are expanding our collective sense of what 60+ looks and feels like.
EMBRACING STRENGTH AND ADVENTURE IN THE 60S AND BEYOND
Many women entering their sixth or seventh decade are discovering an empowering love of intense physical challenges—and having fun doing it. From weightlifting to extreme endurance events, they are proving that adventure and athleticism aren’t just the domain of the young. Some inspiring examples include: Record-Breaking Powerlifters: Linda Leightley took up powerlifting in her late 60s and swiftly set world records in her age category—including deadlifting 273 pounds— defying any assumptions about the limits of “aging bodies.” Rather than slowing down, she became stronger than ever in her 70s. Ironman Triathletes: After only starting competitive sports in her 50s, Carmen Francesch embraced triathlon. At 61 she completed a grueling Ironman (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run) and even qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Late-Blooming Bodybuilders: At 71, Joan MacDonald was on multiple medications and felt miserable. Urged by her daughter, she started weight training and clean eating— and within a year was off all meds and flaunting newly defined muscles. Now in her mid-70s, MacDonald has become a social media inspiration (@TrainWithJoan) who insists that women are not finished at 50 or 60 or 70 and can continue to reinvent themselves with enthusiasm. What’s striking about these stories is the sense of playfulness and passion that runs through them. These women aren’t exercising out of a dour sense of duty; they’re relishing the challenge. Francesch, for example, admits she took an extra hour to finish one race because she was “ having so much fun” soaking up the experience. That mindset shift—focusing on enjoyment and personal growth over perfection or youthfulness—is central to this new narrative. We’ve moved past aesthetics towards goals like strength, bone density and feeling good . In short, movement has become less about how it makes one look and more about how it makes one feel.
DANCE AS JOY, HEALING AND SELF-EXPRESSION
Perhaps nowhere is the joyful reframing of movement more evident than on the dance floor. After 60, many women are reclaiming dance—whether it’s ballet, salsa, or freestyle —not as a cute novelty, but as a profound source of happiness, identity, and even healing. All over the world, women in their 60s, 70s and beyond are filling dance classes, community centers and nightclubs—dancing not to turn back the clock, but to savor the moment. On the dance floor, older women (and men) are visible and visibly alive— sensual, funny, exuberant, present in ways society often denies they can be.
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