NEED TO KNOW
Oprah Winfrey shared a video of herself at the gym on her 72nd birthday
The icon did a series of deadlifts — an exercise she said Adele recommended
“I can’t say I’m ready for the Olympics,” Winfrey quipped, but added that she feels “stronger”
Oprah Winfrey hit the gym to deadlift a significant amount of weight on her 72nd birthday — and she credits Adele for recommending the exercise.
The icon shared a video to Instagram on Jan. 29 of herself deadlifting a barbell, while her trainer can be heard encouraging her in the background.
“I didn’t know what a deadlift was. I remember Adele told me she was deadlifting and I didn’t — I pretended to know what she was talking about,” Winfrey said after her workout, before stitching a clip from her 2021 interview with the “Hello” singer, who shared that she’d been deadlifting up to 170 lbs.
“I love it,” Adele told her, sharing that at her peak, “I feel like I could have been in the Olympics.”
Winfrey — showing off good form and proper breathing while doing five reps — cheered, “Got it!” when she was finished with her deadlifts.
“Life at 72 is looking different than every other decade. Two summers and two new knees ago, I decided to add strength training to my workouts because we all need to maintain muscle as we get older,” she wrote in the caption, referencing her 2021 double knee surgery.
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She continued: “I can’t say I’m ready for the Olympics like Adele, but I sure feel stronger 💪🏽 So in honor of another trip around the sun for me, go try something new. You never know where it will lead you. “
Deadlift, as CrossFit explains, is simply when the barbell is lifted off the ground and held at arm’s length. It’s a full-body exercise, “activating and strengthening virtually every muscle in the body.”
It’s the latest update in Winfrey’s ongoing wellness journey, which she’s historically shared with her fans: She recently opened up about her experience with GLP-1 medication, telling PEOPLE she has “no more shame” about her ongoing struggle with her weight.”
“Let the people say what they will.”
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