- Former investment manager Jim Owen was goal-oriented but could not find any motivation for the movement.
- At 70, he was “extremely unbearable” back pain so he began working out.
- Starting from scratch, he now competed in a fitness contest, losing 35 pounds and correcting his back pain.
At 70, Jim Owen was unable to do one push-up.
Owen has made a successful 35-year career in Wall Street investment management, writing bestselling books on improving the industry, and taking on a 10-year book tour at 300 stops across the United States. However, his drive was not translated into his physical health.
He was a “weak” and “certified couch potato,” he told Business Insider.
“It seems I couldn’t make myself exercise. I don’t know why. My life, I was very goal-oriented, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get off the couch,” he said.
By the age of 70, he was unbearable for his lower back pain. “If you feel this is bad at 70, how bad would you feel at 85?” he said.
So he decided to make changes. He started by walking for 30 minutes a day. And as he got a fitter, he gradually changed one walk at a time for a strength training session.
Currently light at 84 and 35 pounds, Owen trains three times a week, uses free weights and machines at his home gym, and spends 45-minute walks three times a week, walking at a pace that is enough to hold him breath.
Owen didn’t exercise by the age of 70, but he slowly increased his fitness by walking and strength training.
Nathan Church, Harprocinema
He was able to do over 50 push-ups, and no longer suffered from “severe, unbearable” back pain, and said he had as much energy as he did 20 years ago.
Last year, Owen won gold in all 10 events in the San Diego senior game for the age group over 80. These included the longest box squats made with a kettlebell in one minute, the longest hang from the bar, the fastest time to push 50 yards of 90 pound threads, and the most jumps made with a jump rope in one minute.
His best days are still before him, he said. To encourage other older adults to adopt the same attitude, he wrote a book and created two documentaries on healthy aging and health as an older person. He is also a fitness ambassador for VI, a retired village in La Jolla, San Diego, where community members learn how to use gym equipment and help organize fitness events.
“I’m in the inspiration business today. I’m not paid for it, but that doesn’t matter – I think I’ll get more from now on than the people who take my advice. I’m in the ‘paying it’ stage of my life,” he said.
Owen shared advice for others who want to be as healthy as 84 years old.
Owen wants to encourage other seniors to get better. He is the fitness ambassador for VI in La Jolla, the senior living community he lives in.
Nathan Church, Harprocinema
1) Whatever your fitness level, start slowly
“It’s never too late to be healthy,” Owen said.
A 2023 study by researchers at Duke Kunshan University in China found that participants over the age of 80 who were physically active tend to live longer than those who were not, even if they started exercising their lives.
“I tell people that it’s new and it’s just a 20-30 minute solution. “I’m a competitive athlete today, but I wasn’t there at first. I enjoy working and competing with myself. I’m trying to do better than last month.”
If you’re new to exercise, personal trainer Brian Goldberg previously told BI that starting “slow and stable” will help you maintain it for the long term.
2) Exercise consistently
“There’s no quick return,” Owen said. “Just do what you can and be consistent. If you think three times a week is right for you, that’s fine.”
This chimes with what experts have told BI before. This includes Nathan K. Reblasser, a physiologist and healthy aging researcher, who said the best type of exercise is something you consistently do.
3) Relationships are important
Social relationships are just as important as getting older as you are healthy,” Owen said.
He shares this opinion with Rose Anne Kenny, a professor of gerontology at Trinity College, Dublin.
Owen’s wife, Stanya Owen, takes classes in Tai Chi and Zumba. He believes that marrying her for 56 years gave him emotional strength and helped him stay healthy because he doesn’t want to be physically dependent.
“She’s an angel. I didn’t hold back on me for a month,” he said. “I’m grateful that we were lucky enough to have health and relationships.”
