![\"Estimated](\"https:\/\/www.womenshealthmag.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/clock-regular.4ddebeb.svg\")
10 min read<\/span><\/div>\nWhen many people <\/strong>think of women over 50, they imagine slowing down, covering up, fading into the background. But across gyms\u2014and even onstage\u2014a whole new and unexpected generation is lifting, flexing, and reshaping what it means to age. And yes, sometimes that means showing off muscles in a bikini that would make their 20-year-old selves gape in envy\u2026or in awe.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a world that used to feel off-limits for women past a certain point. \u201cWomen in menopause or older get so much messaging: \u2018Who cares about your body? You\u2019re done having babies, you\u2019re past your prime, your body isn\u2019t worth attention,\u2019 \u201d says Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, PhD<\/a>, author of Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America\u2019s Exercise Obsession.<\/em> Female bodybuilders, especially those of a more mature age, \u201care saying no to that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Marjorie Thrash, the director of operations for the Organization of Competitive Bodybuilding (OCB), says that in recent years, she\u2019s seen more women over 50 than ever before enter OCB contests for the first time. (The events include amateur bodybuilding and figure competitions; all celebrate strength and muscular development, but bodybuilding emphasizes maximum muscle size and definition, while figure contests also focus on a symmetrical, aesthetically polished physique.) \u201cI encounter many women who have dedicated years to their careers and families and, during that time, neglected their health. For them, the sport becomes a long-awaited self-improvement project,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n While thinness has long dominated Western cultural ideals, muscularity is gaining respect, Dr. Petrzela says. Women in their 50s and 60s today are arguably the first generation who do not automatically accept the stereotype that aging means slowing down. \u201cWomen now expect to be physically active well into old age,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n To be clear, this is about more than being strong. It\u2019s about looking<\/em> strong\u2014and not being ashamed of that goal. \u201cTo some, it may seem like a vanity project, but it is so much bigger than that,\u201d Thrash says. \u201cWomen realize that if they can accomplish this, they can accomplish so many other things.\u201d<\/p>\n These competitors\u2014some of whom didn\u2019t pick up their first dumbbell until late in adulthood\u2014are proof that strength and self-assurance only get better with age.<\/p>\n In the months before, “you eat a lot\u2014it\u2019s quite astonishing,” Iris Davis says. Her diet involves 8 to 10 meals per day, one every two hours, with 40 percent being protein.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Iris Davis<\/strong> isn\u2019t being dramatic when she says that bodybuilding saved her life. \u201cI suffer terrible depression to this very day and have been hospitalized a few times because of it,\u201d the 82-year-old says. But when she\u2019s lifting weights, her \u201cneural pathways open up,\u201d leaving her energized.<\/p>\n Davis grew up in Ireland and married at 17. When she was 18, her infant son died, and by the time she was 22, her husband had also passed away. The losses left her paralyzed with grief. After spending countless days in bed, she decided to go outside for a walk as a way to prevent herself from spending the entire day crying inside. \u201cEvery day, I would walk for hours. That was my solace. And one day, I walked right into a gym,\u201d says Davis, who now lives in South Carolina.<\/p>\n The 1960s gym was a far cry from today\u2019s modern facilities boasting fancy equipment, saunas and cold plunges, and locker rooms. \u201cIt was a gym covered in straw, full of men with big bellies, grunting and lifting weights,\u201d Davis says. She started lifting too, copying what she saw the men doing. \u201cThat was 62 years ago, and I haven\u2019t stopped,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Bodybuilding will keep you youthful, your brain active, and make you stay involved in things. It brings me so much happiness.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/section>\n But it wasn\u2019t until her 50s that Davis discovered competitive bodybuilding. While living in Florida, she was approached at the gym by a man seeking a partner for an upcoming competition. \u201cI was like, \u2018Are you sure you want me?\u2019 \u201d Davis says. Six months later, she took the stage and placed second.<\/p>\n In the decades since, Davis has built an extraordinary career. She has 15 National Physique Committee (NPC) first-place wins and has received a Pioneer Award from the Women’s World Leadership Congress, which recognizes women who have broken new ground, challenged the status quo, and demonstrated exceptional leadership. She also once held the Guinness World Record for the oldest professional female bodybuilder. It’s these moments\u2014not the grief-struck days in Ireland\u2014that Davis chooses to focus on, and she says they are the most important parts of her life.<\/p>\n Bodybuilding has also kept her feeling young. \u201cBodybuilding will keep you youthful, your brain active, and make you stay involved in things,\u201d she says. And while the competitions are fun checkpoints, it\u2019s the daily training, the routine of it all, and the lifestyle that have continued to help her mental health and keep her going.