As you’re thinking about your new year’s fitness resolutions, consider this: three times a week, two Brown County men, ages 72 and 93, are getting up and out to the YMCA and hitting the weights before you’ve probably even had breakfast.
“I’ve got to do this so I can live long like him,” said Mel Hoefling, 72, taking a break from a machine while 93-year-old Teed Howard does some stretches nearby.
“He’s an inspiration,” Hoefling said.
Howard and Hoefling are longtime friends, but working out at the YMCA has brought them closer.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]When Hoefling retired in 2011, he called Howard to see if he was interested in trying out the Y’s Silver Sneakers fitness program for seniors with him.
“That’s what we did. We started working out Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We’ve been doing it ever since,” Hoefling said, sitting with Howard in the Y’s lobby enjoying a cup of coffee after their workout.
Soon, the two decided to do their own workout regime together on the machines upstairs.
The two have been friends since around 1959, when Hoefling was a Boy Scout and Howard was a Scout executive leading an Explorer Scout group. They connected over their shared interest in Native American dancing.
Both are also Army veterans, Howard having served in World War II and Korea, and Hoefling serving in Vietnam in 1966 and 1968.
When Hoefling was younger, he traveled all over the United States with Howard’s troop going to powwows. They still do that today. Even in his 90s, Howard is the first to help set up for the powwows.
“We have to slow him down because he just works so hard at it,” Hoefling said.
Working out together three times a week gives the duo a strong foundation for all of their interests.
“You don’t want to sit at home doing nothing. You want to stay in shape and stay active,” Hoefling said.
Hoefling served once as the president of the Brown County Lions Club. Howard is still active with the Rotary Club in Brown County. In fact, the duo met up for their workout on a Tuesday morning last month because they had volunteered with Rotary to work at the Brown County Junior High School’s Reality Store the next morning.
The two encourage each other to be active in many ways.
“When he (Howard) was my age now, he was going up to the Boundary Waters every year in northern Minnesota to canoe, every year. He’d get some young Scout to go with him and help him, but he did that every year. I was amazed,” Hoefling said.
Howard still does Scottish country dancing, too; however, a surgery this year has meant he’s had to take a break from that. He gets to start dancing again early this year. His doctors said it’s good for his health.
Both men say that if they don’t do their regular workouts, their bodies remind them. “You can feel it right away,” Howard said.
Having a workout buddy helps keep each of them accountable.
“If he doesn’t come, I really don’t want to come by myself, and likewise,” Hoefling said.
“If you have someone you can work out with, it’s really to your advantage.”
How would the two describe their friendship?
“Active,” Howard said with a laugh.
“We’ve shared so much, he with me and me with him,” Hoefling said.
Howard said their relationship is key in his life, and it’s difficult to describe the impact it has on him.
“How do you put your feelings into words? It’s a spirit of our friendship that really makes a difference,” he said.
The two support each other to live the best, longest life that they can.
“I didn’t want to end up sitting in a chair watching TV for the rest of my life. I want to be out doing it. I want to be the history; I don’t want to be looking at it,” Howard said.
Brown County YMCA Executive Director Kim Robinson said the two are inspiration to everyone at the Y — “the length of their friendship and dedication to each other,” she said.
“It is heartwarming to see them come in every morning. Teed and Mel help to confirm the importance of the Y and how it is an intricate part of our community in so many ways.”
As the two wrap up their workout upstairs, Howard finds a spot near the staircase to take a rest as Hoefling finishes up a lap around the track.
“To sum it up, we have a good time,” he said.
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Is your New Year’s resolution to get in shape? The Brown County YMCA can help with that.
Anyone who joins the YMCA now will not pay a joiner fee until Jan. 15.
A couple of free classes for members begin Jan. 6. They cost $3 each time for non-members. Zumba will be Mondays and Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. An intense aqua class will be Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m.
Brown County High School sophomores will receive a free membership to the YMCA for the second semester of this school year.
For more information on YMCA memberships and classes, visit browncountyymca.org.
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