Grandmother can lift more weight than women 50 years younger

First, a written snapshot of 76-year-old Joan Schmidt, one of the nation’s top senior power lifters.

She stands 4 feet 10 inches, weighs 103 pounds and has held American records in her division in the dead lift, squat, and bench press.

She’s married to Roger Schmidt, a retired U.S. Airways pilot who occasionally had Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger as his first officer.

The Schmidts, who live in southwest Las Vegas, have two grown sons, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

When Joan was halfway to kindergarten, she could still toddle easily under the kitchen table. She was so tiny in kindergarten that the school bus driver had to get off the bus and lift her onto the steps.

Because she never grew to 5 feet, people frequently told her that “you’re just so cute I want to squeeze you” — and they would, even when she was a retail office manager.

Even when she buys pants in the petite section, her truly petite size means cutting off enough material off each pant leg to make a blouse or two before she can hem them.

In her 30s, when out with her husband at a nightspot, she was carded before she could get a glass of wine.

At age 40, wanting to remain healthy, she became a vegetarian. Ten years later she hit the gym, loving the way weightlifting made her feel.

When her boys were teenagers, they used to pick her up and put on her the kitchen counter to talk to her. Now when her grandson visits, he picks her up and carries her around the house.

She didn’t start competitive weightlifting until she was 68.

“I think I have a unique background for a power lifter,” Schmidt says.

Talk about an understatement.

Watch her in the gym and her love for working out with weights is apparent. She’s a regular at Iron Addicts LV, where most of the men appear to have arms larger than her waist.

“When you lift, you feel stronger, which makes you feel better about your health — and it does wonders for your confidence and self esteem,” she says.

Schmidt says lifting has kept her from having to take medications.

After she warms up with light weights and on machines, she’s smiling as she easily benches over 90 pounds. Her coach, Jim Flora, one of the gym’s owners, said most 20-year-old women can’t come close to benching 90 percent of their weight.

“Those that can are probably something like a competitive gymnast,” Flora says. “Joan is phenomenal.”

What Schmidt hopes to do soon is lift her own weight — she’s lifted 98 —and then do it regularly. She laughs as she shows off the muscles in her arms and legs.

“I want that world title in the bench press so bad,” she says. “I’ve only won silvers and bronze and I want that gold. If I can lift my own weight, I think I’ll win it .”

This year the world championships are in Texas in April.

Flora says he believes it won’t be long until she lifts her own weight.

“We know what she has to work on to do it,” he says. “And I believe she will.”

Schmidt’s husband, who accompanies his wife to every meet, knows she will.

“When she puts her mind to something, she does it.”

Because she often has only a few competitors in the over-70 division, Schmidt frequently also competes in the open division with women more than 50 years younger. In 2012 and 2014 she won both her age division and the open competition in the nationals.

“I thought the younger women might say I should be home knitting,” Schmidt says. “But they were very nice to me and respected what I’ve done.”

Stand in the study of her home and all you see are gold medals from senior competitions in Delaware, Florida and Nevada. The Schmidts moved to Las Vegas from Florida about four years ago.

Schmidt says she only started in competitions when she learned there were senior events.

She no longer does her favorite event, the dead lift, where her 185-pound lift set an American record for her age and weight. Doctors have told her it is too dangerous for someone her age. The squat is also out.

“They’d rather I not do any power lifting at all, but I’ll continue with the bench press,” she says. “They don’t know anything about my form. I do it correctly.”

Schmidt wishes more women would take up weight lifting as they get older.

“You have to remember age is just a number.”

Amen.

Paul Harasim’s column runs Sunday, Tuesday and Friday in the Nevada section and Monday in the Health section. Contact him at pharasim@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Follow @paulharasim on Twitter