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...
