This story is part of our ongoing “First Steps” series, where we share extraordinary stories of men who transformed their bodies, minds, and lives with a focus on the first steps it took them to get there (because, after all, nothing can change without a first step!). Read all of the stories here.
Below, Mitch Kahn, 71, discusses the first step to starting his weight-loss journey, which propelled him into a full-blown fitness career.
I WORKED IN the business world for most of my career, providing risk management services to financial institutions. When I retired in 2008, I had let myself go in terms of health and fitness. I never made time for exercise, and I ate pretty poorly. I was 59 years old at the time, and at my heaviest I weighed 265 pounds. I also had high cholesterol. I was pre-diabetic. I had high blood pressure. It finally hit me when I retired how unhealthy I was, and I needed to do something about it.
I wasn’t sure where to start. The first step in my fitness journey was to ask a lot of questions about how to train and what to eat. That led me to do a ton of research. I started picking up magazines like Men’s Health. From there, I started to identify various fitness experts to follow more closely. I’m a bit exact in that way—when I get into something, I want to learn as much about it as I can. I started buying books once I discovered who the big players in the fitness industry were, going all the way back to Jack LaLanne [a fitness personality of the early 2000s].
Through all of my research, I learned how to eat and exercise. I eventually became a plant-based eater, but it originally started with simply focusing on eating less processed and more whole foods. I started exercising regularly, mixing strength training and cardio with the stuff I learned in books and magazines. I would mimic the workout routines, which were mostly bodybuilder routines. As I learned more, I switched to upper/lower body splits, lifting four times per week with a day of recovery in between. I did mainly compound moves using both barbells and dumbbells, like flat and incline bench chest presses, shoulder presses, back and hack squats, lunges, a variety of deadlifts, rows, pull ups. I also walked at least three miles per day and would run 8 x 100 yard wind sprints twice a week.
“I really want to be a ROLE MODEL and show people you can change your HEALTH and your LIFE, regardless of your AGE.”
I built a strong, consistent routine. My work compounded: not only did I lose 75 pounds in nine months, but my high blood pressure and my high cholesterol went away too. I did all this research for my own health, and it eventually dawned on me that I knew enough to get my personal training certification (CPT)—not really for the intention of teaching others, but just because I could. It led me to get a bunch of other certifications in training and nutrition, too: a functional fitness certification, a Parkinson’s cert, a geriatric training certification, etc. But then people at the gym started seeing my transformation and coming up to me, asking for my help. I would help them, and I kind of spiraled into basically training people for free. Eventually I started applying to jobs, and worked at a few gyms training people and teaching fitness classes.
A little while later, Covid hit and I started making videos to post on Instagram under @foreverfitwithmitch to reach my clients and help them get moving in quarantine. I used to put out a video per day just to try and get older adults to realize that as long as they can continue to move, whatever the movement is, it’s going to help in the long run.
Some of the videos blew up. I didn’t expect it. I was just trying to show older adults how to get fit from the safety of their home, regardless of their fitness level. And it took off. Now, it keeps me pretty busy. I have about 630,000 followers now. I even released an exercise app about a month ago called Forever Fit with Mitch, where I post workouts, meal ideas, and even have community boards for people to help support each other.
I’m 71 years old now. Movement gets harder as you age—you get more aches and pains. I used to enjoy lifting really heavy, but there are a lot of movements that my body doesn’t respond well to anymore. I’ve ruptured a disc in my back once, and blew out my shoulder on heavy overhead presses another time. But that’s not a reason to stay sedentary. I just learned how to adjust my movement patterns. Now, I lift two to three times per week week using dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, bodyweight, and some machines. No more heavy power-type lifting. I also walk at least 30 minutes a day. Plus, I teach a cardio class twice a week where I do all of the movements along with my class.
I really want to be a role model and show people you can change your health and your life, regardless of your age. In my mind, I still feel young. That’s a driver for me. Learning new things and moving my body helps me feel young. I do little things every day to keep me mentally sharp—I do daily brain games. Filming and editing my Instagram videos helps, too. Whatever it is that keeps you going—do it.
If you’re looking to make a change—be it lose weight, get in shape, or try something new—start with asking questions. Don’t think people are going to think you’re dumb for asking. You’ll be surprised at how many people really want to help others improve, and all you have to do is ask. If there’s no one around to ask those questions to, use your resources and try to figure it out yourself. Read. Research. If you never give that up, and you’re not afraid to explore, you’re going to set yourself up with the right knowledge to get you where you want to go.
