Lessons From The Elders

I went to the gym today to train my upper body, which was mostly chest and back. While doing the bench press, an older man approached me and asked if he could work out with me since all of the other flat benches were taken. The older man had muscles that appeared to stretch the limits of his t-shirt. He had gray hair, was a little taller than me, and had a friendly attitude.

We both benched 135 pounds for our warm-up. I eventually went up to 225 pounds for 8 repetitions. The old man matched me. I did one more set with 225 pounds and was done. The old man continued to add more weight, going up to 315 pounds. He lifted that with ease. He finished his last set at 385 pounds.

The fact that this old man lifted that much weight did not surprise me. It was his age that did. He was 70 years old.

The old man told me that he ate a healthy diet, which included a lot of vegetables. He avoided sweets, fast food, and did not smoke or drink alcohol. He worked out five times a week. The way he talked was full of clarity and focus. His posture was upright and full of vigor like he was still twenty years old and in the military.

Just being in this man's presence filled me with motivation for training and taking care of myself in the future. After doing bench presses with the old man, I had one of the most productive work outs in a long while. When I become old, I want to be like that man.