“IF I DWELL ON MY AGE AT ALL,it’s about the
possibility of extending one’s physical life as
long as I can.
“I’ve been competing for quite a few
decades. You have to say to yourself, Look I’m
70 now, this is what I look like. But personally I
choose not to look in the mirror. I look within,
because that’s where the strength is. Inside I
don’t look 70.
“Every time you push yourself on the track
there’s a fine line between pushing too hard
and not pushing enough. That’s something
you have to learn by listening to your body.
“I know I’m actually stronger than I was
at 20 because the work I’m doing in the gym
makes most 20- and 30-year-olds shake their
head. It actually takes me the same time to
recover as it did when I was younger.
“The training is hard. Winter in particular is
a bitch because it’s strength and conditioning
time – you really smash the weights. The
running you do on sand dunes, hills and
country tracks is also very, very difficult. Every
year I say to myself, Do I really want to do this?
And I discuss it with my family and my kids,
who worry about me. My response to them is
to say, Look, this is what I want to do. My life is
about trying to improve myself and to make
sure I’m not a liability.
“The prognosis for the tumour was that
if I was a good boy I had four years to live.
That was seven years ago. It’s a pretty scary
prognosis. It really shakes you and it did shake
me. But it did teach me how incredible the
human body is. If you really apply yourself
you can overcome these things. I don’t think
about it now. When I’m on the track I’m there
to do a job and that’s what I do.”96 APRIL 2016
FITNESS
70
If you’ve done the work in
previous decades, now is the
time to reap the benefits and setnew benchmarksSTRIVE AND THRIVE
JOHN WALL
The champion Masters sprinter has left a malignant
brain tumour in his wake. Now he’s aiming to
become the fastest septuagenarian in the world
‘‘I choose not to
look in the
mirror. I look
within, because
that’s where the
strength is ’’
TORCHING THE TRACK
Wall was a promising sprinter as a young man,
and was on track to compete in the 1968 Mexico
Olympics before contracting tuberculosis. Here’s
a snapshot of a life in motion.10.3 seconds: 100m wind assisted, age 23
10.5: unassisted, age 23
11.97: 2009 Masters world championships, 60-64 age group
13.03: NSW Country Championships, age 69.
12.77: world record for 70-year age group. Wall hopes to break the
record in the Masters world championships in Perth in October.
85kg: deadlift
110kg: bench press
600kg: leg pressTHE BREAK OR BREAK THROUGH DECADE
By now cardiovascular disease and cancer
are joined by dementia and kidney problems.
Plus, osteoporosis becomes an under-
diagnosed problem for men from 60 onwards,
says Richardson. Just one fracture from a fall
can reduce your lifespan by five years.
Fortify your physique. A University of
Missouri study found men who did 60- 120
minutes a week of exercises that load the hip
and spine (eg, squats, deadlifts, lunges and the
overhead press) saw a significant increase in
total body bone mass.SAND AND
DELIVER
Wall does 100m sandhill runs
up to 10 times, with walking
recovery. “The difference is
we don’t just run up there, we
carry a 10kg medicine ball
above our heads,” he says. “It
makes it extremely difficult for
the key areas of core, hip
flexors, quads, hamstrings,
calf muscles and back. It’s a
generalised pain-inducing
workout that builds strength
and conditioning. It’s hell.”