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Rudolf Goetz effortlessly moves the weights up and down on the ab machine.
Pushing 40kg (88lb) weights on the leg press are not a problem for the 100-year-old, either.
“Many others would be groaning under the weight at 50 or 60,” says trainer and gym owner Marc Baldow with a laugh, as he watches his oldest member diligently go through his workout routine.
Goetz trains twice a week at the gym in Fuerstenwalde, a small town east of Berlin in Germany, without making any fuss, despite his story having been lauded as “incredible” in the local paper.
Rudi, as he is affectionately known, does not even change into gym clothes. He gets right into it, whether he is wearing a pullover or dress shirt, working out for about an hour.
Maintaining strength in old age
It is easy to assume that Goetz must be a former professional athlete or at least a gym teacher. In fact, he is a retired pastor who only began working out nine years ago after spotting one of the gym’s fliers.
“I felt weak,” he says. “My legs just wouldn’t cooperate.”
It was tough at first, but things gradually improved, says Goetz, who, by his own account, has no health problems and no artificial joints, although his blood pressure is a little low.

Baldow knows how important it is to maintain strength in old age.
“Your legs have to carry you; if they can no longer do that, a downward spiral begins,” he says, adding that it is worth starting to work out even later in life to reduce the risk of falls and broken bones.
He says it is “quite common” for people to start coming to the gym for the first time in their 70s or 80s.
Granfluencers
Goetz is not the only active senior who has gained fame in Germany.
Johanna Quaas, who turned 100 last year, holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest gymnast, while 86-year-old “fitness junkie” Erika Rischko has a massive following on social media, where she posts photos and videos of herself working out.
The oldest of them all is Gisela Raff, 106, who continues to work out once a week in a Berlin facility targeting older clients.
“The average age is around 70,” says sports scientist Marcel Werner from the club.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity.
In addition, the WHO recommends muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.
But in reality, few people are meeting those targets, particularly among seniors.
In Germany, only 43 per cent of people aged 65 to 79 meet the recommendations for physical activity, according to a 2024 study; among those aged over 80, it was just 25 per cent. Only 22 per cent and 10 per cent of the respective age groups follow the recommendations for muscle strength training.
In Hong Kong, a 2023 survey found 53.8 per cent of adult respondents did not reach the WHO’s targets.

Working out the right way
More gyms and sports clubs are becoming aware of the over-70 demographic, offering activities tailored to their needs.
According to Werner, blanket training recommendations are not useful.
“A 60-year-old today is no longer the same as they were 20 or 30 years ago,” he says. “Some 80-year-olds are so fit that they put sports scientists to shame.”
Strength, endurance, flexibility and coordination skills such as balance and spatial awareness are particularly crucial as we age, he says.
Training the various muscle groups in the right balance and to stretch them before and after training is key, Baldow says.
Never too late to start
According to Alexander Wulf, a spokesman for the DSSV, an association that represents German gyms and health clubs, many older people experience not only physical benefits when taking on regular exercise, but also mental and emotional ones.
They “gain new confidence in their own body – often leading to a noticeably better quality of life, greater independence and more enjoyment of everyday life, even in old age”, Wulf says.
Goetz is a living example, saying he feels much stronger after nine years of exercising.
“I always go home feeling limber afterwards,” he says.

His gym is a close-knit community. “Word has got around that I’m a pastor,” he says. “Some people even open up to me.”
Many are delighted to see him each time he arrives, greeting him warmly with hugs and a heartfelt welcome.
“Rudi is a great role model,” says Jule von Alvensleben, who started working out at the age of 52. “You can still learn to do pull-ups even if you’re over 50.”
Back in the day, Goetz used to go running, but work soon kept him too busy to exercise regularly.
“My desk was always piled high with work; there were phone calls, religious education classes, visits to the sick and church services,” says Goetz, who still preaches from the pulpit once a month. “There, too, I tell people that they should get plenty of exercise, because it’s never too late to start.”


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Rudolf Goetz is 100 years old. Remarkably, he only started going to the gym in his 90s. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa






Goetz works out in the gym in Fuerstenwalde with trainer and gym owner Marc Baldow. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa

Johanna Quaas, the oldest active gymnast in the world according to the Guinness World Records, on uneven bars in 2012, in Halle, Germany. Quaas turned 100 last year. Photo: AFP

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Weekend workouts can be a starting point from which participants gradually add more exercise sessions as they start to feel the benefits, says Santina Philips, personal trainer at Ursus Fitness in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee

Kimberly Kwok is aware of the need to avoid overexertion at weekend workouts and mindful about preventing muscle strain and fatigue, making sure to stretch, warm up and cool down. Photo: Dickson Lee

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Health & Wellness

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Rudolf Goetz, who started going to the gym in his nineties, believes you can start exercising at any age. And he is not alone


Rudolf Goetz, who started going to the gym in his nineties, believes you can start exercising at any age. And he is not alone.


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Health & Fitness

You’re never too old to work out, says 100-year-old, who hits the gym twice a week

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rudolf Goetz, who started going to the gym in his nineties, believes you can start exercising at any age. And he is not alone

Maintaining strength in old age

Rudolf Goetz, who started going to the gym in his nineties, believes you can start exercising at any age. And he is not alone