A 65-year-old is demonstrating that strength training and fitness are not limited to young people.
Teresa Burkett is working to redefine the perception of what older people, particularly women, may look and feel like. She posts motivational videos of herself performing strength training and pull-ups on her @silveristhenewstrong TikTok account.Burkett appears to be dressed for a night out in a halter-neck leopard print dress and black shoes in an October video that has received over 4 million views, but she is also hanging on her pull-up bar at home.She wrote, “This is 64,” in text that was superimposed on the video at the time.Although she has been active for years, was “skinny” as a young woman, and even earned the nickname “cardio queen,” the Ohio-based personal trainer and influencer told “Good Morning America” that she didn’t perfect her pull-ups and develop her strength until she was in her 50s.”I once had an epiphany and realized that, although I can control it, it is not my wrinkles and gray hair that will age me, but rather my loss of strength and muscle.Burkett stated, “And that’s my message, especially to younger girls.”Burkett, who works out six days a week, claimed that performing ten consecutive strict pull-ups and deadlifting more than 300 pounds are two of her proudest accomplishments. She claimed that she is now motivated to serve as an example and demonstrate to others that growing older should not be a cause for fear and that getting older does not necessarily mean being “frail and weak.”
The mother and grandmother remarked, “Here I am – 65 years old – and I’m lifting heavier than I was [lifting] 10 years ago,””A lot of it is mindset also – I think you can be 65 and feel like you’re 20, and you can be 20 and feel like you’re 65,” she said.Burkett wants to inspire others with her Silver is the New Strong brand, beginning with showcasing her abilities.
It’s almost as if you begin to enjoy yourself once you shift your perspective. “We are really hard on ourselves, so I would encourage women to look in the mirror and talk to themselves like they would to their best friend,” Burkett said.”My hope for others by watching me would be that they realize you’re never too old and it’s never too late to get stronger,” she said.
