MANY 70-year-olds may be spending their days in relaxing retirement, but not Mary Clayton.

    The great-grandmother from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, gets to the gym at 4:30 a.m. six days a week to train for bodybuilding competitions.

    Her hard work has paid off, too, as she won the over-60s section of the International Natural Body Building Australia Queensland Titles and is heading to the national titles this weekend.

    Clayton spent four months training for the competition, eating smaller portions of her usual protein-rich diet — which includes a lot of veggies — and training more.

    “I lost 4 kilograms,” she said. “I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle anyway, but I just cut my portions down.”

    The 70-year-old isn’t new to bodybuilding, having previously competed in her late 30s and early 40s.

    Clayton said that she decided to go back to competitions to stay active, both physically and mentally.

    “It’s something to focus on,” she said. “I’m proud I can go on stage at this age in a bikini.”

    She competes in the “figure” class of the competition, which is about definition and isn’t as full on as the bodybuilding class. This also means it’s not as glitzy.

    “It’s more about the body, not about the costume,” the great-grandmother explained. “Bikini class is more glitz and glamor, where in the figure class you have to have definition.”

    After winning the over-60s title, Clayton is now heading to the Australian titles in Sydney this coming Sunday. She hopes to come off with a win, but says that for her the thrill is in the competition.

    And she encourages other older people to exercise more and get involved in weights too, saying it’s not as hard as they might think.

    “We lose muscle as we get older, so it’s about trying to maintain that muscle,” she explained.

    “You can start at any age, I don’t work out heavy, I just do what suits my body. A lot of young people in the gym put me to shame but my body can’t do that so I don’t worry.”

    (SD-Agencies)