<\/p>\n Davis eventually opened her own gym, training women 50 and older alongside younger athletes. \u201cI\u2019m training 16-year-olds, and they\u2019re thrilled,\u201d she says. And she\u2019s just as thrilled herself. \u201cIn my younger years, saying my favorite hobby was going to the gym was not popular. But it brings me so much happiness. And it keeps me healthy too.\u201d<\/p>\n A golden nutrition rule for Marianne Dait: meal prep. She isn\u2019t shy about letting loved ones know she\u2019ll bring her own food. “My friends know that it\u2019s my lifestyle.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Marianne Dait, DO, <\/strong>is the first to admit she started going to the gym because she \u201cwanted to look good at the beach.\u201d The family practice physician, who lives in Virginia, was about to turn 50, and she really wanted to transform her body from soft to sculpted.<\/p>\n To make it happen, Dait began training with a trainer. As her muscles grew bigger and more visible, he suggested she enter a bodybuilding competition. \u201cI had no idea what he was talking about,\u201d Dait recalls. Still, she was curious, so she decided to go check out a contest firsthand. When she saw the competitors pose onstage in their bikinis, she had two thoughts: I can\u2019t look like that<\/em>, and I\u2019m not wearing that<\/em>. \u201cJust think about it,\u201d her trainer urged.<\/p>\n In the months that followed, Dait kept the idea of competing in the back of her mind. Seeing the dramatic changes in her own body\u2014and realizing she had built the strength and definition most competitors spent years trying to achieve\u2014sparked a curiosity she hadn\u2019t expected. Three months later, she said the two words her coach was waiting for: \u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Bodybuilding has helped me in my everyday life. Age is not a limiting factor. We just need to know how to train smarter.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/section>\n Dait was competing against women younger than she was, but she won first place in several categories. Two weeks later, she entered another competition and won again. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I could transform my body, but I did\u2014six-pack and all,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n This type of metamorphosis takes consistent dedication. \u201cWhen I meet up with my friends, they know I\u2019m going to bring my own food to eat,\u201d Dait says. She goes to bed at 7 p.m. so she can get enough sleep before waking up at 3:30 a.m. in order to have time to do her prayers and then train, \u201cbecause I start seeing patients at 7 a.m.,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Outside of the bodybuilding community, the biggest misconception she faces is that people assume she\u2019s taking steroids. \u201cIt\u2019s all natural,\u201d Dait says. \u201cBefore every competition, we are drug tested and take a lie detector test.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of her motivation is that she has seen what happens when health isn\u2019t prioritized. As a doctor, she witnesses firsthand the toll that being sedentary can take on health, and Dait likes being an example to her patients, showing them that aging can mean getting stronger, not weaker.<\/p>\n \u201cBodybuilding has helped me in my everyday life and my practice,\u201d she says. \u201cIt has helped me gain confidence and to encourage people that anyone can transform their body at any age. Age is not a limiting factor. We just need to know how to train smarter.\u201d<\/p>\n Lift to live longer:<\/strong> You can make significant strength gains even in your 60s, 70s, and 80s, research proves. A study of adults ages 65 to 75, as well as those over 85, found that just 12 weeks of resistance training increased both strength and muscle size in both age groups. <\/p>\n \u201cEvidence shows it\u2019s never too late to improve strength, mobility, and balance,\u201d says Gabrielle Lyon, DO<\/a>, founder of the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine and author of The Forever Strong Playbook<\/em><\/a>. <\/em>\u201cAs people get stronger, their bones improve, their balance improves\u2014and the foundation is really that musculature of strength,\u201d she says. (That muscle foundation is also what makes these women so competitive onstage.) <\/p>\n Want to live to triple digits\u2014and actually enjoy it? \u201cThe better your muscle quality, the greater your survivability,\u201d Dr. Lyon notes, adding that those who have the most muscle strength later in life \u201ctypically have the greatest chance of reaching 100.\u201d<\/p>\n While lifting is nonnegotiable, Wendy Ida has added tai chi to her routine, calling it “great healing” for stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n There was a<\/strong> time in her life when Wendy Ida didn\u2019t think she\u2019d live to see 40. Now, at 73, she\u2019s stronger than ever.<\/p>\n Ida married at 19 and spent more than a decade in an abusive relationship before leaving with her two children and starting over in California with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. By the time life began to stabilize, she had gained 80 pounds and felt disconnected from her physical being. \u201cMy life had been an emotional roller coaster,\u201d she says. \u201cThe weight gain started after the birth of my kids, who are 11 months apart, and I just wasn\u2019t aware of my body or mind. I had so many other problems to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n Once her kids were settled into a good routine, Ida, in her 30s at this point, began working out for the first time, jogging on the treadmill and doing ab exercises\u2014her first act of self-care in as long as she could remember. But she still felt scared all the time, as if \u201clife could fall apart at any second,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n That feeling changed when, at 43, she started working with a trainer and lifting weights. \u201cSeeing my body change was the first time I felt like I owned my body,\u201d Ida says. In less than two years, she lost the extra weight, all 80 pounds of it. For the first time, she felt good about herself.