- February 3, 2025
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Wednesday morning at Anytime Fitness on Nova Road in Port Orange was not a usual day at the gym. The host of TV show "Growing Bolder," Marc Middleton was there on July 31 to interview owner Phil Madsen about a special fitness program offered in Volusia County, called Ageless Fitness.
Ageless Fitness is a fitness training program designed with long-term health and longevity in mind, according to the program website. It states Ageless Fitness can "help you restore your functional strength, power, balance and movement quality so you can do anything and everything you enjoy in life... for as long as possible.”
Middleton hosts the "Growing Bolder" program which airs on public television channel WUCF. He travels the nation finding people and programs that demonstrate growing older does not have to be a painful, depressing, mentally or physically limiting experience. Middleton helps others find joy in aging.
So does Madsen, his wife Diane, and a staff of dedicated professional fitness experts. According to the website, Anytime Fitness is the only gym in east and southeast Volusia County that has trainers certified in this program.
Ageless Fitness was created by Dan Ritchie and Cody Sipe, two fitness experts who specialized in aging, and developed an organization called the Functional Aging Institute.
“Growing old is a privilege,” said Jonas Rivera, training director of Anytime Fitness. “If we’re lucky, we get to do it.”
Rivera said that people come, not only for the exercise and fitness, but the social opportunities as well.
Clients have told him, “‘This is the most I’ve talked to people in my life.’”
Ageless Fitness participants Bob and Charlene Grow support the program.
“I really believe in it,” Bob Grow said, “It’s really made a difference. I like to go to the beach, but I couldn’t get out of the chair. Now I can stand up at the beach.”
Ageless Fitness members train in small groups for 30 minutes, two to three times per week. They have a detailed assessment which includes a body composition scan that measures how much muscle versus fat one has. As training progresses, participants are re-assessed to monitor progress toward fitness goals.
Training sessions are led by personal trainers who structure a warm-up, full-body resistance training circuit and stretching or foam rolling cool-downs.
The taping of the ageless fitness will be on the Growing Bolder website in September. The interview with Madsen will air some time next year.
This article was updated on August 7 at 2:36 p.m. to reflect the correct the spelling of the host of TV show "Growing Bolder's" first name, Marc Middleton.
