A 98-YEAR-OLD man who goes to the gym five times a week says his rigorous exercise schedule is to thank for his ripe old age.

John Hamilton, from Sutton Veny, visits Harridges Health and Fitness Studio in Warminster every morning from Monday to Friday to complete a range of strength and cardiovascular exercises and wants more people aged 70 and over to get active in 2017.

The former Army major, who will turn 99 in April, has no plans to take his foot off the pedal any time soon.

He said: “I’ve been coming to the gym for 12 years because I want to keep myself healthy. It’s the highlight of my day and gets me out of bed every morning.

“Coming to the gym keeps me mentally fit as well as physically fit, which is very important when you get to my age.

“My wife died of dementia so I’m all too aware of it, but going to the gym regularly is a very good way of preventing it.

“Everyone is so friendly here and I’ve made some great friends by coming along as often as I do.”

At his age, Mr Hamilton would be forgiven for taking things steady in the gym, but that’s far from the case. Instead, he packs as much as possible into his 90 minute daily sessions and in 2013 made the record books by rowing 1,000 metres in under five minutes on an indoor rowing machine.

“I was given a routine when I first joined and I’ve pretty much stuck to it ever since, but I’ve also added a few things here and there and try to increase the number of repetitions,” added Mr Hamilton, who has three children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

“I finish off every session with 400 crunches and always do some pulling and pushing movements too.

“It’s very important to keep the legs strong so I do leg raises as well. I don’t need to use a stick because my legs are still quite strong.

“Coming to the gym regularly is a great way of keeping fit and it also extends your life, so I can’t see why people wouldn’t want to try it.”

Aside from the gym, Mr Hamilton enjoys learning and reading poetry, which he does at the library and St John’s Church in Sutton Veny.

Gym owner Julie Harridge said: “The great thing about John is that he inspires other people to get active.

“People in their 60s come into the gym and say they’re too old to join up, but then we tell them about John or even point him out if he’s in and they sign up.

“He’s proof that exercise can work wonders.”