By Vicky Trill
Last year I met Otto, a regular at Merv’s Gym at the Ashcroft HUB. He was practising high-level balance exercises, rowing, and lifting impressive amounts of weight.
One day, during Otto’s regular workout, a young man noticed Otto leg-pressing 450 lbs. When Otto finished, the young man said, “You can leave those weights on the machine, I’m gonna do that now.”
“Okay,” shrugged Otto, and carried on with his workout. The young man positioned himself on the leg-press, but no sooner had he released the machine guards than he found himself stuck and unable to move the weights. Otto noticed the struggle and quickly moved into action, removing the numerous 45 lb plates to free the young man.
Otto is 80 years old.
Otto is unassuming and inspirational at the same time. He has always been active, enjoying soccer and running as a young person. He remembers when, in 1955, the 4-minute mile record was broken. I asked him, “How fast could you run a mile in that year?”
His response was, “Oh, I only did a 4:25 mile.” Along with being involved in sport, Otto’s work day was also outdoors and full of activity: he was a diamond driller on a glacier for a number of years, and then for 37 years he was a commercial fisherman.
As I interviewed Otto, I noticed his straight, upright posture and asked him if there was a secret, or an easy way to be 80 and active. He told me, “There are no shortcuts.” So what does Otto do? Here is his formula:
Each morning, before he gets out of bed, he completes 150 crunches. Three times a week he works out at the gym, where his workout consists of 30 minutes of cardio (anything that keeps the heart rate up), 45 minutes of weights, and 10 to 15 minutes of stretching. He also walks a lot, and gets lots of fresh air.
I asked Otto, “What do you say to people who say that you should slow down as you get older?”
His answer? “The worst thing to do is slow down.”
editorial@accjournal.ca
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