At an age when most people are slowing down, 82-year-old Tim Minnick is just getting warmed up. Recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest active fitness instructor, Minnick is proof that it’s never too late to prioritize your health.
Exercising is what saved Minnick’s life when he lost his wife, although it wasn’t until later that he became a certified trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Today, he works primarily with clients over 60, many of whom face physical limitations from surgeries, chronic conditions, or years of inactivity. But for Minnick, those limitations are just starting points.
“Everybody can improve if they’ve got the want to,” says Minnick. “I always tell people you’ve got to take control of your health because it’s selfish if you don’t. If you don’t, guess who has to take care of you? Your spouse, your kids. They love you and want to make sure you’re okay, but it’s not fair to them to become a long-term caregiver.”
In testing their boundaries, his clients are achieving things they never thought possible. A man who first came to him with no gym experience even recently hit a personal best deadlift of 420 pounds—at the age of 67.
At the heart of it all is a simple, powerful mission: to help people not just live longer, but lead more independent, physically and mentally healthy lives.
“Once they get into that routine and build that habit into their lifestyle, they begin to really feel it and see a difference,” says Minnick. “It’s especially difficult for older people to make that change after always doing something a certain way, but if you can get over that hurdle, you get people exercising.”
Get off the sofa and step into your fitness journey at: 60plusfitness.us
“My goal is to touch as many lives as I can.”