I’m proof you can get a beach body at any age!
So says the 97-year-old who raced his way into the record books, gave his love life a boost and now wants to transform YOUR old age
ON YOUR marks, get set, bang! I don’t remember much after the gun going off – just being caught up in a whirlwind of veteran female runners, all of whom left me for dust.
But despite being on the same track, I wasn’t competing in the same race as them. I was in a category of my own – the 100 metre British championships for the over 95s, the first time anyone had raced at that age.
I crossed the finish line 25.76 seconds later. Usain Bolt, Linford Christie, Carl Lewis and every other 100m champion now had a new name in their ranks. Mine.
Just crossing the finishing line alive made me a game-changer. Sure, I may not be an Olympic athlete, but I am a man who has proved that with the right diet and exercise – and a determination to do battle with the physical and mental consequences of inactivity – you can transform your life and body at any age. I WAS 82 when I lost my wife Elsie. It felt like I had died with her.
I could not see beyond a handful of bleak and final years. Conscious that my body was seriously failing me, I became convinced that I would die at 85 and duly began to wind down in preparation. My muscles were wasting away.
Alone in the house, I had plenty of opportunity to think. It occurred to me that I was bored and inactive, and both served to accelerate the decline in my physical function.
I began to think and read about issues central to my concerns and concluded that, quite simply, our concept of retirement is little more than a slow death sentence.
We have to transform what it means to be old. As things stand, the aged are overweight, overmedicated and physically and mentally inactive – a generation of invalids with unaffordable pensions that threatens the survival of our health system.
The good news is that there is an alternative. After finding myself at rock bottom, I took steps to change my life. I may not have known it, but my best years were ahead of me.
I call this alternative approach ‘successful ageing’.
It comprises of three simple factors, and the first is work. Around 12million people are currently of state pension age – almost one in five of the UK’s total population – and the number is growing fast.
It would be easy to see this as proof that our quality of life is improving. But the elderly are unproductive, unhealthy and an enormous burden on the state.
My response is very simple. Go back to work.
I’m aware that many people can’t think of anything worse than staying in their hated job for another couple of decades.
But maybe this is a time to retrain or try a new line of work that builds upon your talents – perhaps you could volunteer for a charity. Some may be hungry for new responsibilities, others might be happy to downgrade to a post that simply allows them to feel valued and active.
We should no longer see retirement as justification to put your feet up, a holiday at the seaside sea won’t take up 30 years of your time, while trundling along the fairway in an electric buggy will do little for your fitness. Before you know it that dream has turned to tedium, while any plans you might have had are overshadowed by ill health.
Old age can be an incredible opportunity, not simply a period of degeneration. You can be an asset instead of a liability. This isn’t the end, but a new beginning...
Retirement should also be the moment we take more responsibility for our health. Unfortunately, we’re living in an age where our diet has caused an unprecedented global health crisis. It’s very easy to fall into bad habits. The chances are if you consider yourself to be overweight, you’re worried about your waistline, but the real killer is visceral fat, which invades organs such as the liver, pancreas, intestines, heart and kidneys.
The good news is that it is possible to lose the subcutaneous and the visceral fat with the aid of diet and exercise. The food you eat can have a huge impact on the quality of your later life. As muscle mass begins to fall away with age, for example, it’s important to eat foods rich in protein, such as fish, eggs and (in my opinion) meat.
In conjunction with a specified exercise regime, this will help rebuild lost muscle, and yet older people tend to consume a diet rich in carbohydrates, such as potatoes and bread.
Consider it the fuel, if you like, in your bid to age successfully.
Then there is exercise. We know that loss of muscle mass occurs with
‘Retirement for some is a slow death sentence’
age. The traditional response is lots of gentle exercise. But this doesn’t always work. Training six times a week in my 80s did nothing to stop either my muscle loss or the slow accumulation of body fat.
What’s needed is a means of rebuilding muscle. This can be achieved through intense, regular strength or resistance workouts that promote muscle growth.
So, at the age of 87, I set out to lose the flab and acquire the kind of muscle many people my age assume to be an impossible task.
I went to a gym near my home to see Francois Gay, a bodybuilder and former Mr Universe. ‘I want a beach body,’ I told him. ‘There are beautiful 70-year-old girls out there, and I’d like to turn their heads.’
He asked how old I was and I saw no reason to be economical with the truth.
‘Get undressed,’ he replied. Folding my glasses away, I duly stripped down to my underwear as he looked over my miserable body. Finally, Francois nodded. ‘It won’t be easy,’ he told me. ‘Are you quite sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for?’ ‘Whatever it takes,’ I said. My first task, he said, was to lose weight through a combination of intense workouts and a change to my diet. Francois advised me to cut out everything fatty, salty or sweet and reduce the amount on my plate at mealtimes.
Three times a week, I went to the gym for a series of resistance strength exercises. Undertaking eight to ten repetitions each time, I focused on everything from my biceps to my deltoids, triceps, glutes,
hamstrings and calves, working each to the point of exhaustion.
I also used my new-found strength to try out some more unusual pursuits, such as wakeboarding.
After a year, I had lost nearly two stone. I looked better and felt much improved in my mind.
Regular physical exercise aids longevity, helps prevent heart disease, stroke and cancer, helps brain development, improves bone density and sexual function and lowers cholesterol.
This sense of wellbeing is associated with the stimulation of various hormones by physical activity.
As a bonus – and this came as a complete surprise – my libido returned with a passion.
But despite everything, I still didn’t possess a body that would cause those indescribably attractive young 70-somethings to drop their jaws in amazement. There was just one course of action available to me. I would have to work much harder.
My chance came when, at the age of 89, I found myself in contact with Sylvia Gattiker, a former national gymnast from Austria. She had called me after I had inquired about a contest testing strength and flexibility. ‘Your bottom, Charles, is a catastrophe!’ she told me at our first meeting. ‘Can you save it?’ I asked. From that moment until the present day, Sylvia has never told me anything is impossible, and so we set to work. Rather than rely on machines, Sylvia counted me through squats, crunches, chin-ups, pull-ups, pushups, planks, thrusts and lunges – a programme designed to improve body shape and co-ordination.
Within months, I began to consider myself almost ready for the beach. It had been nearly five years since I set out to reinvent myself, and my only regret was that I had not started earlier.
Under her guidance, I began a new exercise regime – high-intensity interval training. This builds muscle and counteracts the natural muscle loss associated with ageing.
It’s the sort of training that sprinters do, so I decided to enter the 100 metres in the British Masters athletics championship in Birmingham and subsequently the British Masters 200m race at the indoor Lee Valley stadium in London, where I ran a world record time of 55.48 seconds. I’m now 97 but I intend to continue dedicating myself to promoting the virtues of successful ageing. After all, you’re the one getting old and continuing to get older. I just happen to have made that journey before you!
Having arrived in good shape, I can tell you right now that the future is a marvellous place to be.
© Charles Eugster, 2017
‘As a bonus, my libido returned with a passion’