Fitness guru Mairead McMahon “It’s never too late to change your life”
By Marisa Reidy
IF ever you’ve dreamt of taking control of your health and fitness and turning your life around for the better, then you’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger source of inspiration than Tralee woman Mairead McMahon.
Owner of Tralee’s Achieve Fitness gym, Mairead has gone from an obese thirty-something year old who was barely able to keep up with her children, to finishing in the top eight per cent in the world at a renowned global fitness competition.
Even Mairead herself realises that her story is quite hard to believe, admitting that throughout her entire 30s she was so overweight that just playing with her children would leave her breathless. A far cry from the now 43-year-old who, just weeks ago, reached the penultimate round of the renowned annual Crossfit Open – the world’s largest fitness competition that sees hundreds of thousands of athletes from all over the world compete against each other in a range of works outs and fitness challenges.
Mairead reached the semi-final of the annual competition and tells Connect that she was thrilled to finish in the top eight percent in the world.
“The Open is the ultimate test of fitness and I competed in the 40+ age bracket, with just the top 10 per cent of all competitors qualifying either for the quarter or semi-final. I made the semi-final, which was great, and even though I didn’t make the final, I was really happy to get that far and finish in the top eight per cent in the world.”
Mairead’s achievement is all the more impressive when you consider that her fitness was at an all-time low just 10 years previously. Even as a child, she was never into sports or exercise and couldn’t run 30 seconds without having to stop.
“I was obese for all of my 30s and even when I was playing with the kids I’d be out of breath. I had tried all sorts of fad diets, none of which worked for me long term, and I didn’t feel good about myself at all,” Mairead explained.
One January, Mairead decided that things could not continue the way they were and so made the decision to join a gym. Clearly, she has never looked back.
“I’d had enough of feeling the way I did, so one January I decided to take up exercise and join a gym. I had never run before and I remember I started a Couch to 5K running programme on my phone with my sister and I couldn’t run for 30 seconds I was that terribly unfit and overweight.”
It wasn’t long before Mairead realised that while the exercise and gym workouts were tough, she was thoroughly enjoying them – and the more she saw results, the more enjoyable it all became.
“My initial focus was honestly just getting fit and being able to play with the kids, but I remember how much better I started to feel about myself once I started seeing results. I was really enjoying the exercise and the gym and slowly built things up.”
A combination of exercise and a new healthy eating regime has seen Mairead utterly transform not only her physique but her entire life, with the popular business owner admitting that she has never been happier or in better shape. Four years ago she and her sister studied to become fitness instructors and Mairead opened her own gym, Achieve Fitness, a year later.
Asked for her advice for anyone looking to take control and get in shape, Mairead says that the first step is to stop being a slave to the scales and looking for the easy fix.
“People nowadays, especially women, have made their metabolisms so sluggish and really messed it up because of years of fad dieting. Your body will lose muscle quicker than fat so when you’re crash dieting your body goes into protection mode and will grab onto the calories. You lose muscle mass and your metabolism becomes less efficient,” Mairead explained.
“So while you might lose weight on the scales and get to your ‘target weight’ what tends to happen then is you eventually increase your calorie intake and finish up even heavier than before because of your sluggish metabolism. I know this because I went through it all – numerous times – so now it’s not a diet for me, but it’s my lifestyle.”
Mairead says that people simply have to stop obsessing about the scales and concentrate on the overall picture.
“We are totally preoccupied with the weighing scales, so when clients come to me I tell them to forget about it. I remember myself, crying because I hadn’t lost a pound on the scales, so now I try and tell people to change their focus entirely. People come to me and say I want to lose X stone, and I immediately need them to change that attitude. Our focus isn’t on the scales, it’s on size and helping people get into those size 14 or 12 or 10 jeans rather than being a certain weight.”
Mairead is also keen to point out that she doesn’t believe in using the word ‘diet’ with her clients – insisting instead that getting fit and healthy is simply a new way of life.
“A combination of exercise with healthy eating is key, so we don’t do diets, we do heathy,” Mairead insists. “We set realistic goals for people and once they understand the concept and follow the plan there is no diet and no guilt. It’s amazing how many people aren’t actually eating too much, but too much of the wrong thing, so it’s getting a healthy balance. It becomes a new way of life, not a diet.”
So what about those who feel uneasy about getting into a gym or feel they’ve gone too far now to be helped?
Mairead says that it is NEVER too late to turn things around and would encourage anyone feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed to please not let that deter them.
“There’s an old saying that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, but that’s actually not true at all when it comes to health and fitness, and I’m a prime example,” Mairead said. “I couldn’t run with my kids and now I’m competing in fitness competitions. My life has totally transformed and I’ve never been fitter and feel a lot younger.
“I totally understand that people are nervous of going to the gym. I was too. But the first step inside the door is always the hardest. Genuinely, if you’ve ever wished you could do it, then please just try it. There are so many people there to support you and while some people in there may be faster or fitter than you, others will be in the exact same boat. So many people let their fear of failing or their fear of struggling in front of others stop them from taking the first step, but there really is a great community spirit in the gym and members are very close. I know there’s a perception that the gym is full of fit, confident people – and that can be very daunting – but the reality is that there is massive support there and a great welcome from people who genuinely want to help you.
“My life has totally changed because I made that decision to walk in the door of the gym all those years ago. It’s unbelievable how your quality of life can change if you just trust in the process and make time for yourself. It is never too late to change your life.”
Mairead’s Top Tips:
– Stop obsessing about the scales!
– Completely move away from ‘fad’ diets – they do not work!
– Find an exercise/activity that you enjoy
– Don’t focus on being on a ‘diet’. See it as a lifestyle change.
No diet, no guilt!
– You are never too old or too unfit to make a change
– If you want to change, take the first step today!
– Don’t let your fear of failure hold you back!
– Trust in the process and make time for yourself
