83-Year-Old Weightlifter: "Throw Away That Walker!"

At nearly 84, Winifred Pristell, grandmother of two and great-grandmother of three, is a testament to living healthy at any age. Pristell has been weightlifting and powerlifting since her 60s. She currently holds 17 world records and numerous state and American records. She has also been inducted into the Washington State Powerlifting Hall of Fame as well as the New York Powerlifting Hall of Fame.

In fact, Pristell competed at the Nationals on May 14th of this year and got the gold medal for the female best lifter award and a gold medal for bench press and deadlift.

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and athletic in her youth, Pristell's lifestyle eventually slowed down. Before she knew it, she was obese. But with the encouragement of her daughter, she became re-interested in fitness at 48.

At 47, the 5-foot-5-inch-tall woman was dangerously obese, weighing 235 pounds — a body mass index of about 40. A body mass index of 25 is considered overweight; obesity starts at 30.

Since then, she’s dropped five dress sizes and is a comparatively nice 180 pounds.

The weight just crept up on her, she says. She was working long hours, eating poorly and drinking and smoking too much.

One day while taking a bath, Pristell remembers feeling as though she was dying.

She asked her daughter, Cynthia, if she would walk with her.

“I couldn’t walk but a block that first time,” she says.

Every morning the two walked together, a little farther each day. Within a year, Pristell was up to three miles, five days a week.

That’s about the point she walked into a gym for the first time in her life. She tried aerobic exercises, stationary bikes, and other machines and contraptions.

Years would pass before she tried free weights and more than a decade before she began lifting weights competitively at the age of 60.

After meeting her mentor, Jim Schall, a former coach and teacher, who himself has held deadlift records for his age and weight class for over 10 years, that's when everything changed. With his help, Pristell won her first competition, becoming state champion at the 10th Annual Alki Beach Bench Press and Deadlifting Championship. One month later, she broke the world record for her age and weight category.

weightlifting — (photo credit: winifredpristell.com)

Surprisingly, Pristell has arthritis in the soles of her feet, her back and legs, and before she made that drastic change to her current lifestyle, she was barely mobile. She advises any senior in a walker or a wheelchair that with the “proper exercise, nutrition and fitness regimen, anyone can get up out of that wheelchair or throw away that walker. If you want to accomplish that, you can!" She adds: “Find something that you love and keep on doing it, be consistent and never give up. I’m never going to stop!”

Her motto: “Look at me! I did it, and so can you!”

Pristell's formula for staying fit is exercising on a regular basis and eating healthy – no junk food! In fact, in her spare time, Pristell loves to cook, and only eats out when coerced by family and friends.

When asked why she loves weightlifting so much, the triple-crown title holder just smiles and says, "I don't like dead weight. If it's dead weight, then get it off me."

In her spare time, Pristell loves to cook and only eats out when coerced by family and friends, as she’d rather stay home and cook herself. She has arthritis in the soles of her feet, her back and legs, and before she made that drastic change to her current lifestyle, she was barely mobile. She advises any senior in a walker or a wheelchair that with the “proper exercise, nutrition and fitness regimen, anyone can get up out of that wheelchair or throw away that walker; if you want to accomplish that, you can!” She quips, “Look at me; I did it and so can you!”

Her formula for staying fit is to exercise on a regular basis and to eat healthy – no junk food – at least three times a day. She herself eats several small healthy meals throughout the day in between her daily training schedule. Her goals are simple and straightforward: To keep on doing what she’s been doing for the last 13 years and to stay consistent.

Her advice to others, including seniors her age, to be as healthy, happy and self-sufficient as her? “Find something that you love and keep on doing it, be consistent and never give up,” as Pristell also says, “I’m never going to stop!”