Silver and Strong bodybuilder Ilene Block on starting a 60+ fitness revolution

By Dixie Laite, Age Against the Machine columnist

Aging is not for the faint of heart, often literally. When I thought about getting older (which I, sadly, never did #sunscreen) I guess I just assumed I’d be the same me — only, well, older. I don’t know what I expected but I do know what I never expected. As a runner and bodybuilder, I thought I’d go on running and weightlifting. I thought my future held not only more muscles and marathons, but that they’d be bigger and faster. Like with most things at which one practices — a language, a musical instrument, lying — you get better over time. Similarly, one of the foundations of fitness is improvement. You run long distances, and over time those distances will get longer and easier. You bench press 70 pounds today, with consistent training you’ll one day bench 100 pounds. You get better over time, or at least you bravely maintain what you’re able to do.  I didn’t think about the fact that one day I might stop improving. And it never entered my mind that one day I wouldn’t be able to do it at all.

No more races for me. Forget getting up at 5 am to run; now it hurts to walk.  My knees, back, (and now my shoulders) make squatting, bending, and sometimes just reaching for the remote exercises in pain that have me producing a noise or curse word my parrot enjoys repeating. This once Sporty Spice is now Crippled Crone, for whom getting out of a chair is often a challenge. I took my strength and mobility for granted, but I keenly feel their absence. I feel sad, helpless, and, clearly, disgustingly sorry for myself. But there is nothing more boring than self-pity (though golf seems a close second) so I wanted to try and focus on what little I can do, instead of all the things I can’t do. On the lookout for workouts for women past their prime, I found several people insisting this age can be women’s fitness prime, especially if you’re new to the game.

One such woman is Ilene Block, who started seriously weightlifting in her 60s and is now a powerhouse, sharing what she knows to support and teach others. Buoyed by her social media popularity (find her @SilverandStrong on Instagram) Ilene is building an online presence, and soon a podcast. On top of her daily workouts and prolific social media posts, Ilene is a full-time lawyer specializing in negotiations.

Despite her busy schedule of lawyering, baking and body-building, Ilene took time out to call me from Hawaii.

Ilene’s fitness journey began on her 61st birthday.

Dixie:  Ilene, you are such an amazing woman. There are women like yourself who inspire others by example. You started your serious program of bodybuilding and fitness after turning 60, and at age 63 you are lifting mind-blowing weights and entering bodybuilding competitions. And if that weren’t enough, now you are extending your inspirational power and impact with SilverandStrong.com. How would you describe what Silver and Strong is, and what made you decide to add this to your already full plate?

Ilene: The newsletter and blog will be followed by the launch of the Silver and Strong podcast in August of this year. It will cover issues similar to those listed above. At least half of them will focus on how the topic affects women who are past menopause. We are a growing group, and we will revolutionize what it means to age in good health and vibrancy. 2024 will bring nutrition and exercise coaching services, bi-monthly group calls on relevant topics, often with guest speakers; exercise training videos, recipes, and member highlights.

llene’s goal for Silver and Strong is to create an online community that connects midlife women.

Dixie: In one sentence, how would you describe the Silver and Strong brand? I know it is a website with tentacles on a variety of platforms, but it’s so much more than its various parts.

Ilene: Silver and Strong is leading the revolution to show that 50+ year old women can age in good health, have superior fitness and live a life filled with vitality and joy.

Dixie: What are your goals for Silver and Strong? What will be your metric for success?

Ilene: My goal is to create an online community that really connects midlife women with each other on numerous levels. We are a growing group – us gals who are interested in staying active, eating healthy, challenging ourselves to try new things in our “third act.” If you believe what you see on social media, once you make it through menopause, it appears you either live a life filled with horrible health issues or you just disappear altogether. That’s not me nor the group of women who have become my online community through the last three years of my transformation. Many of us don’t have anyone in our physical proximity who has chosen to live this healthy and fit lifestyle, so we’ve congregated on line and on zoom calls and in Facebook groups. Silverandstrong.com’s aim is to provide a resource filled, interactive community for all those women.

