Some people achieve their biggest and brightest accomplishments during their second act, and for 59-year-old Denise Lawson, that’s certainly the case. Although the Springfield, Virginia native has always been active—hiking with her family as a child, running track and cross country in high school—Lawson says that most of her top fitness achievements have taken place after turning 50.
For instance, Lawson has participated in the National Senior Games, and was even selected out of more than 12,000 athletes to be a 2025 Humana Game Changer, awarded to those who particularly exemplify the spirit of aging well and have made an impact on their community.
Lawson has enjoyed all these achievements even in the face of health challenges that affected her mobility. She shares that during her early 40s, she physically “could not do much.” She started her rehabilitation by playing Wii Fit games with her children, like bowling, and this eventually led to her exercising outdoors again.
“In more recent years, I had additional challenges with a couple of surgeries with lengthy recovery periods,” she says.
But she still manages to crush her fitness goals, even as she looks ahead to her 60s.
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Achievements After 50
Lawson says that she completed her first half-marathon the week before turning 50, and since then, has finished more than 20 half-marathons.
Additionally, she says that one of the hardest things she’s ever done fitness-wise is the Alcatraz Swim in 2016, a 1.5-mile swim through icy, rough waters with a strong current.
“For me, that was about facing my fears,” she says.
She also found her way back to track and field in her 50s.
“I participated in the National Senior Games for the first time in Ames, Iowa this summer,” she says. “To qualify for that, I competed in the Virginia Senior Games in September last year. I qualified for the national games by placing first in Virginia in the 50, 100, 200 and 400, and third in shotput. Running in the National Senior Games was a great accomplishment as I had a couple of health setbacks in recent years that took me a while to come back from.”
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She says that she also took up dragon boat racing later in life. This team paddling sport, with 10 rows of two paddlers, is now an activity that Lawson loves, paddling in the Club Crew National Championships in Sarasota, Florida. She even participated in the World Master’s Games for dragon boating in New Zealand, where her team received two bronze medals.
All of those victories are undoubtedly impressive, and Lawson has added one more to her list. Saying that she is “fortunate to have built many connections in Alaska,” where she goes dogsledding every winter, she rehomes retired sled dogs and exercises with them regularly.
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Denise Lawson’s Workout Routine
Walking and jogging with dogs
Lawson shares that she regularly walks and jogs. In fact, the first thing that she does every day is walk her retired sled dogs for around 30 minutes.
“We rehome retired sled dogs that need a lot of exercise, so there is always a dog in the house that needs to go for a walk or a run, rain or shine!,” she says. Apart from the walks, three to four times a week, she takes the dogs out on trails and completes two to three miles of brisk walking and jogging.
“We let the dogs go at their own pace, as sometimes they like to stop and sniff, and sometimes they like to run fast,” she says. “So it is usually jogging interspersed with walking and fast running. Since they are long-distance runners, they know how to move very efficiently.”
Sprinting
In addition, Lawson completes short sprints about twice a week. “I do a series of warm-up drills and stretching before starting to sprint to make sure the joints are warmed up,” she says. “I will start gradually doing short sprints across the width of the football field, pausing for 20 to 30 seconds between each sprint. I gradually increase speed with each sprint and repeat for between 10 and 20 repetitions.”
Strength training
Lawson says that she does hand weight exercises daily, and she’ll also break out her exercise bands. She even works on her strength training while making coffee every morning.
“I do a variety of exercises like wall pushups and stair steps with hand weights,” she says.
Rowing
While Lawson prefers to exercise outside in the fresh air and doesn’t love working out at a gym, she likes to have options on hand at home when the weather isn’t cooperating. She says that she has a variety of exercise equipment in the house, including a rowing machine.
Swimming
During the summer, Lawson swims two to three times per week for around 30 minutes each time and completes about 10 to 15 laps.
Pickleball against a wall
“Before practicing shotput or sprints, I go to a sports court and hit a pickleball against the wall for about 15 minutes to loosen up my back and knees,” she says.
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Wise Words
When it comes to advice for fellow seniors, Lawson says that it’s key to keep moving and “keep it fun.”
“If it isn’t fun, I am not likely to keep doing it,” she says. “Part of keeping it fun is doing different types of activities versus one set routine.”
She is also always looking for mini opportunities to incorporate movement into her day, from the time she gets up until she goes to bed, and advises other older individuals to do the same.
“I have hand weights and exercise bands lying around the house, so it’s easy to grab them and do a few repetitions anytime I have a short break in between Zoom meetings,” she says.
Lawson’s philosophy on fitness? “I am a firm believer that we can each do way more than we think we can.”
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Sources
Denise Lawson, National Senior Games athlete and 2025 Humana Game Changer.
