At 80, Linda Kelly maintains the fitness level of someone decades younger, with an activity history that includes 5Ks, cross-country running, and a lifelong commitment to movement.
‘My activities shifted with every environment, but somewhere I could always ride a bike, walk a dog, or dance to Jane Fonda tapes while cleaning the house,’ says the Alaska resident. ‘I never played team sports, yet I learned to ski downhill and cross-country, scuba dive, snorkel, hike mountain trails, and run everything from 5Ks to half-marathons.’
Her son Jacob, a doctor specialising in preventive and performance cardiology and an endurance athlete, measured Linda’ fitness level on a treadmill to find out her VO2 max – the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. Linda’s result of 30.7 ml/kg/min was outstanding for her age group and would still be commendable even for someone in their 50s.
‘It’s inspiring to know that she’s been successfully [active] for 40 years longer me. I’m only just picking up some habits and traits that she’s had to teach herself,’ says Jacob.
‘She’s passed along her behaviours and traits to so many people – her family, her sisters, her students [Linda was a former teacher]. These everyday activities and behaviours have added up over life.’
Linda Kelly’s 11-move strength and mobility routine
For over 16 years, Linda has started every day with a 20-3o minute ‘yogandizing’ session. ‘It’s a term I coined because it blends exercises from yoga poses, Tai Chi, and ballet. I added these over the years to heal a muscle injury or strain, a herniating spinal disk, or to support arthritis,’ she said
To form the routine, she’s taken tips from books like 7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life by Robin McKenzie and Total Fitness in 30 Minutes a Week by Laurence Morehouse and Leonard Gross and advice from her son Jacob, a cardiologist and endurance athlete.
1. Superman 
‘I began with 60 reps in 2010. Now, in 2026, I do 180,’ Linda says
Lie face down with your arms and legs extended. Keep your head in a neutral position.Lift your chest, arms and legs off the floor while looking down.For a modification, Linda keeps her face down, neck straight and arms relaxed and crossed on her back.
‘It addresses back pain and strengthens my glutes and abs,’ Linda says. ‘A herniating cervical disk once hit me with excruciating pain, radiating from neck to fingertips. That pain has never returned because of this move, and so I’ve never stopped doing it.’
2. Cobra slides 
Do 10 reps
Lie face down with your legs extended straight back and the tops of your feet placed firmly on the floor. Place your palms flat on the floor directly under your shoulders and press down to lift your chest off the floor while keeping your pelvis firmly on the ground. Engage your glutes. Keep your neck long by looking straight ahead. Exhale and slowly lower your torso back down to the mat. 3. Child’s pose
Do 6-10 reps – or more if you need
Start in a kneeling position with your big toes touching. Sit back on your heels.Bend forward, resting your forehead on the floor, cushion or block, and extending your arms in front of you, palms down, relaxing your body into the stretch. Breathe slowly, relaxing your neck, shoulders and back.
‘Tucking up feels great after stretching my back, neck, and legs forward!’ says Linda.
4. Dynamic tree pose
Do 10 reps on each side
Stand with feet together. Place the sole of one foot on the opposite inner thigh, balancing firmly on your active leg. Join your hands together at your chest for one inhale and exhale. On the next breath, raise your arms straight overhead. Then lower your arms straight out to the sides, palms down, for the next inhale and exhale. Then hold tree pose for 30–60 seconds.
‘Since I get really bored standing still, I choreograph hand-arm gestures and an ‘arm dance’ to keep me counting slowly and entertained and focused,’ Linda says.
5. Grand plié 
Do 7-12 reps
‘The grand plié stretches my back and legs without the unstable wobble of a squat,’ says Linda. ‘The goal is to keep my legs lifting me up and down off the floor for as long as I live.’
Stand tall with your heels together and toes turned out. Lower your body straight down, pushing your knees out to the side. Keep your thighs engaged. At the bottom, your heels will naturally lift off the floor. Pause briefly, then straighten your legs to rise up to standing. 6. Alternating glute bridge and pigeon pose
Do 4-6 reps each side, and repeat the cycle 3 times
Lie on your back on a mat, with your knees bent, and feet flat on the floor. Your feet should be hip-width apart.On an exhale, squeeze your glutes and push your heels into the floor to lift your hips up towards the ceiling. Pause for a moment at the top before slowly lowering back down (first shoulders, then lower back, then bum) to the mat. 
Start in a low lunge with right leg in front of you bent at 90 degrees and your left leg back.Shimmy your right foot behind your left hand and lower down to the floor so your shin in parallel to the top of the mat.Scoot your left leg back a bit, if need be, for extra room. Unflex your foot and make sure your left toes, heel, ankle, knee, and hip are all in the same line.Square your torso towards the front of room and keep your shoulders over your hips while you breathe for one minute.
