- 2 weeks ago
What does it take to become an athlete at 70, 80, or even 90? Five older Americans prove that it’s never too late to start and that exercising “is the most powerful drug for longevity.” They’ve set goals, built community, and found purpose through sports such as swimming, track, table tennis, and powerlifting.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00The most challenging thing about taking up a sport late in life is mental.
00:08You have to get over the hump that it's too late. It's not too late.
00:18Exercise is the most powerful drug for longevity.
00:25I don't like to exercise, but my body loves it. This is what I have to do to maintain my life.
00:33We're getting older and I just refuse to accept it. Ready, go.
00:39For a person our age to do anything that has to do with a rapid, quick, jerky motion is asking a lot.
00:48For me, living actively at 80 is willpower.
00:53We need to work out. We need to keep building muscle because we're losing muscle.
00:57It is a challenge, but I am an athlete.
01:09Okay, if I get thirsty, okay if I get a drink once in a while.
01:13When I was growing up, I was always interested in sports.
01:17I was smaller than most people and it was always a challenge.
01:22I wanted to be able to play and compete with the big kids.
01:26Well, I always was an exerciser, but my mother said girls were not allowed to swim.
01:33Girls just didn't do that. My mother was afraid that I would drown.
01:36When I was a little girl, competing against the boys or competing in general was just something you didn't do.
01:44It was just not ladylike, but I was the girl who could play well enough to join at least once in a while.
01:53We met 56 years ago and we still like each other.
01:56Yeah. I started in track quite young. Before I even was on a high school team,
02:03I went up to the high school and asked them if I could train with them.
02:07It was probably 10th grade I was on the track team. I was voted most athletic in my senior class.
02:15Hello, sports fans. It's Saturday, June 30th, 2001.
02:20When I was younger, I got involved in pole vaulting.
02:25Good.
02:27The highest I've ever pole vaulted was actually when I was in my mid-40s.
02:32I vaulted 14 feet, 6 inches.
02:35I had to stop pole vaulting because my knees wore out from arthritis and I just can't run anymore.
02:42Fortunately, they are strong enough for me to do powerlifting and I really enjoy that.
02:46Because of not being able to learn to swim as a young girl, I had promised myself that when I
02:53got older, I would do it. I saw myself as a swimmer and that's what I wanted to do.
03:00So I finally learned to swim when I was 50 because I took lessons.
03:03That's quite a while ago because I'm now 91.
03:08About 10 years ago, after I had a hip replacement,
03:12I hadn't really competed in sports for probably 40 years and there was something in me that wanted
03:18to get back into competition.
03:20I started about eight years ago and only because Dan had started and I was watching him for two years
03:27and he said, why don't you do something? I decided to try track and field.
03:31In my sophomore year at college, when I was a passenger in an automobile accident,
03:37I kind of stopped playing sports at that point till now.
03:53Some days I get tired.
03:55I'm just not able to walk without, you know, sitting down or leaning on the railing or something like that.
04:02Getting into the pool, it's a little uncomfortable, but I do it.
04:12Once I get over being cold in the water, it's worth it because I feel so good when I finished.
04:20I think the most challenging thing about being 79 is realizing that I don't have another 30 or 40 years
04:28to live and so I have to keep in perspective, you know, what do I want to do with the time that I have left.
04:37For me, you know, keeping fit and keeping active and being able to do other things is important.
04:44Staying active is harder now.
04:47I had back surgery about 16, 17 years ago, so I'm always trying to counter that.
04:56I'd rather be moving around than sitting in one place.
05:03We do almost exclusively train together.
05:08It makes all the difference in the world.
05:10We probably wouldn't get out of bed if we weren't pushing each other.
05:14And I'm very clear that if it weren't for Dan, I probably wouldn't be doing this.
05:19It's nothing that I would go, oh, I can't wait to go out and do some sit-ups and lunges.
05:25Whose idea was this?
05:30So your ideal position is that, to push off, to get your distance.
05:35So push off over and back.
05:37Ready, go.
05:39One, two.
05:41Luther is the assistant coach, and I was not always able to do what he asked me to do.
05:48But he's very patient.
05:49So keep coming, don't worry about your head.
05:51The backstroke is easy.
05:53I would love to be able to do the front crawl, but I had a car accident, and my ankle and my shoulder
06:00was broken.
06:01And so I have a plate in my left arm and a plate in my left leg, left ankle.
06:07Ready, go.
06:10It's very difficult.
06:15Powerlifting is a combination of three lifts.
06:20It's back squat, bench press, and deadlift.
06:26As I age, I have to think about doing this safely.
06:30One of the common problems of older people is they'll do something that they get injured.
06:37So the weightlifting especially helps strengthen your bones so that that's less likely to happen.
06:46And I'm trying to balance pushing the limits and getting stronger with trying to do too much
06:50and hurting myself.
06:54Relax, yes, relax.
06:58Less power, better wrist.
07:00Pump.
07:01One, two.
07:03Nice.
07:03I go to ping pod two or three times a week to take lessons.
07:09Slow down.
07:09From some of their great coaches.
07:12Push to my forehead.
07:14To be learning strategy and movement at the same time as tapping into that wonderful feeling of play.
07:24It's what keeps me going.
07:28I find doing this now, six, eight, seven.
07:34I'm physically sore a lot, but it's okay because we now see how valuable this is to our health.
07:40So, Joy, I'll make a takeoff board.
07:43There was a point at which I thought to myself, you know, I don't think I'm going to sprint anymore.
07:51Good jump.
07:51And lo and behold, I'm running more now than I ever ran in my life.
07:57Yeah.
07:57So, the lessons that I learned, especially as I became a senior, is that even though your body
08:09changes as you age, you can still accomplish a lot. All the research that I've read points
08:15out to the importance of exercise when you're aging.
