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Summary
Jim Owen returns to the 40+ Fitness Podcast, a 40-year veteran of Wall Street and founder of the Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership who found a new passion for fitness at age 70. Now 84 (turning 85), he discusses his two PBS documentaries, The Art of Aging Well and Super Agers: Getting Old, Living Young, and the launch plans for his next documentary, The Art of Becoming a Superager.
Owen describes the transformation he made after realizing at 70 that, statistically, someone reaching that age can expect only about 15 more years of life. At the time he was 35 pounds overweight, had no energy, and suffered lower-back pain so severe he was crawling on the bathroom floor. He built an action plan and got into what he calls the best shape of his life, telling Coach Allan repeatedly that he is an ordinary guy and that anyone can do what he did if they start with a plan and stick to it.
Married to his wife Stanya for more than 50 years, Owen frames his message not as longevity but as living a healthy, full life. He organizes his approach into a series of steps covering functional fitness, food, sleep, stress, passion, and positive energy, and says he is in the inspiration business rather than selling training or coaching.
Links
- Meet Jim Owen (website)
- Get Just Move! on Amazon
- Episode 543 – How to become a superager with Jim Owen
Key Takeaways
- Start as early as possible: Owen says the sooner you get inspired to take care of your health, the easier it is, and that it is far harder to begin at 70 or 75, though never too late.
- A goal without a plan is just a wish; you need an action plan or roadmap rather than just reading a book or talking about it.
- Step one is becoming “geezer fit” (functional fitness), not bodybuilding: your body is meant to move, and sitting 9 to 12 hours a day is the silent killer. His routine is stretching 20 to 25 minutes three times a week, walking, and strength training three times a week.
- Owen believes healthy aging is roughly 75% lifestyle rather than genes. He went from being unable to do a single push-up to doing 50, learning to think of it as “one push-up 50 times.”
- He won 10 gold medals in the fitness events at the California Senior Games (age group 80 to 84), which he says had never been done. He also notes over one-third of older adults fall each year, and staying fit lets you catch yourself when you trip.
- Step two was changing his relationship with food: he now eats for fuel on a modified Mediterranean diet (fish, chicken, nuts, eggs, lots of water), lost 35 pounds and kept it off for 10 years at 155 pounds, and follows a “three-bite rule” for dessert. Exercise alone burns few calories, so weight comes down to what you eat.
- Step three is quality sleep: hard exercise, especially strength training, makes him sleep better in a “virtuous circle,” and he no longer relies on sleep medications.
- Steps four through six are managing stress (exercise even when stressed, time in nature, deep breathing, limiting news to one hour a day), finding a passion (his is creativity), and cultivating “positive energy” — the one trait he found all 100 super agers he interviewed shared.
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 709 – Aging with power | Dr. Vonda Wright
Episode Notes
Podcast: 40+ Fitness
Episode: 702
Published: 2025-07-08
Host: Allan Misner (aka Coach Allan), author of The Wellness Roadmap
Guest(s): Jim Owen, a 40 year veteran of Wall street and also the founder and CIO of the center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership, author of Just Move!: A New Approach to Fitness After 50
Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube (audio only)