80-Year-Old Gym Inspiration

Raymond Noble starts his spinning class by warming up, following the instructor’s guidance as he increases his speed and adds resistance to his stationary bike to simulate climbing hills.

Throughout the hour-long session, participants tackle hills by standing out of their saddles to engage their core, alternating between pedaling with one leg and the other, and cruising flatter terrain with less resistance.

“By the end of class, you can really feel the workout,” says the 79-year-old Aurora resident.

What surprises him most is the age of one of the spin instructors. Sirka Kodnar celebrated her 80th birthday earlier this year at their LA Fitness gym in East Gwillimbury.

“It’s not often you see 80-year-olds in the gym… I’m amazed she’s still so dedicated to it,” Noble shares.

“She’s someone I aspire to be like when ‘I grow up,’” adds fellow participant Sue Mulveney, a sentiment likely echoed by many in Kodnar’s classes.

For Kodnar, who moved to Canada from Finland at 15, teaching gym classes three times a week (alongside her own workouts) is a vital part of her routine.

She juggles this with regular card games, occasional hairdressing for friends and family, and caring for her husband, creating a full and active lifestyle.

When asked if there’s anything else she’d like to add to her life, Kodnar hesitated before responding, “Not really.”

“People often ask me how long I’ve been exercising,” she says, her answer simple and direct, “All my life.”

Her early years were filled with skiing and cycling, but that physical activity slowed when she moved to Toronto at 15 to live with her aunt and uncle, following her sister who had immigrated earlier.

Adapting to her new lifestyle, Kodnar noticed changes when her clothes started fitting more snugly.

She eventually joined a Vic Tanny gym, a popular fitness chain known for its influence on the exercise industry at the time.

Later, as a wife and mother to two children (now 48 and 42), she carved out time for fitness, focusing on weight training at a Thornhill gym.

“The owner encouraged me to pursue bodybuilding,” she recalls, which she took up at the age of 40. With her children in school, Kodnar managed to work out six days a week and even competed in a few bodybuilding contests.

During that period, she also started teaching fitness classes, including aqua fitness and weight-based body workouts with steps.

While she’s sustained minor injuries over the years, Kodnar credits weight training with helping her maintain her health as she ages.

Now at 80, she balances gym time with her responsibilities, always making exercise a priority. “I feel restless if I don’t go to the gym.

If something were to stop me from working out, I don’t know what I’d do,” she admits. “I still have a house to manage, a husband to care for, and I play cards, too.”

Despite her demanding schedule, she continues to lend her skills as a hairdresser when needed.

Kodnar enjoys her active lifestyle and doesn’t want to slow down. Even at 80, she finds inspiration from others, mentioning a 95-year-old man who regularly lifts weights at the gym.

“He’s 95,” she says with admiration.

Source: newmarkettoday

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