Few fitness enthusiasts or bodybuilders continue to follow a rigorous fitness routine after the age of 50. One of them is Lee Priest.

The 6-time Mr. Olympia qualifier joined Ben Pakulski on Muscle Intelligence and revealed how he decided to take up boxing as a way to deal with lingering sciatic nerve issues and weight gain. Priest said, “For the last two years, I was doing boxing just as cardio”, clarifying that the decision was never about turning in a fighter.

However, once his training clips surfaced, several challengers came Priest's way. He recalled those people making statements like, “I’ll take you out” and “I’ll fight you”, which Priest found ironic. As the bodybuilding star bluntly said, “You should be able to take me out. You’re a professional fighter”.

To avoid unnecessary attention, he decided to practice it privately. Priest admitted, “I had this guy that trains Olympic champions…. So this guy would train me”.

Emphasizing his reason, Priest said, “I’m just doing it for cardio. I’m not here trying to prove anything cause you know, like I said, I always did the treadmill, the old StairMaster. So when I went to first do box, I’m pretty cardio fit”.

Lee Priest also showed his respect for the sport, saying he wants “to get back into that”.

The reason he wants to do it again is his weight gain. He said, “Right now I’m about 102 kilos…. I get out the shower, try not to look. When I look, I’m like oh f*** how does my wife look at that? So I just want to lose some weight”.

Lee Priest also highlighted his impulsive eating habits, and he thinks boxing can help him stay in shape.

Beyond short-term health goals, the IFBB Pro also views physical activities like boxing and cardio as part of his long-term goals, which are staying active and healthy.

And that might be necessary, given that,

Lee Priest wants to live till he is 100

Something that runs in his family, Priest wants a long life, with his health as the ultimate treasure.

He said, “I always said, I’m going to 100. Why do I want to get to 100? It’s just a number in my head. My grandfather passed away from malpractice, and he was in his 80s and still training. He passed away last year at 99. My mom now, she’s 74 and still looks young. We got longevity”.

Besides boxing and training, the Mr. Australia winner revealed that regular blood tests help him monitor his health: “also get an ultrasound every now and then for the heart and stuff”.

While bodybuilding can be an extremely physically taxing activity, it seems that the choice of health falls into one's practices. What do you think?

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Joyita Das