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These Women Transformed Their Strength In Their 60s. Here’s How They Did It.

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These Women Transformed Their Strength In Their 60s. Here’s How They Did It.

Whether you’re a lifelong fitness-lover or ready to pick up a pair of dumbbells for the first time, you might need a little motivation getting to the gym. These stories from seven women—all over the age of 60—will remind you that it’s never too late to start strength training.

Each of these women is crushing their goals today, whether they’re bodybuilding, learning to master a squat, or prioritizing nutrition after years of dieting and undereating. Everyone is on their own fitness journey, but a few things each of the women says makes a big difference? Having a community to support you, whether it’s a personal trainer or a family member, overcoming the fear of getting “bulky” and focusing on getting strong, and thinking about macros for balanced nutrition.

Read on to learn about what these 60+-year-old women do to stay so fit.

Marilynn: The 75-Year-Old Crushing Bodybuilding Competitions

At 75 years old, Marilynn Larkin turned to bodybuilding following a breast cancer diagnosis as a way to focus on her strength at a scary moment. She had competed in one other bodybuilding competition 20 years before, but this time she placed first in her division of women over 50. “Bodybuilding was more than just a physical challenge; it was a journey of self-acceptance, empowerment, and relentless commitment to myself,” she said. For Larkin, whose cancer has “remained stable” over the past year, the journey of her fitness goal is more important than the outcome of winning competitions—though she’s doing that too.

Steal her strength tip: Get guidance from experts. Even though Larkin is a trainer, she worked with a pro who could adapt her plan to her specific needs and make sure she did varied exercises to keep workouts challenging and avoid plateaus.

Ginny: The 63-Year-Old American Ninja Warrior Record-Breaker

While Ginny MacColl used to work as a professional dancer, she avoided strength training over fears of getting “bulky.” She saw her daughter Jessie Graff competing on American Ninja Warrior and realized she wanted to get strong, too.

“After watching Jessie’s strength, grace, and healthy habits, I realized muscles are beautiful,” she says. “That was a big mindset shift for me. I adopted the motto that ‘strength is ageless.’”

It started with just one pullup, which took her a year to accomplish at 63 years old. Then, through a mix of strength training, yoga, and cardio, MacColl joined her daughter on TV becoming the oldest person to complete an obstacle on American Ninja Warrior at 71.

Steal her strength tip: Prioritize sleep. MacColl sleeps seven to eight hours every night so that her body can rest and recharge so she can perform her best.

Michelle: The 65-Year-Old Using Strength Training To Reverse Her Osteoporosis

Michelle Alber discovered she had severe spinal osteoporosis right before she turned 65, so she decided to take up lifting weights for its bone-building benefits. Just one year later, she’s seeing major improvements. “Once I understood that strength was the secret to longevity, everything clicked,” she says.

One major shift in Alber’s fitness journey is her nutrition. Instead of focusing on dieting to stay thin, Alber learned to count macros to nourish her body sustainably. “Instead of thinking about how little I can eat, I shifted my mindset to treat food as fuel,” she says. Alber eats five meals a day, prioritizing protein to rebuild her muscle post-workout. With the goal of hypertrophy, or growing her muscles, Alber hits the gym four days a week, mostly using free weights and focusing on progressive overload. Her PR for hip thrusts (her favorite move) is 150 pounds.

Steal her strength tip: Focus on your macros. Alber makes sure she eats protein, carbs, and fat with every meal to hit her daily goals. Egg whites, chicken breast, ground meat, and salmon are all protein go-tos and she also prioritizes complex carbs for extra energy on lifting days.

Elaine: The 80-Year-Old Doing Handstands Every Day

Elaine Pador got into weightlifting in her late 50s, and has been doing it ever since. At 80 years old, a regular workout routine for her includes hanging leg raises, handstands, triceps dips, leg extensions, lat pulldowns, and triceps pushdowns—at more than her own bodyweight. “I’ve never followed a formal training program or sought advice from trainers or fellow gym-goers—I just listen to my body,” she says. For Paddor, the key to staying active in her 80s is consistency, form, and mindset.

Steal her strength tip: Listen to your body. If a move feels easy one day, Pador adds more reps. But, if something feels off, she’ll switch it up and try a different exercise.

Julia: The 62-Year-Old Double Organ Transplant Survivor Who Uses Strength Training To Celebrate

Julia Linn started to get into strength training simply because she was “so grateful to be alive” after decades of dealing with health conditions and surgeries. At 34, she underwent a double organ transplant to get a new kidney and pancreas after she experienced diabetes-related kidney failure. Then, in her 40s, she had cardiac triple bypass surgery and had her thyroid removed because of heart disease. To celebrate my body and resilience, I decided to get as fit as I possibly could,” she says. At 64—on the same month of the 30-year anniversary of her organ transplant—she competed in her first bodybuilding competition, and she won that too.

It all started when Linn was 62 and she came across a three-month online strength challenge for people over 40. She joined the challenge without realizing there would be a winner—until it was announced she was it after making the most progress. Now, she trains five days a week with a personal trainer for 45 minutes with an upper- and lower-body split. One of her biggest gym accomplishments: conquering eight leg presses at 450 pounds (a PR).

Steal her strength tip: Confidence is key. Linn says cutting out negative self-talk and treating her body with compassion is critical for her success in the gym.

Ilene: The 61-Year-Old Who Can Hip Thrust 300 Pounds

At 61, Ilene Block came across fitness influencer and a WH cover star Joan MacDonald’s Instagram and she was inspired to set a fitness goal for herself. She joined an online coaching platform and got to work, focusing on nailing a weighted squat—a move she previously avoided. It took her two years to nail a squat with proper form. Then, in a year, she went from squatting 75 pounds to almost 130. She also PR’ed with 300 pounds for her hip thrusts, a move she learned from The Wonder Women, an online, all-female fitness community.

Block trains five days a week, with two days devoted to upper-body, two days devoted to lower body, and one more split between the two. She also does five days of cardio per week whether it’s on her Peloton or with her run group. “Do I always feel like working out? No,” she says. “But I made a promise to myself to always start a workout.”

Steal her strength tip: Focus on your glutes. This allowed Block to improve her lower-body strength and thrive in the gym.

Marlene: The 66-Year-Old Who Finds Strength And Community In The Gym

After two divorces, Marlene Flowers says her confidence, body image, and self-worth were shot. She suffered from an eating disorder that damaged part of her colon and required surgery, which is when she decided she wanted to make a change. Working with her son-turned-trainer, Ryan, Flowers found happiness and escape in the gym. Flowers says that her “fit fam” both online and in person make all the difference in her journey. “The comments I receive online are so positive,” she says. “I went from having no support, to all the support in the world. To be honest, I’ve never been happier.”

She begins every morning with 15 to 20 minutes of abs exercises to set herself up for success. Then, around noon she hits the gym with her son for low-impact warm-ups and strength training. Depending on the day, Flowers focuses on lower-body, chest, back, arms, shoulders, or cardio. She’s also learned to focus on nutrition, prioritizing protein as much as she can.

Steal her strength tip: Never skip the warm-up. Flowers starts every workout with a 15 minute warm-up on the elliptical to get her body ready for the rest of her exercise plan.

Olivia Luppino is an editorial assistant at Women’s Health where she covers health and fitness. She previously wrote for The Cut, POPSUGAR, and Salon and has written about everything from New York Fashion Week to dating app trends to the United States Women’s National Soccer team (a.k.a. her heroes). When she isn’t writing, Olivia is likely catching up on Bravo shows or running late to barre class.

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