Don Wildman’s tough training
Don Wildman, founder of Bally’s Total Fitness, works out in the state-of-the art gym at his Malibu home. Three days a week, the 76-year-old leads the “Circuit” at his gym, a grueling two-hour weight regimen of his own creation that’s become legendary in Malibu and beyond. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Wildman’s circuit training involves rapidly moving from one exercise to another. I think I invented circuit training because I had to I didnt have the time to rest. You work one muscle group, then the opposing group and youre done in half the time, he says. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Wildman rarely works out alone. Here he’s joined by Tim Commerford, 41, the bassist for the rock group Rage Against the Machine and a Race Across America teammate. Beginning Saturday, they’ll be racing round the clock across the country on a road bike as part of Team Surfing USA, a four-man team that also includes 45-year-old Laird Hamilton, the famed big-wave surfer, and Jason Winn, 27, owner of Bonk Breaker energy bars. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
When he’s not in the gym, the Ironman rides seven days a week and paddleboards three. He’s also picked up big-wave surfing and helicopter snowboarding. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Wildman and Winn share a smile after finishing the day’s mountain bike climb. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Muscles bulging, Wildman does a set of pull-ups the harder overhanded ones, naturally. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Stand-up paddleboarding is part of Wildman’s daily workout. His Team Surf paddled 115 miles from Malibu to the start of the Race Across America event in Oceanside and will bike and paddle to the Statue of Liberty after the finish in New York. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Wildman’s fitness strategy? Younger friends. Old guys dont train anymore, so all my buddies are real young, he says. Theyre more fun. They push you, and you push them, and you forget how old you are. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Wildman takes a moment to relax after a strenuous daily workout. “People my own age say, Its too late for me ... but all kinds of studies show that even nursing home populations can improve with exercise. And you get the reward for it: The endorphins. So pick something that you really like doing cycling, trampolining and just do it.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
