This 68-Year-Old Weightlifting Granny Is Becoming A TikTok Celebrity With Her Exercise Videos

By
Zhi Hao
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You’ve heard of weightlifting fairies…

Now make way for weightlifting grannies.

According to Channel News Asia, Chen Jifang hits the gym for at least two hours every day…

Image: YouTube

And apart from boasting a better physique than me and you, she also flexes with her 410,000 followers on Tik Tok.

Image: YouTube

Truly…

This is one viral, badass grandma.

This 68-Year-Old Weightlifting Granny Is Becoming A TikTok Celebrity With Her Exercise Videos

After becoming a gym regular in December 2018, the grandma from Shanghai reportedly lost 14kg in three months, and now sports a physique that people decades younger would crave for.

Image: AFP

And at nearly 70, Chen has become a role model for the whole of China, as the nation commands its masses to get fit and shed the fat.

She has also become a minor celebrity in recent months, as her unconventional love for the gym made national headlines.

Xinmin Evening News labelled Chen “hardcore grandma”, and Xinhua news agency nicknamed her “heavy-lifting granny”.

She even made appearances on television and national newspapers.

Image: YouTube

Tik Tok

And it appears that Chen has also become a hit on video-sharing platform Tik Tok.

According to Channel News Asia, Chen managed to attract a whopping 410,000 followers with her jaw-dropping exercise routines and constant encouragement for others to follow her example.

Image: Giphy From YouTube

One post of the pensioner performing a fast set of lung-busting squats and lunges, for instance, has been viewed more than 1 million times. A sure indicator of her popularity with the Tik Tok crowd.

How It All Started

Apparently, Chen had started going to the gym after a chance encounter with a personal trainer.

Prior to the meeting, she was reportedly worried about her deteriorating health and weight gain.

Months after she first started using the gym, she lost a significant amount of weight, and claims to have been granted a clean bill of health:

According to the news report, she had been struggling with a fatty liver, high blood pressure and eye cataracts.

Can’t Reach My Current Condition

Since then, Chen has stayed faithful to the weights scene.

She has also felt little inclination to join other aunties in “square dancing”.

“No matter how hard you square dance, you can’t reach my current condition,” said Chen.

And well, it does ring true. After all, one’s a cardiovascular exercise, and the other’s all about…

Weights.

Yet, Chen has a couple of wise quotes to share with the club:

“At our age it is not how much money you have,” said Chen. “Who you are, or how good your children are.

Also, it seems that though Chen started late…

She’s intent on continuing it till the end of the line.

“I will work out as long as I’m still alive,” Chen, who turned 68 this year, tells AFP at a Shanghai-located gym.

Image: YouTube

Well, what can I say?

The next time you or I make an excuse to skip the gym, just remember that somewhere in China…

An uber-fit granny is going real hard at the weights.

Age Is Just A Number

According to Channel News Asia, being ‘old’ does not mean that you have to cease all forms of exercise.

In fact, you should continue for your own personal well-being, as you’re essentially optimising your probability of living longer and ageing ‘successfully’.

Though just take note to prevent chronic overloading. As you get on with years, recovery after strenuous exercise tends to take longer. So make sure to exercise smart…

And you’ll reap the benefits of exercise, just like any other age spectrum.

You Can Watch Her Various Interviews Here:

Here’s one where she talks about her workout philosophy:

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Zhi Hao
Email: [email protected]