A 61-year-old says she is in the best physical condition of her life – and that people can’t believe her age.
Gina Kinsley is often mistaken for being half her age, despite never having used Botox or undergone any cosmetic facial surgery.
But it isn’t about looking younger for the fitness buff – it’s about the inner confidence that has come from trying to be the “best version” of herself at any age.
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Now, mum-of-two Gina says she is fitter than she was at 20, having strength trained for years and previously done CrossFit, and has discovered a confidence she wishes she had found decades earlier.
And she even enjoys the perks of her apparent youth – with younger men often approaching her.
“My husband is used to the attention, and honestly, he loves it,” Gina, a content creator from Texas, US, told What’s The Jam.
“He jokes that he’s known as ‘Gina’s husband’.
“He’s also used to people assuming he’s older than I am, even though he’s nine years younger.
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Younger men approach me occasionally, although it’s usually nothing blatant.
“Recently, a younger man at my gym walked all the way over to the rack where I was lifting to ‘borrow’ my five-pound weights and struck up a conversation.
“He came back several times.
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“I always wear my wedding ring, and I don’t encourage or give life to those subtle advances but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little flattering.
“It doesn’t bother my husband at all.
“I married a man who is always lifting me up and supporting everything I do.”
As well as in person, people online often guess Gina is in her 30s.
She added: “I definitely get the reaction in real life too.
“There is sometimes that pause, the wide eyes and the ‘Wait, how old are you?’ reaction when someone finds out I’m 61.
“I was doing a workout with another woman one time and she looked at me and said, ‘Boy, this is a lot for people our age.’
“I laughed and said, ‘How old are we?’. She said, ‘Thirty-five.’
“Then she looked at me and said, ‘Wait, am I older than you?’
“I was 55 years old at the time.
“I’ve actually experienced that most of my adult life, but I genuinely think I look and feel better now than I ever have.”
Gina works hard to maintain her physique, doing CrossFit and strength training for years, ditching alcohol, as well as eating “very simply and healthily”.
She said: “Physically, I take care of myself.
“It isn’t complicated or glamorous – it’s just consistency over a long period of time.
“[Another] thing that’s important to me is that I don’t use filters in my content, and I also have never had Botox or a facelift.
“I think people sometimes assume there has to be some hidden explanation when they see a woman in her 60s who looks younger than they expect, but for me, what people are seeing is really what I look like.”
But Gina admits that turning the milestone age was difficult for her at times.
She said: “For most of my life, I honestly didn’t think very much about age or aging.
“I definitely thought 60 was old [when I was younger].
“I pictured being retired, slowing down, probably being out of shape and not really caring very much about how I looked anymore.
“It wasn’t until I turned 60 that the number really hit me.
“There was a sadness that came with entering a new decade.
“For the first time, I became very aware that I had already lived more years than I probably had ahead of me.
“That realisation was difficult for me.
“But thankfully, because of who I am, I eventually found a way to turn that sadness into something completely different.
“Instead of disappearing, fading into the background or deciding that this part of my life was somehow supposed to become smaller, I decided to celebrate it.
“One of the biggest surprises is that I’m still getting stronger.
“At 61, I’m continuing to add weight to my lifts instead of simply trying to maintain what I already have.
“I don’t live with the daily aches and pains I once assumed automatically came with getting older, and I don’t take medication for any chronic health conditions.”
That came from starting to post videos embracing her age and celebrating confidence, as well as sharing her fitness journey, on social media – where she quickly found her people.
Gina said: “I began receiving thousands of comments and direct messages from women telling me that I had encouraged them.
“I never expected the response.
“Some told me they were changing the way they looked at exercise, health and taking care of themselves.
“Others said they had been afraid of getting older and were now actually looking forward to it.
“I even hear from women much younger than I am saying, ‘I hope I’m like you at 60,’ or that I’ve made them excited about getting older.
“That has probably been the most meaningful part of all of this.
“Something that began because I was struggling with turning 60 has turned into a celebration of aging, not just for me, but hopefully for other women too.
“If there’s one thing I hope women take from my story, it’s that aging doesn’t have to mean disappearing.
“I think women can sometimes feel as though there is an age when we’re supposed to become quieter, smaller or less visible. I don’t believe that anymore.
“At 61, I feel stronger, healthier and more confident than I ever have.
“I’m not trying to be 30 again.
“I don’t want to be 30 again.
“I am genuinely in the best shape of my entire life.
“I’m in better physical condition at 61 than I was in my 20s, 30s, 40s or even my 50s, which still blows my mind.
“But the biggest difference isn’t really physical – it’s confidence.”
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