<\/p>\n In her mid-50s, she decided to enter her first bodybuilding competition after her trainer brought it up. \u201cA colleague of mine competed in one two years before that, and I just thought, Wow, that\u2019s a whole other level of getting in shape<\/em>,\u201d Ida recalls. Once her trainer suggested it, though, she decided to go for it, craving something that challenged her beyond her workout routine.<\/p>\n She still vividly remembers her first time taking the stage. She entered three categories, including one for women 18 and older. \u201cWhen they said my age, the announcer said he couldn\u2019t believe it. He made a big deal about it\u2014in a good way. It was really a magical experience,\u201d she says. Ida won second place in the 18-and-up category and first in the 45-and-up group. She was hooked.<\/p>\n Ida says her outer strength is a reflection of her inner fortitude. \u201cMy body became a symbol of having the power to change things,\u201d she says. She also simply loved the challenge: \u201cIf I commit, I\u2019m going to do it right.\u201d She thrives on the discipline of following a meal plan and committing to a training schedule. \u201cWhen I work out, I visualize myself on the stage winning,” she says. “That\u2019s what keeps me motivated.\u201d And when she looks in the mirror now, Ida sees someone who beat the odds. \u201cMy body changed, my mind changed, and I feel like I can do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Lesley Maxwell trains four or more times a week. A fave move of hers? Hanging knee raises with a weight between her feet. “Now I\u2019ve got, like, an eight-pack.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Lesley Maxwell <\/strong>is refusing to age the way others do. In fact, very few people even know how old she is because she usually doesn\u2019t share her exact age (she\u2019s in her 60s). \u201cBeing mysterious about how old I am makes me feel ageless. I never celebrate my birthday for that reason,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The mom of three and grandmother admits that she wasn\u2019t always on a strength and longevity trajectory. Her weight yo-yoed from the age of 18, and she never stuck to consistent movement or a healthy approach to nutrition, especially when her kids were younger. When she was 49, she was hospitalized with asthma and pneumonia and found herself watching a 60 Minutes <\/em>segment on bodybuilding competitions. \u201cI saw these strong women who looked glamorous because they had bikinis on, and I thought, Wow, that\u2019s my thing!<\/em>\u201d she says.With newfound motivation, upon leaving the hospital, \u201cI went to the gym the next week and started training.\u201d<\/p>\n Bodybuilding felt like magic\u2014a feeling she didn\u2019t get from running, step aerobics, or other forms of exercise she\u2019d dabbled with in the past. \u201cBeing onstage is a surge of nerves, excitement, and raw emotion. My heart is racing, the lights are intense, and I feel completely exposed both physically and emotionally,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Since her first go, she\u2019s won more than 30 bodybuilding titles, and she\u2019s still competing, with her next event this September. While other people may view her rigid diet and exercise schedule as a sacrifice, Maxwell doesn\u2019t see it that way at all. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s a sacrifice to not<\/em> do it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s like asking a priest if praying is a sacrifice, or someone who meditates if meditating is a sacrifice. It\u2019s what keeps me together, mentally and physically.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, Maxwell lives in Melbourne, Australia, and works as a personal trainer. She\u2019s witnessed many of her neighbors become weaker and more fragile with age. \u201c[I] refuse to become fragile just because a number says I should. That\u2019s my mindset,\u201d she says. In fact, she likes to see herself as her own human experiment. She continues to think about how she wants to transform her body, and then she makes it happen.<\/p>\n To her, bodybuilding is about bucking the stereotypes that many people associate with aging. \u201cI started noticing how often women accept negative changes in their bodies and immediately blame it on age. Like it\u2019s something we\u2019re supposed to surrender to. I remember thinking, What if that\u2019s not the full story?<\/em>\u201d she says. For her, it\u2019s not. Maxwell summed up how she feels in three words: \u201cStronger than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"Iris](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/872762f8-35d5-4e92-b5a7-5625302befd7.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*\" "\\"Iris")
<\/p>\nThe Record Holder Who Lifted Her Way Through Grief<\/h2>\n
\n![\"Marianne](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/255fbce9-fce6-417c-89ad-e2951ae4a388.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*\" "\\"Marianne")
<\/p>\nThe Doctor Who Actually Practices What She Preaches<\/h2>\n
\n![\"Wedy](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/799d63ca-ccce-47eb-8491-fd4028008b98.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*\" "\\"Wedy")
<\/p>\nThe Mom Who Proved She\u2019s Stronger Than Her Past<\/h2>\n
\n![\"Lesley](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/26b5e590-55a7-4d7e-98e5-1f30f51db5a1.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*\" "\\"Lesley")
<\/p>\nThe Ageless Athlete Who Treats Her Body as an Experiment<\/h2>\n