After you check out this video of a 74-year old championship winning bodybuilder, I don’t EVER want to hear the excuse “I’m too old” ever again!
Tsutomo Tosaka didn’t start training until he was in his 40’s and today is winning masters bodybuilding championships. His most recent win at the Japanese National Championships made international news this week.
I’ve attended a lot of masters bodybuilding competitions over the years, and let me tell you – Tsutomo looks outstanding! He is ripped, has excellent back development, amazing calves, well defined abs and very nice overall symmetry. This man is an inspiration!
Take a look at the video:
Building lean muscle is the fountain of youth! Now go and pump some iron, ya hear!
Video coverage of Tosaka’s victory was also seen on Yahoo news via Reuters. (Of course yahoo went and spoiled it by putting a donut commercial before the video! Sigh…..)
Train hard and expect success!
Tom Venuto
PS. If you’re curious about how bodybuilders eat and train to get so lean, check out Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models.
This guy is really inspirational. He is definitely jacked for 74. Most guys would kill to look like that at 34
Proving bodybuilding should be a lifestyle…for the whole duration of your life.
This is inspirational!!!
WHAT AN INPIRATION THIS MAN IS74 YEARS OLD (FANTASTIC EXAMPLE FOR ALL)I BET HE DONT EAT MC DONALDS !!!
Truely an inspiration Tosaka, for rooting in obtainable reality life-long mission goals for health & fitness!
That “young man has inspired this ole Man” I’m loving it!!!
Truly a great thing to see. Now for the women….
Amazing! I am in awe….I never knew you could look so good at that age. And to think he started at 40…I wonder what I could do with my big fat bootie by that age. I am 43 and have 4 kids with a somewhat ruined body. I started at 298 and I am down to 286.6 which was not easy to do so far. Hope I can get my body to looks so healthy without a gastric bypass. I got a Bowflex, A treadmill and a Total Body Gym so I got tools! All I need is someone to drag my butt onto them!
It’s amazing. I really hope that I will be as active and acting young at that age too. I got 40 more years, so it is an inspiration and a motivation driver to keep going on this way.
Hi Tom, I love this post! So motivating. My husband got into bodybuilding last year about a month before his 59th birthday. I’d sent him to a well known trainer in our area to get his bodyfat checked. The trainer saw his potential and worked with him. He has now competed 6 times, and this year (the month of his 60th birthday) brought home a 1st place trophy for his class from the Nationals in Pittsburgh. He’s done it all with exercise and nutrition and wants to be an example that it’s never too late and it can be done naturally. Thanks for being a great resource and inspiration for us!
Kelley,
That is FANTASTIC!! I’m a 44yo father of two energetic little boys and have been ‘feeling old and tired’. Hearing about stories like your husband really really helps!!
Is there a website for the National competition in Pittsburgh?
More power to both of you!! Many thanks!!
-Joe
Amazing. I seem to be seeing more and more videos with people maintaining their physiques, or building their physiques later on in life. Truly inspiring.
How encouraging! I’m 56 and 3 years ago I started Tom’s Burn the Fat program when I was over 235 lbs. I got down to 165 then this past year worked my way up to 185 while still keeping my 30 inch waste. Everyone tells me how great I look!I keep gaining muscle and am getting more toned looking but I wondered how far I could go. Now that I’ve seen this video I know there’s no limit.THANK YOU TOM!
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO inspiring!!!!!!!Another outstanding reason to NEVER stop lifting weights/exercising/eating healthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cannot believe he is 74 years old. He looks fantastic. I think it is about time I started exercising again. I think it has been about six months since I had physical activity. Time to get moving.
Truly age is nothing but a number, here is another example. This one totally blew me away, got to watch to believe it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOM6x6N3N2s
I’ve lived in Japan for 16 yrs and one thing I’ve noticed is that in many cases, no matter how underdeveloped their upper bodies are, Japanese men have these huge, well developed calves. Why is that? Any genetic reason? I think it is great what that 70 something guy has accomplished but I wasn’t surprised at seeing his calf muscles. I see that all the time in Japan.
WOW!!!!!!!!! There are really no words needed. I’m getting ready for my first bodybuilding competition and I can only pray that I look as outstanding as my new found 74 year old role model. Tsutomosan, Takusan sugoii ne!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, he is an inspiration!What I like about him as well is that he is not “over-muscled” and looks naturally healthy, lean.Thanky for sharing the video with us.Juli
More evidence that aging is 80% mental, 20% physical. We do not need to look or feel our age…it is not a matter of chance but rather of choice. The results from this guy’s attitude and actions are amazing and an inspiration to me. I hope they are to others in my age range (60+) as well. While no one can go back and make a brand new beginning, we can all go forward and make a brand new ending!
For some reason my computer is NOT downloading the video, however, I guess I misread or for some reason “assumed” it was a woman. How about a woman that old since women have a lot more “fat” or “body fat” than men. I’m sure it’s still inspiring but as a 44 year old woman forever fighting the middle age spread, I’d like to see a 74 year old woman.