Linda sometimes substitutes pigeon poses for hamstring stretches or another hip stretch.
7. Warrior pose
Do 30 seconds on each side
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step one foot back about 3-4 feet and angle your back foot out about 45º. Bend your front knee so it’s stacked over your ankle and make sure your hips face forward. Lift your torso tall and reach your arms overhead, with the weight distributed evenly between both legs. Extend both arms out (one forward, one back) and hold for 10 seconds. Rotate your torso towards the back leg and hold for four seconds. Raise your arms back overhead and hold the stretch while counting for 30 seconds. 8. Seated boxing punches
Do for 2 minutes
Sit tall, head and body still. Rapidly punch both arms forward, as if striking a punching bag, then pull them back towards your body. 9. Shoulder shrug
Do 10 reps
Stand with feet hip-width apart. Lift both shoulders to ears and release.
‘I began this and boxing punches a few months ago after neck strain on an overnight flight,’ Linda explains. ‘They relieve neck pain caused by spinal stenosis (spaces in the spine narrow).’
10. Around-the-world standing stretch
Do 4-5 reps
Stand with your feet hip-width apart.Lean to your left, letting your arms hang down for 4-5 seconds. Return to centre. Bend back and hold for 4-5 seconds. Return to centre. Lean to your right, letting your arms hang down, for 4-5 seconds. Return to centre.11. Achilles stretch 
Do 4 reps on each side, twice a day
Place the ball of your foot on a raised edge, such as a step, with your heel hanging off. Gently lower the heel to feel a stretch through the Achilles tendon and calf. Hold briefly, then return to start.
‘This prevents running injuries and keeps old people from hobbling out of bed in the morning!’ says Linda.
The daily workouts Linda enjoys
Linda Kelly
Linda stays active throughout the week, mixing up her workouts to keep things interesting. She records and shares data using her Garmin Fenix 6S.
Sunday – treadmill walk1-hour treadmill walk at a fairly steep incline (6% grade) at a brisk pace of around 4 mph Total steps: 18,449, or 9.9 miles. Average heart rate: 142, with highs of 160. A tough, zone 4 endurance-building workout at lactate threshold (80-90% of max heart rate)Tuesday – outdoor walkRelaxed, 3-hours walk with a friend and dog, stopping to chat along the wayTotal steps: 29,555 (11.8 miles)Average heart rate: 97, with highs of 130A comfortable, Zone 1 workout that builds aerobic base without much strainWednesday – water aerobics1 hour of water-based running and aerobics in a warm poolAverage heart rate: 131, with highs of 156A moderate, zone 3 cardio workout designed to improve aerobic fitness while being low impact on the joints
‘I do at least one activity every day, outside when possible,’ adds Linda.
How Linda’s stayed active over the years
Every decade demanded an adaptation. ‘New diet, more exercise, better shoes. I’ve had the persistence to adjust,’ she explains. ‘Now in my ninth decade, good health demands good food, plentiful exercise, peaceful sleep. The exact programme matters less than sticking to it.’
‘Growing up, she was constantly moving – she would bang pots and pans, she would vacuum, clean, and do her own housework,’ adds Jacob.
Dr Jacob Kelly’s 4 tips for improving fitness1. Start with walking, then progress to hills and stairs
Walking is free, accessible, and the best starting point for most people, Jacob explains. Once comfortable on flat ground, add inclines – stairs and hills provide the same aerobic demand as running and can give even experienced runners a solid workout.
2. Aim for 3 sessions a week, 30 minutes each, as your foundation.
‘Going from zero to 90 minutes per week is the biggest jump in health you can make,’ Jacob says. It doesn’t matter what you do – strength training, cycling, bodyweight exercises – just set the behaviour first.
3. Think long-term, not week to week
‘If you could do three hours a week, 50 weeks a year, that’s 150 hours of cardiovascular health that you’re building. In four years, if you could do somewhere in between there, you could get 1,000s of hours in of health building,’ says Jacob. ‘Those are really the numbers that start translating into compounded fitness.’
Accumulating effort over years, not optimising for a single week or a doctor’s visit — is what produces lasting fitness gains.
4. Stack NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) exercise on top of structured workouts
Intentional exercise is important, but so is moving continuously through your daily life – walking more, taking stairs, carrying groceries or even fidgeting.
Jacob points to his mum and similarly active people as proof: ‘These people never were counting up 90 minutes a week. They were just moving their bodies through space for decades. Just move your own body. Park further away, take an extra flight of stairs, stack fitness.’
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