Lifting Barriers! 56-Year-Old In Saree Lifts Heavy-Weights & Leaves Netizens Inspired, Know More About Her

A 56-year-old woman from Chennai is taking the internet by storm by showing how to age well and strong. As people grow older, especially women, they neglect their health needs until it becomes entirely necessary to attend to them. Bringing a change to this narrative, this woman shared her inspirational story and how she keeps herself fit in the face of health challenges that came along as a courtesy of old age.

Lifting Weights At 56

Wearing a saree and lifting weights, this 56-year-old continues to prove that age is just a number. She started going to the gym at the age of 52, and four years into it, she is inspiring many to hit the gym. Her story was initially shared by a social media page titled Humans of Madras, however, they did not disclose her name. The video they posted showed her working out at the gym and captioned it, "She's 56…She wears a saree and casually does powerlifting & pushups! Age is just a number – rightly proves one of the powerful (young by heart), inspiring mothers-in-law." This is then followed by a narration by the woman about her journey to the gym in her older age.

At the age of 52, she experienced severe knee and leg pain, which was not getting cured despite many visits to doctors and medical stores. With no sign of relief to her joint pain, her son began looking into different treatment methods. The research also went in vain, and he finally decided to take her to the gym and give workouts a try. Accompanied by her daughter-in-law, she started going to the gym and started with basic lower body exercises. Gradually progressing from thereon, she tried to remain physically active every passing minute. She would occasionally go on walks, play with her grandson, or go to the gym to lift weights.

"I could notice the difference in pain levels as I progressed," and within five months, the pain had completely faded away, she said. Adding on to it, she also said, "This process taught me how not to catastrophize when I'm faced with pain and how important physical activity is for one's well-being." Staying fit remains an integral part of her routine now, and she continues to inspire people at the gym as the saree-clad mother-in-law who lifts heavy weights.

The painful experience she experienced motivated her son to start a gym of his own as well, and with this, he ensured that his mother had round-the-clock access to the gym and no space for any more excuses.

Reactions To Her Video

The video posted shows the staff members applauding the woman after her workout. This applause is reflected even within the post's comment section, which now has over 1,15,000 likes. Her story impacted many people, so the page decided to do an elaborate coverage of her gym experience. In the second post, she expressed her gratitude and conveyed that she went on to compete in a Powerlifting event, wearing the unconventional saree once again.

Extending wishes to the 56-year-old, a user named Aparna Janakiraman commented, "Not just inspiring, but also breaking every stereotype that is set for women." Yet another user said, "For people who complain about saree…she went over and above." A lot of them conveyed a similar line of thought and said that she broke all kinds of excuses that people usually give to not go to the gym.

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