A 100-year-old great-great-grandmother who set the Guinness World Record for the oldest competitive female powerlifter and lifts upwards of 150 pounds has credited her daily vitamins and nightly martinis with keeping her going.
Edith Murway-Traina, from Tampa, Florida, was honored with the title on August 5 — three days before her milestone centennial birthday — and is featured in the 2022 edition of the book that was published last week.
‘You can’t help but discover as time goes on you are healthier. You don’t even know it. You don’t even think about it,’ she told USA Today of the positive impact lifting weights has had on her. ‘But you become healthier because you are a part of the program.’
Incredible: Guinness World Records honored Edith Murway-Traina with the title of oldest competitive female powerlifter on August 5, three days before her milestone 100th birthday
Impressive! The great-great-grandmother from Tampa, Florida, can lift 40 to 150 pounds or more, depending on the exercise
Living it up: Murway-Traina credited her daily vitamins and martinis with keeping her going
The former dance instructor was 91 when she started pumping iron, though she was reluctant to hit the gym at first.
Murway-Traina explained that her friend Carmen Gutwirth, who is now 77, wanted to start a workout routine that would help stave off osteoporosis ‘but didn’t want to do it by herself.’
She claimed Gutwirth ‘dragged her kicking and screaming’ to the gym, but her friend insisted in a video interview with Guinness World Records that was not the case, saying, ‘You don’t drag her anywhere.’
A trainer at CrossFit Jaguar gym in Tampa taught them out to lift, and nine years later, they are still participants in the weightlifting program.
Just who she is: Murway-Traina’s son Gary Murway said she has ‘always been doing extraordinary things’
Throwback: The Guinness World Record holder (front row, far left) worked as a dance instructor long before she started lifting weights
Workout buddies: Murway-Traina was 91 when she started lifting weights after her friend Carmen Gutwirth (left) urged her to join CrossFit Jaguar gym
‘Going on a regular basis, I found that I was enjoying it, and I was challenging myself to get a little bit better and a little bit better,’ Murway-Traina explained to Guinness World Records. ‘Before long, I was part of the team.’
She can now lift 40 to 150 pounds or more, depending on the exercise, and she is currently training for a competition in November after having to take a break from her gym sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘A lot of people say, “Do you have a special diet? Is there something you eat or drink or whatever you do that helps you?” No, there is not,’ she told USA Today. ‘However, I do remind them that I make sure that I have Geritol in the morning and I have martinis at night. That keeps me going.’
The Guinness World Record holder was 98 when she competed in her last competition in 2019, and she is getting back into her routine.
Back at it: Murway-Traina currently training for a competition in November after having to take a break from her gym sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inspiring: Murway-Traina was 98 when she competed in her last competition in 2019
Family: Murway-Traina (pictured with her daughter Honey Cottrell) has two great-great-grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 10 grandchildren
She usually takes an Uber to meet Gutwirth at the gym, though she recently renewed her driver’s license. The two pals like to get lunch after their weight lifting sessions, and then Gutwirth will drive her home.
Murway-Traina, who lives in a mobile home by herself, has outlived two husbands. She has two great-great-grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 10 grandchildren.
‘She has always been doing extraordinary things but to do this kind of thing this late in life is pretty amazing,’ said her son Gary Murway, who lives in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. ‘She’s always been inspiring and motivating, whether it’s lifting, dancing, or just taking care of her family.’
Murway-Traina’s relatives are all proud of her incredible accomplishment, but it’s the joy of weightlifting that has her returning to the gym day after day.
‘One of the things I have discovered just in life in general if you can’t have fun there’s no point in opening your eyes in the morning,’ she said. ‘So when I open my eyes, I expect it to be a fun day.’