So I admit that like most people, I have been obsessed with Dara Torres’s amazing 41-year-old abs. For those who haven’t been paying attention, Olympic swimmer Ms. Torres has become an iconic figure ever since a stunning Robert Maxwell photo of her appeared in The New York Times Magazine.
Dara Torres and her abs. (Robert Maxwell)As my colleagues at the Rings blog have noted, Ms. Torres and her “phenomenally ripped” belly have become the “physical ideal for mothers, women at or approaching middle age, and just women in general.”
Estelle Parsons, 80, at home. (Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)But I’m going to suggest a new candidate to represent the physical ideal for women, young and old and in the middle. As reported in today’s Times, Estelle Parsons, a star of the Broadway show “August: Osage County,” has been winning acclaim not just for her acting but for the high level of fitness her demanding role requires. What’s amazing is that she is 80.
While Ms. Torres has a head coach, a sprint coach, a strength coach, two stretchers, two masseuses, a chiropractor and a nanny, all at the cost of at least $100,000 per year, Ms. Parsons’s stamina is a tribute to a lifetime of simple physical fitness.
She lifts weights, swims 30 minutes twice a week and takes a 30-minute bike ride on two other days. She takes a break from exercise on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when she has two performances. She swims, hikes or bikes on her Mondays off work. She also cross-country skis and does yoga in her dressing room and at home whenever she gets a few minutes.
“I’ve always been a fit person,” Ms. Parsons said. “I’ve been acting all my life, and I’ve always felt you should be in shape. I’m used to devoting my whole life to the work and what it requires.”
To read more about this amazing woman, click here.
What do you think? Would you rather be a Dara or an Estelle?
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From 1 to 25 of 201 Comments
Sorry Tara, I’ve never seen Dara Torres before in my life but what an ugly body! I would NEVER want that even if it were a prerequisite for fitness, which thankfully it isn’t. It is just plain ugly.
A physical ideal for mothers? Watch the generation of only kids in that case because only a gay man would want a woman who looked like that… and I doubt even then.
— MaggieI think Dara is beautiful, but at the price of $100K a year, I think the path followed by Estelle is more reasonable; and she is beautiful in her own way.
— rrbehonekI don’t mean to be finicky, but as a licensed massage therapist, I feel obligated to point out that we, (as massage therapists) are trying to get away from the “masseuse” name, and image. It’s kind of like calling a flight attendant a stewardess. So please call us Massage Therapists. Thank you…
and I’d like to look like Dara Torres when I’m 40 and be like Estelle Parsons when I’m 80!
— erinBravo, Estelle - you have my vote.
— Tooth FairyMy vanity tells me to go for Dara’s look although she’s pretty hard looking in the hip area reminding me of a Male Greek/Roman statue of old.
But Estelle has strength and endurence and works her butt off too it sounds like!
I think they are both winners! but I imagine it’s harder to be fit in your 80’s than 41, I guess in the secheme of things, if I can be fit and strong in my 80’s I’d love to be Estelle, if I could kick it up a whole lotta notches I could possibly-maybe, okay dream of being Dara in my 40’s Whew!that’d be tough!
Can I be both?? ;) right now I’ll be me.
— LOlivierSpeaking as a former gymnast–It would be startling if any athlete with Ms. Torres’ prenatal genetic gifts did not have a well-toned body; it would be nothing short of astonishing were anyone as rich as Ms. Torres, who has spent obscene amounts of money on the care and feeding of her body, to look markedly different from the photos we see of her.
— tempusMs. Parsons has been an actor for nearly her entire life; she is twice Ms. Torres’ age, shows no signs of slowing or diminishing, and has given audiences the gift of mature technique and artistry for over fifty years.
A perfect example of surface vs. essence.
Which would YOU rather be? LOL
I find the two women contrasted in this story interesting. Very few women are going to be Olympic athletes. Very few are going to be professional actresses either. Why then, did you pose this question? What is realistic for normal women who work full time and have children? You didn’t offer that alternative.
