75-Year-Old Body Builder Is Living Proof That Age Is Just a Number
Have you ever heard someone say that a certain activity is “a young person’s pursuit”? I used to think that was an excuse, a way for people to avoid challenges as they aged.
Yet as I’m starting my fourth decade on earth, I can see where they’re coming from. I’m developing aches in places where I wasn’t actually sure I had places to start with.
And let’s not talk about the gray that has started to speckle my hair. Of course, if Australian septuagenarian Janice Lorraine had her way, she’d probably tell me anyway that any real or perceived pains are just excuses.
The Granville, Sydney, resident would probably have a point. Though the 75-year-old once claimed the title of psychologist, she has now taken up other pursuits.
Lorraine is one of the world’s oldest bodybuilders — and she has the awards to prove it. According to People, she took up the sport at the ripe old age of 55.
“I won two gold medals and the American audiences went wild to see a small woman over 50 competing,” she said. “They simply had no idea that a female over 50 could be strong and in-shape and put on a bikini and compete on stage in public.
“It was on the flight home from the USA that it occurred to me to work to update the unflattering traditional stereotypical image of the older woman.” Indeed, Lorraine has kept that commitment for some 20 years.
During her competitions, she earned some 23 titles, all the while putting forth a simple message: You don’t have to feel ashamed of how you look just because you’re older.
Indeed, Lorraine has needed that singular focus in a field that idolizes youth. In fact, she’s virtually always the oldest individual at any competition.
“Being in good shape both physically and mentally is certainly worth the effort,” she wrote on her blog in 2012. “It … creates possibilities and opportunities and provides a framework for living.
“Many older people in particular find themselves no longer feeling useful, relevant or worthwhile and many focus on what they once were instead of focusing on becoming more of who they are. Age doesn’t have to determine anything.”
Part of what helps Lorraine stay positive is the community she’s built at her local gym. Oh, and her exercise regime is nothing to sneeze at.
“I go to the gym three days a week,” she told Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “I walk eight kilometers, I do push-ups, 30 push-ups on my knees, 30 on my toes, back-leg raises, abdominals, facial exercises. So that takes all morning.”
She also has no plans to slow down. As much as it’s up to her, only death will keep her from bettering herself.
“As far as I am concerned, the only person to make a cut off is the good Lord. While I’m here, I’ll do everything I can to stay strong and as competitive as I can be for my age.”
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