#TeamUniSA Member Profile: Gary Gillies

Kirralee Thomas

2020-10-22T11:18:36

Gary Gillies has been going to the UniSA Sport Magill gym for nearly four years with his wife, Janet. Gary has recently retired, so it was important for him health wise to maintain some physical activity and also have an opportunity to remain social. Gary and Janet live opposite the Magill campus, so the convenience was the main draw card when they signed up and now, they enjoy going regularly and seeing the staff.

What is your favourite part of working out at UniSA facilities?
I’m going to say the staff, they are great and really friendly. They're really knowledgeable, they're always happy to help you out and because it's a fairly small gym, the service is quite personal. And with all the staff being university qualified – they’ve all got masters or undergraduate degrees – the level of information and help you get is really, really good. I know my wife and I both really benefited from that.

What have you got out of exercising at the gym?
Obviously, it's helped me manage a healthy weight. I think it’s giving me a different mind frame. I'm healthier, I feel like I've got more energy.

Did you have a goal when you started attending the gym?
Not a particular, specific goal, just more of a general goal to keep moving and as I got older, to not let my age define me.

You recently just finished a placement, what did you get out of that?
It nearly killed me… no I got a lot out of it actually [laughs]. I was so pleased to have the opportunity. I guess my first motivation was that I wanted to help the student out. I’ve got University aged children myself, so I thought anything I could do to help would be would be good. But what I what I got out of it was a variety of workouts that I wasn't able to get by doing my own routine. My placement student, Georgia, made sure to explain all of the reasons why we did everything and how you do it the best way, so I got some knowledge out of it as well which was really good. I also learned some new exercises that I could incorporate into my normal routines and she even got me doing some things that I used to hate doing, that I quite enjoy doing now. It was so good and it was a great extra motivator.

What are the benefits of training with your wife?
Sometimes I train with my wife and sometimes we train separately. It's good to have a shared interest. If one of us is feeling a bit lazy, you’re almost forced to go along.

What advice do you have for anyone wanting to start their fitness journey?
I think the advice I would give would be slow and steady. Don't try and do too much, too soon. Just be consistent and regular.

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