When 73-year-old Rosemina Hamzah stepped up to the hex bar at Singapore’s Mbold Seniors Hex Bar Deadlift Challenge in August, she was not just attempting her first deadlift competition – she was rewriting what ageing looks like. Latching onto 67.5kg (149lbs), more than her own body weight of 64kg, the novice lifter pulled it with ease – a personal best to win her category.
It was a remarkable feat for a woman who, just over a year ago, could hardly walk and was constantly in pain.
Before August 2025, Hamzah had seldom exercised. The Singaporean retiree had cycled to and from her work as a cook occasionally when she was younger and carried groceries home from the market every week, but beyond that, physical fitness had never really factored into her life.
Today, Hamzah – a mother of six children aged 30 to 50, and affectionately known as Cik Rose (“Aunty Rose” in Malay) – is a regular at her local gym in the eastern part of Singapore. There she is often seen training alongside her daughter, Maryam Rahman, a 33-year-old personal trainer.