Dixie: In addition to showing older women they shouldn’t be afraid of weight training and in fact, they should embrace it, you advocate a diet based on macros, not calories. What else should women expect to find with your new website and upcoming podcast?

Ilene: We all know we need to exercise, but we also need to take care of our mental health and our spirit. We will have information and classes on mindset and meditation as well. The podcast, which will be able to be accessed from the website, will look at issues that would appeal to anyone who wants to stay fit and healthy, but many will focus on or make sure to cover issues that may be of more interest to women as they age such as how best to warm up before lifting weights, what are some tips to be able to lift weights safely and not get injured, what are the best things to do for recovery after weight training, what are the best products to help retain skin elasticity. We’ll also talk about topics such as best workout clothes, lifting shoes, lifting accessories, goal setting, living independently as we age, etc. I am not advocating everyone needs to lift like me or do a bodybuilding contest (or two!) or be a power lifter (which I am not), but I am advocating that ALL women lift weights. Muscles are magic and weight training, particularly when coupled with a macro-based diet, is the fountain of youth.

Ilene says that lifting heavy weights five days weekly is key to her overall fitness.

Dixie:  A lot of women are in our position, trying to work out (no pun intended) what to do with this “third chapter” of our lives? Many of us want to find our purpose, open a business, take charge of our bodies. You have done ALL three. Any advice or tactics you can share to help women who are facing these “third chapter” challenges? 

Ilene: What a great question! I had no idea I’d be where I am today when I started this transformation journey on the date of my 61^st birthday. As I learned to eat in a new way and workout with a new focus and intensity, I began to think about some of the things I wanted to do that I thought had passed me by. One of those things was to compete in a body building show. I had really wanted to do that in my 30s and 40s, but working 50-60 hours a week and having two small kids at home made that impossible. Those challenges no longer existed, so I approached a well-known bodybuilding coach who had coached women in their 50s to the stage, but never anyone in their 60s, and I asked him if he wanted a challenge.  He said “Let’s to it”! And we did. That experience did two things – it helped me get comfortable with being uncomfortable and it showed me I could do what I had previously thought was “impossible”, which begged the question “What else can I do that I thought was impossible“? Silver and Strong — and all  it will offer — came out of that thought.

Here are two things that women can think about to start something new in this third chapter:

• Am I willing to get comfortable being uncomfortable? No challenge, no change. By our age, most of us have a pretty comfortable life. It can be scary getting uncomfortable, but that is where the new experiences are.

• At our age, we have a lot of wisdom, maturity, and likely more financial resources than we did when we were younger. I’d ask each women this question: If you could do anything you wanted to do/be anything you wanted to be — what is that? I’d take a serious look at that and then decide, COULD you do it now if you put the time and effort, and likely money in? Are you willing to do the work to try? It can be terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

I can tell you, when I stepped on stage at the first of my two shows, in that itty bitty sparkly bikini, as the oldest women at the entire show, I WAS truly terrified and exhilarated. It was one of the best things I ever did for myself at any age and I was 63. Like you, I am a badass woman and I think all of us gals, once we hit our 50’s have the knowledge, experience and confidence to find our badass selves and take control of our lives to live that healthy, fit, happy vibrant life as we continue to age.

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PS: You might enjoy reading:

What it’s like for a former female bodybuilder to lift weights after menopause

After years of body image struggles, BodyGroove is teaching me to love my body

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Dixie Laite has been a second-grade teacher and mechanical bull operator, and for the past 25 years she’s worked for a variety of TV networks as a writer, editorial director, trainer, advice columnist, even an on-air personality. But primarily she’s trotted around New York City in one cowboy shirt or another, lurking around flea markets, gyms, and anywhere they’ll hand her French toast. Currently she lounges around her apartment with one husband, one dog, five parrots, and roughly 2,000 pairs of shoes. Dixie is the main lady behind Age Against the Machine, a column about empowering women over 50. Read the free archive of Age Against the Machine on jumbleandflow.com.

Follow Dixie on Instagram @dixielaite

Email Dixie at dixie@jumbleandflow.com