Johnny Ringwood, 81, has been interested in fitness his whole life and still spends nine hours a week in the gym doing cardio, weights and swimming.

Here are his 8 top fitness tips:

 

  1. Stay active – No matter what your age, even if you’re retired, it’s important to be active in order to keep well.

 

    1. Get rid of creature comforts – The best advice I can give you is to chuck away the remote control and buy an uncomfortable chair. That way you’ll need to keep getting up and won’t be sitting still for too long

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  1. Take it slowly – Don’t think you can achieve your fitness goals straight away. It takes time and work but you’ll get there in the end. Don’t try and work too hard, too soon: start slowly with things that aren’t too difficult

8 Top Fitness Tips, From an 81-Year-Old

  1. Be sensible – Approach fitness sensibly. You need to have a long-term, sustainable approach and don’t aim for a quick fix. Remember, the benefits always outweigh the effort in the end

8 Top Fitness Tips, From an 81-Year-Old

  1. Work at your level – Recognise your limitations and don’t push yourself too hard at first: you don’t want to give yourself injuries. Once you get more used to exercise, you can gradually increase what you’re doing

8 Top Fitness Tips, From an 81-Year-Old

  1. Don’t be embarrassed – Remember, no-one is looking at you, they’re all just getting on with their own work-outs

8 Top Fitness Tips, From an 81-Year-Old

  1. Look for inspiration – Look at other people who you aspire to be like and ask yourself how they got there. Look at older people who enjoy life: my motto is “it’s not old age, it’s gold age.”

8 Top Fitness Tips, From an 81-Year-Old

  1. Help others – Whether it’s helping someone who’s struggling in the gym or helping someone you’ve never met by taking part in something like 100in10, you’ll get a lot more out of it if you know you’re doing good.

 

Johnny is the ambassador for the new Independent Age challenge – called 100in10 – which will help raise will help raise funds to support older people to live more independently. Sign up for 100in10 here.

 

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Nisha Kotecha is the Founder of Good News Shared. Having worked and volunteered for charities in the UK for over 10 years, Nisha is on a mission to highlight how amazing charities are.