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At the tender age of 70, Sherman Goodrich has become the world's oldest Body-for-Life Challenge Champion. He competed and won in the 46 and over class. Here, in part, is how it all went down.

By way of introduction, my name is Sherman Goodrich and, while I am better known—if at all—as a cartoonist (you can check out my credentials regarding that endeavor at the end of this message), I thought you might have a keener interest in the fact that I recently managed to reinvent myself in another field entirely. One that could conceivably hold out life-changing results for many of you. 

    Allow me to elaborate: For the past 13 years, EAS Sports Nutrition has sponsored an international fitness competition known as the Body-for-LIFE Challenge. In 2006 and ‘07 I entered in high hopes of winning. I was disappointed both times—though not to the point of pondering self-destruction or watching 'Celebrity Apprentice' —and moved on. I had, after all, gone from a 98 pound weakling to a 170 pound weakling. I skipped the 12-week program in ’08…not out of desolation…just out of time.

    On my 65th birthday, I had stopped smoking so I might be around to enjoy my 70th. Last year, on my 70th birthday, I decided to enter the Body-for-LIFE Challenge one more time in an all out effort to shoot for 85 or 90. Hey, why not?

    Well, it turns out they had revised the age groups since my last attempt and I ended up competing with contestants in their 40’s. As you can imagine, I now really had my work cut out for me. And, like it or not, there are some things that forty-six year olds can do with relative ease that tend to tax those of us three score and ten. On the other hand, it makes each victory that much sweeter.

    If the aforementioned drawback didn’t pose enough of a disadvantage, shortly before the scheduled starting date, my wife ended up in emergency with what everyone thought to a bad case of the flu. Turns out she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and close to a diabetic coma. After a week in the hospital she was back home and we found ourselves working on a major adjustment in both of our daily lifestyles.

    Okay…so instead of starting on my birthday, I found it best to put the ‘Challenge’ on hold until the 4th of July. That way I could direct more energy toward my wife’s recovery, and that’s one challenge we needed to face together. As of this writing she is much better and our routine is pretty much back to normal.

    Somewhere along the way, while still setting my sights on that new start date, I attempted to lift a tractor tire (with the tractor still attached) and blew out my right shoulder. A badly torn rotator cuff tends to be a tad touchy in a seriously painful way, so another setback was imminent.

    Following a couple of cortisone shots and my doctor’s advice not to pursue the program at all, it was time to buckle down to business and beat the deadline for the last available Challenge time slot. I developed a routine to work around—and occasionally through—the pain that proved quite successful, and have since even learned to bowl left-handed (now there’s a real adventure). Throughout the ‘Challenge’, I practiced an entirely different set of exercises for the shoulder to keep the strength up while not aggravating the condition. After all is said and done though, it’ll still necessitate surgery. 

    Out of desperation perhaps, coupled with a modicum of curiosity to see if it could be done, an entirely new and unique fitness program began to take shape and ultimately became the basis for my twelve-week workout schedule. While it was designed for those of us who feel the aches and pains, to one degree or another, of being past our prime shall we say…it is effective enough to challenge even seasoned athletes. If you want to feel the burn, but don’t want to feel burned out, this workout will do the trick. It was successful for me, and it can work for you as well. We’ll get into a detailed description of what it entails at a later date. I’m not being coy here… just don’t quite know how to lay it all out as of this writing.    

    Anyway…long story short (or is it too late for that?), once again I received a nice certificate through the mail that read in essence, “Thanks for participating and completing the 12 week program.” Heaving a heavy sigh, I began looking forward to 1) surgery on the shoulder and 2) making another run at winning in 2010. A week or so after that, a phone call from Body-for-LIFE bowled me over with a hearty, “Congratulations! You’re a winner!” They had over 100,000 entries. The results can now be seen at Body-for-LIFE . I still find it hard to believe that my picture’s right there on the home page. Once in a while I go back just to see if it’s still there. And I can't help it...I’m always amazed to see that it is.

    As an aside, I’ve faced tougher odds than winning this event. But being a cancer survivor on the shady side of seventy, I can truthfully tell you that I haven’t felt this good in years. I don’t pretend to look as ripped or quite as buff as some of the younger competitors. I also don’t pretend that this little blip in the scheme of things is deserving of any particular kudos or attention. Only that there’s an entire population of seniors out there who might possibly glean inspiration from this success story, where they might otherwise only find despair.

    To them—and to you—let me offer these words of caution: Side effects from entering the Body-for-Life Challenge may include more energy…greater strength…more spring in your step…bigger muscles…smaller waistlines…and a better outlook on life. Not to mention a ten thousand dollar cash prize.

Thanks for listening,

Sherman Goodrich

Artist Available (cool website…no, really)

HALFTIME (sports cartoons)