{"id":48812,"date":"2025-07-31T00:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T00:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/48812\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T00:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T00:33:10","slug":"how-women-over-60-are-lifting-heavy-weights-and-reversing-aging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/48812\/","title":{"rendered":"How Women Over 60 Are Lifting Heavy Weights And Reversing Aging"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, we\u2019ve been bombarded by the trope of aging gracefully\u2014staying small, moving slowly, playing it safe in the gym and in life. But a growing number of women are rejecting that tired script and picking up heavy weights instead. Supported by research, they\u2019re building bone density<\/a>, muscle mass, mental resilience, and a fierce sense of self at every age.<\/p>\n

Lifting heavy\u2014at any age\u2014is backed by science. Take an investigation aptly named the LIFTMOR study: When postmenopausal women with low bone density added 30 minutes of supervised high-intensity resistance and impact training (think deadlifts, overhead presses, jumping chinups) twice a week for eight months, the bone density in their lower spines increased by 2.9 percent on average. The control group, which did stretching and light weight resistance, lost 1.2 percent. People in the high-intensity group were lifting heavy too\u2014at 80 to 85 percent of their one-rep max (if your max deadlift is 100 pounds, that would be 80 to 85 pounds). And no one in the heavy-lifting group got hurt.<\/p>\n

As women age, particularly after 50, they lose estrogen and fast-twitch muscle fibers, says orthopedic surgeon Vonda Wright, MD<\/a>, author of Unbreakable<\/a>. Those fibers are responsible for quick, powerful movements, like catching yourself during a fall. The decline is partly due to changes in muscle stem cells. \u201cIf we let time, biology, and physics go unchecked, we\u2019ll keep losing fibers, making us vulnerable to injury and less able to move confidently and independently,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Lifting later in life isn\u2019t just about building muscle\u2014it can also be about connection. For many women hitting the weights, the barbell becomes a bridge to belonging. Chronic loneliness ups your risk of dying by 14 percent, and being isolated raises it by 32 percent, according to research. Relationships and interaction help keep your brain sharp, even slashing dementia risk by more than 25 percent, research has shown. <\/p>\n

Today, the CDC recommends that older adults do heavy resistance training at least twice a week. It\u2019s a radical reframing: Building meaningful strength is not only possible after 60 but also might be the best thing you can do for long-term wellness. Just ask these women, who leaned into strength training later in life and reshaped their bodies, friendships, and futures. <\/p>\n

\"joniJUTHARAT PINYODOONYACHET<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realize how much strength and balance I\u2019d\u00a0lost over the years,\u201d Joni Day says.<\/p>\n

\"peggoJUTHARAT PINYODOONYACHET<\/p>\n

Most of the regulars (like Horstmann Hodes, pictured) in Barbell Club are women 60 and older.<\/p>\n

Fighting Fragility<\/p>\n

TWO YEARS AGO, Joni Day, 61, went in for a DEXA scan<\/a>\u2014a bone density test that can diagnose osteoporosis. (It runs in her family.) She didn\u2019t think much of it. \u201cI was a runner, did a lot of walking, yoga, and had just been introduced to kettlebells, so I wasn\u2019t worried about osteoporosis,\u201d she says. Then her results revealed she had it.<\/p>\n

Her doctor suggested a five-year medication plan. But her friend and fitness instructor Kathryn Londoff had another idea: barbells. Londoff now runs a Barbell Club class at Integrity Movement Lab<\/a> in New Hampshire. Twice a week, they squat, deadlift, bench, and press. \u201cWe\u2019re building strength for our old-lady bodies,\u201d Londoff says.<\/p>\n

At first, Day wasn\u2019t sure, but she was open to it, despite barely being able to lift a five-pound weight overhead. \u201cI thought, If I do this work, maybe I don\u2019t need medication.\u201d Three weeks into Barbell Club, she was hooked. A year later, she lifts four or five times a week, her personal record on the deadlift is 185 pounds, and she has no signs of osteoporosis. <\/p>\n

\u201cStrength training makes me feel like I don\u2019t have to just get old and lose my balance, or live in fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

For decades, women like Day were taught that fitness was about staying small through cardio and light weights. Women with osteoporosis were also long advised to stick to gentle exercise (walking or water aerobics, maybe). But strength? Not the target. Ann Nassoura, 65, another member of Londoff\u2019s group who was also diagnosed with osteoporosis, says her daughter used to call her \u201cthe F word\u201d\u2014fragile. It was a driving force for her journey: \u201cThat\u2019s not what I want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite practicing yoga for 40 years, Peggo Horstmann Hodes, 70, a member of Londoff\u2019s crew, had noticed strength losses around 50 and recently suffered from stress-related back spasms that would render her immobile for days, leaving her muscles weak. After two years of strength training with the club, she\u2019s lifting more weight than ever. \u201cStrength training makes me feel like I don\u2019t have to just get old and lose my balance, or live in fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"annJUTHARAT PINYODOONYACHET<\/p>\n

