Raising the bar: 89-year-old Saskatoon powerlifter shows sport can be for everyone

89-year-old Joyce Hansen has found her passion for powerlifting and says she's 'training to stay out of the nursing home.' Allison Bamford reports.

SASKATOON – Joyce Hansen, 89, is one of two octogenarians training for a powerlifting meet in Saskatoon this weekend.

Hansen first found her passion for powerlifting in her golden years.

She was inspired by her daughter and granddaughter to try the sport and build her strength.

“Someone asked me one time if I was training for something. I said, ‘I’m training to stay out of the nursing home’,” Hansen said with a laugh.

She’s been lifting for the last 12 years, improving her mobility and flexibility in the process.

“It has also increased my bone mass to the point where I don’t need medications for osteoporosis,” she told CTV News. “For me, that’s the biggest reward.”

The meet Hansen is training for, a non-sanctioned competition for all ages, is hosted by Saskatoon’s Mackie Physiotherapy.

The competitors will be scored on three types of lifts – squats, bench presses and deadlifts.

Barry Gay, 80, is also competing. It’s for fun more than anything, he said.

Gay started powerlifting last year to help recover from a shoulder injury. At first, he couldn’t even lift the 45-pound bar.

“In a short time that became easy and we just kept adding weights,” he said.

Gay and Hansen would like to see more seniors take up powerlifting or any other physical activity.

Besides the health benefits, they say they’ve gained a valuable support system at the gym.

“People used to think living long was the goal, but I think living long and living well is way more important,” Gay said.

“It hurts a little bit sometimes, but no pain, no gain is absolutely true.”

Builds both muscle and confidence

Kelsey Gudmundson is a personal trainer and powerlifting coach at Mackie Physiotherapy.

When she first started coaching the sport, she expected to focus on athletes in the 20 to 35 age group. But interest in powerlifting has grown, and Gudmundson sees more people in their 40s and older participating in the sport.

“Powerlifting is really unique. You don’t necessarily ever really age out of it,” she said.

“You can absolutely get stronger even into your 60s, 70s and 80s.”

Success for seniors looks different than for young adults, Gudmundson said, and in some ways it’s more rewarding to see the older athletes succeed in a sport that builds both muscle and confidence.

“I think what these two (Joyce and Barry) are doing is the perfect example that you should be doing something like this and not only you should, but you can,” she said.

For Hansen, working out is more about maintaining her strength and health, because feeling her best is just as good as setting a personal best.

But that’s not stopping her from raising the bar as high as it will go.

“I’m just working out to feel good. But I’ll tell you, with the meet coming up Saturday I have really been pushing it,” she said.