08:18So, I usually exercise on Tuesday and Thursday. And it's 45 minutes of horror, but I do it.
08:29I moan and groan and carry on, but after I leave the gym, I'm a new woman.
08:33How does your legs feel?
08:36See, you got to come around this side so you can see her face.
08:40Your time is limited.
08:44I work out every day, morning and night.
08:48It can be for five minutes. It can be for 45 minutes.
08:52I'll set up a weight band at my bathroom door. It's the only door I have in my studio apartment.
08:59I'm a real believer in pushing your body to keep active.
09:04Right now, I'm trying to do over 100 push-ups a day.
09:09I think I've forced myself into a healthy lifestyle, but it helps my mental health.
09:16I walk quicker. I just feel more alert. And it has given me a feeling of youth.
09:23I don't feel 78. I'm not letting my age get in my way.
09:29Good job.
09:31One might think you are privileged to think that way.
09:34I am very privileged to think that way.
09:36I believe, on the whole, I'm in good shape. And it's only because of the exercise and the swimming.
09:44Don't be intimidated and don't think you can't do it. Just do it.
09:47The worst that will happen is you'll fail.
09:49I need to stay healthy and strong so that I can compete.
10:00Look at that. Empire State Senior Masters Games 2016.
10:07That was my first one. And then here's the Pittsburgh Games from 2023.
10:14I don't know if you can tell, but it's gold.
10:16I never thought I would have the privilege of being able to compete athletically and go to
10:24tournaments around the country and even around the world.
10:28We'll compete in Boston. We'll compete in Providence, Rhode Island, New York City.
10:34We're going to South Korea next summer for the world championship.
10:37The first place I competed was upstate New York. I was able to get a gold medal in my age group.
10:45I told everybody. In fact, I wore the medal to the supermarket so people could ask me about it.
10:54It's different in competition. Because a lot of the competition is mental.
11:01Beyond the physical preparation that you've done, you've got to do mental preparation as well.
11:05One. Two. I love my opponent because he or she brings out the best in me.
11:14Are you competitive with each other?
11:17We are in a healthy way.
11:19It's kind of a funny little thing.
11:21Yeah, I don't trip him or anything like that to try to get him in trouble.
11:30Towards me, towards me, towards me, towards me. Up, up, up, up, up.
11:33Yeah, Tom! Woo!
11:35My advice to someone in their 60 or 70s who want to try something new is go for it.
11:41Get some expert advice. Get some coaching.
11:44So you can push off with your feet. Your feet is your touch.
11:48Try it. Ready, go.
11:51Do not have negative people around you.
11:55If they call you and you say, honey, you know, I got to go.
11:57I'll talk to you later. And don't talk to them later.
12:03It's not too late to learn. It's not too late to continue exercising.
12:10Table tennis has provided this winning situation of not only am I learning, I'm moving.
12:19I hope that younger generations see that just because one ages,
12:27one doesn't necessarily have to stop enjoying physical activities.
12:32All right, that was 260.
12:35I think that's probably the last one for today.
12:38Yeah, that's good. You did good.
12:40Set goals. Keep working towards them. Don't give up.
12:42I think that applies to a life journey.
12:48Whatever you want to do in life, just do it. And don't talk about it.
12:54Just get in the water and move.
12:58There's no end to the things that you could be doing.
13:01It doesn't have to be jumping into a sandpit.
13:03Commit to something. Find a group.
13:06The more you are exposed to the world, the better things are going to be for you.
13:13You really stay busy.
13:14Yeah, stay busy.
13:15When you have too much time on your hands, that's when you start focusing on your aches and pains.
13:19Get out and do things.
13:25A little bit different workout today.
13:28I'm doing a variety of things right now. I teach one Pilates class a week.
13:34I coach CrossFit two or three classes a week.
13:37Then we're going to extend that leg and switch the hands to the other leg.
13:41When I coach, what I try to do is motivate people to do things that they might not have done
13:50if they were working just on their own. Hopefully I can be a role model for
13:53for other people who are starting their journey.
13:58I am an older woman with a story to tell.
14:03I exercise five times a week, which can be hell.
14:07Twice a week I have a trainer and I've had the trainer for a whole time.
14:11I have storytelling events.
14:15So do everything. You want to learn to swim? Swim.
14:19When I tell my story that really impresses elders,
14:22and one lady actually told me that she started swimming because of me.
14:30By taking up this sport, my social circle has grown tremendously.
14:36I have new friends, people I never would have crossed paths with before.
14:41And when we play every Tuesday and Thursday, we usually go out for dinner afterwards.
14:49It's so wonderful having that social commitment.
14:57There's so much information now about mingling and there are need for relationships.
15:02It's vital for people to interact and be social, especially after the era of COVID when we all withdrew.
15:21When I was younger, I didn't think very much about what it would be like to be older and keep exercising as I age.
15:28I don't really feel 79.
15:30I'm still very active. I can still work out a lot. I can still do a lot of things.
15:37It's just fun. It's like being a kid again.
15:40There's no end to what we can do.
15:43And in a million years, I wouldn't have thought I'd been doing this at 78 years old.
15:47This is something I can do the rest of my life.
15:50I may not be able to walk fast, as I tell people, but I can always get in the pool.
15:54Oh my God, what a feeling. I mean, it's worth a million dollars.
16:00No, that's good. Thanks.
16:03Now tell me your name again.
16:05I'm just trying not to appear, you know, too much like a stone.
16:08Natural. The hardest thing in the world.
16:12Ready, go!
16:14OK.
16:25What can I do if it comes?
16:27It will be home.
16:30Not matter what people have not been doing with me yesterday,
16:34I'll say your name in London.
16:35I'll say for now.
16:36And if it comes back...