The flexibility of farming in accommodating a whole range of fighting fit enterprises is demonstrated by Peter Manley who built a gym on the family farm on the outskirts of Edenderry, Co. Offaly.

With one of its fields alongside the bank of the Grand Canal, the 90ac farm has approximately 50 cows and is home to the the Monasteroris milking shorthorn herd. His father Michael is the third generation of Manleys to work the land which will soon be passed onto the fourth generation – Peter and his sister, Ann Maree, who are looking at a potential partnership.

“With milk price volatility, a partnership could leave the option of a full-time job for both, to subsidise an unpredictable farm income,” he said.

The Manleys are well-known on the show circuit. “My father took to the show circuit in 1990. Through the years we have all been involved but it is my sister and father who have the best eye for a good cow,” he said.

“In recent years we have had success. In 2014, at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair, Balmoral, Belfast, Monasteroris Jennie Deans the 8th won the dairy shorthorn senior cow class, breed champion and reserve inter-breed champion,” said Manley.

Judge Brian Carscadden from Guelph, Ontario, Canada, one of the world’s top-rated and respected judges, stated that she is one of the best milking shorthorn cows he has seen.

“The first time we showed her was as a fifth calver in July 2012 at Emerald Expo, Cilin Hill, where she won breed champion,” he added.

“Jennie next returned to Emerald Expo April 2014, claiming victory once again. The Royal Ulster Winter Fair was her third show. This cow is a prime example of the shorthorn breed with her strength, aggressive appetite, and high fertility, with seven calves in 10 years, yet remaining youthful with fantastic feet and legs, annually producing around 1,700-gallons/8,000kgs of milk at 3.5% butterfat and 3.35% protein,” he said.

“In 2015, close to home, attending Tullamore Show, we took victory in four categories, and also a second place in one of the categories with the five animals we brought to the show.

Jennie’s last outing left her with victory in the show closest to home, champion dairy shorthorn at Tullamore Show 2016.

Manley has happy memories of helping out on the farm since childhood. “My parents encouraged my brother, sister and myself to get a third-level education. My journey took me to the Institute of Technology, Sligo, where I attained a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science and Physiology and a BSc (Hons) in Public Health and Health Promotion.”

He took a year out and travelled to Canada and Italy, working and saving to go back to complete his education. He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Health Promotion from NUI Galway.

Manley established a health and fitness company in January 2015. Manley Fitness delivers adapted physical exercise classes to people in nursing homes, day care centres and active retirement groups. The chair-based exercise programme supports participants in achieving greater independence and autonomy.

“The programme aims to maintain and improve physical capability, in particular everyday movements, stimulate cognition, memory and social skills. It strives to be an all-body workout, and is adapted to individual needs and abilities,” Manley said.

“With this programme, existing abilities are maintained and improved. It is a good method of becoming conscious of the body, increasing confidence and creating friendships and ties within the group and with the trainer.

“I aim to enable people to increase control over and improve upon their own health through participation in physical activity sessions, adapted for individual needs, based on their ability level and personal goals. It’s been going great, I love what I do,” said Manley.

He converted an old shed on the farm into a gym, starting work in September 2015, beavering away until it was fit for purpose.

“I probably spent a good year-and-a-half building it whenever I had some spare time. There was a lot of late nights and early mornings, but it all came together and I am very proud of the end result. I did not look for, nor receive, any grant aid. I just put a bit of time and money to it when I had it.

“Growing up on a farm, I threw my hand to a lot of jobs which gave me the confidence to take on this project. The build itself brought the need to acquire some additional skills and, where needed, a helping hand from a skilled tradesman.”

Since January 2017, he has been delivering personal and small group training on the farm. “The gym is open every day, all year around and I have a mix of clients who are keen to get and stay fit, which is great. I’ve dealt with everything from a phone call to travel out and train Santa Claus, to a lady coming into me with a world record dead lift.

I have a few farmers coming into train also, when they get a bit of free time between jobs. Every so often a workout may land me and/or some of my clients out in the farm yard.

Farmers tend to be fit, he finds. “Most farmers at some stage during the year will be: moving bales of hay all day; carrying new born calves; swinging a sledge hammer driving fencing posts; covering or opening a silage pit; bedding sheds; forking dung out of sheds; and forking silage to name just a few of the many physically demanding jobs most farmers do year in year out.

“I think that farming is a lifestyle, rather than work. A person’s work typically starts and finishes at a set time. They have paid holiday leave and a certain amount of sick days. Farming is every day, with no real start or finishing time. A good farmer will typically be able to map jobs out for the coming decades and will always be tipping away at one job or another in addition to the core farm activities,” he said.

“By comparison to sitting at a desk all day, farming keeps you active and healthy, with no farmer ever really retiring.

“Some people retire from a job they have worked at for whatever number of years. They have a few things they do with their free time but take a real step back in respect to their activity levels in a given day. Again this is dependent on the person and their health status, but some people get very old, very inactive, very quickly after their routine changes when they retire,” Manley noted.

“A farmer never stops going, never really retires. Handing over the farm to the next generation doesn’t change the jobs that they will do in a given day.

I remember one of my lecturers remarking that farmers are some of the hardiest, fittest older adults that you will ever meet. No matter what age, that ‘farmer thickness’ –  the stubbornness – goes a long way in the gym, when faced with a difficult workout or a heavy weight.

His own programme is a busy one with no signs of letting up. “I will continue to farm and to deliver adapted physical sessions to clients. In addition, I would like to get involved with treatment of Type 1 diabetes, with a focus on exercise and nutrition. I am a Type 1 diabetic, diagnosed in 1998. I have worked hard the past couple of years to get better control of my diabetes, to get a good HbA1C  – haemoglobin A1c/glycated level.

“I am currently working with a few diabetics to help them achieve better control over their condition. I would like to get involved with some research bodies or organisations that aim to help Type 1 diabetics improve their HbA1C level. I haven’t looked into it too much yet but that’s something that’s on my horizon.”

No doubt that too will be a good fit for Manley’s busy agenda.