"he took it upon himself to nurse me back to health."
An Indian grandmother is inspiring the elderly and netizens with her weight training videos on social media.
Eighty-two-year-old Kiran Bai lifts weights, does squats and other strength-training exercises while wearing a saree.
She is a resident of Chennai and she has been involved in sports since childhood.
Kiran was part of sports competitions and her active lifestyle carried on into adulthood through her daily chores.
This included carrying buckets of water up flights of stairs and hand-grinding spices.
However, with her increasing age came health problems and in 2020, things worsened when she injured both legs after falling from her bed.
She then went on a path to recovery with her grandson, Chirag Chordia, a fitness trainer.
Kiran recalled: “I dreaded the sedentary lifestyle, following my fall.
“My road to recovery was long and I began to feel like my end was nearing despite support from family.
“Fortunately, my grandson is a gym trainer and he took it upon himself to nurse me back to health.
“It’s been three months since we started working out and there’s no looking back. I’m reminded of those good old days when I was fearless and active.”
The Indian grandmother embarked on a weight-training regime and she continues from the comfort of her living room.
She explained her introduction to weightlifting:
“First I started with 500g, then moved onto 10, 15kg and now I can lift 20kg of weight easily.”
Kiran stated that she wears a saree while training out of personal choice because people “can workout while wearing whatever they like”.
She said:
“I exercise and lift weights just to increase my strength and not feel weak.”
“If I don’t do anything then my body starts weakening.”
After going on her fitness journey to increase her strength, Kiran noticed a positive difference.
“Eventually, my body started functioning well.”
Kiran revealed that she works out three times a week and now, she can easily walk up a flight of stairs several times without feeling tired.
She said that her physical health has improved to such an extent that she is less reliant on medication.
Since the video went viral, Kiran hopes to inspire others to take up fitness.
She said: “You don’t need to be scared of working out.
“It hurts the first day but eventually, your body starts adapting. Even I feel pain for the first two hours but then I take rest and feel fine later.
“Making efforts towards something is our job, don’t be scared.
“Do it with all your heart and soul and not just for the sake of it.”
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