G<\/span>inny MacColl never played a competitive sport until her 60s. From the third grade to her 30s, she was a trained dancer\u2014eventually landing an understudy role on Broadway\u2019s Pippin<\/em> within the \u201870s.<\/p>\n Then, at age 63, she took up obstacle courses. \u201cI used to be inspired by my daughter, Jessie Graff<\/a>\u2014who’s been on American Ninja Warrior<\/em> for 10 seasons now,\u201d MacColl says. \u201cI saw how strong, healthy, and delightful she looked\u2014and I desired to be strong, in order that’s how this whole ninja thing began.\u201d<\/p>\n On the behest of the American Ninja Warrior<\/em> casting department, who had seen her in a segment understanding alongside Graff, MacColl competed in her first Ninja obstacle course on the show six years ago.<\/p>\n Now 71, MacColl<\/a> recently set a Guinness World Record<\/a> because the world\u2019s oldest competitive ninja athlete who’s a lady.<\/p>\n As we chat about her accomplishments on a video call, MacColl shares a bit of wisdom she\u2019s learned over her seven many years. \u201cIt’s never too late to begin,\u201d she tells Well+Good with a confident smile on her face. \u201cThere are people of their 80s and 90s which are finding great abilities in strength training just using resistance bands<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have got to consider in yourself and what you’ll be able to do,\u201d MacColl adds. \u201cThe mental component, I feel, is considered one of the toughest things in all of this. But you must find your passion, commit to it, and make it a habit.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In her six years competing within the highly physical game show, MacColl has needed to perfect a workout routine that helps support her goal of being strong and keeping movement in her life. \u201cMoving parts don\u2019t rust,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Unnecessary to say, it takes numerous time, effort, and discipline to be a ninja athlete. MacColl works out five to 6 days every week, then prioritizes rest on the times she isn\u2019t within the gym or at an obstacle course. Here\u2019s what her regimen looks like:<\/p>\n Let it’s known that the oldest female ninja athlete on the earth loves workouts that help improve her balance<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBalance work is so hard and so essential for our quality of life,\u201d says MacColl. To that end, she\u2019ll practice yoga a pair times every week to strengthen, stretch, and construct her muscles. \u201cI used to be becoming too tight and never as flexible as I was once\u2014which might be age, too,\u201d she adds. Taking on an everyday yoga practice has helped combat that.<\/p>\n MacColl breaks up her strength training between push workouts (i.e. movements that require you to push upward or outward) that concentrate on her chest, triceps, and shoulders, and pull days, which concentrate on her back and biceps\u2014aka the pulling muscles. \u201cI\u2019ll do TRX training<\/a> and numerous work on my back because that\u2019s what you must do pull-up,\u201d MacColl says.<\/p>\n And he or she\u2019s careful to not neglect leg workouts. \u201cI can\u2019t say I like<\/em> squats, but I do them,\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cI work on jumps and lunges for explosive power. I\u2019ll also go up and down the steps or hop on the elliptical,\u201d she says. \u201cI like to alter it up.\u201d<\/p>\n “I can not say I like<\/em> squats, but I do them.” \u2014Ginny MacColl<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n MacColl does cardio workouts 4 times every week, typically by swimming. \u201cI\u2019ll swim with a club and a coach,\u201d she says. (The truth is, the morning of our interview, MacColl was at her swim club.) She also swims competitively on the National Senior Games<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a competitor on American Ninja Warrior<\/em>, MacColl hits an outside obstacle course twice every week to maintain those skills fine-tuned.<\/p>\n Once I ask MacColl for considered one of her favorite workouts, she mentions a five-step core exercise\u2014which she lights up talking about. This series, she says, has her \u201cdying by the top of the workout.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how she does it:<\/p>\n
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Ninja athlete Ginny MacColl, 71, shares her workout regimen<\/h2>\n
Balance work<\/h3>\n
Strength training<\/h3>\n
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Cardio<\/h3>\n
Agility on the obstacle course<\/h3>\n
The exercise that MacColl swears by to maintain her core strong<\/h2>\n