How a 79-Year-Old Deadlifts 275 and Achieved Extraordinary Strength and Fitness
By Kelan Ern Last updated: 01/16/2026
Tom Rauscher, a retired computer systems executive, is an elite lifelong athlete.
In high school, he was a national champion pole-vaulter winning several gold medals. And even after college, he kept up with the sport into his mid-forties where he broke his all-time record: 14 feet and 6 inches.
Eventually his athletic journey took a slight turn though. Running became too painful and his arthritic knees told him “Stop!” So he decided to hang up his track spikes.
But he didn’t give up being an athlete.
Not by a longshot.
"Even though you can't do the things that you could do when you were younger, you can still do quite a bit."
Even though his knees couldn’t handle the constant pounding of running on the track, they felt strong with weight-lifting. So he joined a CrossFit gym, built his body in new ways and then in his 70’s decided to compete in powerlifting.
In 2025, he broke two personal records:
Placed 3rd in the National Senior Games in Iowa where he deadlifted 275 pounds (twice his bodyweight)
1 million V-Ups
The latter took him a decade but each day he steadily knocked out 100+ to eventually rack up the 7-figure milestone. He used the same goal-setting process to accomplish these goals as he did to become a pole-vaulting national champion.
"The way you get stronger overall is just little goals along the way, and to have daily goals is a big help”
11 Strength and Fitness Lessons for Longevity
Here are some of his forever fitness and longevity tips:
He picked V-Ups as his BHAG because they came naturally to him (after doing them extensively for pole vaulting) and he could beat out men much younger (and stronger) than him on the exercise.
Each morning he does 150 V-ups, 30 squats, 30 push-ups and a 2-minute plank. Which usually takes him 12-15 minutes unless he takes a news break.
His main workouts: Pilates, indoor cycling or a CrossFit workout.
He exercises every single day, sometimes twice.
One of his biggest challenges: balancing pushing the limits vs. exceeding them (and hurting himself)
He writes every single workout in a notebook and then records them into a daily log.
Avoids extreme diets (such as low-carb, high-protein or Keto) and instead finds a balanced 60-20-20 ratio (carbs, protein fat) works best for him.
Eats three square meals per day (avoids snacking, alcohol and fast food) with nuts at each one (for the healthy fats).
He doesn’t drink coffee and instead sips on green tea, V8 or skim milk with his meals – and sometimes a cup of hot chocolate.
Dessert is fat-free yogurt with berries and nuts or a piece of chocolate. Occasionally, he’ll indulge in a pastry. He avoids grain-based desserts whenever possible.
Even though he doesn’t pole vault anymore, he coaches the sport at his old high school and finds it thrilling to help the kids and “get them started on their athletic journeys.”
One more power lesson from Rauscher:
When asked on Business Insider his view on physical limits with aging: "It does have some limitations, but my feeling is no matter what age you are, you're going to have some limitations. So what one has to do is understand what those limitations are and do things and enjoy things that you can do."
He’s spot on.
Most people have some sort of physical limitation – whether it’s low back pain, stiff hips, wobbly core muscles, a cranky shoulder or a screaming knee.
You can ignore those limits.
Pretend they don’t exist.
Push through them even when they’re painful.
(Aka “pull the batteries out of the smoke detector”)
Or you can respect those limits, learn from them and “work in your box”. And if you keep working, building, constructing in that zone you can expand your physical capacity in ways you never thought possible.
And that’s what Rauscher has done on his athletic journey, which is why he’s still crushing it and has become the inspiring life-long athlete that he is.
“I hope that younger generations see that just because one ages, one doesn’t necessarily have to stop enjoying physical activities” - Tom Rauscher