Christie Brinkley Says a Total Hip Replacement Transformed Her Fitness Routine at 66
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Christie Brinkley, 66, opened up about how her fitness routine has changed over time.
After a number of injuries, she felt “limited and restricted” in her ability to exercise.
Brinkley underwent a total hip replacement and now feels “stronger every day.”
As Christie Brinkley nears her 67th birthday on Feb. 2, the model and actress is reflecting on how she’s been feeling. She says she’s “getting stronger every day,” but it took some time to find a fitness routine that truly worked for her.
“I love birthdays! I just don’t like the numbers, so I pretty much ignore them. I never felt as old as the number anyway ...until this year,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
Brinkley explained that she was unable to do her usual yoga poses, planks, and push-ups after breaking her right arm and dealing with injuries to her shoulder and hip. As the years went by, she started to feel “limited, restricted, and dare I say... old!”
Then, the pandemic hit. Like so many of us who were suddenly confined to our homes, Brinkley said she wasn’t getting the exercise she was used to and felt “overwhelmed” by her injuries. “With quarantine came banana breads and the inevitable extra pounds,” she wrote.
So, she decided to take action and get her hip fixed with a total replacement. “I am overjoyed to be able to move my body again,” she wrote. “I am getting stronger every day, and I like think I’m ready for anything...a hike, swim dive, paddle, ride, ski, and even a big piece of birthday cake!”
Brinkley often speaks out about embracing the aging process, but she didn’t always feel comfortable in her own skin. Last year, she shared a photo from her 1977 Cosmopolitan cover and admitted that she felt insecure during that shoot.
“I look back at these and think that worry was such a waste of time. If only the perspective we gain with age that elevates the worries could be absorbed by the younger generation,” she wrote. “But I do think shifting the focus to feeling great is a great step in the right direction.”
To feel her best in her late 60s, Brinkley tries to stay active as much as she can. She incorporates strength training, stretching, walking, and the Total Gym into her routine. She’s also been a vegetarian for years and loads up on nutrient-rich foods by eating a “rainbow diet.”
Even though her injuries felt like a setback, the model says she’s only gotten more confident with age. In an Instagram post from her 66th birthday last year, she wrote: “With age comes wisdom and confidence which I find to be liberating! I also know I feel my best when I look as good as I feel. And I feel more like my best self now than ever.”
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