Octogenarian Jacinto Bonilla runs a CrossFit gym out of his backyard in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. But the 80-year-old doesn’t just provide the real estate for youngsters in his neighborhood to train—he’s an active CrossFitter himself, and odds are, he’s in better shape than you. Bonilla deadlifts 325 pounds, squats 250 pounds, and can rip off 20 unbroken pullups. “Any kind of exercises you could think of, I could do,” he says.
Chris Casey of ABC’s Local-ish met with Bonilla in person to hear how the senior became the legend he is today, and to try out one of Bonilla’s many intense training workouts.
Bonilla was born in Puerto Rico, but moved to Spanish Harlem, New York, in 1945, when he was just six years old. In his teens, he started lifting homemade weights that he fashioned from soup cans. He’s been active his entire life—he didn’t simply turn 70 and think to himself: It’s time to start lifting weights if I want to live longer!
“No matter what age I reach, I want to reach that age in shape,” Bonilla says. “I don’t want to be dependent on anyone.”
He continues, “If you don’t use your joints and muscles, you’re going to have problems. If you just sit there and watch TV, you’re going to get rusty.”
Casey, who’s 31, attempted one of Bonilla’s HIIT sets that involves deadlifts, burpees, medicine ball throws, and air squats. After seven minutes, Casey was wiped!
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