South African grandmas take up boxing for fitness, camaraderie

Boxing is a tough sport, but so are the grandmas of Cosmo City, a suburb in South Africa’s economic capital Johannesburg.

Aged between 75 and 80 years old, the seniors box to fight the aches and pains of old age and to keep fit.

The gym offers two sessions a week that include cardio and boxing exercises like sparring and hitting the punching bag. Eventually, they challenge each another inside the ring.

According to boxing trainer Nqobile Khumalo, the women started out by doing aerobics as part of a special program for the elderly introduced at the gym five years ago.

Then they tried boxing and they were hooked.

Members at the gym have become close friends, something that has helped many of them deal with the loneliness and isolation that often comes with old age.

Seventy-six-year-old Germina Maluleka joined the gym in 2012 when she moved to Cosmo City after selling her house to raise bail for her son. She was also recently diagnosed with cancer.

She says boxing has given her new hope for the future.

“The gym has helped me through my illness,” Maluleka told Reuters. “When I was starting out, I had a problem with my feet. I used to have swollen feet. Since going to the gym, I do not have the problem anymore.”

The trainers say the grandmas have also inspired younger people to get serious about fitness from an earlier age.