A GRANDMA in her 60s has revealed that she loves going lifting weights in the gym, defying haters who say she’s “too old”.
Marlene Flowers, 65, revealed that she only started to exercise seven years ago, after having a wake up call.
Speaking to the Pittsburgh city paper, Marlene said: “I had eating disorders and health issues. When I was 58, I had to get surgery,”
“After that experience, I knew that I needed to make a change.”
Marlene began to work out and eat healthily, and then, three years ago, discovered a passion for weight lifting.
The grandma now has an impressive set of muscles, and calls herself “granny guns”.
She revealed that her son is her personal trainer and she has even entered body building competitions.
Marlene has documented her fitness journey via videos posted to her TikTok channel @65_strong.
She has a whopping 1.3 million followers on the video sharing platform, and her videos are watched by millions of users.
The grandma, who is an auto-shop owner from Pennsylvania, USA, shared a message to anyone who is thinking of starting lead a healthier lifestyle.
She said: “You do not need to have an amazing body to exercise. The goal is to feel good not look good.”
“Exercising may be tough but once you do it, you will feel better.”
“When you fail at something get up and try again.
“It is within us to achieve what was destined for us.”
In one video, Marlene revealed that some have told her that she is “too old” to work out in the gym.
However, she proceeded to prove the haters wrong, by sharing impressive clips of her lifting heavy weights and doing pull ups.
Marlene’s video has likely left many open-mouthed, as it has racked up over 14 million views on TikTok.
Tips to age well
There are a number of habits you can take up to care for your health and wellbeing as you age.
Age UK shared the following tips:
- Do things that you enjoy everyday – whether that’s cooking, seeing friends or enjoying a good book
- Stay hydrated – drink six to eight cups of water a day
- Eat plenty of fruit and veggies to lower your risk of heart disease and certain cancers, have beans, pulses, fish, eggs and meat to repair your body after injury, starchy carbs for energy dairy to help keep bones strong
- Manage long-term health conditions to prevent them progressing or having a greater impact on your health
- Quit smoking and reduce alcohol intake to no more than 14 units a week
- Make mental health a priority and get treatment for it, as it can also impact physical health
- Make sure you’re getting quality sleep
- Keep socialising – and call a friend or loved one if you can’t make it out the house
- Be physically active to lower the risk of depression and dementia, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s and some cancers
Social media users raced to the comments section to share their thoughts, with many praising Marlene for being an inspiration.
One person said: “This is for the people believing that life ends at 40”.
A second person said: “I aspire to be like you when I grow up ma’am.”
A third user remarked: “You motivated me to go to the gym today”.
A fourth said: “Love this. My mum is 60 and she works out almost everyday.
“You are never too old to be fit.”
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