If you still want to be riding lifts and making turns after 100 rotations around the sun we suggest you take notes because Klaus Obermeyer just broke off some knowledge for Outside Magazine about skiing longevity that we could all stand to benefit from.

Here’s the secret sauce: proper diet, low impact cardio and aikido
DIET: 
Klaus didn’t go into specifics about the makeup of his diet but did say he maintains a strict caloric intake.

Low Impact Cardio: Klaus’s modalities of choice when it comes to cardio are swimming (1 hour each morning) and hitting the cardio equipment in the gym (recumbent bike and elliptical).

“You have to keep exercising. Your health should be your number-one priority, then your marriage, and then your work. Sometimes the order of importance changes, but your health is important. Your body carries your brain. If your body is healthy, then your brain has a chance to be healthy, too.”

He, like the great and powerful Steven Seagal, is a practitioner of  the modern Japanese martial art of aikido which utilizes an opponent’s movements and strength against them. Klaus believes there are many lessons from his aikido practice that are applicable to his mountain lifestyle:

“It’s almost like a religion. It’s a different way to look at problems. Every problem is an opportunity to learn something new. That’s the way I try to look at life. You learn to like the problems.”

Finally, what keeps the 100-year-old skiing or does skiing keep the 100-year-old? Skiing is what keeps in shape, keeps him social, and gives him a positive mental outlook, all key factors to a long life:

“Sport makes life sweet. You get in good shape, you feel good about your body and your spirit, and you enjoy life, so it’s easy to look at things positively.”

images from Scott Chacon Flickr, thebluediamondgallery.com

 

 

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