{"id":122682,"date":"2025-05-22T13:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T13:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/122682\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T13:57:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T13:57:09","slug":"fitness-influencer-joan-macdonald-is-her-strongest-self-at-79-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/122682\/","title":{"rendered":"Fitness influencer Joan MacDonald is her strongest self at 79 years old"},"content":{"rendered":"

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79-year-old fitness influencer Joan MacDonald.Joan MacDonald\/Supplied<\/p>\n

Joan MacDonald\u2019s wake-up call came from her daughter. At 70 years old, Joan had high blood pressure, lymphedema in her ankles and kidney failure. Basic movements like getting down on the floor and back up again were strenuous. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re on a highway to a nursing home, mom,\u201d Michelle MacDonald recalled telling her mother.<\/p>\n

Michelle, who is a trainer<\/a>, was visiting her mom in Coburg, Ont., when she first noticed the extent of her deteriorating condition. Standing inside Joan\u2019s home, Michelle watched as her mom struggled to walk up the stairs. She saw the broken capillaries in her face from acid reflux. She learned that Joan was on blood pressure drugs that are nearly impossible to wean off.<\/p>\n

Michelle was supposed to get back on a plane in a few days but she couldn\u2019t leave without trying to get her mother to understand the gravity of her health. They spoke for a long time about the risks of continuing to ignore her mounting issues, and the changes they could make with just a little bit more movement. She wasn\u2019t sure if any of it was getting through.<\/p>\n

It did. By the time Michelle woke up the next morning, her mother was waiting for her in the car, wearing a black Good Life T-shirt, baggy black sweatpants and an old pair of sneakers, ready to head to the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was bound, bent and determined to show her that I could actually do it,\u201d said Joan. \u201cThat I was good for my word. That I would see it through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly a decade later, Joan is a fitness influencer with more than two million followers<\/a> across multiple<\/a> platforms<\/a>, the owner of a fitness app<\/a> that helps other women begin their strength journeys and an author<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Two weeks into her training, Joan got on a plane to Mexico to train with Michelle and her husband.Joan MacDonald\/Supplied<\/p>\n

The first workout<\/p>\n

Joan had been active on-and-off for years, playing slow-pitch baseball and doing some biking, but nothing prepared her for how challenging that first workout with her daughter would feel.<\/p>\n

Michelle kept it simple: They would cycle through just four strength machines, like the shoulder press and lat pull-down, that were scalable and easy to learn. They added only the lightest weight possible and focused on pushing or pulling explosively and slowly controlling the return. Joan grimaced with effort, her face turning bright red, and she sweat through her shirt. But she finished the workout.<\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t mean she loved it instantly. \u201cBut I said I was going to do it,\u201d she recalled thinking. \u201dI\u2019ve got to do it.”<\/p>\n

The next day, she was ready to go again.<\/p>\n

Two weeks into her training, Joan got on a plane to Mexico to train with Michelle and her husband. Under Michelle\u2019s guidance, she started using free weights, adding movements with less stability to challenge her core and co-ordination. Another two weeks in and she loaded two 45 pound plates onto the leg press machine.<\/p>\n

But she was about to face her biggest challenge: Sticking to her routine at home on her own.<\/p>\n

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The stronger and more capable Joan became, the more she wanted to help other women around her age get over their fear of exercise, especially when it came to dreaded aches and chronic pains.Joan MacDonald\/Supplied<\/p>\n

Getting stronger<\/p>\n

When Joan returned home, she had a new mindset about exercise. Skipping workouts didn\u2019t even occur to her.<\/p>\n

She increased her exercise frequency from two to four times a week and tried to ride her bike to as many places as possible.<\/p>\n

Is it a myth that seniors need to slow down their fitness routines?<\/a><\/p>\n

When Joan first started training, Michelle would print out her workouts to take to the gym. Soon, she began to cross-reference YouTube videos to help with her form. Those early sessions took nearly three hours. But the learning curve was worth it: All of Michelle\u2019s clients are part of an online community, sharing tips and offering encouragement to each other. Once Joan became a little more tech-savvy, she was able to join them, helping her feel less alone on her journey. <\/p>\n

Improvements in her overall health and ability to live independently were almost immediate. Within two months, she noticed she was more agile and could climb and descend stairs more easily. Her edema went down and her acid reflux became less severe. But the biggest moment came during a visit with her doctor who halved her blood pressure medication dose. In less than a year of training, she was allowed to go off that medication entirely.<\/p>\n

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A few years into her training journey, Joan launched an app, Train with Joan, to help women of any age and fitness level.Alvaro_Mejia\/Supplied<\/p>\n

Paying it forward<\/p>\n

The stronger and more capable Joan became, the more she wanted to help other women around her age get over their fear of exercise, especially when it came to dreaded aches and chronic pains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people are hurting a lot, I think they don\u2019t want to try something that\u2019s possibly going to make them hurt more,\u201d said Joan. When you use muscles you haven\u2019t worked in a long time, there will be some discomfort at first, she added. She had to push past that initial soreness herself. When she did, she found not only strength, but also pride on the other side.<\/p>\n

Joan is of a generation that was told that as women get older, they should do less and take it easy, that it\u2019s not possible to build muscle past a certain age. Once she learned how wrong this messages was, she set a goal to help other women avoid the trap of misinformation. <\/p>\n

A few years into her training journey, Joan launched an app, Train with Joan, to help women of any age and fitness level. The app offers training, workout plans and meal ideas, as well as a community to connect with along the way. <\/p>\n

Today, at 79, she is still on a mission to get other older adults moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might work for them, it might not,\u201d she said. \u201cBut at least try. \u2026 You can\u2019t say you can\u2019t do it if you haven\u2019t tried.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alyssa Ages<\/a> is a journalist and the author of Secrets of Giants: A Journey to Uncover the True Meaning of Strength. She is also a strongman competitor and endurance athlete, as well as a former personal trainer and group fitness instructor.<\/p>\n