The inspirational Women of Gold’s Gym
Two elderly women and an award winning female bodybuilder have opened up about their gym journeys this International Women’s Day, in an attempt to break down barriers and stereotypes associated with working out.
Paula McKenzie and her best friend Margaret Greer are both aged in their seventies and train at Gold’s Gym Kippa-Ring twice a week.
As pensioners, they initially didn’t think personal training was in their budget but they knew they needed some support to build their fitness.
“We needed something affordable and we worked out a way to make it work because I really believe you can’t put a price on your health,” Ms McKenzie said.
Ms McKenzie said prioritising her health has boosted her confidence and is also a great social outing. She has now encouraged other women her age to do the same.
“It’s not all about lycra and beautiful young bodies – it’s about caring for yourself.
“Take a friend with you to give you confidence, it makes a big difference. If you can’t, be brave, talk to the people at the counter, that’s what we did and it helped us get to where we are now. Everybody is there for the same reason.
“I’d tell my younger self to keep up the training and not to be lazy. It gets harder with kids and life but if you can squeeze in that half hour it’s so worth it,” Ms McKenzie said.
Ms Greer said joining the gym has resulted in a dramatic improvement to her life.
“I was getting stiff, sore and lethargic and I thought, if I don’t do something now it will just get worse.
“Since training at the Gold’s Gym I have more energy, I’m more alert and I’m happier.”
Without the support of each other, and those around them, the two women may not have had the confidence to go.
“The only way to move forward is with support from other women – seeing someone else stretch themselves to be better helps you do the same,” Ms Greer said.
“Having a routine of regular sessions definitely helps keep us going,” Ms Greer said.
Morgan Langford, a thriving holistic health coach for women, passionate osteopath and professional bodybuilder, said it is an incredible turn in life to see women focus on whole body health instead of just watching the scales.
Her fitness journey began in 2010 as a yoga teacher, before she joined Gold’s Gym in North Sydney and started lifting weights.
“When I moved into lifting weights at Gold’s Gym in North Sydney when they first opened their doors, body building was always on the bucket list.
“I needed a serious goal so I started preparing for bodybuilding competitions in 2017 which is when I competed in the WBFF and ICM,” Ms Langford said.
“As I continued competing, more people started reaching out and asking questions about how I was getting results so from there I started coaching women to build mind resilience and body confidence.”
Ms Langford won the Pro Card in 2019.
She is now passionate about educating others and breaking stereotypes about how women think they should look or train.
“In my early twenties the inspiration was to be stick thin but now I’m in my late thirties and these days there’s access to a lot more people with positivity around all body shapes and sizes, which is a definite positive of social media.
“There’s more education and less circulation of unhealthy fads, and women are educated about the importance of eating more, not less.
“There’s this common theme that people are nervous that others are looking at them doing the wrong thing but no one is watching you as much as you think,” she said.
Ms Langford encourages women to move their body, support other women, and remember the two most important things – consistency and priority.
“As a beginner, you need connection to a community so join a class or gym and fine tune to see what works for you,” she said.
Gold’s Gym Australia celebrates and acknowledges women in their membership, staff and wider community this International Women’s Day, and every day, and encourages everyone to explore the theme #breakthebias highlighted for this year’s International Womens’ Day.
