Maxwell woman still pumping iron at 90
Common sense dictates that a man never ask a lady her age or her weight. Luckily, Elsie Brown readily admits to being 90 years old, and it is the subject of weight that makes her anything but common.
For roughly five years now, the Maxwell nonagenarian has been lifting weights late afternoons in the Maxwell High School weight room, and she shows no signs of slowing down.
Elsie, who has lived at the same Maxwell address for 72 years and was married to former Maxwell fire chief Marion Brown, began her weight-training regimen approximately five years ago. Discussion during a senior-citizen lunch turned to the exercise program at Maxwell High. Sponsored by the Maxwell Parks and Recreation Department, volunteer Kathy Jones has run the program for more than 12 years.
Jones found research indicating the elderly could greatly benefit from weight training, so she presented the idea to Sandy Cabral, president of Maxwell Parks and Recreation. The department applied for and received a state grant and donated some new weight machines, and Jones then advertised the program as being “open to ages 10-110.” Elsie said that since she fit into that age range, she decided to give it a try.
“It really makes a difference in how I get around,” Elsie said. “When I don’t go (to weight training), I can tell I haven’t been there.”
She normally works out between 5 and 6 p.m. on school days, when Jones opens up the weight room. It is there that Elsie puts in the reps that help her stay sharp and mobile.
“The most noticeable is in my legs. I can maneuver much easier,” she said.
Elsie maintains a spring in her step, even if the years have dimmed her vision or slowed her memory a bit.
“I watch a lot of television that impresses the importance of exercise being a help with mental ability,” she said. “I have a little bit of a problem with memory, but I think exercise is a good way to keep trying to be as efficient as I can.”
Elsie also prefers the efficient route when it comes to her workouts – which consist mostly of work on the leg machines – as she said she gets in and gets out, without spending a lot of time hanging around.
She does, however, enjoy socializing with Jones in the weight room.
“Kathy is not just a helpful person in the exercise area, she’s also anxious to encourage development in other areas too,” Elsie said. “It’s also nice to just visit with her. It goes beyond exercise, it’s the whole person she’s interested in.”
And interesting is certainly a word that describes Elsie, who was diagnosed with colon cancer five years ago and had six inches of her colon removed as a result. She said that not even that affected her weight lifting.
Elsie remains committed to keeping weight lifting a part of her lifestyle, because as she put it, “If you don’t do it, you’re going to lose it!”
Contact Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or sports@tcnpress.com.
