GIBSONIA — Kyle Walters laughed.

Watching Anne Pfennigwerth perform a posing routine to “Ladies Night” by Kool and the Gang, an audience member remarked about what a great routine it was.

That routine was designed, Walters said, 10 minutes before the start of the Ms. Pittsburgh physique competition April 26 at Franklin Regional High School.

“You get an award on the routine, but that doesn’t play into the judge’s scoring,” said Walters, who trains Pfennigwerth at the Lakevue Athletic Club. “We literally threw together a routine before the show. She didn’t even know the song she was going to do it to, she told the MC to put on club music.”

So Ladies’ night it was. That night, it was Pfennigwerth’s night.

Despite heavy reservations, she won first place in the 40 and overs masters, novice, best poser, open class tall and overall at the physique competition. At 54 years old, Pfennigwerth, a Gibsonia resident who is a native of Fall River, Massachusetts, became the oldest winner in the competition’s history.

She also won a pro card.

“I enjoyed it very much, but the show was a little out of my comfort zone,” Pfennigwerth said. “I had a little bit of anxiety, but Kyle and my husband assured me I’d be fine.”

Pfennigwerth has competed in rowing, cycling and has run marathons in the past.

Lifting weights was something that started later in life.

“It started when my kids were little after I had my third child,” Pfennigwerth said. “I always ran before and to keep fit. I started lifting when I was 30, doing my own thing, not with a trainer or anything.”

Getting ready for the physique competition, Walters said, wasn’t a matter of her being in shape. That was never an issue. Being a show off for the judges was the big concern.

“She’s a very friendly woman, but she isn’t super extroverted or have a show-off attitude,” Walters said. “I told her that she’s going to be the most fit woman there, whether she won or not was going to be determined by how she showed off the poses.”

Pfennigwerth worked hard on the posing and her husband video taped her practicing.

They would watch the tape and Pfennigwerth made the necessary adjustments.

When the competition came, she was ready. All of her concerns were ended when she stepped on the stage.

“I concentrated on the judges. The lights were very bright, so you couldn’t see too many people in the audience,” Pfennigwerth said. “Just smile and look at the judges. It was a little overwhelming.”

Pfennigwerth isn’t sure if she wants to stay in the sport. She won her pro card and said if she decides to compete in a professional show, it will be a one-and-done deal.

Either way, Walters feels she will stand out among the other competitors.

“What made her standout, I think Anne is a wonderful example of what female athletics has become,” Walters said. “She’s a women, over 50, has children, a full-time job and is married. Those are excuses people use as to why we can’t be fit. She’s worked all the fitness into her lifestyle.”