Member Spotlight: Margaret Anne Cutler

by Meg Sharp, B.Sc., Fitness & Well-Being Consultant CGOC

A lifetime of physical activity - and 50 years with our Clubs! – keeps this female member sharp, smart and smiling.

I had breakfast with the most amazing woman:  Margaret Anne Cutler is incredibly fit, strong and so engaging.  It’s almost impossible to believe she just turned 85.  And while she doesn’t think of herself as “unique”, I beg to differ.  The wisdom and practical ideas she shared will inspire and benefit everyone:

Friends and community matter.

Margaret Anne joined the Clubs in 1975 when we had The Fitness Institute in Willowdale.  A working nurse with two small kids she was looking for a pool.  She started swimming when she was three, and taught swimming at summer camp for decades.  Swimming is in her DNA,

She encouraged her husband Ernie – a lawyer - to join a few months afterwards.  He’d “never really been into fitness or anything” but within weeks he was hooked.  The people, friends and clients he made created a lifelong commitment to exercise for him as well.

Margaret Anne remembers walking out of the elevator onto the 36^th floor of what is now the TAC and thinking how spectacular the Club was.  She’d been invited by the Manager with a few of her workout buddies to come check out the newest Club and stay for lunch.  She switched memberships shortly afterwards as she was now working downtown so this location was more convenient.  While still drawn by the pool, she ultimately got into a gym routine where she made really great friends.  These connections, the community she built at the gym– more than anything else - is what she attributes to the fact that she keeps coming back.  Pretty much every day.  For so many years.

Just go:  Your entire self will thank you!

Over the past 50 years Margaret Anne has experienced many days where she didn’t feel like going to the gym.  If knowing she’d promised to meet a friend didn’t push her out the door, it was knowing how amazing she would feel – physically but even more powerfully mentally – afterwards.  Beyond the regular exercise she attributes exercising her brain and staying socially active as vital to her overall well-being:  weekly bridge, book clubs, volunteering, taking courses and exploring world; from hiking in Muskoka to scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.  She’s set foot on all 7 continents and still has lots to see.

It’s never too late to start.

She realizes it’s natural to “lose a lot as we age” and believes women may be particularly vulnerable.  So she’s thrilled she’s been working specifically on strength, posture and agility for the past number of years.  She knows her long tenure of being athletic has mitigated many loses, but is adamant that it’s never too late to start exercising or add specific things into your routine.  Her counsel:  

“Whatever you think you can’t do, think again.  You can start anytime.”  

Set an example for your children and grandchildren

Her daughter, her son and her four grandchildren are all physically active.  They grew up thinking daily exercise is a natural, integral part to a wonderful life and provides opportunity for them to bond and play together.  Over the years she’s joined all three granddaughters at their summer camps where they jumped off a 3-meter tower into the lake together.  Her younger self would have dove.  The difference now isn’t so much ability but wisdom.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

It’s great to work hard in the gym but make sure you’re having fun.  Don’t get too caught up in what you need to do or how long you need to do it.  It’s ok – great even – to simply move and be active in ways you enjoy.  Keep working on both your physical and mental flexibility.  Have a sense of humour and share a laugh with the people around you.  The people you meet and bonds you form are powerful.  When you take the time to create and nurture these connections around physical activity it’s a double win.