OA-PAH!
The GRANDMAS that can lift heavier weights than you – proving it’s never too late to get fit
You're never too old to start working out, as these OAPs prove
IF your Instagram feed is full of lithe 20-somethings posing in gym wear, it's easy to think that you may have missed your chance to get fit.
But nothing could be further from the truth - as these grandmas are proving.
Instagram account The Run Down posted a video of one older lady having a go at a pull-up - moving her legs from side-to-side to make the move even harder on her abs.
No one seems to know a great deal about who the silver-haired superwoman is, but she's apparently Ukrainian.
And she's not the only pensioner giving younger folk a run for their money on the gym floor.
Debbie Crall is a 62-year-old trainer from the states, and she does all kinds of weight and body training. Seven years ago, she retired as a competitive bodybuilder, but not before winning 17 titles.
She can be found offering fat-burning advice on her YouTube channel, which is full of videos that you can follow at home.
She's also a self-proclaimed "nutrition expert" - so if you're hankering after abs like her, you might do well to follow her .
"It's actually a great idea to lift weights into your old age, of course, caution should be exercised," celebrity online PT, , tells The Sun.
How to get fit, whatever your age
Alison Hendrick, Beyond Movement lead at Virgin Active Kensington, tells Sun Online how to look after your joins as you get older:
Looking after your joints in your 30s and 40s
Keep mobile, our bodies are designed to move!
When we are static for prolonged periods our joints stiffen.
We also need to make sure we have balanced strength around our joints, this ensures load is placed evenly throughout our body.
When we adopt a bad posture or bad alignment, excessive load is put through our joints – a common example being the knee falling inwards when walking up and down stairs.
This bad alignment can be caused through a weakness in the glute muscles and results in excessive load being placed through the knee and hip joints.
By strengthening the muscles that support good alignment and posture, we can take the load off our joints keeping them healthy.
Looking after your muscles in your 50s and 60s
Strengthening is key for looking after your muscles and can be done with either body weight or resistance, strengthening both stability muscle groups as well as the major muscle groups.
There a number of exercises your personal trainer can recommend such as squats with a resistance band which will aid strengthening of key muscles.
Stability muscles, like your rotator cuff (shoulders), help to position and control your joints while the major muscle groups, like your biceps, power the body into movement.
Strong muscles will allow you to function in your normal day to day activities with less effort, taking pressure off joints and helping to maintain an ideal posture.
When you stop strengthening your muscles, normal day-to-day activities become more challenging, muscles become stiff and you are more likely to hold yourself in bad postures and alignment.
And if you only have time to do one type of exercise in your 30s and 40s that will benefit your future health, what would it be?
will benefit your future health as it allows you to develop balanced strength throughout the body, which then helps correct posture and alignment, preventing joint overload and overactive muscles.
The Reformer bed uses springs to provide varying levels of resistance to all movements which in turn strengthen muscles, assist with flexibility and challenge your stability and control of your joints.
A Reformer Pilates class can also have a cardio element which means you can exercise your body in both an aerobic and anaerobic way in just one session.
"As we get older the intensity of our workouts should decrease and the length of time between them should increase as the recovery gets slower.
"While there are many benefits to lifting weights as an older person, taking on too much too soon or attempting exercise you have not been formally instructed on could be dangerous and heighten your risk of injury."
In order to be in a position where you can do this kind of exercise in your older years, Scott recommends mixing up your exercise regime now.
"Making sure you have an equal focus on your strength, fitness, mobility and aesthetics would be a healthy way to approach exercise and will set you up in very good stead for your future," Scott added.
But back to "regular" gym goers.
Seventy-eight-year-old Shirley, below, wears a weightlifting belt for her workout.
Weightlifting belts can help to protect you from injury while lifting heavy weights by helping your core muscles to tense and brace - crucial in avoiding back and shoulder strains.
And then there's Joyce, whose coach, Dee, often posts videos of her incredible workouts.
As well as weights, Joyce is also a demon when it comes to body weight exercises like the TRX (below), which requires iron core strength and upper body strength, and squats.
Unlike many people half her age, Joyce has got her squat technique down to a fine art.
The ideal squat position involves getting low enough so that your legs form a 90 degree angle, sitting back like you're sitting in a chair - with all your weight going through your heels.
That requires having well-oiled hip flexors (the top insides of your legs and pelvic region), as well as super-strong glutes (your bum muscles).
Willie Murphy is an 81-year-old who's shot to fame recently after competing - and winning - the 2018 World Natural Powerlifting Federation.
She managed to clean a whopping 230lb (104kg).
That's the equivalent of lifting a male Bengal tiger.
Oh, and apparently, she can also do one-armed push-ups and pull-ups.
MORE ON FITNESS
But she's not the only OAP competing in bodybuilding events these days.
Pearl is 68 and her daughter shared a picture of her competing in her first CrossFit competition, just six months after starting.
Basically, the message is, it's never too late to get fit - and seriously fit at that.
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