There she became accomplished in the Japanese art of fencing, kendo, but found herself lacking sufficient upper body strength so she began weight training.

She also wrote a book on weight training for women titled Lisa Lyon's Body Magic (ISBN 0-553-01296-7), which was published in 1981.

[2] Her stats as taken in October 1980:[3] bust 37A, waist 24", hips 35", height 5' 4", weight 120 lbs, hair color brunette.

[7] Lyon was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 2000 for being "... a one-woman media-relations activist on behalf of the sport... and Elevating bodybuilding to the level of fine art.

[9] Lisa Lyon died from stomach cancer at her home in Westlake Village, California on September 8, 2023, at the age of 70.