Age is just a number in the bodybuilding world. There is practically no right age, right time, or right season to start training and achieving the fitness goals that you have. Several women are defying their odds to prove that fitness has no age or time limit. One of the most famous personalities to do this is Joan MacDonald, who took bodybuilding at the ripe age of 70 and is acing it. She managed to inspire millions of women to take this journey, and one of them is Denise Kirtley.

Kirtley transformed her life at 49 when she saw what Joan could do. Denise is an inspiration to many women, just like MacDonald, and people like them are changing the face of bodybuilding every day.

Denise Kirtley can squat 165 pounds at 52 years old

While the 5’11″ bodybuilder was growing up, she never thought of going to exercise or training her body. Denise was even recruited for the basketball and volleyball teams in her school, but she declined. She never thought that she would need a change in lifestyle until, at the age of 49, her body went through drastic changes due to perimenopause.

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Denise narrated her story to Women’s Health and said, “I started my fitness journey at 49 years old at the height of the COVID pandemic in August 2020. I had slowly gained about 40 pounds over the previous five years. Part of it was perimenopause; as my hormones changed, I didn’t always feel like doing anything, so I was more lethargic.” Finally, Denise had her eureka moment when her wedding ring was too small for her finger! She said, “I had an aha moment one day: I realized my wedding rings were no longer able to fit on my finger because my fingers had grown larger, and that was it for me.”

Read More: “It Wasn’t Easy”: Years After Insane Training, “77 Years Young” Grandma Loses Almost 200 Lbs, Turns Into a “Completely Different Woman”

Joan MacDonald’s success served as an inspiration to the 52-year-old fitness coach. “Watching other women in my same age range and beyond having success, like Joan MacDonald, I was able to believe it’s possible,” she said. This led her to embrace a journey of transformation and progress through bodybuilding.

Losing 50 pounds after 8 rigorous months of training

Denise began working on ‘The Wonder Woman,’  which is a program developed by Michelle MacDonald. Denise properly learned the ropes of bodybuilding in the gym. She started using barbells, bench pressing, and squats and finally gained more muscles.

This process made Denise fall in love with bodybuilding. Being around other women of her age also motivated her to get the message across to the community. The founder of ‘The Rebellion Body Method’ cried when she did her first proper squat, and now she can squat 165 pounds for three reps. Her goal is to hit 200 pounds this year.

Watch This Story: 76-year-old superfit grandma proves age is no Excuse for ditching your workouts

For people, nothing is impossible if they have enough willpower. Aging does bring hormonal changes and a lot of other things, but if one has a strong will, nothing can stop you. Denise rightfully said, “We get to choose how we age.”