At 69, Jackie Halligan has little interest in slowing down.
From the small village she calls home in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, she spends her weekdays doing what she loves most: helping others move their bodies and rediscover their confidence. Between teaching Pilates, leading exercise classes for older adults and sharing her message online with a community of more than 670,000 followers, retirement looks very different to the version many people imagine.
Coffee mornings and putting her feet up? Not quite.
Retirement reimagined
“I retired from teaching 13 years ago and started to go to Pilates and exercise classes to get my fitness levels up again,” Jackie says. “I treated myself to a Pilates Instructor course for my 60th birthday and since then I’ve taken courses in exercise for older people, chair-based exercise and yoga teaching.”
“I retired from teaching 13 years ago and started to go to Pilates and exercise classes to get my fitness levels up again,” Jackie says. “I treated myself to a Pilates Instructor course for my 60th birthday and since then I’ve taken courses in exercise for older people, chair-based exercise and yoga teaching.”
Those qualifications opened up an entirely new chapter. “I teach every day except for the weekends and my lovely class members keep me active and have given me a social outlet which I really enjoy.”
Outside the studio, she enjoys reading, walking and singing, having recently joined a Rock Choir group alongside her local Women’s Institute choir. “I do have other interests other than exercise,” she smiles.
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But movement has been a thread running through much of her life.
Jackie taught physical education for around 15 years before later moving into ICT following a change in circumstances. In her younger years, exercise came naturally.
“I enjoyed going to the gym, doing aerobics and step, and playing hockey and tennis,” she says. “However, in the years prior to my retirement at 56, I was doing much less exercise due to pressure of work.” It wasn’t until years later that her current journey truly gathered momentum.
From living room to global audience
“I suppose this whole new journey really took off during lockdown when I took both my training and my classes online.”
In many ways, Jackie’s story challenges one of society’s most persistent beliefs: that ageing automatically means becoming smaller, quieter and less active.
In many ways, Jackie’s story challenges one of society’s most persistent beliefs: that ageing automatically means becoming smaller, quieter and less active.
For Jackie, that narrative never quite made sense.
“When I retired, I finally had time to find the activities that I could enjoy and participate in at a time that suited me,” she says. “When one of my colleagues suggested that I would be able to do coffee mornings once I retired, I laughed. Slowing down was never an alternative as long as I’m fit and able to keep active.”
It’s a mindset she now encourages in the women who attend her classes.
Dumbbells don’t know your age
Many arrive carrying years of assumptions about what their bodies can and cannot do. “Some of the older ladies I’ve encountered in class have been very tentative about using weights,” Jackie explains. “But this has changed with the opportunity to start light and build up.”
She believes many women have absorbed the message that ageing means stepping back. “There’s also a mindset that we need to take it easy as we get older because our bodies aren’t as fit or flexible as they used to be.”
Yet strength, she believes, doesn’t disappear with age. It simply evolves.
Yet strength, she believes, doesn’t disappear with age. It simply evolves.
Jackie’s own relationship with her body has certainly evolved over time. “I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with my body and I’m still working on this even as I prepare for my 70th birthday,” she says candidly.
She speaks openly about the challenges she has faced, including experiencing bulimia in her twenties and living with an ileostomy since the age of 31. “It’s taken a long time to accept that I’m fine and probably stronger and fitter now than I was in my forties.”
It’s this honesty that may explain why so many people connect with her online.
Keeping it real in a filtered world
In a social media landscape often dominated by perfectly curated images and unattainable standards, Jackie offers something different: reality.
“I don’t think the surge of size six, perfectly tanned and toned fitness ‘experts’ on social media has helped the situation,” she says. “They give a totally skewed idea of what real people look like in gyms and classes.”
That misconception, she believes, can stop people before they’ve even begun. “Once they find their tribe, they can really enjoy the experience.”
Movement over perfection
For anyone wondering whether it’s simply too late to start, Jackie’s advice is refreshingly uncomplicated.
“When I’m asked about exercise from someone who really wants to get started again but who doesn’t know what to do, my suggestion is to find something you enjoy,” she says. “It could be walking, dancing or swimming, but as long as you enjoy it, you will keep going.”
“When I’m asked about exercise from someone who really wants to get started again but who doesn’t know what to do, my suggestion is to find something you enjoy”
Find your tribe
She also encourages people not to be afraid to seek support. “Find a class and instructor who meets your needs and don’t be afraid to take that first step. If you have a friend you can bring along for support, that can really help break the ice. And don’t be worried about shopping around to find the classes that bring you joy and a sense of achievement.”
As for the online community she has built almost by accident, Jackie remains characteristically humble. “I’m amazed that so many people watch my online stuff for a start,” she says. “The fact that it has inspired some of them to get exercising again is truly humbling.”
As for the online community she has built almost by accident, Jackie remains characteristically humble. “I’m amazed that so many people watch my online stuff for a start,” she says. “The fact that it has inspired some of them to get exercising again is truly humbling.”
In 2024, she was awarded the trophy for Regional Instructor (Ireland) in the Heart and Soul Fitness Awards.
Ageing made adventurous
As she prepares to celebrate her 70th birthday, Jackie Halligan isn’t trying to turn back the clock. Instead, she’s showing thousands of women that ageing doesn’t have to mean shrinking your world.
It can mean joining a choir, trying something new, lifting weights for the first time, finding your people and discovering strengths you never knew you had.
Because perhaps growing older isn’t about slowing down at all. Perhaps it’s about finally having the confidence to move through life on your own terms.
Connect with Jackie via her website or follow her on YouTube and Instagram.
