{"id":20802,"date":"2026-05-23T02:28:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T02:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802"},"modified":"2026-05-23T02:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T02:28:00","slug":"meet-the-73-year-old-ponte-vedra-beach-grandmother-deadlifting-her-way-into-the-world-record-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802","title":{"rendered":"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 You do not usually see someone in their 70s lifting nearly 300 pounds. Especially while heavy metal blasts through the gym speakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not used to metal,\u201d Masters powerlifter Susan Paxson said. \u201dNow I play it myself. I was not used to tattoos everywhere. Now I have a tattoo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nocatee resident Susan Paxson is anything but ordinary. The 73-year-old grandmother is a world champion powerlifter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I set the world record in deadlift, it was wild, wildly amazing because I haven\u2019t gotten anywhere close to that in so long,\u201d Paxson said. \u201dIt was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paxson did not discover powerlifting until her early 60s, when her mother gifted her sessions with a personal trainer.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said I\u2019m going to pay for twice a week for four months,\u201d Paxson said. \u201dLet\u2019s just stick with it for four months and I liked it right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

That decision changed everything. Paxson says she transformed her workouts, changed her diet and lost 75 pounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gave me so much energy,\u201d Paxson said. \u201dIt was amazing, the difference. It was so surprising how quickly I felt better.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than a decade later, that passion is still growing. Paxson trains at The Pit gym in Jacksonville Beach, where she is one of the oldest powerlifters in the building. What started as two workouts a week has turned into three-hour training sessions several times a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am feeling better now than I did in my 50s,\u201d Paxson said. \u201dI can\u2019t even explain the difference. It\u2019s made a difference in my quality of life and it\u2019s more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if you are wondering whether lifting hundreds of pounds is safe at her age, the Mayo Clinic says resistance training can help slow – and in some cases reverse – age-related muscle loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve asked any doctor I\u2019ve ever been to at first because they scared me and this one fella goes \u2018I want you deadlifting until you can\u2019t lift the bar off the floor\u2019,\u201d Paxson said.<\/p>\n

After getting the green light from her doctors, Paxson took the sport seriously and entered her first competition – a local meet where she immediately set a world record in deadlift. Then came the squat and bench press. Since 2018, Paxson has competed across Florida, around the country and even internationally. Last year in Seoul, South Korea, she set another world record in deadlift.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still haven\u2019t beat the bench,\u201d Paxson said. \u201dExcept in the American record. The world, I don\u2019t come close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paxson has now set more than 300 state, national and world records.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe probably has more accolades here than anybody else in terms of achievements, but it\u2019s more the humble attitude,\u201d Team G coach Garret Aby said. \u201dEverybody loves her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paxson trains under the watchful eye of her coach, Garret Aby, and says the support from the powerlifting community keeps her motivated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a camaraderie and helping each other situation that I was drawn to,\u201d Paxson said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s going to last, but until I can\u2019t lift it. I\u2019m going to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paxson is now training for a national meet in July and plans to compete at the world championships again in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2013 You do not usually see someone in their 70s lifting nearly 300 pounds. Especially while heavy metal blasts through the gym speakers. \u201cI was not used to metal,\u201d Masters powerlifter Susan Paxson said. \u201dNow I play it myself. I was not used to tattoos everywhere. Now I have a tattoo.\u201d Nocatee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":849,"featured_media":20803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-powerlifting-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2013 You do not usually see someone in their 70s lifting nearly 300 pounds. Especially while heavy metal blasts through the gym speakers. \u201cI was not used to metal,\u201d Masters powerlifter Susan Paxson said. \u201dNow I play it myself. I was not used to tattoos everywhere. Now I have a tattoo.\u201d Nocatee […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-23T02:28:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alessandra Pontbriand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alessandra Pontbriand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alessandra Pontbriand\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e82ad8001a4a80d7ed6c8312013b065\"},\"headline\":\"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T02:28:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802\"},\"wordCount\":573,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Powerlifting News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802\",\"name\":\"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books - World Bodybuilding News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T02:28:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e82ad8001a4a80d7ed6c8312013b065\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/image.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?p=20802#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Bodybuilding News\",\"description\":\"Data, Rankings, Results.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e82ad8001a4a80d7ed6c8312013b065\",\"name\":\"Alessandra Pontbriand\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alessandra Pontbriand\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\\\/?author=849\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books - World Bodybuilding News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books - World Bodybuilding News","og_description":"JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2013 You do not usually see someone in their 70s lifting nearly 300 pounds. Especially while heavy metal blasts through the gym speakers. \u201cI was not used to metal,\u201d Masters powerlifter Susan Paxson said. \u201dNow I play it myself. I was not used to tattoos everywhere. Now I have a tattoo.\u201d Nocatee […]","og_url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802","og_site_name":"World Bodybuilding News","article_published_time":"2026-05-23T02:28:00+00:00","author":"Alessandra Pontbriand","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alessandra Pontbriand","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802"},"author":{"name":"Alessandra Pontbriand","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4e82ad8001a4a80d7ed6c8312013b065"},"headline":"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books","datePublished":"2026-05-23T02:28:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802"},"wordCount":573,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.jpg","articleSection":["Powerlifting News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802","name":"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books - World Bodybuilding News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-23T02:28:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4e82ad8001a4a80d7ed6c8312013b065"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=20802#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet the 73-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach grandmother deadlifting her way into the world record books"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/","name":"World Bodybuilding News","description":"Data, Rankings, Results.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4e82ad8001a4a80d7ed6c8312013b065","name":"Alessandra Pontbriand","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=initials&r=g","caption":"Alessandra Pontbriand"},"url":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?author=849"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/849"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}