Fitness culture has never been more visible or more confusing. Workouts trend and disappear overnight, bodies are constantly on display and discipline is often measured by how hard you’re willing to push. What rarely gets asked is whether any of these fitness concepts are meant to stand the test of time.
What we’re missing is the kind of knowledge you only acquire by staying with something long enough to see it evolve, including your own body. Female athletes who stay physically active into midlife and beyond have much to share in this respect. For them, strength eventually turns from something to prove into something to protect. And within that transition lies a powerful set of insights; ones younger women rarely hear, but could benefit from greatly.
What experience teaches you
Athletes like Roshni Devi Sangwan and the late Man Kaur are often framed as outliers, women who “started late” or “refused to slow down.” But that’s missing the point. What their lives actually reveal is not defiance, but a response to circumstance.
Roshni Devi Sangwan spent much of her life doing agricultural and domestic labour. After losing her husband, she developed severe knee arthritis and was advised to rest (advice many older women receive when pain enters the picture). Instead, encouraged by her son, she began lifting light weights, aged 68, to manage pain and move better. There was no aesthetic goal, only the desire to function. Over time, as her pain reduced and confidence grew, she progressed to deadlifting over 100 kilograms; strength that arrived as a by-product of getting healthier.
Man Kaur’s entry into athletics was even more unlikely. She didn’t begin running until the age of 93, after her son took her to a track and asked her to try a 400-metre run. She did it slowly, returned the next day because she enjoyed it and kept going. Within a few years, she was competing internationally, becoming the fastest centenarian at the American Masters Games in 2016 and winning over 20 global medals.
What’s striking about both women isn’t how extraordinary they are, but rather how ordinary their motivations were. Neither set out to look younger or make a statement about ageing. They simply wanted to feel better in their bodies.
Consistency over intensity
Spend enough time listening to incredible female athletes across generations and you’ll realise that your goal should always be the health of your body and not just its shape, like we’re hardwired to focus on.
Reinforcing this philosophy is Nishriin Parikh, a fitness trainer and international athlete with multiple accolades. Now 59, she has trained across disciplines for decades, from karate to weightlifting and competes internationally, becoming the oldest female athlete to represent India at the Asian Bodybuilding & Physique Sports Championships in 2017.
