The world’s oldest bodybuilder is a 90-year-old great-grandfather of nine who has been training for more than 70 years and can lift more than his bodyweight.
Jim Arrington, who turns 91 next month, received the title at the age of 83 – and has held it ever since.
The self-proclaimed “fitness rat” credited that building muscle kept him in good health and allowed him to continue “doing anything that a physically fit person can do.”
“Oh, the exercise has absolutely helped me live longer,” he told .
“I can just keep doing things that a person my age isn’t normally able to do.” It’s just the ability to function more or less normally, like I’m 21 and on a bike that I’m pretty happy with am.
“An older person walks with a walker or something, but I can take longer steps because the exercise just takes out the inflammation in the joints.”
Jim Arrington, who turns 91 next month, has been named the world’s oldest bodybuilder. He told he can lift up to 250 pounds with his legs – or 1.5 times his body weight
His love for bodybuilding began when he was 15 and looking for a way to get rid of his asthma. He is pictured above on a beach in Los Angeles, California, near where he lives this year
Mr Arrington hits the gym three times a week – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – for around two hours each time. He reserves the weekends for rest so that his muscles can regenerate.
The 160-pound phenom revealed to what he’s lifting at his Los Angeles gym. His maximum for leg exercises is 250 pounds – or 1.5 times his body weight.
For his arms, the former salesman said he can do bicep curls up to 100 pounds – while he can lift up to 140 pounds on chest and back exercises.
And he’s still building out his impressive fitness regimen.
In five months he was able to improve his skills on a stationary bike from just five minutes at level five to a ten minute cycle at level 11.
Outlining his training schedule, he said Monday is dedicated to his back and chest, while Wednesday he focuses on his legs and Friday his shoulders and arms.
He does his exercises on machines and says his joints have weakened with age – making lifting free weights riskier for him.
“I don’t want to do more than my body and my joints can handle – because there’s no point in wearing the joints,” he said.
“I exercise as much as is possible for the state of my skeletal structure.”
He said he usually starts his exercises with a warm-up by lifting 20 pounds or 20 reps, then adding another 40 pounds before gradually increasing the weight to his max.
“If it’s a weight I can barely get reps at, I’ll wrap my knees in stretchy leg wraps and do the reps and keep going.” I’d hold it up and take a few breaths, then a few more, until I can do 20 reps.
“I’m pretty out of breath and can hardly walk afterwards.”
He lifts up to 250 pounds on a machine similar to a leg press, with the user lying on their back rather than in the usual flexed position.
Mr. Arrington has followed his training program for more than 70 years.
The picture above shows him working out at his gym in Los Angeles, California. He’s competing in the Over-90 category for bodybuilders next month
Above, he’s seen working out his abs at his gym. He said the maximum he can lift with his legs is about 250 pounds
His love of bodybuilding began at the age of 15 and he saw it as a way to combat his debilitating asthma.
“I was very sick and had asthma [at the time] and I couldn’t walk more than 50 meters without panting,” he told .
“So I saw these ads in a magazine about working out and getting powerful and strong, and that was a good thing for me.” I decided to send those little books away and give the exercises a try.’
He began training with 3-pound balls in 1947 and quickly found his asthma disappeared while gaining over 10 pounds of muscle.
He then began training with the leader of his Boy Scout troop before going to college and entering a gym for the first time.
Now, decades later, he maintains a regular exercise regimen and still competes – and wins – in bodybuilding competitions, with his most recent victory in the Over-80 category at the IFBB Professional League Championships, held in Reno last month , Nevada. He placed third in the over 70s.
He is pictured above lifting weights on a beach in Los Angeles, California
Mr Arrington is pictured above at one of his first bodybuilding competitions
Mr. Arrington is preparing to compete in another competition in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania early next month. The picture above shows his muscles
He began competing for the title “Mr. America,” but quickly decided he “didn’t stand a chance” because he “lacked the genetics.”
“I figured my best chance of becoming someone in that space was to wait until everyone else either grew up and did something else or died,” he said.
He has competed in more than 70 competitions, won many awards and is now winning more and more in older categories.
He is currently training for the Pro Masters World Championships taking place next month in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he has convinced organizers to add a category for over 90s.
But one of the accolades he is most proud of is being the oldest bodybuilder in the world, a title he received in the Guinness Book of World Records.
To fuel his rigorous training regimen, Mr Arrington initially focused on drinking plenty of milk and eating beef to build muscle mass.
In later years, however, this led to inflammation, he said, prompting him to switch to a diet higher in vegetables and whole foods.
Mr Arrington said the training has kept him young and healthy and has enabled him to look after his 84-year-old wife May, who has dementia.
The couple have been married for more than 40 years and he credits his fitness with being able to do more to help around the house – and drive her to appointments.
The couple have four children together and nine great-grandchildren.
Mr Arrington says he is revealing his story to encourage others, particularly older adults, to get back into weightlifting.
He said, “My purpose and goal is to encourage others to lift weights.”