I started horseback riding at age 40. Found horse sport competition thrilling. I am very fit for a 54 year old, but do not look at all like an Olympic athlete. I train with a coach. I work to exhaustion four days a week with my equine partner. I would love to have someone stretch me after wards. As I climb the levels of fitness, accomplishment and continue to win events, I am doubly motivated.
I would like to note that most Olympic athletes that compete in horse sports are above the norm in age, so are their horses. Unlike swimming, riding a horse takes years to refine, years of physical refinement as well as mental refinement AND, most riders I know last into advanced age as accomplished athletes. Most of my friends are in their 60s and show no slowing down. They all compete and continue to rise up the levels. These are normal women, with jobs, kids and husbands.
PS: I can eat what I want and still remain the same weight I have maintained since age 30.
— ElizabethMs. Torres’ body is beautiful, rugged, and intimidating- just what one wants in an athlete representing one’s country.
— Laura ROn the other hand, Ms. Parson is a beautiful, realistic, and joyous lady who looks much younger than her years. Just what one wants in a neighbor, a mother, a workout buddy, or one’s self.
Thanks for the comparison.
Why are we comparing these two ladies? That’s silly. One is an Olympic athlete who needs a “ripped” body to compete. The other is an actress who wants to lead a healthy life. They have different goals — and are different ages. I think both are inspiring, but since I’m not an Olympic athlete, I’ll draw inspiration from Estelle’s knack for integrating fitness into her daily life and her regular routine. I like that she has found a variety of ways to get exercise, and she doesn’t seem the least bit bored by them.
— JakeI’d like to point out that there is some genetic component to having defined abs. I read it somewhere (but can’t remember where, of course) and anecdotally - my former roommate had six-pack abs without ever exercising a day in her life, whereas I, a daily exerciser could only hope for a flat tummy at best.
Estelle gets my vote - she looks relaxed and happy in addition to being healthy!
— SharonIf I had a head coach, a sprint coach, a strength coach, two stretchers, two masseuses, a chiropractor and a nanny, all at the cost of at least $100,000 per year to spend on it, and didn’t have to work full time, I look like Dara too!
As it is, I motivate myself to run, work out and play tennis, while working full time.
— Dorothy Darrowaw, i love estelle parsons! roseanne’s mom! good for her. and maggie, i don’t know quite what you’re talking about, but dana’s body is INSANE. i think she’s pretty awesome, i would kill for some stellar abs! although it may not be necessary to be quite that chiseled. i’m working on a moderate 2-pack as it is :)
— sarahCongratulations Estelle. What a great role model.
— NRI find Maggie’s comment (”what an ugly body”) to be typical of the hatred and judgmental attitude towards women’s bodies that appear on forums such as this one.
Aside from her ludicrous point (to call Torres’ body ugly just screams out her jealousy– or her discomfort with a woman looking and being strong), it’s just downright nasty to talk about someone like that. The point TPP’s article is, basically, how about lightening up the pressure on ourselves, taking a moderate approach to fitness, and having realistic ideals. And an implicit point of her blog is accepting people who they are, not being judgemental, and having a healthy acceptance for other people.
And I just have to point out that your comment that “only gay men” would find her sexy is wrong, wrong, wrong– and misogynistic to boot.
— ALerin #3, I see no image difference and what’s in a name? Seems like another marketing ploy to me and I’m all for pulling those down.
You say you want to look like Torres at 40 and Parsons at 80, but that’s just about impossible. All that unnatural muscle, Torres will be a flabby old thing when she’s 80, if she hasn’t died of a sports injury before then. That’s the thing about having too much muscle, you lose tone and not tissue. Simply being a bit fatty is better if you want to look good in old age. In fact I recommend you don’t even try to be thin in old age, my mom is 77 and hardly a wrinkle… nice full cheeks because she was never skinny. Her sister-in-law on the other hand is a hollow-cheeked wrinkled prune and was always a fitness fanatic.
— RachelSure Estelle is a wonderful role model, but I suspect that just as not everybody can choose to become an olympic athelete, no matter how much they train, neither can they choose to be a vigorous and vital 80 year old, capable of starring in a role on Broadway.
