40 Boxes: Save up to 30% on these new items!

Open menu

  • Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2023 ABC News
  • Wellness

CrossFit athlete trains her 84-year-old grandmother

VIDEO: This 84-year-old grandma crushes these workouts with her granddaughter
0:43
This 84-year-old grandma crushes these workouts with her granddaughter
ABCNews.com
ByKatie Kindelan
April 25, 2022, 4:07 am

Natalie Allport, a 28-year-old CrossFit athlete, stays in shape with an unlikely workout partner, her 84-year-old grandmother.

Allport, of Ottawa, Canada, said she started bringing her grandmother, Juanita Arteaga, to her workouts at a local CrossFit gym when Arteaga moved from Venezuela to Ottawa to be closer to family.

"I like to spend days with her, but my day-to-day is training," Allport told "Good Morning America." "She used to come with me to the gym and watch me weightlift and she’d cheer for me. She said she could see people look at me and see that I was strong, and she got interested."

Artega began to take exercise classes designed for senior citizens, Allport said, but those classes were soon canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Editor’s Picks

Beast mode! Great-grandmother lost 70 pounds doing CrossFit

  • Oct 23, 2019

How 3 women lost over 100 pounds each by changing their diets and lifestyles

  • May 30, 2018

A New Year's challenge at work kick-started this woman's 105-pound weight loss

  • Jan 06, 2022

In response, Allport began working out with her grandmother every day via FaceTime.

"It stemmed from me wanting to spend more time with her, that I would get her to do workouts with me, and I knew this would help with her staying moving and her balance," said Allport. "Especially during the pandemic ... she was really stuck at home, she couldn't do anything and I could see her mood really declining."

Allport said because she loves to exercise, she saw exercising as a way to help, adding, "I thought the way I could help my family was to spend some time with her every single day through exercise.

For the past two years, Allport and Artega, have exercised together every weekday.

"It's the same time so she always knows and can remember," Allport said of their workouts. "She’s always excited when I call."

MORE: How this 75-year-old woman lost over 60 pounds, became a fitness influencer

Allport said she focuses on doing functional exercises with Artega, like lifting up and putting down weights so that she can pick things up off the floor, and increasing her grandmother's mobility so she can get up and down off the floor.

"We can do the same workout. I can do squats with more weights and I can do a deadlift while she's doing a variation, which I think is kind of cool," said Allport. "She'll see I'm doing squats fast and will try to beat me. She’s very competitive."

PHOTO: Natalie Allport, a CrossFit athlete from Ottawa, Canada, exercises with her 84-year-old grandmother daily.
Natalie Allport, a CrossFit athlete from Ottawa, Canada, exercises with her 84-year-old grandmother daily.
Natalie Allport/Instagram

The grandmother-granddaughter workouts typically last around 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes on the stationary bike for Artega, according to Allport.

Over time, according to Allport, Artega's ability to do the exercises has improved, as have some of the health conditions she faces. But Allport noted that not every workout is easy and fun for the duo.

"Some days are frustrating as I’m watching her struggle to do an exercise. It’s always tough to watch someone that we love age," said Allport. "But we hold each other accountable."

As pandemic restrictions have loosened, Allport and Artegay, who will turn 85 in May, are able to train together in person again.

MORE: 103-year-old nicknamed the 'Hurricane' wins yet another gold in 100-meter dash

"Through shared time together and love, you can really change mindsets," said Allport. "She didn’t always believe that it’s normal for women to lift weights and be strong. Through spending time with me, she was able to open her mind to the possibilities."

Explaining what she has learned from her grandmother, Allport added, "It’s not too late to change your mind and change your habits."

Editor’s Picks

Beast mode! Great-grandmother lost 70 pounds doing CrossFit

  • Oct 23, 2019

How 3 women lost over 100 pounds each by changing their diets and lifestyles

  • May 30, 2018

A New Year's challenge at work kick-started this woman's 105-pound weight loss

  • Jan 06, 2022
Up Next in Wellness—

What Oprah Winfrey said about drugs used for weight loss like Ozempic, Mounjaro

September 21, 2023

Mom speaks out on daughter's death after water bead recall

September 21, 2023

FDA discusses using artificial wombs to help save preemie babies: What to know about the new technology

September 21, 2023

Morning exercisers tend to have healthier habits, which can help with weight loss, study finds

September 20, 2023

Up Next in Wellness—

What Oprah Winfrey said about drugs used for weight loss like Ozempic, Mounjaro

September 21, 2023

Mom speaks out on daughter's death after water bead recall

September 21, 2023

FDA discusses using artificial wombs to help save preemie babies: What to know about the new technology

September 21, 2023

Morning exercisers tend to have healthier habits, which can help with weight loss, study finds

September 20, 2023

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2023 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2023 ABC News