About Fred Spring,
Fred-X Founder
Certified Personal Trainer
My parents and grandparents died young. I wanted to break this pattern in our family. This inspired me to become a functional fitness instructor.
I recently identified my purpose in life: TO BE A BEACON OF HEALTH!
Here's my story and my motivation for fitness - it started in January 1996. Following some bad news...
The doctor said I’d never run again and that he would do his best to preserve most of the function of my left leg. I’d just been diagnosed with Liposarcoma - a soft tissue cancer of my left hip. It was fast moving cancer and could easily spread to other parts of my body. My ortho surgeon had already removed a grapefruit-sized tumor that was supposed to be benign. It wasn’t benign - it was malignant. I sought a second doctor's opinion. There was hope. I then met with a Radiation specialist, whom I credit with saving my life. He carefully directed radiation on my hip for 3 months. The cancer never spread. And I have never had a recurrence.
I started paying more attention to my health. I adopted better coping mechanisms to stress.
After a short and stressful first marriage which ended in 2004, I learned how to mountain bike. A crazy but effective trainer had me set a big hairy audacious goal. He convinced me to start racing mountain bikes in cycling races. The big goal was to complete a 24-hour endurance race on the 8-mile Cross Country Mountain bike course (the same grueling course from the 1996 Olympics) in Conyers, GA.
I completed the solo 24-hour endurance race and also hit my target # of laps. Doing so qualified me for the World Championships of Solo 24-hour Endurance race in 2006. After competing in 2006, I retired from racing and now enjoy mountain biking recreationally.
Trying new things
A personal trainer convinced me to try running in 2009. I had to first check with my doctors (ortho, primary, and radiologist). They advised me not to or to use extreme caution. I started running. Within 3 years I was running 1 mile in just under 6 minutes.
As I moved more I also discovered more new sports into my 40’s and 50’s such as ice hockey, tennis, obstacle races, and yoga. Who says you can’t teach an older dog new tricks?
I also started measuring myself against others within a close-knit fitness community. This spurred me to pay much more attention to a balanced approach to fitness. I concentrated on strength training, flexibility, cardio, and eating healthier.
Five years ago I went back to a full-time desk job in front of 2 computer screens for 8-9 hours a day, sometimes 6 days per week. My sedentary work lifestyle did not serve me. I found that it took me much longer to recover from various knee surgeries or broken bones.
Good news! Recently I recovered from shattered ankle (see below) and fractured fibula fully within 10 months.
Doing the Fred-X program myself - my body took on a new shape, so did my mind.
I realize I had to make a change. For my health and for my life. At the age of 60 I changed careers and left the world of spending endless hours on a computer and instead threw myself headlong into functional fitness.
Using my research skills, I explored boutique gyms, smart personal trainers, and evidence-based exercise programs. I was seeking the most effective methods for ratcheting up fitness as we age.
In early 2022 I also discovered my purpose in life: TO BE A BEACON OF HEALTH. I knew I needed to align my life and my actions with this powerful purpose.
I didn’t buy into the American belief that as we age we inevitably lose muscle mass, bone density, flexibility, balance & stability. Each of these can be maintained or improved as we enter our 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I practice what I preach.
I am healthier than I’ve ever been and getting stronger everyday.
I vibrantly play with my young grandchildren and thoroughly enjoy it. My future goal is to ALSO vibrantly play with THEIR CHILDREN….that means joyfully riding bikes, swimming, wrestling, and laughing with my great grandchildren.
What does your vibrant future look like?