I believe in excercize and keeping fit, but I think it also takes some good genes to be an Estelle Parsons. It would be nice to be wrong though.
— Debbie R.I would love to have dara torres’s abs. I think her body is amazingly beautiful.
To #1: Only a “gay man would want a woman that looks like that?” Wow, Maggie, get with the times (and get over yourself).
Dara Torres still has the body of an 18 year old, what do you have? Bodies like this one move mountains, and derive a lot of beauty from what they can do. Also, I know a lot of 30-50 year old women with great bodies, that don’t look that different. It may be more than simple fitness, more like athletic training, but it sure doesn’t cost what you’re suggesting.
Great for Estelle too.
— ncaa athleteWell, they’re perfect for what they do. Dara is a 41 year old olympic swimmer. She should be ripped. Ms. Parsons is an 80 year old actress with good sense.
Women (i.e. - mothers who think Dara is the physical ideal) need to calm their butts down and be realistic about how they should look. Be fit and healthy - that’s sexy.
At 47 I’m an action enthusiast (and have been all my life) - yoga, running, cylcing, kayaking, boogie boarding and hiking are my weapons of fitness. I’m not interested in having a ripped tummy but I do like to keep it toned. That’s what’s right for me.
I see so many overweight people dive into a strict routine that has some complicated diet and requires them to workout every day - which is a quick way for someone new to exercising to get burnt out. Staying fit is about eating healthfully (and we all know what that is - low fat, low calorie, lots of veggies, fiber and lean protein) and exercising regularly. Diet books and trainers can’t say anything more than that.
We’re born with one body. It’s not the job of the medical industry or insurance or your parents or spouse or trainer or lypo dude to take care of the one thing you actually poses in life.
Be active. Eat right. Get your teeth whitened.
— moniqueThis obsession with Torres is a bit disturbing to me. You do know that she used steroids to get back in shape over the past few years, right? It’ll come out a few months after the olympics are over, and any medals she’s won will be revoked.
This is hiliarious, in a country where two thirds of the population is overweight, you have a bunch of (most likely obese) middle-aged women striving for “olymmpic abs”.
Hahaha!
I’m for Estelle Parson’s sensible exercise!
— BrianI am somewhere in the middle between a Dara and an Estelle. I make fitness part of my lifestyle but I don’t spend $100,000 a year to maintain it. I do however have a good support group of friends and family so I can stay in good shape. Because of them I am a 48 year old ultramarathoner, long distance kayaker and recreational bicyclist. As a mom, wife and daughter I don’t think it’s difficult to get to the optimum level of fitness at any age it just takes the determination to find a way and make it work.
— PaulineTara,
I generally enjoy your column, but I find it dismaying and troubling that you, as someone whose job is about informing people about sensible, healthy living, would “obsessively” admire Dara Torres’s extreme physique.
While I respect Ms. Torres as an Olympic athlete, her abnormally sculpted body is not what most women should be striving for. (Let’s face it: who among us has a spare $100K lying around to purchase the kind of professional training she has? Or the time?) Trying to achieve the look of Ms. Torres’s body is not a healthy, sensible, or attainable goal for 99% of women.
By glorifying her body — and by writing about it in a way that implies that “most people” admire her body and would want to look like that if they could — you are doing a huge disservice to the millions of young American girls who are already struggling hard enough against our culture’s crazy, backward, and cruel ideas of what a woman ought to look like.
— M. TeraDara Torres gives us hope that we can still be competitive in our 40’s and Estelle gives us hope that continuing to exercise might really pay off as we age. Kudos to both of them!
— AnneMs. Torres has abs sort of like mine. That’s not good- I’m a big manly guy.
She’s a swimmer? How can she even float?
— Sean KI’ll take the “real” person.
— ejNo civilian can afford the help Ms. Torres has. On the other hand, anyone can do what Estelle does.
She is a great inspirations. I wish more people talked about her.
Estelle is my idol! I just turned 50 and want to be just like Estelle at 80. I want to be healthy enough to enjoy life, but not make working out an obsession.
— Anna