Ann Nassoura (left) and Peggo Horstmann Hodes share a mid-workout smile.<\/p>\n

Horstmann Hodes doesn\u2019t see fellow members outside of class, yet there\u2019s a special bond. \u201cI don\u2019t know what these women do for work. I don\u2019t know where they live. We show up, do this, and go home. But there\u2019s connection in that.\u201d By weightlifting together, women learn to coach, cue, and root for one another, says Londoff. But there\u2019s more: \u201cYou learn you\u2019re not alone in your fears or doubts.\u201d With Londoff\u2019s support, Horstmann Hodes has moved through fears of triggering back spasms and retrained her mind that she can do more than she thinks.<\/p>\n

As Horstmann Hodes gains muscle, she\u2019s also grown more confident and joyful, and more inclined to think outside the box: \u201cI never thought lifting barbells was something I\u2019d want to do.\u201d Day sees shifts too. \u201cGrocery store employees used to ask if I needed help carrying bags. They don\u2019t anymore. I think the way I hold myself is different now. People sense that I\u2019m capable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"florenceJUTHARAT PINYODOONYACHET<\/p>\n

Florence Lynch (left) and Heather Jackson work on strength and stability in tandem at HKC.<\/p>\n

Smashing Generational Stereotypes<\/p>\n

HEATHER JACKSON, 57, remembers the epiphany that strong was the answer. As a former dancer, \u201cevery single message I got as a dancer was about being skinnier,\u201d she says. \u201cI was skeletal, and it was never good enough.\u201d Years later, injuries from tae kwon do made it crystal clear to her that she didn\u2019t have the muscle to support herself. She began going to Harlem Kettlebell Club (HKC)<\/a> in New York, but in her first class, she could barely squat. Now she deadlifts 205 pounds. \u201cOur generation wasn\u2019t taught to go after strength. This feels so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the extent to which old-school messaging around exercise has failed women. \u201cWe live in a culture where you\u2019re told that if you get older, there\u2019s no value to you\u2014only frailty ahead,\u201d says Jackson. \u201cWe have some seriously badass people at the gym lifting amazing amounts of weight and not fitting into society\u2019s idea of what they \u2018should\u2019 look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson emphasizes the need for a mindset shift. \u201cOur bodies are not meant to be pretty little parcels,\u201d she says. \u201cOur bodies are meant to carry us through life and give us energy, vibrancy, and vitality. Heavy lifting gives you that\u2014and gives you permission to live inside your skin differently.\u201d What does she mean? Jackson recalls a close call with a scooter running a red light. \u201cI was able to dive out of the way and catch myself without breaking anything or harming myself.\u201d Then there\u2019s the everyday side: picking up a bag of cat food (25 pounds), opening a tight jar without asking a neighbor for help, and loading a suitcase into the overhead compartment on a plane. <\/p>\n

\"heatherJUTHARAT PINYODOONYACHET<\/p>\n

Heather Green (left) and Jackson share lifts, but also laughs, during sweaty sessions.<\/p>\n

\"heatherJUTHARAT PINYODOONYACHET<\/p>\n

Green is currently training to hit a 225-pound deadlift PR.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At HKC, there\u2019s always a party or a gathering for the community. Members have coffee and drinks and can be found on nearby street corners, gabbing about life and exercise. In a digital world, Jackson says it\u2019s rare to feel this rooted. It\u2019s a way of being \u201cphysically present in your life.\u201d <\/p>\n

Heather Green, another regular, describes the vibe as unlike that of any other group fitness setting she\u2019s experienced. \u201cIt is very sincere, mindful, and intentional,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople are there to support you and want you to succeed.\u201d Green recalls an emotional breakdown in a recent workout while pushing herself to lift a weight she hadn\u2019t before. \u201cI had my community to remind me that I\u2019m great, no matter what weight I put up in the air. I\u2019m not going to get that kind of support outside the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florence Lynch, 68, another Harlem Kettlebell Club participant, started lifting weights at 57 years old. Her friends of the same age outside of the club \u201ccan\u2019t even fathom the work we do in class,\u201d and she credits lifting with helping her complete the New York City Marathon three times. \u201cWomen sometimes feel invisible at a certain age, and I don\u2019t feel invisible at the club. It\u2019s given me confidence in life. I know that what I have to say matters,\u201d Lynch says. When it comes to her commitment to her crew: \u201cI\u2019m in it until the wheels fall off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"beckyLaura Buckman<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can laugh at each other and ourselves,\u201d Becky Hennesey and Cynthia Sanders say of their feel-good gym sessions.<\/p>\n

