The 72-year-old ‘fitness grandmother’ lifts weights 5 days a week

Ms. Lin Sui-tzu is known as the “bodybuilding grandmother”, according to SCMP on December 17. Even though she is a grandmother of five grandchildren, Ms. Lin still confidently wears a bikini and strides on stage at the 2025 President’s Cup Bodybuilding Championship. She impressed the judges and audience with her toned body, clear muscle lines and confident smile.

Before getting into bodybuilding, Ms. Lin worked as a diabetes health education specialist at the Community Living Center in Taipei. For decades, she has advised patients on how to control high blood pressure and diabetes through diet and exercise. But many people cannot follow through and often blame it on being too busy and not having time. To convince them, Ms. Lin decided to lift weights at the age of 69, initially just for the purpose of getting practical with the endurance exercises she originally recommended for the elderly.

“I used to think weightlifting was just about building huge muscles, but I soon realized that it focuses more on muscle health and firmness,” magazine Common Health quoted Ms. Lin sharing.

During the pandemic, Ms. Lin happened to meet Mr. Chen Kong-Wen, Vice President of the Chinese Taipei Fitness Association, and began her professional training journey. In just a few years, she had a body that many people admired.

“In addition to feeling younger and enjoying life more, the biggest effect is that I can encourage patients to exercise. If they ask me if I exercise, I just need to show the photo of me competing and they have no reason to avoid it anymore,” she happily said.

According to the news site ELTA Sports FamilyMs. Lin started competing on bodybuilding stages in 2023. Through each tournament, her performance skills improved, proving her persistent efforts on the path of health training. Mrs. Lin’s transformation surprised her family, especially her five grandsons. She said: “Once, while bathing my grandson, he saw my figure and exclaimed: ‘It’s true that Wonder Woman is undefeated’. At that time, I both laughed and felt a little proud in my heart.”

Her husband, Mr. Chen Bingjian, a famous cardiologist, supported his wife’s fitness journey. He said maintaining a regular exercise routine is extremely important, especially in Taiwan, where many people are struggling with problems with blood pressure, blood sugar, high cholesterol and diabetes. “Endurance exercises like this bring great benefits to the body,” Mr. Chen shared.

To get a toned figure, in addition to strictly controlling the menu, Ms. Lin exercises weights regularly for an hour every morning from Monday to Friday. Her diet prioritizes whole foods and cuts down on starch. In addition, Ms. Lin also maintains an active lifestyle through yoga, dancing and painting.

“I hope that even when I’m old, I can still teach people to paint, dance and lift weights in a nursing home,” she expressed.

Ms. Lin said many patients often lament “what’s the point of living a long life if there’s nothing to do?” At those times, she often reassured them that the second half of life is still very long, as long as we are willing, it is never too late to learn new things and improve our body, mind and soul.

The story of this grandmother attracted many comments on social networks. Most expressed admiration for Ms. Lin’s discipline and youthful appearance. One person wrote: “Is she really 72 years old? She looks at least 20 years younger.” Another person claiming to be an employee of the gym where Ms. Lin went to practice confirmed: “Every morning I see her coming to practice alone. To prepare for the tournament and have such clear muscle lines, she had to squeeze her fat down to single-digit levels and follow an extremely strict water-cutting regimen.”