25-05-2025
‘I'm 78 and in the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By'
It's not every day in an independent living community that one of its 78-year-old residents routinely wins medals, can do moves like handstands and cartwheels and teaches tai chi classes. But for Arthur 'Artie' Lynnworth, who lives in Wellington, Florida at the Wellington Bay independent living community, looking and feeling fit is the norm, and it's all thanks to a lifelong commitment to fitness.
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Lynnworth has been active in sports since childhood. He was the captain of his New York City high school gymnastics team ('undefeated on the parallel bars' during his senior year, he adds), and he was also captain of his Syracuse University Varsity Gymnastics Team. He went on to work as an assistant gymnastics coach at a high school for a couple years. Later in life, he continued pursuing sports, which included biking, tennis, racquetball, aikido martial arts and tai chi. Then in 2008, when he retired from a 40-year career in the chemical industry, he wrote several self-help books, including Get Fit and Stay Fit for 'I'm 71 and In the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By'
It's not enough that Lynnworth fulfills his own fitness goals—he also competes and brings home medals too. He explains that recently, he competed in a multi-state senior track event called the Wisdom Warrior Challenge, and was awarded several national medals, including two gold medals for the 50 and 200-meter races, silver for the 100-meter and 5th place for the 400-meter race. Each race followed a run/walk format. Related: 'I'm 73 and in the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By'
Every morning, Lynnworth takes a one-mile walk with his 78-year-old wife, Margy.
Lynnworth was way ahead of the trend when it comes to pickleball. He's been participating in the sport for 15 years, which he does six mornings a week, something that he says keeps him 'fit, agile and healthy.' Five of those mornings are straightforward pickleball games and one morning a week, he takes a pickleball lesson.
Before hitting the pickleball court, Lynnworth completes a five-minute brief stretch and limbering routine, as he calls it, and includes such moves as side torso stretches, rotational torso turns, hamstring stretches and squats.
Additionally, Lynnworth teaches tai chi classes through his independent living community. 'I have run over 100 classes in the last two years here,' he tells Parade. Related: 'I'm 71 and In the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By'
One motto that Lynnworth frequently expresses, which he included often in his fitness book, is, 'Anything is better than nothing.' If you'd like to begin an exercise regimen, he recommends starting easy after checking with a medical professional. 'Find ways to gradually do more physical activity,' he advises. 'It can be as simple as parking farther out in the parking lot to take more steps or beginning a short morning stretching routine to get your body moving. Take a 10-minute walk. Lean against your kitchen counter and push away in a kind of vertical push-up. Find simple things to do that are possible and keep at it. Later, you can add more.' To sum things up, he says, 'Fitness is important for good physical and mental health. Start small and let the positive reinforcement of the new activity be self-motivating for continuing and perhaps even doing more.'
Up Next:Artie Lynnworth, Wisdom Warrior Challenge medalist and tai chi instructor.
'I'm 78 and in the Best Shape of My Life—This Is the Exact Workout Routine I Swear By' first appeared on Parade on May 25, 2025
