Working out keeps him feeling young

 

WORKING OUT KEEPS JEROME GRAHAM IN YOUTHFUL SHAPE

 60 is the new 40

“I do pray that I continue to feel as young as I do,” says Jerome Graham in between sets of 10 reps of 25 lb barbell curls. The 61-year-old works out four or more days every week so he can represent the meaning of a common meme in today’s world,  “60 is the new 40.” 

During his workouts he stays focused moving consistently and quickly among his various exercises efficiently getting in as much of a workout he can in his limited time in the gym.  While Jerome is retired from a 30-year military that combined active duty, National Guard and Army Reserves, he will be celebrating a 40-year anniversary with UPS next June. So he schedules most of his Hartsville YMCA workouts in between his overnight driving as a UPS feeder driver inside South Carolina with his daytime sleep and all the others jobs of regular living

Life-long fitness focus

Jerome has been staying physically active in sports and recreational activities for pretty much his entire life – at least since he first went out for the Rosenwald High School (Society Hill) junior varsity team when he was in the seventh grade back in the mid-1970s.  While he has crossed the 60-year mark his workouts will challenge the majority of thirty, forty and fifth year olds.  “My goal is to stay fit so that I can stay healthy,” says Jerome. And, his philosophy and his work has been paying off as he follows some personal rules about seeing his doctors regularly, watching his diet, getting plenty of exercise and trying to get plenty of sleep.  “My health is one of my top priorities because it helps me ensure I can take care of those other priorities like my family,” he says.

So, where is the motivation coming from?

It also does not take too long into a conversation about lifting and working out before it is obvious that even though his competition may be mostly with himself, Jerome is competitive. “One of my early motivations for getting and staying in shape was so that I would score 300 on the Army PFT. The 300 is the top score and was always his goal. One of the few times in his life when he was not working out as often as he wanted has been the most recent pandemic, which closed the Y and other workout opportunities. 

Bench pressing is probably Jerome’s favorite heavy weight exercise. “I am now trying to get back where I was and it taking longer than I might like,” he notes.  Before the pandemic we was benching 205 in three sets of five. Being away from the regular lifting for several works he is now working back toward 205 by benching 185 in two sets of ten. If your watch him work you would know it will not be much longer before he is back.  “For me, weight lifting is about as much psychological as it is physical,” observes Jerome. He says there is a great deal of personal satisfaction and personal comfort in knowing that he is doing his part to take care of his body and his health.

He is long-term YMCA member

Jerome has a family membership at the Hartsville Y and he has been a member since the Y moved into its present location in the former Coker Department Store in downtown Hartsville. And one of the benefits he enjoys about this membership is getting to know and make connections with people from all over the community.

 He is a self-proclaimed sports fanatic and can often be heard discussing the merits  of professional, college and high school teams and athletes. He is a long-time Pittsburgh Steeler fan in the NFL and he may run into a little problem with who to cheer for with Clemson and Carolina as his son  Desmond is getting ready to graduate from USC and he just took his daughter Alyiah to Clemson a few days ago.  His oldest daughter, Lenesha earned her medical coding  Associates Degree at Florence-Darlington Tech.  He and his wife Jenelle and their family live in the Dovesville Community of Darlington County.

He is inspiring and also a mentor

In addition to talking sports, Jerome can often be heard answering questions from younger guys who are interested in his time in the Military or sharing stories with other veterans. While he did not serve overseas, he was mobilized as an Army Reserve training evaluator for an extended period of service in January 2003 as part of “Iraqi-Freedom.”

So, while Jerome says it is in his DNA to work out and stay in physical shape he also takes advantage of the social connection that can also become part of the overall YMCA experience and fitness experience.  “It is important to me to be in the gym because working out keeps me physically strong and mentally strong.”