Pairing Up for Power<\/p>\n

CYNTHIA SANDERS, 66, has run 28 marathons and always considered herself fit. But last August, when a trainer asked her to push-press 45 pounds, she couldn\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

On the way home, Sanders, of Cedar Hill, Texas, bought an Olympic barbell and practiced the rest of the day. Being humbled by a fitness feat \u201cmade her so mad,\u201d says her friend and neighbor Becky Hennesey, 67. It wasn\u2019t an ego thing\u2014Sanders, who works in a rehab facility, witnesses daily what a lack of strength does to the body. \u201cI see patients my age or younger who can\u2019t walk or stand because of lack of muscle,\u201d she says. She recruited Hennesey to join her with a personal trainer every Friday morning, to hold each other accountable.<\/p>\n

So began a new chapter: weightlifting with friends. As the pair got stronger together, nailed form, and were challenged in new ways, they grew interested in Hyrox competitions<\/a> (which combine running with moves like sled pushes, sandbag lunges, and farmer\u2019s carries). In June, Sanders competed in Hyrox\u2019s national championships, pushing a whopping 225 pounds. <\/p>\n

\"beckyLaura Buckman<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel so healthy, energetic, motivated, and strong,\u201d Hennesey says.<\/p>\n

\"cynthiaLaura Buckman<\/p>\n

For Hyrox, the duo must be able to push a 102-kilogram sled for 50 meters.<\/p>\n

What started as a personal wake-up call quickly evolved into something bigger\u2014a shared pursuit that strengthened not just the women\u2019s muscles but their bond. \u201cShe\u2019s always beating me, but I don\u2019t quit because she\u2019s there,\u201d says Hennesey. \u201cWe challenge each other and keep each other going. Without fitness, we probably wouldn\u2019t have a whole lot in common\u2014we have separate families, different places of worship, and probably voted for different people\u2014but I feel closer to Cynthia than I do to some of my other friends.\u201d Hennesey goes so far as to describe their joint journey as spiritual, noting mood-lifting benefits that help with her depression. <\/p>\n

The pair are scheduled to compete together in Hyrox in Dallas in November and have longer-term plans to hike Mount Kilimanjaro. Says Hennesey, \u201cNow, I\u2019m looking forward to growing older and having opportunities to do more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"centenarian<\/p>\n

Courtesy of YMCA of Long island<\/p>\n

Century Strong<\/p>\n

Centenarian exerciser Geraldine \u201cJerry\u201d Leo went viral<\/a> for her four-minute plank\u2026and she just turned the big 1-0-0. WH asked her for her top three tips to make movement a way of life, even in the triple digits.<\/p>\n

Keep up the variety. <\/p>\n

Leo exercises five days a week\u2014she has a personal trainer, uses weight machines, rides the stationary bike, and does leg raises, planks, overhead presses, and squats. \u201cI get a little bit of everything.\u201d She is also a walker and has run 5Ks for years. \u201cI have the medals to prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ride the post-exercise high. <\/p>\n

For Leo, movement is joyful. \u201cThe minute I get to the door of the YMCA, I\u2019m in heaven,\u201d the Long Island resident says. Sure, there are mornings she doesn\u2019t feel like going\u2014but she goes, knowing how good exercise makes her feel afterward.<\/p>\n

Keep moving outside of the gym. <\/p>\n

Leo shops for groceries herself, visiting multiple markets for fresh fish, vegetables, and legumes. And she loves to cook, which helps her eat healthy and stay motivated. \u201cSometimes I eat my whole meal standing up; I walk around the kitchen. I\u2019m busy.\u201d She\u2019s intentional about getting out too. \u201cMy social life is important.\u201d A charter member of the Great South Bay Y, she plans outings with gym friends and visits bookstores for cappuccino and conversation. Her advice? Don\u2019t wait for life to come to you: \u201cYou don\u2019t just want to live long. You want to live healthy and engaged. That requires you to get out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Cassie Shortsleeve is a skilled freelance journalist with more than a decade of experience reporting for some of the nation’s largest print and digital publications, including Women’s Health, Parents, What to Expect, The Washington Post, and others. She is also the founder of the digital motherhood support platform Dear Sunday Motherhood<\/a> and a co-founder of the newsletter Two Truths Motherhood<\/a> and the maternal rights non-profit Chamber of Mothers<\/a>. She is a mom to three daughters and lives in the Boston suburbs.
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