P90X Trainer Says He’s More Fit Than Ever at 66: Longevity Tips – ryan

Two decades after designing one of the best-selling home workout programs in history, the personal trainer Tony Horton says he’s in the best shape of his life.

When Horton’s creation, P90X, hit the fitness industry in 2005, it became a smash hit. The program sold more than 3.5 million copies thanks to its high-intensity blend of circuit-style training, explosive movements, and plenty of core work.

By that point, Horton had a star-studded clientele, including Tom Petty, Billy Idol, Rob Lowe, and Usher.

Everything shifted in 2017 when he learned he had Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare neurological disorder related to the shingles virus that can cause facial paralysis, ringing in the ears, and hearing loss.

Horton said the health scare prompted him to overhaul his routine, focusing less on hardcore workouts and more on recovery and stress reduction.

“I needed to add mindfulness components to my regular routine,” he told Business Insider. “I looked more to resting, listening to music, taking a nap without feeling guilty about it, focusing on my family.”

The upshot: doing less paid off. Horton said he’s now in better shape than ever when it comes to taking on adventures, including new physical challenges.

He said that on a recent trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he skied for six days in a row.

“I couldn’t do that in my 20s and 30s,” he said.

Horton’s latest venture is Ninja Warrior and obstacle course training, navigating ropes, high bars, and even the notorious “salmon ladder” at his tricked-out home gym in Southern California (which you can visit as part of his Paragon Experience event in May).

To stay strong and healthy into his 60s and beyond, Horton relies on habits such as a flexible plant-based diet, lots of mobility exercise, and finding new challenges to keep things interesting.

“To maintain and sustain my athleticism, it’s not just pounding the weights and running hills,” he said. “Now it’s really about quality of life and longevity and avoiding injury as much as possible.”

He follows a flexible, mostly plant-based diet for longevity

Around the time of his diagnosis, Horton experimented with eating a vegan diet and found he had more energy and better recovery after exercise.

While he’s not strictly vegan now, whole, plant-based foods make up a majority of his diet, he said.

Staples like beans, nuts, and seeds are a big part of his regular meals and snacks to make sure he’s getting nutrients such as protein and fiber for healthy aging.

“People don’t realize there’s a whole lot of proteins in plants,” he said.

A typical day of eating for Horton includes seed bread with almond butter for breakfast, a protein smoothie with berries, banana, and cashew milk after a workout, and meals such as lentil tacos for lunch and dinner.

Taking a more flexible diet approach and allowing for exceptions to the plant-based plan — including elk steaks on his ski trips, or desserts when his sweet tooth hits — keeps him from feeling deprived, so he can stay healthier overall in the long term.

“Stick to your plan 80% to 90% of the time, and every once in a while, eat that big beautiful chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven,” Horton said.

Mobility training and balance training

As Horton has gotten older, while he doesn’t work out any less, he’s shifted his focus on training for longevity rather than trying to pack on as much muscle as possible.

He’s still kept the muscle (Horton is no stranger to lifting heavy when it feels right) but his typical sessions include a lot more yoga and “animal flow,” bodyweight exercise that emphasizes agility and graceful movement.

“Balance, range of motion, flexibility, and speed work are as essential as lifting weights and everything else,” Horton said.

He also stays active by practicing with a slackline, a creative way of building balance and stability.

The key is consistency — finding time every day for exercise as a regular, habitual investment in your long-term health, just like staying on top of your finances.

“It doesn’t have to be a lot. You can go for an eight-minute walk,” Horton said. “But it has to be consistent. You don’t pay your bills every fourth month.”

New challenges keep him energized

Horton said one of his main strategies for staying youthful is finding creative ways to push himself, such as Ninja Warrior-style obstacle courses.

It started when Horton was humbled by a rope climb, which he expected to be easier since he was strong enough to rep out dozens of push-ups and pull-ups. Rather than accept defeat, he decided to embrace the growth mindset, and obstacle training became a new way to stay motivated and get out of his comfort zone.

“The reason why I fell in love with it was because it was another level of challenge,” Horton said. “Who cares if I fall or if I fail? Turn your ego off.”