92-Year-Old Gym Devotee Started Weightlifting at 65

When Edna Giordano was forced to retire from her hospital job at 65, she faced a choice that would define the next three decades of her life. Instead of slowing down, she joined a gym and never looked back.

Now 92, the mother of five drives herself to the gym four times a week for hour-long strength training sessions. Her daughter Dalyce Radtke films their workouts together, sharing videos of Giordano doing overhead presses, assisted pull-ups, and ab exercises that would challenge people half her age.

"I don't even think about being 91," Giordano told Good Morning America. "I feel the same as I felt when I was fifty."

The secret isn't supplements or hormone therapy, which Giordano never took. It's simply showing up and moving her body consistently, even on days when motivation runs low.

Each gym session starts with cardio on the treadmill and dynamic stretches to warm up her muscles. Then comes the main event: strength training split between upper and lower body days, using light weights for 10 to 12 reps per set.

She finishes every workout with static stretches, including dead hangs from a bar to improve her posture. "It really stretches you out," she says.

Outside the gym, Giordano stays constantly active through gardening, daily dog walks, and always choosing stairs over elevators. Even sitting still for 10 minutes watching TV feels wrong to her body, prompting her to jump up and find something productive to do.

The payoff shows in ways big and small. Giordano sleeps soundly, maintains excellent posture, and lives virtually pain-free despite some arthritis in her thumbs and occasional knee discomfort.

She just renewed her passport for another 10 years because she plans on being here. "It makes me sad when people feel they have an expiry date," she says.

Why This Inspires

Research shows that muscle loss accelerates after 70, and falls become more common with age. But Giordano's story proves those effects aren't inevitable.

Studies now show that strength training becomes even more effective as we age because our neural motor units adapt better to resistance training. Building muscle later in life isn't just possible; our bodies are surprisingly ready for it.

Dr. Stacy Sims, a female physiologist, recommends hypertrophy training with 10 to 12 reps per set for people in their sixties and beyond. The goal shifts from pure strength to building and maintaining lean muscle mass that keeps you independent and injury-free.

Giordano started at 65 and transformed the next 27 years of her life.