It was a dismal grey day in the fall of 2023 when I first met Sue Pimento, fitness instructor extraordinaire, and overall awe inspiring human. Watching her lead our LesMills BODYPUMP class at Goodlife Fitness, it was immediately obvious she was no average 68 year old as she deadlifted an obscene amount of weight. Sue is someone I wanted to get to know, and even emulate as I fight becoming a traditional woman of a certain age.
Sue is ridiculously strong of body, but her mental toughness is just as impressive, as is the community that has evolved around her fitness classes. The way she makes everyone in the class feel seen and self esteemed makes people want to return, week after week. You leave feeling better than when you arrived, both physically and mentally. And she leaves you with a good dad joke to take home to your kids (or grandkids).
As a young adult, Sue enjoyed being active, but as it does for many, “life happened in a big way, in and around (her) 40’s.” Faced with thyroid issues, some business failures and low motivation, she found herself gaining weight and drowning in unhealthy habits.
Sue credits a personal friend with helping her out of her funk. He coaxed her into the hands of a personal trainer and other areas of self help. She says, “I realized, the common denominator in everything that is happening in my life is me, and there are way worse things going on out there!” It was up to her to create the version of herself that she wanted to be in the future, and to do this, she had to “change the way she thought about things.”
Sue had a successful long career in finance and real estate. Much of her time was spent focussing on the needs of seniors as they navigate financial planning for retirement. She has always been, in her words, “a pseudo entrepreneur,” even while working for corporations. She has started several businesses during her life. Once she even created a side hustle with her wellness business called “Slimmersize” where she taught classes to busy professionals in their condo buildings.
In 2021, Sue was unexpectedly packaged out of her corporate job. She knew she was not ready to retire, but had to figure out what to do next. By this time, Sue was passionate about fitness, so she worked to get certified to teach LesMills BODYPUMP classes, while soul searching for her second act. If you’re curious about this total body barbell workout it’s very popular for those who are looking to get lean, toned, and fit with scientifically proven moves and techniques. The LesMills certification is gruelling at any age and Sue was one of a few who achieved it at age 60.
Sue realized that she also had a wealth of information about financial security in retirement, accumulated from her decades in the industry, that should be shared, especially now that she herself was in the target market.
I also learned that she was almost finished writing her book, “Retire with Equity.” What’s it all about?
Sue says, “The book is only the beginning.” Her real goal is, “to create a movement to change the way we think about our finances, and ourselves, later in life.” She also tells us it’s different from the advice normally given by financial planners to our parents’ generation.” Sue’s motto is, “don’t retire, re-wire.” The life of a retiree in 2024 looks a lot different than it did 20 or 50 years ago. For a lot of people, the traditional advice on how to finance and live during retirement just doesn’t suit our lifestyles anymore.
On Sue’s blog she refers to the different groups in her target demographic as “Seniors, Seasoned Citizens, and Seenagers” who have diverse views on what retirement should look like. Sue at the front of the class lifting the weight of a small car on her back isn’t the image most of us have of someone who is 68, and she certainly doesn’t look like the people the financial industry uses in their advertising. Sue says, “my purpose has been to be an example of what’s possible at any age.” She went back to Les Mills in 2024 and got a 2nd certification (at 68) to teach RPM spin classes.
Sue’s story so far is fascinating. She climbed Macchu Picchu on her 60th birthday and hiked to Everest Base Camp at age 61. From the battles she faced as a woman in finance, to her weight loss and fitness journey, her story is exciting to follow, and this is only the beginning of her reinvention. As a woman approaching retirement age and having watched my parents try to navigate it, the subject of Sue’s movement is top of mind. Sue is informative, entertaining and engaging as a speaker (and fitness instructor) as well as a fantastic writer. I’ll be watching from the back of her class and trying to keep up.
To find out more about Sue, and see what’s next for her, check out her website.
Guest Post ~ KC