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How I Became Ripped at 70
Joan MacDonald’s path to fitness and Instagram stardom — and how she’s maintaining success at 80
Joan MacDonald
AARP (Courtesy Joan MacDonald; Getty Images)
Key takeaways
- Social media influencer Joan MacDonald continues to thrive after a lifestyle turnaround 10 years ago.
- Gradual progression — increasing reps, resistance or weight — helped her get stronger.
- Anyone can start to get fit at any age, she says.
Joan MacDonald’s health was less than optimal at age 70. She was 5 feet 3 and nearly 200 pounds and taking medications for high blood pressure, cholesterol and acid reflux. After a knee replacement, her mobility had been declining.
“I hated how I was living,” recalls MacDonald, now 80.
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Over the Christmas holiday in 2016, her daughter, Michelle, expressed concerns about her mother’s health. Then she offered to train her mother.
“It was strategic: She knows I'm always up for a dare, and I agreed to start training that January,” Joan says.
Joan joined a group of women who were learning to lift weights and eat a more balanced diet. She started with about 15 minutes a day of exercise, including cardio and light weights led by Michelle, a certified International Sports Sciences Association strength and conditioning coach. Every time she plateaued, Michelle bumped up her workouts, whether it was more resistance, weight or repetitions. Within six months, Joan dropped 40 pounds.
Soon after, Michelle encouraged her mother to get on Instagram so she could share her health journey — something Joan had reservations about at first but wound up doing.
Joan MacDonald demonstrates her skils.
Courtesy Joan MacDonald
“At first, I didn't hear from many people, but as I posted about fitness and continued to lose weight and get stronger, my account accumulated more and more followers,” says Joan, who has more than 2 million followers.
With the help of her daughter, she’s launched the Train With Joan app, which offers nutrition and exercise plans, recipe ideas and grocery shopping lists. The app also hosts challenges on social media to keep users engaged.
“Every day, I interact with people who are inspired by my story of turning my life around. I’m called an influencer now. When I joined the platform, I didn’t even know what an influencer was,” she says.
Now at 129 pounds, Joan takes blood pressure medicine only to manage a past kidney issue. The mother-daughter fitness pair are originally from Canada but now live together in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
What it takes to turn your health around
Exercise alone isn’t key to making a monumental lifestyle change. Other factors, like prioritizing sleep, good nutrition and water intake, are critical too, Joan says.
“It’s all together because you’re changing your whole lifestyle,” she adds.
Changing her eating habits was part of her transformation. Most days, Joan enjoys oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast. She eats about four to five meals a day, and her meals are largely a mix of protein, complex carbs, vegetables and healthy fats. She still dines out; she’s just become more judicious about what she orders.
When Joan hits the gym four to five days a week, she uses circuit training machines that keep her engaged. She enjoys riding her bike and performs other cardiovascular exercises. She also practices yoga and balance movements. Joan walks at least 10,000 steps a day and credits the beauty of the outdoors in Mexico for helping her stay active.
While anyone can work out at home, Joan likes the gym. “My generation wasn’t used to working in gyms,” she says, noting that they were typically considered to be only for men. You have to get around what you’ve been told most of your life to transform your life, she points out.
It’s imperative not to become stagnant by only doing the same exercises whenever you work out, Michelle explains. “You do need to progress with weights,” she says, meaning that you shouldn’t stick with the same routine. As you get stronger, move up gradually. Master each movement before you bump up to more reps, resistance or weights.
Machines at the gym are great because they can help you feel secure during the movement. Choose machines where you can gradually increase the weight or resistance, even by just a bit. Strength training is essential to combat age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, called sarcopenia, and older adults can do it, Michelle says.
Whether or not you hit the gym, record what you do so you can track your progress and know when to raise it, she advises.
Joan’s Favorite Moves to Stay Fit and Flexible
- Glute clamshell: Lie on your side with your knees bent and a loop resistance band around your thighs. With your feet together, raise your top knee. Hold, then lower. Do this 10 times, then switch sides and repeat.
- Glute kickback: Holding a chair, stand with your feet apart and a loop band above your ankles. Swing one leg straight behind you. Hold, then lower. Do this 10 times, then switch sides and repeat.
- Hip thrust: Sit on the floor with your knees bent, your feet flat and your shoulders propped against a bench. Raise your hips until your back is parallel to the floor. Hold, then lower your hips. Do this 10 times.
Finding community
Interacting with the community on Joan’s app and social media has kept her motivated and has given her new social connections as well.
“What I’m trying to do is give them [followers] hope that they’re not at the end of their life,” says Joan, who draws on her own transformation to inspire others. She wants people to know that they can improve themselves and that it’s never too late to start trying.
Breaking out of old patterns
“People sometimes tell me, ‘You're lucky having a daughter who's a coach.’ That is true, but I did the work,” Joan says.
Michelle is especially passionate about helping women in midlife realize their potential and combat the narrative that older women’s bodies are broken.
“We know that the female body is very pliable, even at an advanced age,” Michelle says, adding that it’s easy to stay healthy and independent. You just have to be consistent with your routine.
Making healthy lifestyle changes isn’t really hard, it’s just different, Joan says. “You’ve got to look at it in a different way.”
30-Day Couch-to-Fit Challenge
Ready to get started on your fitness journey? Join the Couch-to-Fit Challenge, 30 days of fitness videos that take no more than 15 minutes each. Improve your strength, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility and mobility, all while you earn up to 10,200 AARP Rewards points.
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
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