The People's Gym · Cork
Fitness in retirement in Cork
Forty years of work and finally the time is yours. The best thing you can spend some of it on is strength, because it is what decides whether the next twenty years are spent travelling, gardening and minding grandchildren or minding a bad hip. Our personal trainers build 30-minute sessions around it at our Douglas and Ballincollig gyms.
Retirement
The time is yours. Spend some of it on strength
Retirement is when most people have the time to train and the most to gain from it. Muscle, balance and bone are what keep you independent, and all three respond at any age.
Independence
Getting up from a low chair, carrying shopping, stairs without the rail. Strength training is what keeps those easy into your 80s.
Balance and falls
Falls are what end independence. Leg strength and balance work, built into every session, are the best prevention there is.
Bone
Loading the skeleton keeps bone dense. If you have had a DEXA scan or a diagnosis, we work to whatever your GP or consultant has advised.
Daytime sessions
Mid-morning and early afternoon slots are quiet and full of people your age. No rush hour, no queue for the rack.
Working with your GP
Blood pressure, joints, a heart history. Tell us what your GP has said and the programme is built around it.
Company
A coach who knows your name, a training partner, a chat. For a lot of retired members the session is as much about that as the weights.
Real Google reviews
From members who started where you are
In their own words, straight from Google.
"Both fully equipped modern gyms. Staff are professional, knowledgeable, encouraging and friendly. Suitable for all ages. Retired myself, never too late to start!! Personal Training(PT) package, 30 minute sessions just right for me. Lovely atmosphere, would recommend highly."
"As a woman in my 60’s starting with ATP has been a game changer and this is my first time ever committing to a gym. … They will challenge me but always make sure I’m doing the exercises safely. Would recommend ATP 100% for any age, any shape, any level of fitness."
"I am in the older gentleman brigade doing my best to fight old age, and with the help of the team at ATP I have been mostly successful. I feel better, I'm not as tired and I like me more. You'll find a very supportive and friendly community at ATP."
"ATP is a super place to exercise at your own level for all ages from teens right up to your 70s and beyond. Class sizes are small and the PT section is super relaxed with amazing trainers to help you on your fitness journey. The trainers are super friendly, they know everyone by name and make a huge effort to build a relationship with their clients."
How it works
Training in retirement at ATP
Something happens in the first year of retirement. The commute goes, the routine goes, and without noticing people move a lot less than they did. A few years of that and the strength you had at work has quietly gone. It is the most common story we hear from members in their 60s and 70s, and the encouraging part is how quickly it turns around once they start.
Strength training is the thing. Not gentle stretching, not just walking, though walking is great alongside it. Proper, coached, progressive strength work that keeps the muscle, the bone and the balance you need to stay independent. People in their 70s build muscle just as surely as people in their 30s. It just needs to be coached properly.
What a session looks like
You train 1:2, one coach and two clients, each on your own programme, for 30 minutes. Sitting to a box and standing, step-ups, rows, presses, carries, and balance work built in. Loads start light and climb steadily. Daytime sessions are the quietest and most of the people in them are retired too. Two sessions a week is the sweet spot, and it fits easily around golf, grandchildren and holidays because our packs never expire.
Working with your GP or consultant
Whatever your GP, consultant or physio has advised, we follow it and build the programme around it. Blood pressure, a heart history, a replacement joint, low bone density, arthritis. Tell us and we plan around it, and we are happy to talk to them directly if that helps.
Getting started
Your first session is free. Claim it below and mention anything you want us to know in the form or when we ring. It is a real coached 30-minute session at Douglas or Ballincollig, no card and no commitment. Our over 60s page goes deeper on training at this stage, and our bone health page covers the bone side.
Memberships & pricing
Simple, flexible pricing
Personal training from €20.56 a session on a rolling membership, €35 pay as you go, and no-expiry packs from €289. See full pricing →
FAQ
Retirement fitness questions
If yours is not here, give us a ring. We would rather talk it through.
I have never been in a gym in my life. Is 65 too late to start?
No. Some of our happiest members started in their late 60s and 70s. The coaching starts from wherever you are, and the strength comes.
Is walking not enough?
Walking is great and keep doing it, but it does not keep muscle or build bone the way lifting does. Two short strength sessions a week alongside the walking is the combination that keeps people independent.
Will it be full of young people?
The daytime sessions are mostly people in their 50s, 60s and 70s, and the whole gym is small and coached. Nobody is watching anyone.
I have a bad hip and high blood pressure. Can I still train?
Almost certainly, and it is probably the best thing for both. Tell us what your GP or consultant has advised and we build the programme around it.
What about holidays and the grandchildren?
Our packs never expire, so three weeks in Spain or a fortnight of minding costs you nothing. You pick up where you left off.
Is it a class or personal training?
Personal training, 1:2. One coach with two clients, each on their own programme, so the session is built around your joints, your GP's advice and your day.
How much does it cost?
Rolling memberships start at €179 every 4 weeks for two sessions a week, and our no-expiry packs never lapse. Your first session is free, no card and no commitment.
Get started
Claim your free session
Tell us a little about yourself and a member of the ATP team will be in touch to book in your free session.
ATP Fitness App
Manage your sessions on the go
Book your PT & classes straight from your phone, manage your membership and top up credits any time.
Find us
Two locations across Cork
Douglas
2nd Floor, Unit A1, Donnybrook Commercial Centre, Donnybrook, Cork City
Tel: 087 649 4134
Mon-Thurs: 6:30am - 8:30pm
Friday: 6:30am - 7:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Sunday: Closed
Ballincollig
Unit 1A, Link Road Business Park, Carrigrohane, Ballincollig, Co. Cork
Tel: 085 725 2370
Mon-Thurs: 6:30am - 8:30pm
Friday: 6:30am - 7:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Sunday: Closed