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Once bodybuilders, Gold Coast couple breaking world records in their 80s

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Once bodybuilders, Gold Coast couple breaking world records in their 80s

David and Gioia Berry aren’t your typical octogenarians.

Rather than travelling the world, the 81-year-olds have opted to spend their retirement years breaking world records in fitness competitions.

“Our prime function is to try and stay as fit and healthy as we can for as long as we can,” Mr Berry said.

The pair already have an impressive list of achievements between them.

David currently holds three world records for various indoor rowing events in the men’s 75-to-79-year age category and another for the 100-metre sprint for his 80-84 age group, with a time of 17.9 seconds.

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Gioia, on the other hand, recently broke the world record on the SkiErg – short for skiing exercise machine – in the 80-to-84-year age category for 100 metres, clocking 25.5 seconds.

The Gold Coast couple, who have been married for more than 60 years, have no plans of slowing down either.

Mr and Mrs Berry have been training for the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)

They’ve spent the past few months training at their local gym and pool for the indoor rowing event at the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast this week.

“I do a split body routine: chest and triceps on a Monday; back and biceps on Wednesdays; and we do legs and arms as well as shoulders on Fridays — so that keeps us pretty busy,” Mr Berry said.

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On alternate days, they swim about a kilometre, followed by an ice bath for recovery.

“I used to do yoga and pilates but I can’t fit that in anymore because I’m trying to train for the Pan Pac games,” Mrs Berry said.

Bodybuilding after having kids

Despite their lifelong love for health and fitness, it wasn’t until they were in their late 30s that they decided to take it more seriously by opening a gym and entering body building competitions.

“I was training with weights in the backyard when I was 16 years of age, but I was pretty skinny then,” Mr Berry said.

“I trained reasonably hard up until I met Gioia [at 17 years], and then we got married [three years later in 1964], and we had kids, and everything went on hold for a few years, and we started again probably 10 years after we were married.”

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bride and groom

Mr and Mrs Berry on their wedding day in 1964. (Supplied: David Berry)

At 37, Mrs Berry entered the very first Miss Australia bodybuilding competition in 1990.

But Mr Berry said convincing his wife to compete was “a real challenge”.

“She was horrified but like a true champion she bit the bullet and lined up for the comp and did very well,” he said.

“She placed fourth out of about 25 girls, most of them aged between 19 and 22 … but she got the Most Outstanding Achievement Award.”

Mr Berry entered his first bodybuilding competition about a year later at 39 and won the masters category for his age group in the Mr Australia contest.

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He ended up going on to become the first person to also win the 50s, 60s and 70-year age categories.

man and woman at the beach

Mrs and Mr Berry at the beach in their late 50s. (Supplied: David Berry)

Mr Berry says despite being prone to injuries these days, he hopes they’ll be able to continue doing what they love together.

“So far, the future is looking good as we both are still breaking records in our age categories and certainly hope we can continue for a while yet,” he said.

‘Never too late to start exercising’

Bond University academic Kieran Le Plastrier says the couple are proof that it’s never too late to start exercising.

doctors portrait photo

Kieran Le Plastrier says people should not be deterred from exercising as they age. (Supplied: Bond University)

“It turns out the literature is pretty good in that it reminds us that even if we don’t make changes till our 30s, 40s or 50s … the things we do in our 40s can make a huge difference into our older age and even into advanced age, which is anybody over 80 years of age,” Dr Le Plastrier said.

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He encourages older people to prioritise resistance training, like lifting weights, because it reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and falls.

“Now, you don’t necessarily need to enter a competition and become a bodybuilder, but we know that resistance training actually leads to long-term health benefits,” he said.

“So what I would encourage us to all take away from this story is that no matter when we start, as long as we get started, we can improve our health outcomes into old age.”

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The overlooked key to fitness? Strengthening your joints and tendons

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The overlooked key to fitness? Strengthening your joints and tendons

Isometric exercises, like planks or lunge holds, require holding a position for an extended period. In these positions, your muscles are firing, but you’re also working on the alignment of the joint and working the tendon to hold that position, says Wulke. Ho adds that while ligaments and joints cannot technically be trained directly like tendons, you can support their health by strengthening the surrounding muscles and encouraging proper movement patterns.

Wulke often programs training days with a mix of goals for her athletes: “high” days for muscle and strength development and “low” days focusing on alignment, isometric holds, and mobility. But most people don’t have enough time to dedicate separate days for joint-specific work. Instead, try integrating these movements into your existing strength training sessions. Consider adding a few sets of isometric holds during your warm-up or as a finisher.

(Is cracking your joints bad for you?)

