“Would I be good enough? Strong enough? Tough enough?”
That was Linda at 57, watching her daughter Katie coach a gym full of lifters. She’d just moved back from Kauai and was absorbing the energy of the gym from the sidelines. What she saw sparked something: strength. Confidence. Power. And she wanted in.
Now, at 66 years young, Linda is in some of the best shape of her life.
She’s modest about it, but we’re not. Linda strings together pull-ups like it’s no big deal. Her arms could out-flex most 30-year-olds. She navigates her two-story house with confidence thanks to consistent knees-over-toes training, and she deadlifts like someone who knows exactly how to take care of her back (and everyone else’s).
But the real story? It’s in what she’s overcome—and how she’s used each bump in the road to deepen her self-awareness and connection to her body. For Linda, fitness isn’t just about stronger muscles—it’s about building intention, presence, and trust in what her body can do. Her journey proves that working out isn’t just physical—it’s a pathway to understanding yourself on a deeper level.
Grief. Illness. Surgery. A PMR diagnosis that came with a steroid treatment plan and a warning: she’d lose strength, maybe even stop working out entirely.
She didn’t accept that.
Instead, she learned to pace herself. To listen closer to her body. To modify—not quit. A year later, she hasn’t just maintained her strength. She’s gained muscle. And confidence.
“Staying strong, in spite of life, is my greatest achievement,” she says.
Linda is also a grandma, a quiet cornerstone of our gym community, and the person behind many of our birthday cards and letters. She shows up with kindness, encourages others without fanfare, and leads by example.
She reminds us all that getting older doesn’t mean fading out. It means finding your own lane, and running in it with everything you’ve got.
Her advice?
“If you don’t, what will change? If you do, what could change? No decision is a decision. Basically: shut up your head and try it.”
Linda, you are a badass in every sense. We’re proud to lift beside you.
