does not drive anymore. She only stopped two years ago but gets other people to pick her up to bring her to the gym.
“I pay them to pick me up, bring me to the gym and then go shopping, then buy them a cuppa as well and have a bit of socialising.”
She said everyone at the gym is wonderful and that you could not wish for a lovelier group of people.
“You walk through the door, and you feel like you’ve come home and it’s the people as well as the exercise. They are there to help if you need it.”
“Mavis is an amazing person. She just wants to do everything that everyone else is doing. She doesn’t want to take anything easy. She wants to do all the hard ones,” he said.
Kerrigan said that he makes sure to give her exercises that are watered down to make sure that she is able to do them safely.
“That’s the big thing. She does things that a lot of other people and a lot of younger members don’t. She pushes more weight. She’s just really focused and determined and quite inspirational.”
Mavis said she does not have a particular favourite exercise; she tries to do five minutes on each for about an hour to an hour and a half, but she does have an exercise she loathes.
“The box. You put the weights in the box and then you push the box along the carpet. I do it about eight times. Nobody likes doing the box.”
Mavis said that the secret to longevity is to have a good sense of humor, be kind, learn to compromise and lastly to not mess with Mavis.
“My mummy used to say don’t tell me you can’t do it, just get on and do it. That’s how I was brought up. Don’t think about it, just do it.”
By Briar Allen
