{"id":91869,"date":"2025-07-25T16:56:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T16:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91869\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T16:56:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T16:56:10","slug":"old-people-are-capable-of-more-meet-the-female-weightlifters-in-their-70s-and-80s-well-actually","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/91869\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Old people are capable of more\u2019: meet the female weightlifters in their 70s and 80s | Well actually"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joan MacDonald is an influencer. There\u2019s no other word for it, though she winces a little when she says it. But she is an influencer, and an extremely successful one. The fitness maven has been on the covers of magazines such as Women\u2019s Health, modeled as part of lucrative brand deals and launched her own fitness app, Train With Joan. On Instagram<\/a>, where she has more than 2 million followers, she shares pictures of herself posing in bikinis in picturesque locales and training at the gym in color-coordinated workout sets.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one small difference between MacDonald and many other social media starlets. She is 79.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was 70 when I started [working out],\u201d MacDonald says on a video call from her home in Ontario, white hair elegantly coiffed. \u201cI keep thinking I\u2019m in my 30s.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacDonald\u2019s workouts are intense, whether you\u2019re 30 or 70. She does deadlifts, weighted planks and kettlebell swings, and casually lifts dumbbells the size of fire extinguishers over her head. Her arm muscles could put professional rugby players to shame.<\/p>\n

She is arguably the most famous older woman lifting heavy, but she\u2019s far from the only one. There\u2019s Ernestine Shepherd, 89, who has more than 101,000 Instagram<\/a> followers and calls herself \u201cthe world\u2019s oldest living female competitive bodybuilder\u201d. Nora Langdon, in her 80s, recently shared a video<\/a> of herself deadlifting 225 pounds. And earlier this year, the New Yorker<\/a> published a documentary about Catherine Kuehn, who broke multiple<\/a> world records for deadlifting in her 90s.<\/p>\n

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Many of these lifters seem to delight in bucking the stereotype of the frail old woman who needs help carrying her groceries.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you reach a certain age, it\u2019s like you can\u2019t do anything any more,\u201d MacDonald says. \u201cTrainers and coaches dumb down everything for older people, but old people are capable of more than they think.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they age, women\u2019s physical abilities are often underestimated by others as well as themselves, says Elaina Manolis, a physical therapist and assistant clinical professor at Northeastern University.<\/p>\n

Manolis says the menopausal and post-menopausal women she works with often need help unlearning the negative messages about exercise they absorbed growing up. \u201cThis is a generation that has been wired to think women should never be in the gym,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

MacDonald and Shepherd remember worrying they would \u201clook manly\u201d when they started lifting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning, I thought, \u2018I don\u2019t want to be lifting weights, I\u2019ll look like a guy,\u2019\u201d recalls MacDonald. \u201cBut that\u2019s just brainwashing. [Women] are told that so much that we believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Women who avoid strength training are robbed of its benefits, many of which are especially helpful for ageing bodies. In addition to building muscle \u2013 which one can do at any age, Manolis notes \u2013 strength training has a significant impact on bone health and cognitive function. The former is especially important for women, who have a much higher risk of developing conditions that weaken the bones, like osteopenia and osteoporosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s fun. Shepherd says that as soon as she started strength training, her favorite thing about it was \u201cthe joy and the way that you felt\u201d. She and her sister started lifting when they were in their mid-50s, and soon they were training others and building a community. \u201cI would wear what my trainer would call my \u2018costumes\u2019,\u201d she says \u2013 shorts, crop tops, leopard-print leggings.<\/p>\n

MacDonald says she faced some criticism from people in her life when she first started working out and posting about it on Instagram. \u201cI got some really awful remarks from people I thought were my friends,\u201d she says. They commented on how she dressed \u2013 \u201cbecause I wear form-fitting clothing\u201d, MacDonald says \u2013 and her growing public profile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said I didn\u2019t have to prance around and keep telling people what I was doing,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s not what old women are supposed to do. You\u2019re sort of told, \u2018Go quietly out the back door, will you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Attitudes are shifting, though. Manolis says she has lots of patients coming to her saying: \u201cI know I should start [lifting], I\u2019ve been listening to a lot of podcasts.\u201d And this is the first year the National Senior Games \u2013 an Olympic-style, multi-sport competition event for adults over 50 that takes place biennially in the US \u2013 will include a powerlifting competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last three or four years, more and more people have been asking me when we\u2019re going to add [powerlifting],\u201d says Sue Hlavaseck, president and CEO of the National Senior Games Association (NSGA).<\/p>\n

Roughly 12,400 athletes are expected to participate in this year\u2019s National Senior Games, which are taking place in Des Moines, Iowa, at the end of July. Of those, 187 will be participating in the powerlifting competition \u2013 99 men, aged 54 to 95, and 88 women, aged 50 to 82.<\/p>\n

The oldest female competitor, 82-year-old Faith O\u2019Reilly, says a friend took her to a powerlifting meet in her late 30s. \u201cI was watching everybody and I thought, \u2018Well, I can do that,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

A friend took 82-year-old Faith O\u2019Reilly to a powerlifting meet in her late 30s. \u2018I was watching everybody and I thought, \u201cWell, I can do that,\u201d\u2019 she says. Photograph: Faith O\u2019Reilly<\/p>\n

O\u2019Reilly has been lifting ever since. \u201cIt suits me,\u201d she says. She likes setting goals for herself, and enjoys the camaraderie of gyms and meets. And she appreciates the independence and confidence it has brought her. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked being able to do things,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what powerlifting can do for you \u2013 you can handle your grandchildren, and your sacks of groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of age, if you\u2019ve never picked up weights before, it\u2019s best to start by working with a trainer or physical therapist who can help with form and individual needs. \u201cIn most gyms that I\u2019ve been in, people are happy to help,\u201d says O\u2019Reilly.<\/p>\n

Total beginners can see significant improvements in strength fairly quickly, says Manolis. She\u2019s had patients say that after four to six weeks of training they were able to get out of a chair without using their hands, walk up a full flight of stairs, vacuum the whole house or load a dishwasher for the first time in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we age, what we really want to do is to keep our independence and remain functional,\u201d Manolis says. Strength training facilitates both of these things.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s a cure-all.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing healthy and living life to the best of your ability doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to be happy every day, or that you\u2019re going to be without pain or accidents,\u201d MacDonald says. \u201cThese things happen, but that\u2019s life. You\u2019ve got to keep pushing forward.\u201d<\/p>\n