There are no limits to age: 81-year-old ‘Fitness Gran’ takes TikTok by storm

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Erika Rischko is an 81-year-old grandmother from Langenfeld in Germany who is taking TikTok by storm with her fitness and dance videos.

Rishko, nicknamed “Fitness Gran”, shared her exercise challenges and dance routines with her partner Dieter. The videos are hugely popular with their 125,500 followers on the platform, which is most popular with teenagers for its viral lip-synced videos and dance challenges.

Rischko says of her newfound TikTok fame: “It’s great, just great! I’m super happy about it. I’ve never been as confident as I am right now.

“This whole thing really gave me a boost: TikTok and Instagram. When these young people text us and tell us they think we are great and ask, ‘How do you do this?’, It’s really motivating. It’s just great ! “

When Germany was banned from the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, Rischko decided to film and publish his first video. Since then, she has published more than 100 TikToks doing exercises like planks and pull-ups that have generated more than two million likes from users around the world.

Rishko hopes to inspire others with their invigorating TikToks.

“Dancing is something I think we should do a lot more. I would also like to go dancing more often. Now all I have to do is give my husband the evil eye.”

81-year-old Erika Rischko published her first fitness TikTok during the coronavirus pandemic. / Reuters

81-year-old Erika Rischko published her first fitness TikTok during the coronavirus pandemic. / Reuters

Rishko’s daughter photographs many of the TikToks, including social media star training herself and tackling fitness challenges posed by people decades younger than her.

In other cases, both the fitness fanatic and her husband, who met at a dance event when they were younger, both perform synchronized dance routines.

The fame of the bubbly local in Langenfeld has spread far beyond Germany on an international level, and Rischko says that she is particularly encouraged by comments under her self-made videos in the app from viewers who are decades younger than her.

Langenfeld’s mayor is also a big fan of the world star’s TikToks and says: “I always love stories that are so life-changing.

“Now I can say that this is thanks to the corona, otherwise it wouldn’t have happened: that a person who is having fun gets all the attention and in the end really shakes up all of these people.”

If you need fitness inspiration, you can check out the videos on TikTok at @erikarischko.

Video editor: Nuri Moseinco