If you watched the Paris Olympics this summer, you were no doubt amazed by the athletes and their physical abilities. While this year’s Olympic roster included a 65-year-old athlete, most of the athletes were in their 20s and 30s, and you may have wondered, “What will their fitness routines be like in 30 or 40 years?”
Janice Klecker’s story shows how the former Olympian still makes fitness a priority in her life. Now living in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Klecker competed as a marathoner at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, finishing 21st among her fellow runners. She’s a two-time U.S. marathon champion (1987 and 1992). And she continues to run today, with a few tweaks here and there and regular fitness classes.
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Then and Now
Klecker says her biggest recent achievement has been learning to do box jumps, which involve squatting, sprinting onto a box, and then landing in a squatting position before dismounting. It’s an incredibly difficult move for even the most accomplished athletes, yet Klecker has managed it at age 64. “Making the Olympic team years ago was hard, and box jumps are almost as hard,” she stresses.
The Olympian has been on a long fitness journey, first becoming interested in running in her late teens, inspired by her mother, who was a regular runner. “I started getting interested in fitness because in the ’70s it was rare for women to be involved in fitness,” she says.
Now, Klecker believes that exercise not only keeps her physical health in tip-top condition, it also benefits her mental health. “Mental health helps physical health and physical health helps mental health. For me, exercise is just as important now as it was when I was in my 20s,” she says.
With her love and passion for fitness, Klecker does many different types of workouts to keep her body stimulated. She says that at her age, it’s hard to say exactly what type of workout she does. “I need variety in my workouts!” she says.
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Janice Klecker’s Workout Routine
Regular fitness classes
Variety is definitely the spice of Klecker’s fitness routine. For starters, she typically does some sort of workout every day, including Alpha Strong lifting classes at Lifetime Gym a few times a week, where she works on endurance lifting by doing a variety of exercises.
She says that while she aims to exercise every day, she does take the occasional day off — on her lighter days, she likes to take a yoga class — and, with three young grandchildren, that can be a workout in itself, she says.
But most of the time, Klecker still takes regular classes in weightlifting, ballet, aqua jogging, and spinning—and, of course, she still keeps up with running.
Janice Klecker is still running at age 64.
Jeremy Payer/Eden Prairie Local News
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Weight vest walking
As a long-distance runner, long runs are nothing new for Klecker, but as she gets older, she says she’s had to expand her repertoire.
“I can’t just run,” she says, “I can run without feeling any pain, but I think the reason I stay active is because I do so many different things.”
This includes walking in a weighted vest, which she finds challenging and fun. “I’m wearing a 25-pound vest and it’s hard,” she says. “I do hilly routes so I don’t have to walk 10 miles – even 3 miles is a hard workout.”
Her Words of Wisdom
“I often say that to stay healthy as we age, we need to get more creative,” Klecker says. “Be curious and don’t be afraid to learn new things. It’s easy to stick to what’s known and what your body is used to. Mixing things up and being creative helps.”
Next, find out what happens to your body when you run one mile every day.
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Janice Klecker, former Olympian.
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