Like a lot of women in the 1980s, I did my time in leotards and leg warmers working out to Jane Fonda's exercise videos on the lounge-room floor. Fast-forward 30 years and she's at it again, showing older women how to maintain flexibility, balance and strength with her DVD, Prime Time AM/PM Yoga for Beginners.
At 75, Fonda looks supple and strong. Watching her mix yoga with the use of dumbbells for strength, it strikes me she's something very rare: a role model for fit older women. Pick up a magazine or flick on the television and you'll see images of people in their 20s, 30s and 40s working out, but for the over 50s it's slim pickings.
Why does this matter? Because the invisibility of women in this age group who do anything more than gentle exercise sends a message: reaching the other side of 50 puts an end to strenuous activity that raises your heart rate.
Yet that's not the reality. At 52, Kay Poletto began running for the first time. In 2012, at age 56, she ran the 45-kilometre Great Ocean Road Ultra Marathon. She's one of a growing number of women over 50 who are signing up for running, triathlon and ocean swimming events with Can Too, an organisation that offers professional fitness training to participants in return for fund-raising for the Cure Cancer Australia Foundation.
''People at this age often think, 'I couldn't do that' but when you realise that you can it's transformative,'' says Poletto, an executive assistant from Drummoyne.
''If you can turn up for the first training session you're halfway there - it lets you see that the people you're training with are a mix of ages, shapes and abilities.''
Since Can Too began in 2005, the ages of participants has increased, says its founder, Annie Crawford.
''There's a groundswell of change. It's partly the 70-is-the-new-50 effect and the fact that 50 isn't seen as old in the same way it was a generation ago. Women are also having children at older ages so there are a lot of women in their 50s with teenagers and they need to be fit.''
In Perth, 71-year old Lynne Schickert will soon be in training for the 10-kilometre and 20-kilometre race walks at October's World Masters Athletics Championships in Brazil. She's one of almost 700 Australian women over 50 who train for Masters Athletics events, including three hammer-throwing 75-year-olds. ''Your time is slower but at 71 it's a good feeling to be able to do it,'' she says.
This doesn't mean everyone over 50 should be doing triathlons or tossing hammers, or that those older women who don't want to do more than walk should feel pressured to do more. But nor should we cut ourselves off from the idea of testing our limits or getting fitter.
''It's about starting off slowly, gradually increasing the distance and working on building the strength in your core muscles and legs to prevent injury,'' says Poletto, who believes that in the absence of more public role models, active older women can inspire others at a community level. ''On my pinboard I have a picture of Dorothy de Low playing table tennis in the World Masters Games at 99. She's my pin-up girl - that's how I want to be at 99.''
For Prime Time AM/PM Yoga for Beginners, see janefonda.com; for Can Too, see cantoo.org.au.
Paula Goodyer blogs at smh.com.au/chewonthis
