Muscle Doesn't Care Your Age

What I learned training for Strongman at 60, and why it's not too late for you

Competing in Strongman at 60

It’s not for everyone, but weightlifting should be!

The gym doesn't check your ID.  Your muscles don't read your birth certificate. And the barbell? It gives zero effs about how many candles were on your last birthday cake.

I turned 60 a couple weeks ago. And earlier this year I qualified for Strongman nationals. Not in a 'good for her age' kind of way. Not with an asterisk. Just... qualified. Period. While I decided to sit this one out due to new job a couple of injuries and buying a house, it doesn’t mean I’ve stopped lifting weights.

Do you have to do what I do to get the benefits? No. So let's talk about what nobody told us about getting stronger at our age means — because someone should have told us a loooong time ago.

The BS Story We Were Sold

We grew up in an era that told women, especially women approaching this stage in life to slow down, accept it. 'It' being weight gain, tired AF, aches and sore joints are just “part of the deal” and we should just “slow down”.

We were told to do cardio. Light weights, high reps. Don't bulk up. Walk. Maybe try yoga.


We were told to “age gracefully”. Ugh, just typing that pisses me off. Nobody handed us a program with a deadlift and said: FUCK YOU, this is how you fight back.

Here’s the thing; as GenX women, we got the short end of the stick. We're sandwiched between Boomers who didn't talk about it and Millennials who had access to information we didn't. A lot of us are just now finding out that everything we believed about aging and our bodies...was mostly wrong.

But here’s the other thing about GenX women. We are smart, independent thinkers and question authority. We are also the most adaptable generation yet. I mean just look at what happened with our music! Vinyl, 8 track, cassette, CD, iPods and now streaming! 

Weightlifting Helped Change My Weight

Lifting heavy is what has helped me lose almost 50# in the last year along with a GLP. Many people on GLP’s lose half or more of the weight in muscle. Me? Only 2# of muscle!

Here’s What Actually Happens When You Lift

And no, you will NOT turn into Arnold. Even Arnold didn’t become Arnold without the use of LOTS of steroids. 

Here's the thing about muscle: it responds to stimulus. What’s that? In the weight lifting world I call that “heavy”. But heavy doesn’t mean you have to deadlift a car, you just have to lift weights that challenge the muscle. That's the whole secret! You give it a challenge it hasn't seen before, you fuel it properly, you rest, and it adapts. It gets stronger, so you add more weight. It doesn't care that you're 55, 60, or 65.

What strength training does for GenX women is actually pretty remarkable:

→  Protects bone density (this is not optional as we age)
→  Stabilizes blood sugar and improves metabolic function
→  Supports hormone balance — yes, even during and after menopause
→  Reduces chronic inflammation (the root of so much of what drags us down)
→  Builds the kind of functional strength that keeps you independent, capable, and confident

I'll also be honest with you: I didn't just rely on training. I started paying a lot more attention to recovery, what I was putting in my body to support what I was asking it to do. As I’ve gotten older, I do need more days off then I did in my 30’s or even 40’s. That meant dialing in protein, sleep, and yes, some targeted supplements.

My supplement “stack” is some of the things you’ve probably heard of: High quality protein powders, Creatine, collagen, just to name a few. There’s a few others I've been incorporating that are something you may not have heard of: Liposomal NAD+ (game changing) and exploring injectible peptides as part of my recovery. My next secret: Glutothione. Not magic. Just tools that help me recover.

If peptides are a foreign word to you, stay tuned — I've been going deep on this topic and have a lot more coming. I wrote an article last week on the trend. Check it out here: https://www.shestotallyawesome.com/blog/what-the-peptide-craze-means-for-gen-x-women-and-what-nobodys-telling-you

My Story: Gold Mine Shifts, Heavy Barbells, and One Big Competition

I work at a gold mine in Alaska. Early mornings. Twelve-hour days & building two businesses. I am not a person with a lot of extra time. On work days my alarm goes off at 3:15am and I’m out the door at 4:00. Yes, AM. I’m on my feet for 12 hours and I don’t get home until 7:15ish PM. I don’t workout on work days, it’s just too much. If I was 20, I might have foregone the sleep, but not at 60! 

I trained for Strongman anyway. My husband Mark trained alongside me — and we both qualified for nationals. However, we decided to sit them out this year as we have some injuries and a lot going on as we just put money down on a house. Stay tuned for that too!

I'm telling you that not to brag (okay, maybe a little), but because I want you to hear this: I don’t have perfect conditions. I don’t have unlimited time. I don’t have a trainer standing over me every day. I have a decision and I honor it.

Now that’s not to say I don’t have inconsistent times too. The last month we used our days off to get out of town instead of working out. Since we weren’t going to nationals, that was OK! But here’s the thing…we got back in the gym the next hitch of days off and hit it hard. 

There was a moment somewhere in the middle of training where I realized my body wasn't fighting me anymore. It was working with me. Things that had felt hard started feeling better. I got faster and better at recovering.

And I am 60 years old!

Mark and I at the Frozen 6 in January

We both won our divisions! Mark in the 60+ Masters Men, me in the lightweight 50+ Masters Women.

What Muscle Gives You

Muscle = The Metabolism Booster of our youth!

Here's what surprised me most. It wasn't the physical changes — though those are real and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

It was the confidence.  The kind that doesn't come from a number on a scale. The kind that comes from knowing what your body is capable of,  and discovering it's more than you thought.

Strength training changes how I move through the world. It changes my energy levels. It changes how I think about the next decade of my life — not as something to brace for, but something to build toward.

And the BEST part? Muscle burns more calories than fat. So as you lose fat and gain muscle you will burn more calories at rest! A pound of muscle burns 50 more calories than a pound of fat. Gain 5 pounds of muscle and your body will burn 250 more calories a day. Gain 10 pounds over six months with consistent training, you’ll burn 500 calories more! That’s some serious girl math right there!

The Reasons You're Waiting (And Why They're All Lies)

Here’s where I might piss you off a little, cuz I’m not going to let you get away with the lie you tell yourself, because I know what the real reason is.

"I'm too old." You're not. The research is clear. Muscle responds to resistance training at every age. The only people who are too old are the ones who keep waiting.

"I don't have time." I train for Strongman on a schedule that includes 60-hour work weeks. Time is a priority conversation, not a time conversation. You don’t need 2 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. 30-60 focused minutes, 3 times a week will change your life. 

I’m a Gold Digger

Actually I WAS a gold ore hauler. I’m now in the warehouse helping to make sure the mechanics have the things they need to service these bad boys.

"I'm not an athlete." You don't have to be. You just have to be someone who decided to start and doesn’t want to become the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” lady from the commercials! 

Are you ready for what I believe is the REAL reason you don’t start: You’re scared you’ll look like a fool at the gym…

"I don't know what I'm doing." Neither did I when I started. Yeah I was a lot younger. But I know women who started at 70! You learn. You ask. You show up imperfectly and figure it out. Hire a trainer in a studio type setting where there isn’t 20-something Jennifer running around in less clothes than what you wear at the beach! Just you and the trainer. 

The Barbell Doesn't Lie

Muscle doesn't care how old you are. It cares about the work. It cares about the consistency. It cares about whether you show up. You don't need a perfect program. You don't need a background in fitness. You just need a decision.

Ready to talk about what's possible for your body right now? Email me me READY at mary@shestotallyawesome.com and get you started on your way to drop kicking aging gracefully back into the 1900’s where it belongs!