Granny's got gains: How a 75-year-old became a champion powerlifter

The useful part

At 75, Becky Lane is a grandmother and is rather modest about how she fared in this year's U.S. "I got two world records." Her lifting partner, Alison Combes, is a gymnast turned powerlifter turned coach. "I'm focused on making sure her technique is good and that she's consistent," Combes said.

How it works

• You're showing other women that you can do this'," Combes said.
• "She is so darn competitive!" Lane is new to the game but already leaving a on the sport.
• The competitions are sorted by age and weight, and Lane was the first ever in her age category, but that didn't automatically give her a record.
• Before taking up powerlifting, Lane was a runner for years … until life threw her a curveball.
• "I had no idea this was going on in my body, other than my feet were starting to tingle a little bit when I was running," she said.

What to take from it

If you do, then you're just gonna be — the condition will take over," she said. "You have to be in control of fighting it." "If I hadn't started doing the strength training and I hadn't had the surgery, I would be in a wheelchair today," Lane said.

Details worth keeping

You might think powerlifting is a young person's game. At the Reston YMCA, age is nothing but a number. Powerlifting Association National Championship.