At the Fort Myers YMCA on Royal Palm Square Boulevard, John Mitsopoulos pulls iron like it's his day job.
"Monday, I come in. Tuesday, I do just cardio. Wednesday, I do a light bench, some curls and stuff. Thursday, again, more cardio. Friday, I go back to triceps and biceps. Saturday, I do cardio," Mitsopoulos said. "And Sunday, I usually rest, but I come in anyway."
A meticulous schedule isn't uncommon for Mitsopoulos. An athlete all his life, he ran track and field in college before he begrudgingly traded his spikes for steel.
"My coach said, John, I want you to go do some benching," Mitsopoulos said. "I said, oh, come on, coach. I hated it. I couldn't even bench one plate, it was horrible."
It wasn't long before a sport that left Mitsopoulos with such disdain brought him so much joy. He competed in bench press around the country with a record of 400 pounds.
"I was sky high," Mitsopoulos said.
Even now, at 82 years old, Mitsopoulos won't put down the plates.
"I keep telling my friends like this might be my last meet, and they look at me like, yeah, sure," Mitsopoulos said. "I feel lucky, I feel blessed that I can still do this."
Those plates aren't weights that hold him down. They lift him up.
"I'm still here," Mitsopoulos said. "I'm not going anywhere."
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