Jim Rowley, CEO of Crunch and a Marine vet, said Pilates was life-changing for him.

Jim Rowley, CEO of Crunch and a Marine vet, said Pilates was life-changing for him. Courtesy of Crunch Fitness

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Marine Corps. vet Jim Rowley has been lifting heavy weights for decades, but his first few Pilates classes left him frustrated, sweating, shaking — and eager to go back for more.

Rowley is the CEO of worldwide gym franchise Crunch Fitness, and has more than three decades of experience in the fitness industry. After his military service, he rose through the ranks at 24 Hour Fitness, becoming division president before going on to help launch UFC Gym, later taking the lead at Crunch.

He told Business Insider that the lengthening, strengthening effect of Pilates has helped him ease the achy joints and tight muscles from decades of hard work in the gym and at the office.

“It changed my life, to be honest with you. I became much more limber,” he said.

Crowley, who recently turned 58, said Pilates is now one of the foundational building blocks in his four-part longevity routine.

He also changed up his weightlifting routine, honed his supplement stack, and has a cardio routine rooted in his military experience.

“As you’re active and aging, why would you not want to have more strength, more muscle, and greater mobility?” he said.

Pilates classes: to build muscle and mobility

Rowley said starting Pilates about three and half years ago helped him focus on muscles that hadn’t gotten much attention over the years, including stabilizers in the the hips.

“Pilates was an opportunity for me to try to lengthen, strengthen, and activate some of the smaller muscles,” he said.

Now, he goes to class twice a week for an hour per session, often with his wife.

The Pilates classes he takes are mostly attended by women, Rowley said. He expects to see the gender balance shift: the challenge and resistance training in the workouts offer a lot for men who want to work on building muscle and athleticism.

Pilates can be done on a mat or on a reformer machine, like this. PixelsEffect/Getty Images

“There’s a strength component instead of just the mobility and the balance,” he said. “The biggest benefit for me has been my core strength has gotten through the roof.”

The improved stability has helped relieve back pain, which can come from muscle imbalances.

Dumbbells: for better range of motion during strength training

Dumbbells are ideal for building muscle while protecting your joints because they offer a greater range of motion than a barbell. Svetlana-Cherruty/Getty Images

Rowley still lifts weights, but has tweaked his routine so that instead of focusing on a big bench press as a point of pride, he’s working more with dumbbells and machine exercises.

Dumbbells allow for a greater range of motion, which can help promote mobility and joint health. Exercise machines provide stability and a fixed range of motion, so you can focus on targeting specific muscle groups.

Both types of exercise are good for building muscle, with less strain or injury risk than intense barbell work.

“I don’t lift for ego anymore,” Rowley said.

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Creatine supplements: for a healthy brain and body

Rowley is a self-proclaimed “supplement freak” who takes an estimated 40 pills a day, from a multi-vitamin for nutritional balance to probiotics for a healthy gut.

The list is carefully curated from his decades of experience in the fitness industry.

At the top of his must-have list is creatine, a naturally-occurring compound in the body that provides energy to the muscles so you can push through a few more reps. It’s also a hot trend for longevity thanks to recent research suggesting it helps support a healthy brain and heart as we age.

Creatine is a widely-studied fitness supplement for building muscle, and new research suggests it could help with longevity too. Stefan Simonovski/Getty Images

“There’s a lot of supplements out there that are pure garbage,” Rowley said. “Creatine to me is like a life source. I can tell you that my muscles feel better, my muscles fill up, I have the ability to go longer in the gym.”

Rowley’s supplement regimen also includes:

Vitamin D, which supports energy and the immune system.

Magnesium, linked to better sleep and muscle health.

Glutamine, for improved muscle recovery.

10,000 steps a day: for cardio without joint pain

Fitness for a long, healthy life isn’t just about lifting big weights, or even having sculpted and lean muscles. Good cardio health is a crucial part of longevity, and benchmarks of aerobic fitness like VO2 max are increasingly a source of bragging rights in the fitness world.

For Rowley, it comes down to functionality, and whether you can keep up with the activities of your life.

“We look at the aesthetic of lean muscle and muscle mass as, wow, that person spends time in the gym, but could they run a mile? Could they run two miles or three miles?” he said.

His definition of peak fitness goes back to the Marine Corps. standard of military fitness: the ability to do 20 dead-hang pull-ups, rep out 100 crunches in a minute (or hold a plank for more than three minutes) and run three miles in 18 minutes.

However, as we age, running can put stress on the joints, so Rowley said he focuses on walking as much as possible, aiming for 10,000 steps a day for low-impact cardio and to reduce his time sitting. Walking is cardiologist-approved exercise, and the benefits for a healthier heart start at as few as an extra 500 to 1000 daily steps.

Hitting the full 10,000 steps a day is a big commitment to stick to consistently, but Rowley said the payoff is better resilience and functionality as you age.

“It’s not easy to do, but what’s harder: making that decision now or dealing with negative health in your older years? So choose your hard,” he said.