Larry Lepard is an investment manager whose sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diet on the road finally caught up with him.
“I wasn’t eating well, I wasn’t working out, I wasn’t doing the right kind of stuff, but I didn’t know what the solution was,” Lepard, 57, confesses.
The only solution doctors offered: “Here’s a pill for that.”
Instead of giving up, Lepard sought his own solution and walked into CrossFit New England. Lepard told them, “I want to get into good shape. Is that something you can help me do?”
The response: “Absolutely. … There’s one thing you gotta do: You gotta show up.”
Larry did exactly that. Since starting CrossFit, Lepard improved his fitness dramatically, and he’s convinced that it’s critical for people over 50 to start a fitness program to avoid what many believe is an inevitable decline due to aging.
“That deterioriation can be really pushed back as a result of … a commitment to an hour a day of moving,” Lepard explains.
“It’s about kicking ass into your 90s and not being decrepit in your 60s,” according to CrossFit New England affiliate owner and head coach Ben Bergeron.
The only thing you have to do?
“Just keep walking through the door,” Lepard says.
Comments on Fit Over 50 - Larry Lepard
This is AWESOME!
I started my CrossFti journey while on deployment just after my 40th birthday. My wife and I opened our own Affiliate the following year.
I turn 57 next week and I've loved every step along the way.
Love your story, Larry. I am 60 and have been doing CrossFit a little over 5 years. My kids got me started and I never looked back. I got my L-1 in 2018. Best class I ever took to help me understand how and why my body was being transformed by CrossFit. Keep up the great job of modeling the way for others our age to realize we don't need to rely on pharmaceuticals as we age, we need to show up and rely on the full spectrum of what CrossFit has to offer us. Thanks!
Right there with you Larry. Keep the great work going! I would love to see more people over 50 start CrossFit. I think there is a perception that it is "a young man's game". Absolutely not true!
Great story and congrats Larry. I started CF 6 years ago and our stories have many parallels. As I prepare to turn 60 and begin the next phase of life (partial retirement - eventually full retirement) I decided to get my L1 and begin training masters. It's my hope to inspire others in our age group to take the chance, start, walk through the door. I've seen that leading by example truly does work well and I've convinced several to just start. So, far, all are staying with the CF program. I can't think of a better way to invest my "free" time! And no, I'm not the best athlete in the box either, but I do OK for me - and that makes me happy.
Best wishes on the active and healthy decades ahead!
As a 52 yo CrossFitter, I see many parallels with my fitness journey. I was incredibly sedentary until 5 years ago but now am the fittest I’ve ever been.
Absolutely great article & well done Larry!
I was never an athlete.
And then I found Crossfit at 51 and got my L-1 at 53. I'm not awesome. I can't do a pull or chest to bar but so what?! I'm moving fast, I'm lifting heavy things, I'm pushing my body and now at 54, I feel stronger than I've ever felt in my life. Humble, Hungry and Happy!!
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CF Warrenton
Great article, exactly on point!!
Thank you Larry
Spot on! Been doing CF for 10 years at CF Omaha. Great coaches who are focused on your health coupled with challenging workouts and an encouraging community really can expand quality of life. Keep going!
Mike McDermott
67
CF Omaha
Great information. I am 56 years of age. I can relate to Larry's thoughts and desires of trying to stay healthy. As a retired LEO with very strong cycling background if find myself leaning towards Crossfit workouts more than riding or racing.
I do follow the national Crossfit website. So much information available. I have set up a complete box at my house !! And use it quite often too.
Wonderful message! So good to see the stories of Masters athletes being shared. Wellness is within everyone’s reach if we just show up! My husband and I are in our late 40’s and have been so positively impacted by CF that we have started a podcast to talk about it (Getting Swolder). Larry’s experience and message spell it out so clearly. Thanks for the inspiration!! -Leslie G.
My husband and I are in our 60’s and have been doing CrossFit for almost 9 years! It has changed our lives for sure and I hope we are doing it well into our 90’s. Great video and thanks for focusing on athletes over 50!
Great video to watch.. Being almost 58 I can totally relate to this. Thought I was in shape ever since I started training in regular gym back in 2006. Then switched to Crossfit 6 months ago and boy was I in for a suprise. Felt like a complete newbie and had to learn new things and forget a whole lot of bad gym habits. I'm the only "old" guy between all the boys and girls half my age. But they do lift me up and are not afraid to challenge me... I know I have made tremendous progress in those six months and am now, already, in the best shape of my life
Great video...so true! How do you get this in front of the people who need to see it?
Well done Larry. At 61 I can completely relate.
Great job. At 75 Crossfit is salvation for me. It covers all the bases.
Love this story, thank you for sharing! Keep it up Larry.
Great video and so relatable. I am a 53 year old who joined her local Box because her daughter pushed her into it. I’ve never looked back! I no longer need the statins the Doctor was beginning to suggest and I can run up those stairs without pain in my knees and I can run 10K!
Thank you Larry!
Let's kick it until we are 90 mate!
Love this - so relatable... great article.
Great message Larry! Inspiring and I love the tag line of “just keep walking through the door”. What can I do to get more of us through that door?
Great article/video. I am in a similar place and CrossFit has been immensely helpful for me...am in better shape now than 10 years ago (maybe 15).
Fit Over 50 - Larry Lepard
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