"...always feel better after a workout at the Y."

The rowing machine can test your commitment, especially when those 15 minutes come toward the end of the work out. The rower pushes back and takes some real concentration.


15 minutes on the treadmill provides an energizing walk for Willie Jackson during most of his nightly Y workouts.



Spending about 30 minutes on the stationery bike is the way Willie Jackson opens most of his nightly workouts at the Y.

Willie Jackson spent a little more than 40 years working with Sonoco prior to his retirement from the Spiral Department in 2000. Even today he will comment on how quickly those 40 years seemed to go by, shaking his head that it could have been that long with Sonoco's largest industry. A life-long Sonoco resident, he is also now a dedicated member of the Hartsville Family YMCA. Monday through Friday you can usually find him on the exercise machines -- "this is what I do now," he says.

Though he played football during his high school years at Butler he did not engage in a lot of purposeful exercise during his working years. He began his Sonoco career in the General Services area and that particular job required lots of lifting as a daily part of the job and there is a real good chance there wasn't much energy for weight lifting or aerobics after the Sonoco shift. And, even after his retirement in 2000 he enjoyed some gardening and some work around the house after 40 years on the job he was not ready for a lot more structure.

Then, one day he saw a friend of his, Daniel Mayshack, when they bumped into each other at Wal-Mart. "He was sweating a little and I asked what he had been doing," he remembers. It was then that 'Mayshack' suggested that Willie join him at the Y. It turned out he had some free passes during a membership campaign and Mr. Jackson joined Mr. Mayshack for three days of work outs. That got him hooked and he has been a regular member of the Hartsville Y since 2002. In the beginning they were work-out partners until Mr. Mayshack got sick and later died. For the past five years Willie has been working out on his own and in the late afternoon and early evening. "Mayshack was an early-morning guy and I enjoyed working out with him but I really don't like those early mornings so I come in about now." (time was 4:45 p.m.)

Like a lot of people who work out regularly, Willie Jackson admits that it is not always easy to get motivated. "I often don't feel like coming but once I get myself out of the house and into the car and in the door, I ALWAYS feel better after the workout."

As the photos show, his workout is generally in the movement area as he spends time on two types of stationery bikes, the treadmill and the rowing machine. It seems that he may do that hour or 90 minutes so that he can reward himself with what he really enjoys at the Y -- the sauna and the steam room. They come after the workout. "These 76-year-old bones really enjoy the warmth of the heat, the steam and the hot shower," he says, smiling as he thinks about only being 30 minutes from the steam room. "I love it," he says!

The workouts are something that he finds important to his quality of life. He knows a little about when things are out of whack. Several years ago he had a knee replacement and few years ago he was hit with a tumor in the head, 'about the size of a golf ball,' that was affecting his eyesight. He beat them both and now he keeps the body working because, "I just feel better, absolutely, no doubt about it." Mr. Jackson says he doesn't go around trying to get others to believe in the power of exercise but he does think that people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and more should get away from the remote and start some real moving. "I know what it is doing for me. When I leave after a workout I feel like a different person."

(The blogger would like to thank Willie Jackson for taking some time to talk about working out after 60 (in this case after 76). This is the third in an occasional series on people who are making a difference in their lives through exercise. So far, a common theme is the versatility of the YMCA in Hartsville and the variety of opportunities it offers for a fulfilling exercise program. Willie Jackson says he believes firmly in his Y membership investment.)