Think you’re too old to take up exercise and turn your life around? It’s never too late, and we’re about to prove it. At 70 years old, Joan MacDonald decided she did not want her health to keep narrowing her world. She had been overweight, easily out of breath, and managing blood pressure with medication while monitoring kidney failure. Daily movement felt difficult and limiting. She described that time vividly, saying, “I was huffing and puffing like a train engine. [...] Even getting up in the morning with arthritis felt like I would never be able to walk properly again”. Doctors were on the brink of increasing medication, and she felt trapped in a cycle of managing symptoms rather than improving her health and treating the root cause.
Her daughter introduced her to a group of women she was coaching to transform their lives, which included strength training, nutrition, and structured routines. The change was overwhelming at first. Learning how to train, how to eat differently, and how to balance recovery and hydration required patience. Technology, training plans, and new expectations were unfamiliar. Still, she committed to learning, travelling from Canada to Mexico to train with her daughter at times, and building habits gradually rather than chasing quick fixes and band-aids.
Over the following years, her health shifted in measurable ways. She lost significant weight, built strength, and, under medical supervision, came off medications for cholesterol and blood pressure; even her acid reflux disappeared. Movement became easier and more confident. Reflecting on that turning point, she explained, “I got enough weight off that I can move freely.”
Her motivation was never rooted in competition or appearance. It was grounded in curiosity and the desire to better her health. She often says, “I’m not doing it for competitions, I’m just doing it to keep healthy,” and the process became about discovering what her body could do rather than proving anything to anyone.
Joan MacDonald, before and after being active.
Aging, menopause, and the biology of movement
As women age, muscle mass declines and bone density reduces, particularly through menopause when hormonal changes accelerate both processes. Muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone density (osteopenia) is lost after the age of 30, worsening as we age.
• Adults lose 3-8% of muscle mass per decade after age 30
• After age 50, the rate accelerates to 1-2% loss per year
• After age 60, strength declines even faster, up to 3% per year
These small percentages might not sound like a lot, but when added up together over the span of a woman’s life, by age 60 you can lose between 15-30% of your muscles, and by age 70 that’s between 25 – 50% muscle loss. Bone density follows a similar pattern, with a total loss of 15-25% by age 60 and 25-40% bone density loss by age 70 – that's almost half!
These changes increase the risk of osteoporosis, arthritis, and reduced mobility. Strength training and regular exercise are among the most effective ways to counter these effects because strength training stimulates bone formation, preserves and grows muscle, and supports joint stability while improving balance and cardiovascular health.
Research on menopause and exercise consistently shows that strength training helps protect independence later in life. Maintaining muscle supports everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs, lifting, and standing for longer periods. Bone density benefits are equally important, as stronger bones reduce the risk of fractures that can drastically affect quality of life and can be the difference between walking to the grocery shop, and being bed-bound.
Joan’s experience reflects the research. She moved from stiffness, limited movement and hesitation to strength confidence in her body. She described how activity influenced her day-to-day life, saying, “I can do things a lot easier, and I’m not afraid to try.” Strength allowed her to participate in physically demanding experiences that many assume are out of reach in later life, including adventurous activities she would never have attempted before building her fitness, like spending her 75th birthday on a long zipline.
The real challenge with exercising
One of the most significant challenges she described was not lifting weights or learning exercises, but developing the mindset to keep going. Nutrition planning, hydration, sleep, and consistency required as much effort as training itself. She explained that progress is rarely perfect, saying, “You’re not going to have perfection all the time and you’re only likely to get perfection once in a blue moon. But you just have to keep trying and it’s a work in progress all the time.”
She also emphasised the importance of believing change is possible, particularly for women who have spent years being conditioned to step back from physical challenges. “It’s the mindset that has probably been the hardest; getting really into a mindset where you think you can do it, you deserve it.”
Movement became central to her daily routine because she noticed how inactivity affected her body. “Movement is the key to getting off medication,” she said, explaining that stiffness would set in quickly if she stayed still for too long, even with years training. Staying active supported both physical health and mood, reinforcing her commitment to training.
Joan MacDonald, before and after being active.
The barriers women still face
Even with clear evidence about the benefits of exercise, many women struggle to take part consistently. Confidence, access, time, and discomfort during activity all play a role. But unexpectedly for most, one of the most frequently reported barriers is breast pain (1 in 5) and breast movement during exercise.
Research led by the University of Portsmouth Research Group in Breast Health has shown that breast discomfort is among the leading reasons women avoid or limit physical activity. Women may reduce intensity, avoid certain movements, or stop exercising altogether when support is inadequate.
This is not a small issue. When exercise feels uncomfortable or painful, participation drops, and the health benefits linked to regular movement become harder to access.
Where Tigers Eye fits into the picture
Tigers Eye exists to reduce barriers that prevent women from living active lives. Our focus is on solving practical problems that stop women from moving, particularly breast movement and discomfort during activity. We combine research, field testing, and real experiences from female athletes and women working in demanding roles to design support that enables movement rather than restricting it.
Our work extends beyond product design. Education about breast health, exercise, and aging helps women understand what their bodies need and why movement matters. Scientific research, lived experience, and real-world stories sit at the centre of this approach, because access to information can be just as important as access to equipment.
When women are supported with knowledge and practical science-backed solutions, the pathway to activity becomes more realistic and more sustainable.
Strength later in life opens doors, not limits
Joan’s story challenges the idea that aging means stepping back. Her progress came through consistency, support, and a willingness to learn and improve rather than perfection. She continues to train because it supports the life she wants to live, not because she is chasing an image or external goal.
She speaks openly about wanting to keep living fully and avoiding the physical decline she witnessed in others, saying, “I want to go out kicking and screaming, I don’t want to go out curled up in a ball in a senior home. I saw what it did to my mum and I don’t want that for myself”. Strength and movement, for her, are tied to independence and the ability to continue experiencing the world on her own terms.
Her journey reflects a wider truth. Exercise supports bone density, muscle strength, mental wellbeing, and long-term independence. Removing the barriers that prevent women from participating in exercise is essential, whether those barriers are physical discomfort, lack of support, or limited access to accurate information.
Empowering women to move is not only about fitness. It is about health, longevity, and the freedom to live actively at every stage of life.
Sources used in this blog:
Burnett, E., White, J., & Scurr, J. (2015). The influence of the breast on physical activity participation in females. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12(4), 588–594. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2013-0236
Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., Bahat, G., Bauer, J., Boirie, Y., Bruyère, O., Cederholm, T., Cooper, C., Landi, F., Rolland, Y., Sayer, A. A., Schneider, S. M., Sieber, C. C., Topinková, E., Vandewoude, M., & Visser, M. (2021). Factors influencing the efficacy of nutritional interventions on muscle mass in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 79(3), 315–330. https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article-abstract/79/3/315/5919684
Padilla Colón, C. J., Molina-Vicenty, I. L., Frontera-Rodríguez, M., García-Ferré, A., Ponce Rivera, B., Cintrón-Vélez, G., & Frontera-Rodríguez, S. (2018). Muscle and bone mass loss in the elderly population: Advances in diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Biomedical Science, 3, 40–49. https://doi.org/10.7150/jbm.23390
Warming, L., Hassager, C., & Christiansen, C. (2002). Changes in bone mineral density with age in men and women: A longitudinal study. Osteoporosis International, 13(2), 105–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001980200001
Squat University. (2021, July 5). Interview with Joan MacDonald [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvH6v3BYogc
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