During your workouts, focus on the eccentric phase of your movements. Slow down and maintain control throughout the exercise to help you ensure proper form. You can also use higher reps and lower weight to reduce the risk of overstressing connective tissues.

Last, Hinson recommends incorporating low-impact exercises such as walking, cycling, Pilates, water aquatics, and yoga. “Taking care of and improving the structures that make the joints stronger and more flexible—it really will pay huge dividends in keeping [people] out of my office and away from injury,” he says.

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Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you

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Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you

Did you know that some popular exercises that we all do at the gym to stay fit and healthy may be doing more harm than good? Dr Venkatesh Movva, an orthopaedic doctor trained in Sports Medicine, sat down with Ranveer Allahbadia for The Ranveer Podcast, where he talked about the exercise one should avoid at the gym. The answers will surprise you.

Dr Venkatesh Movva, an orthopaedic doctor, in a podcast with Ranveer Allahbadia.

(Also Read | Ranbir Kapoor ‘decides to clap’ in between his pullups. Guess how Alia Bhatt reacted?)

Avoid doing these gym exercises now!

In the clip shared on The Ranveer Show Podcast Instagram page, with the caption, “Dr Venkatesh on Which Exercises you should Avoid in Gym?”, Ranveer asks Dr Movva which exercises he would recommend gymgoers to avoid as an orthopaedic doctor. He suggested three exercises which are quite popular among gymgoers aiming to get fit, lose weight or stay healthy. According to him, one should not do overhead exercises, deadlifts, and crunches.

Dr Movva stated in the clip, “Overhead, heavy [exercise]. I mean, you can go stretch, but no military press, number one. Number two crunches; avoid them. Number three, deadlifts. (sic)” To this, Ranveer replied, “So, I’d replace the military press because it’s for the anterior delts with just front raises.” As an alternative, Dr Movva suggested people to ‘bend down’ during such exercises. “You can go bend down, raise it [weights], rather than overhead (sic),” he said.

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While Ranveer, a fitness enthusiast himself, said that he would replace crunches with planks, Dr Movva suggested ‘planks and bridges’.

Lastly, for why one should avoid deadlifts, an exercise you must have seen many celebrities doing at the gym and fitness influencers pushing their followers to include in their routine, the orthopaedic doctor said, “I see more injuries than benefits with the deadlifts. If you are really well-trained and have a good muscle balance, do it. But if you are trying to get better, that’s one thing you may want to avoid. Because the risk of injury is very high. There are so many other exercises that you can compensate without doing these things.”

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

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Woman who shed 54 kg shares 7 back and bicep exercises that helped transform her body

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Woman who shed 54 kg shares 7 back and bicep exercises that helped transform her body

Carrying excess fat in your back and arms can cause health concerns for many. Sorting out this issue is important, not just for how you look, but also for your general health and ability to move around easily. If you are on a weight loss journey and looking for exercises to help you target these areas, worry not. We have found seven exercises to help you develop and tone your back and bicep muscles. The routine was shared on Instagram by Meredith Hutson, who shed 120 lbs (approximately 54 kg) naturally. Check out the exercise that helped her transform her body.

Woman, who lost 54 kg, shares back and bicep workout that helped her in her transformation.

(Also Read | Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you)

Back and bicep workouts to try

In the video, Meredith suggested exercises like the Smith machine or barbell mid-grip rows, outer curl into Zottman curl, cable rear delt fly, straight arm pulldowns, reverse seated rows, cable hammer curls, and cable lat pulldowns. She also demonstrated how to do each exercise in the clip and showcased modifications she added to make the routine effective.

The fitness influencer also had an inspiring message for those trying to lose weight or tone their muscles. She said, “Nobody saw my potential the way that I did…” Check out the exercises.

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According to Meredith’s video, each exercise targets different areas in your back and biceps. Talking about the Smith machine or barbell mid-grip rows, she said that the exercise targets your ‘middle back for a balanced development’. For the Zottman curl, she modified the exercise by adding an outer curl, which helped her target the long head of her biceps and forearms.

While the cable rear delt fly exercise (a personal favourite of the fitness coach) targets the real delts, upper back muscles, traps and rhomboid, the straight arm pulldown helps work out the rhomboid and ‘big muscles’ on the back, thus helping create the V shape.

As per Meredith, the reverse seated rows also target the rhomboid along with the traps, biceps, rear delts, and the ‘main muscle in our backs that helps us in doing pulling movements’. Lastly, the cable hammer curls work the entire upper arms ‘focusing on the front of the arms and the outside of the forearm’, while the cable lat pulldowns target ‘lats, rhomboid, traps, and biceps’.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.

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