What does it take to stay in shape at any age?

By P.J. Beaumont, C-creator of Tactical Pajamas

I don’t consider myself any kind of a great athlete, but at age 66 I can still raise some eyebrows.  I have a standing challenge with the local police department to race me carrying a 12-foot boat up a 200-foot hill— at a 20% grade— six times.  If they can beat my overall time of 7:07, they get $50 for their charity, which buys gifts for underprivileged children at holiday time.  To date, no one has beat me, but they still get a donation for trying.

In the past year I’ve gone as many as 14 rounds with my personal trainer, a professional boxer (yes, he pulls his punches!).  He’s told me that he’s got clients half my age who can’t do half what I can do.

Along with several rounds of boxing, in each workout we do jump rope, five types of abdominal exercises, and literally tons of sandbag lifts.

One piece of torture he’s designed for me is called a “bag drag.”  I take a 20-pound sandbag, get down on all fours, and pull it up from between my legs.  Then crawl forward and do it again.  58 times gets me to the top of that 200-foot 20%-grade hill.  Then I run back down the hill and do it all over.  I’ll do that twice, each time in under three minutes.

From time to time I’ll pick up my racing kayak and do a workout on the whitewater slalom training course on the Potomac River just north of DC.  I’m not nearly as fast as the World Champions and Olympic paddlers who often work out next to me, but I can do just as many runs as they can and not get tired.

When I go on longer whitewater kayaking trips, four hours of paddling class IV rapids has virtually no effect on me, stamina-wise.

I’ve worked with certified Athletic Trainers and other fitness professionals, and put all that I’ve learned into a system I call the “Low Pain/All Gain” program.  You can read about it on the blog at www.over65andcrushingit.com.