Hello Tom!This story of the 74-year old man is really amazing. He’s all over the net right now… I’ve seen him on YouTube, Digg and now your blog =)Inspiring for us all to start losing weight and taking action. We now know it’s never too late to get started!I wonder which program he followed specifically? It can’t be any the more popular ones, could it?Maybe yours Tom?- Chris
Chris, almost all bodybuilders follow similar nutrition and training regimes – there are variations from person to person, but the overall methodology is usually the same and thats what Burn The Fat, Feed the muscle is based on – “Fat burning secrets of bodybuilders and fitness models”
Karen wrote:How about a woman that old since women have a lot more “fat” or “body fat” than men. I’m sure it’s still inspiring but as a 44 year old woman forever fighting the middle age spread, I’d like to see a 74 year old woman.NO BUT’S are allowed. Sure it can be more challenging for women, for various reasons, that doesnt mean it cant be done and doesnt mean you will be forever fighting middle aged spread. The biggest problem is in middle aged thinking and negative belief systems, not your age or genderI’ll be happy to introduce you to MORE than one 70+ female in bodybuilding stage shape. Watch for next blog post
Love it! Very inspirational:)
Hi Tom. I am 64 and work as a nurse anesthetist in Ft Myers , Fl. I love your newsletters and couldn’t agree more with all the good things the bodybuilding lifestyle brings.There are so many health benefits which you listed very well. I see both sides of the spectrum daily, many overweight obese patients prior to surgery,with many metabolic disorders caused by years of inactivity and weight gain.People always ask me how I keep in such good shape, want to know how old I am and if I am a bodybuilder . I tell them as you suggested ,that I follow the body builder life style but don’t compete ,at least not yet. I see kind of an explosion in this area the past couple of years, so many medical professionals hiring trainers ,living and eating better to lose bodyfat and try to get back in shape.It was great for me to see Tsutomo Tosaka, I have a build and bodyfat similar to his. I haven’t seen anyone in this city comparable to me at my age,perhaps I if I entered some Grand Masters competition I would
Man, this guy is amazing. Simple, practical advice. Wonder why most people don’t follow it? :)
Thank you for sharing this story Tom. I am very inspired! I will share it with everyone I know. As always, I very much enjoy reading your posts and I particularly look forward to reading your next blog post on 70+ women who body build! I can’t wait to tell my mother who is 71 this year. She just joined ‘Curves’ at her doctor’s request because of her osteoporosis. I told her to keep up the weight training because it will REVERSE her osteoporosis. I also gave her ‘Qi Gong for Seniors’ by Lee Holden. With my step dad going through chemo, she’s been stressed a lot and I know how quickly stress can age us. Thanks again and looking forward.
Truly an inspiring story…..this man has certainly found the Fountain of Youth!! Perhaps he can bottle his recipe and share it to the rest of world just as you have Tom ;) Thank you again for yet another boost in the right direction…..these news flashes really pick me up and reasure me that I am doing the right thing!
WOW! What a great accomplishment!I work with people like him everyday in the gym and online. So I love to see these stories!Jason Chiero, CPT
It just goes to show you what you the body is capable of if limits are pushed. It is a great testimonial to the benefits of exercise.
When I first got the email to see this video I wasn’t expecting too much considering his age. Now I have seen it I am stunned by his physique. It’s a shame that so many people don’t realise that they can be fit at any age if they only knew how.
Definitely inspiring! This guy is amazing. (And to answer Gil Bird’s question re: Japanese men having strong calf development, it may be that it’s mostly the shorter guys who have the great calf development. It’s the same in N. America and I suspect it’s because we have to stand on our toes to reach stuff.)
One word: FANTASTIC!There are no excuses. If he can do it at 74 then so can all of us at any age.Ok, I gotta go lift now, cya!
WOW at age of 74! That’s what’s called inspirational!!Imagine that i met with people who are in their 30s and barely move their asses. Their excuse is that they got old! Huh! what an excuse!! they are still in their 30s!
It’s never too late….I was 50 and had been morbidly obese all my life. At 5’10, 280 pounds I had all the warning signs, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood glucose, low testosterone, high triglycerides. I was a heart attack waiting to happen. With a family history of coronary artery disease and diabetes on both sides of my family, I started having diabetic symptoms and depression. I finally decided that I would challenge myself to do something I’d never done in my life. Become physically fit. In 9 months I’ve lost 60 pounds of scale weight, gone from size 40 waist pants to size 34, dropped from 36% bodyfat to 19%. I’m not a fanatic but I eat well. I workout 5-6 times a week and participate in activities I’ve never even imagined. At my last check up, my doctor was so amazed that he re-ran all my blood tests to make sure there was no lab error. EVERY single number is in the healthy range. I still have work to do and want to get below 15% body fat (then after that, I’ll probably start going for 10%) but it feels good to feel good. And my friends and co-workers can’t get over the change in my appearance. I even got a promotion at work. Don’t keep putting it off. Make a list of your excuses and start checking them off one by one. You CAN do it!
Amazing a 74 year old man, really all my respect!!