If this Instagram account is about to prove anything, it’s that age is most certainly nothing but a number. Joan MacDonald is 74 and proud, but most importantly, she’s gone through a fitness transformation so inspiring, she has over 702,000 fans.
Joan lost a significant amount of weight (over 29 kilo) by embracing fitness, and even in her non fitness pics, you can tell that she lives life to the fullest. Her bio reads “you can’t turn back the clock but you can wind it up again” and her spontaneous, #yolo mentality made us fall completely in love with her.
Joan often posts videos of herself doing workouts in various settings, with leggings and bra outfit sets that rival your favorite fitness influencers. Not only is this babe’s form impeccable, but she just started learning how to barbell squat!
Some people might be afraid to get older, but Joan has us excited to tick off the years. She’s a full blown warrior and proof that women can really do it all if they put their mind to it. Also, Michele Obama would be proud of her arms.
At one point in life Joan was on tons of medications for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, while dealing with knee surgery recovery and arthritis. Overall, she wasn’t happy and realized something had to change. Hence the transformation into muscular Wonder Woman.
Unlike some people think, the beautiful Joan isn’t taking any hormone replacement therapies or artificial enhancements – she’s just found the magic art of being consistent, increasing intensity, and working hard on your technique. She wakes up at 7am and works out first thing in the morning to hold onto focus.
Often, we’re told that we shrink and lose muscle in our old age. Joan is proof that you can defy that stereotype with enough drive and work. Natural muscle deterioration is known as sarcopenia, and is often age-related, but can be fought with exercise.
Joan isn’t just about exercise – she keeps a healthy and nutritious diet with a focus on balance. She eats approximately five meals a day and frequently posts eats to her Instagram, such as healthy pumpkin hotcakes topped with icing, and rice noodles with hoisin sauce and quick sautéed frozen green beans.
Joan isn’t afraid to surround herself with younger queens in the fitness community. She’s all about supporting versus competing with other women, and is a mentor of sorts with her bevy of life experience. We love that she’s so confident and it just enhances her appearance of strength.
Her website showcases her staggering transformation and her story – we’re waiting for the Joan MacDonald autobiography, but until then, this will have to do. She’s working on an e-book that’s coming soon, according to the site!
Joan can inspire moves at home, at the gym, or when you’re traveling. Her drive pushes us to be our best selves, and we hope that it does the same for you. Not only is she a fitness inspiration, but she is a beacon of self-love and self-acceptance, which certainly isn’t easy in the airbrushed world we live in today.
There’s no such thing as. A time in life where it’s too late to change, and MacDonald shows that. Even if you’re on meds, feeling helpless, or in a place of low self esteem, you can always fix that, and physical activity goes a long way in making that change.
It makes sense – change is, in a sense, when you keep moving. When you are stagnant and still, that’s when things become the same and life turns into a not so pleasant version of Groundhog Day.
If we can get our booties and abs to look as good as Joan’s in our 40s and 50s, that’ll be a milestone that any woman should feel proud of. We also need the deets on these outfits ASAP.
Sometimes, Joan talks about how she was first slow at building up to her workouts, and there’s absolutely no shame in that. Today, she’s all about consistency in her routine, and her workouts. Consistency is very helpful for mental health (especially during quarantine) and this influencer is a good reminder of that.
If you’re reading this and shaking your head with a personal excuse, remember the health struggles that Joan went through, and that she could barely bend her knees. Today, with powerful squats and deadlifts, she’s absolutely slaying her workouts.
This fitness guru’s daughter and son-in-law also help run her business team, making for the cutest family business we’ve ever seen. From 200 pounds to fitness mag cover star, Joan MacDonald is our hero forever, and has us celebrating our own golden years, future or present.