80-year-old competes with younger fitness buffs
Bonilla says the most important thing to remember is to keep going. "You have to be consistent".
NEW YORK (Reuters) - From weightlifting to box jumps, Jacinto Bonilla makes it all look easy - even at 80 years old.
At a CrossFit studio in Brooklyn, which specializes in a high-intensity workout program that combines interval training with olympic weightlifting, running, gymnastics and more. Bonilla trains alongside people half a century younger or more.
She expressed, “"I’ve got to tell you, I’ve been in shape all my life.” "I’ve always tried something different. Tried running. Tried karate. I tried bodybuilding. I always loved bodybuilding."
On this night, Bonilla is participating in a CrossFit Games open workout, competing with others one-fourth his age. If he completes the workout with a good enough score, he could qualify for the CrossFit Games, a once-a-year event where the fittest and strongest CrossFit athletes from around the world compete for the title of "Fittest on Earth."
Needless to say, Bonilla is not your typical 80-year-old.
CrossFit coach Brittany Bolella says Bonilla is an important part of the community.
"A lot of people think that you can’t do it at that age, or you can’t do it even at age 45, 55, 65...So, he shows the rest of the community that it’s possible and that, really, you can’t use age as an excuse."
Bonilla says the most important thing to remember is to keep going. "You have to be consistent and the worst day that you don’t want to come, that’s the day you have to show up at the gym. You have to show up because if you don’t show up tomorrow, you might feel the same way, and you’re not going to show up, and the next day, you’re going to say, ‘Ah, I don’t feel like going to the gym,’ you’re not going to show up. And that’s it. It becomes week, month, years, and you’re out of it.”
Bonilla will find out in a few months if his results are good enough to qualify for the Games.
