Had 61 y/o roommate in hospital - living proof that bwf rocks

moonlitsonata

New member
Hey guys,

Just wanted to share a story, hopefully some of you will find it motivating. I had a tonsillectomy on Thursday so I had to spend a couple of days in hospital (plus 1 month off training, not cool.). Anyway, just when I arrive in the morning a guy comes in saying it seems like we're gonna be roommates.

He was a fairly little guy, maybe around 175 cm (5'9") and 70 kg (154 lbs). I guessed he was a couple of years younger than my dad, maybe around 40-45. He said he was an electrician here at the hospital, I told him I'm an engineering student so we started talking and somehow ended up talking about how it sucks to be out of training for weeks. He said: 'Tell me about it, I'm used to training 2,5 hours a day every day for 40 years, I don't know how I'm gonna handle it'. I frowned: '40 years? How old are you exactly?'. He was freaking 61 years old! Not a single grey hair, no wrinkles whatsoever and when we had to change to hospital gowns my jaw dropped. He was freaking ripped. He wasn't big at all, but he was so damn muscular I almost covered myself haha. And he told me I looked good and asked what I train, it was ridiculous. Still, I told him about bodyweight training and gymnastics and turned out he was doing the exact same thing, except for 40+ years! He does (weighted) calisthenics, lifts for lower body and does bench presses and he is an avid boxer as well.Plus he walks, runs or rides his bicycle everywhere, he hasn't used an elevator in decades!

Although his routine was pretty interesting (very high volume and frequency, for instance he does about 70+ reps of weighted decline push-ups as part of his warm up) it seemed to have worked out for him quite well. So I tried to suck in as much wisdom as possible in those two days but it always came down to these three things: eat clean, proper mobility and flexibility and form above everything else.

Now, I'm sure most of us already know this, but it was great seeing the results in person. He didn't know a thing about nutrition or reps and sets when he started, he just figured he should eat natural and clean food and always keep his form in check. He told me he feels great, never had joint problems (or any health concerns for that matter except for his nose polyp now) and he just loves being alive. It was really inspiring when he told me never to train for girls or looks because those are short term goals. He told me to train to be able to enjoy this beautiful life as much as possible, and to never forget that movement is the most amazing medicine. This guy was truly inspiring, I want to be this happy and strong when I get 61.
 
@moonlitsonata Wow, thanks for that awesome story! It's especially great to see such dedication onward in age. Everyone is always telling me that once I get a job, family, mortgage, etc., then I won't have time to stay fit. Hopefully I'll prove them wrong.
 
@jbop0069 I'm pretty positive you'll find time to stay fit! My dad is a very busy guy (like you said job, family, mortgage, housework) but he just gets up at 5 am every other morning to do his workout. He's almost 50 now and in a great shape despite only doing calisthenics for a year. All it takes is dedication! :)
 
@jbop0069 Just make sure you have a schedule and you stick a time slot in there for working out. Push whatever else you can back 20 minutes and you can pump out a lot in that time.
 
@jbop0069 It's other way around imo. When you're young it's easy to be fit and look relatively good without really trying. When you hit forty your body visibly changes and you know you'll fall apart without exercising. You have seen it on folks older than you for last 20 years. Exercising becomes a necessity rather than vanity. I'm actually blown away why people don't exercise when they're past forty.
 
@moonlitsonata Rad story. I love how he mentioned not training for girls or other things that are short term. I have definitely gotten caught up in the mentality that I have to be training for "something" (a sport, event, etc.) rather than just being fit for a better quality of life. I think it's important to keep that in mind when trying to find motivation to exercise.
 
@fighterpilot20 Every time I've tried to start a diet or exercise regimen, it was for some short term goal and never lasted. I wouldn't even reach my goals. I finally got fed up with being fat and lazy. I'm finally sticking to something and I can only attribute it to really wanting to better myself for myself.
 
My moment of clarity was when my size 38 pant were stretched to the point I really needed to buy size 40. I just couldn't do it; I couldn't get out of the 30's.
 
@louisreder Yeah you're right, the problem is he (like most people over 50 here in Hungary) doesn't speak English. But in these two days I told him all about this community and showed him tons of videos on Youtube. It was his first time seeing people like Al Kavadlo doing their stuff and he was just sitting there with a grin ear to ear and saying 'no way! nooo waaay! no fucking way! I should find a playground!' He's really awesome
 
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