Who is the world's oldest bodybuilder Jim Arrington?
JIM Arrington holds the Guinness World Record title for being the planet's oldest bodybuilder.
Here's all you need to know about the 90-year-old great-grandad who can lift more than his body weight.
Who is Jim Arrington?
Jim Arrington, from Los Angeles, is the world's oldest professional bodybuilder.
He is a great-grandfather of nine who has been sculpting his body for over 70 years.
Jim, who turns 91 next month, was given the world record title at the age of 83 and has kept it ever since.
Jim’s childhood nickname was “Skinny Bones”, as he was reportedly asthmatic, "very unhealthy" and frequently ill.
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But within only 3 months of training, he went from 115lbs to 125lbs.
By the time Jim was 15, he weighed 150 lbs – 35 pounds heavier than when he first took on weight training.
A trainer at the place where the self-proclaimed "gym rat" works out told Guinness that they “see Jim almost every day” and that he “does more than a good 60% of my clients or anybody that comes into this gym”.
Thanks to his dedication to the sport, Jim was even invited to pose in the nude for photos published in Men's Health magazine last year.
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His debut came at the Mr. America contest, in the 40+ category.
Out of all 15 competitors, Jim was proclaimed the victor of his weight category to earn the“Most Muscular” title; finishing in the 2nd place overall.
From there on, Jim became a regular name in America’s bodybuilding contests.
He appeared in Venice Muscle Beach’s competitions summer after summer, as well as competing at the national level in the Masters division.
Throughout his competitive career, Jim was a part of over 60 bodybuilding contests – winning 16 of them.
How long has Jim Arrington been a bodybuilder?
Jim began bodybuilding when he was just 13 years old - more than seven decades ago.
He was walking around a local drugstore when he came across a bodybuilding magazine on the rails.
Jim has previously said in interviews that when he saw the magazine, his life was instantly changed forever as he "fell in love" with the glossy photos of the muscular bodybuilders.
Talking about the bodybuilders, Jim said: “They were so huge I just couldn’t believe it! Even their forearms were massive, just like Popeye. Everything else was huge, too.”
While Jim trained hard and long in the gym for years, it wasn’t until the age of 45 that he decided to step on the bodybuilding stage for the first time.
The reason why Jim began competing at 45 was that he felt he wasn’t big enough up until that point.
Training in the “Mecca of Bodybuilding” in Venice Beach, Jim believed he didn’t have the genetics or bone structure to match those of other regular bodybuilders at a young age.
He still visits the gym three times a week to lift weights for two hours each session.
He tells himself to “get the burn” because, “they say no pain, no gain”.
Is Jim Arrington married and does he have any children?
Jim reportedly cares for his 84-year-old wife, May, who has dementia.
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The couple has been married for more than 40 years and he credits his fitness with being able to do more to help her around the house — and drive her to appointments.
The pair share four children and nine great-grandchildren.
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