A 79-year-old competitive powerlifter shares his 5 tips for longevity and happiness — from enjoying chocolate and carbs to setting goals

• Tom Rauscher is not afraid of aging.
• He says it’s important to stay focused on what you can do, not what you can’t.
• His tips for a happy life as you age include staying active, setting goals, and indulging occasionally.

Tom Rauscher doesn’t feel his age. “What does it mean to feel like you’re 79?” he told Business Insider’s Sarah Andersen. “I’m still very active. I can still work out a lot.”

A retired computer systems executive turned competitive powerlifter, Rauscher trains regularly and still enjoys the occasional square of chocolate.

Andersen followed Rauscher earlier this year as he trained for the National Senior Games.

“I track my training fairly closely,” he said. He records every workout in a notebook and summarizes the data in a daily log book. “I can look at what I’ve done previous weeks and each week try to add a little bit.”

Rauscher has won over half a dozen gold medals in pole vaulting at the national championship level and recently placed first in his division and third overall in powerlifting at the 2025 National Senior Games in Iowa.

Here are his five tips for staying strong, healthy, and happy well into your 70s.

1. Move every day

Rauscher works out every day, sometimes twice a day. “Exercise is the most powerful drug for longevity,” he said, paraphrasing from the book “Outlive” by Dr. Peter Attia that he’s read.

He tries to start each day with 150 V-ups, 30 push-ups, 30 squats, and a 2-minute plank. During the rest of the day, he alternates between CrossFit, indoor cycling, and Pilates throughout the week, while adding more of his morning exercises for good measure.

He said his goal for this year is to average a total of 300 v-ups, 100 push-ups, 75 squats, and 4 minutes of plank each day.

“Even though you can’t do the things that you could do when you were younger, you can still do quite a bit,” he said.

2. Keep setting goals, no matter your age

Rauscher said he’s been setting goals since high school. For example, about 10 years ago, he set out to complete one million V-ups. “Last year I did my one millionth V-up since I started counting,” he said.

Goal setting helps him break down big ambitions into manageable achievements. That mindset helped him win gold medals at national pole vaulting championships in his 40s and to take up powerlifting in his late 70s. It’s also helped with his approach to aging.

For example, masters athletics events are divided into 5-year age groups, which Rauscher sees as a lifelong template for progress.

“So every five years you’re in a new age group and in a new age group you can set new goals,” he said, adding, “that way, you can keep progressing in terms of achieving new goals,” he said.

3. Continue learning and train your brain like a muscle

Rauscher said it’s important to keep learning new things. For example, he reads a lot about aging. “So, I know what to expect as I age and also to prepare for it as best I can.”

“Recently, I took a class on the biology of aging, and the professor, who had been a doctor, went through the ways that one’s body changes as we age. And that was very interesting,” he said.

Learning about aging at the molecular level helped him see aging as a more controllable process, not just inevitable decline.

“I don’t think aging scares me. It does have some limitations, but my feeling is no matter what age you are, you’re going to have some limitations,” he said. “So what one has to do is understand what those limitations are and do things and enjoy things that you can do.”

4. It’s OK to eat chocolate and carbs

Rauscher doesn’t follow any extreme diets, like low-carb, high-fat, or high-protein. Instead, he tries to eat a balanced diet and steer clear of certain foods.

“Generally, I avoid certain things like grain-based desserts,” he said, adding, “I mean things like cookies and cakes and pies. I really enjoy eating those, but I very rarely have them as part of a regular diet plan because they’re typically high in saturated fat or in added sugar.”

That doesn’t mean he avoids sweet treats entirely, however. “Frequently we will have a piece of chocolate for dessert or we will have a special treat, a special type of pastry every once in a while,” he said about himself and his partner.

His daily meals are simple but nutrient-dense. Breakfast often includes a healthy cereal, like Grape Nuts or wheat bran, with skim milk and a scoop of protein powder.

Rauscher, who has multiple certificates in nutrition, fitness and weight management, said he also eats plenty of complex carbs from vegetables, fruits, grains, and lean proteins, and he rarely eats fast food because it’s high in added sugar and saturated fat.

“Your body doesn’t function effectively without carbohydrates. It’s added sugar that’s been refined, that doesn’t have any nutritional value, that’s a problem,” he said. “But people sometimes confuse the two and think that all sugar is bad, and that’s not the case. Sugar is essential for life, and basically, you couldn’t live without sugar.”

5. Surround yourself with people who move you

Rauscher said coaching and teaching have become some of the most rewarding parts of his life because they offer a sense of purpose and the opportunity to connect with new people.

He leads Pilates and cycling classes twice a week, as well as two to three CrossFit classes. He’s also an assistant coach for pole vaulting at his old high school, and finds it deeply rewarding.

“That’s really a thrill to work with the younger kids to get them started on their athletic journeys,” he said, adding that, “I hope that younger generations see that just because one ages, one doesn’t necessarily have to be put out to pasture or has to stop being active or has to stop enjoying physical activities.”

Finally, he credits his partner, Carol — whom he first met in seventh grade and reconnected with at a high school reunion about five years ago — for helping keep him active and grounded.

“She’s supported me in a variety of ways,” he said, adding that, “We both try to lead very healthy lifestyles in terms of exercise, in terms of nutrition, sleep, seeing doctors regularly, and so on. So we’re very supportive of each other.”