Gabrielle Osborne: Negative Split Your Life

Getting Older and Getting Stronger

Gabrielle Osborne wants you to negative split your life. “I’m 53. I realized I was told a lie about growing up and that I would be frail, unfit, and that you can’t build muscle or get stronger.”  Osborne is living and leading by example that life past 50 can mean a stronger and healthier body but it’s not just about defying physical expectations. “I’ve realized not to discount the possibility of things without trying and certainly not to use the reasoning that we are too old.” 

Osborne, who is an accountant by trade and a TikTok health and wellness influencer, hit a series of health issues in her 40s. After a few tough years, the mother of two realized she had lost touch with herself. “I had the identity of a healthy person because I had been fit when I was younger but it caught up to me that I hadn’t prioritized my health in my adulthood. It felt like unraveling. I remember thinking I didn’t want to be an unhealthy person. I set about a reset, to recalibrate, and get things on track.” Osborne admits she didn’t even know what made her happy anymore so she made a list. On one side, she wrote down things she wanted less of in her life; on the other side, things she wanted more of in her life. “I wanted more ease, that was the biggest thing.” 

Osborne started to make positive changes but then she was sidelined again with a fracture in her sacrum. Swimming was the first opportunity she had to bring movement back into her lifestyle and so, for the first time since she was a teenager, she went to the pool. As a competitive swimmer from the age of 9-14, Osborne knew how to swim but, “as any ex-swimmer knows, you feel terrible. You can’t help looking at the clock and thinking how long it is taking!” Instead of being discouraged, Osborne looked for a goal to get her motivated. There was an Australian state masters swim meet three months away and, after looking at the 50m breaststroke record, Osborne had a goal and her motivation.  

After two months of training, Osborne was within a few hundredths of her target time but the real magic happened at the race. “I clearly remember when the starter's gun went off, I was awash with the feeling of coming home. I realized how much I missed it. I felt quite emotional as I heard the ‘beep’ and the splash of the water, and it reignited my passion for swimming.”   

Osborne continued to swim with a local group as well as alone and then, to help build strength, she started going to the gym as well. She added in CrossFit and soon, not only was she ranked top ten in the world for the 50m breaststroke for her age category, she had her identity of being a healthy person back.  

With two teenage daughters, Osborne initially joined TikTok just to do the silly dances but when she posted a “flex photo” in her training suit it got people’s attention (and “understandably mortified my daughters” she laughs). “For me, it’s me, and I didn’t think much of it,” she says, but people were shocked when they found out she was over 50. Her followers skyrocketed and soon people started reaching out.  

“As much as people lay out TikTok, it’s been a great way to connect with people and on the whole people are really kind. Someone contacted me yesterday on a video I did and said every time they work out they think of me and try to push themselves. Or some say I’ve helped change their life. It’s been really wonderful.” Although she shies away from the label of “role model” she does want to light the way for others. “I hope I’m the possibility for others to see they can prioritize their own health and wellbeing. I don’t want to put myself up there as the way to do it or that it has to look like me—fit people come in a hundred different shapes and sizes—it’s more about getting people to challenge their limitations. I used to think: ’I’m too old for that’ or ‘I’ve missed my chance’ or ‘there’s no way I could learn to do a handstand now,’ but I hope by showing people it can be done that it might help them challenge themselves in whatever interests them.” 

Osborne says she is also inspired by other swimmers who are older than her. “Seeing swimmers in their 70s, 80s, and 90s break records, it gives me hope that there is so much life to be lived ahead of me.”  

Currently, Osborne swims every weekday morning to train for the winter masters state championship, the Pan Pacific Masters Games, and eventually she has her sights set on the 2024 Masters World Championships in Doha. “I never thought I would get back into swimming, it wasn’t something I missed particularly, but when I did that race and felt that surge of emotion… Now, I just love it. It’s the foundation of my life.”