In their 90s, these CrossFit 'superstars' are on the move

From doing burpees on hands and knees to pull-ups on wooden rings, two women in their 90s are proving age is just a number at a CrossFit gym in Kanata.

"Those two are the superstars of this place," said Adam Phomin, the founder of CrossFit Closer gym. "When they walk in, everybody's like, 'I wanna be like that.'" 

Christine Temple-Fentimin, 94, and Primrose Paruboczy, who will turn 91 this month, each train with Phomin individually for one hour every Wednesday morning. 

Their faces both light up at the mention of his name. 

"Adam is very good at encouraging you to do things," said Temple-Fentimin. 

"He's just a lovely man," said Paruboczy. "It has made a big difference coming here."

Weekly training sessions 

Temple-Fentimin began training weekly with Phomin five years ago and continued to train virtually throughout the pandemic.

In December, Phomin started working with Paruboczy after she told her family she was worried about her mobility, or lack thereof.

Her daughter, Melody, had been driving Temple-Fentimin as a companion to the weekly sessions and was impressed by her growing strength and Phomin's genuine and gentle nature.

"My mom used to say, 'Mel, could you please come and take me for a walk? If I don't get up and start doing something, I'm not going to be able to walk,'" said Melody.

Melody then told her mom, "Do I have a place for you!" 

Squats are most important

CrossFit is known to consist of high-intensity interval training exercises. Phomin said all ages and levels are welcome at his gym.

He said exercises for older clients are no different than the ones for younger clients, but they just involve a little more support. They will work incrementally until they can do the full movement on their own.

He starts each session holding the client's hand and walking around the gym — what he calls "rapport building" as they catch up from the week before. 

From there, they'll work on several exercises to get their blood flowing and heart rate up, like burpees, rowing, wooden rings and deadlift presses. 

But the most important one is the squat. 

"It's the most important thing we do. I always tell people, 'If you can't squat, you've got a problem, right?' You need someone helping you up off a chair, off a couch, off a toilet," said Phomin.

As people age and the risk of falling rises, the ability to get back up is key, he said.

Phomin has seen great progress in both women since they joined and it excites him to see them getting lower to the floor while doing burpees and squats, and getting themselves up. 

"It shows me that when they're at home they have the capacity to do those things," he said.

"It's about knowing that when they step out here, their life is getting easier, or at least not getting harder."

The hour of training wraps up with stretching and using the massage gun.

"I'm absolutely amazed at what I can do," said Paruboczy, who said she was a couch potato before seeing Adam.

"I didn't ever think I'd be able to do [the exercises], but when I do it, I'm just like 'yay, I did it!'" she said. 

Temple-Fentimin said she thinks she surprises Adam sometimes with what she can do. 

"I think I always knew I could do [challenging] things," she said, noting she likes coming to the gym for the equipment and "a little bit of competition."

'If you don't use it, you'll lose it'

Both women recall being physically active and athletic in their youth and adult years. 

Temple-Fentimin grew up walking around her village in England daily, swimming and playing on the field hockey team.

Paruboczy recalls running and biking to anywhere she needed to go.

Both women in their 90s think it's important for seniors to stay active and to make it a priority to walk around.

"If you don't use it, you'll lose it," they both said.