How Olympic sprint legend Michael Johnson keeps fit in his 50s

Michael Johnson became a household name in the ’90s for his distinctive upright running style, iconic track spikes and habit for winning gold medals.

From the 1991 Tokyo World Championships to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the U.S. sprinter collected 12 gold medals in 200m, 400m and 4x400m relay races. No silver. No bronze.

At Atlanta 1996, donning custom-made gold running shoes, he broke the Olympic record in the 400m and world record in the 200m for a historic golden double.

Quite simply, he's one of the greatest, most decorated, most dominant sprinters in the history of track and field.

But that was then.

Now, as he approaches his late 50s, Johnson has had to modify the way he works out to train for longevity and long-term wellbeing, both mentally and physically.

How Michael Johnson keeps fit in his 50s

"When you're an athlete your training is all about how to be better, be faster, be ready to compete against your rivals and hopefully bring home a championship," Johnson tells Fit&Well.

"That's the objective. It changes when you retire. Then it's about fitness, wellness, mindset."

That shift began the moment he hung up those iconic gold spikes in 2001.

"The training changed immediately because I knew I was never going to run around a track doing 200m intervals at 80% effort with 20 seconds rest ever again," he says.

"Because that's not fitness training. That's specific skills training for a sport.

"Now, as I'm older, it's a lot more [about going] slower, [for] longer," the 58-year-old explains, speaking at the official UK and European launch of wearable resistance brand OMORPHO.

"I hike a lot. I like rowing. It's not so much about dynamic movements, but I wear a weighted vest when I hike, when I do my movement stuff in the gym."

He also uses a weighted vest when he’s doing a full bodyweight session, to help make it more effective and efficient.

"When I'm in the gym and I'm doing bodyweight sessions, like push-ups, burpees, lunges, squats and jump squats I use the vest too.

"If I'm doing weight training, I can put more on the bar. But if I'm doing bodyweight training, then how am I going to do that?

"The only way to do that is to add more weight to my body, with something like a vest, or I have to extend the session and that's not as efficient."

The training shift that catapulted Johnson to success

Now in his late 50s, Johnson appreciates the value of regular resistance training to preserve muscle mass and maintain bone health, but it's not always come naturally to him.

Early in his career, he says, he wouldn't always put the same effort into strength training as he would to track training.

"I would never skip a day, but I certainly wasn't putting in the same level of effort as I was on the track. It just wasn't as enjoyable, but I realized it was affecting my ability to stay healthy, to be my best."

Fortunately, he adds, it was a lesson he learned early—but, for the rest of us, it's never too late to learn from the greatest.

"What was most important and most impactful for me was understanding that the details matter. The fundamentals matter. You are not going to be able to succeed by skipping the fundamentals, no matter how difficult they are."

Everybody has their one difficulty, their one thing, he says. In his case it was weight training. For some it's stretching and mobility, or diet regulation, or hitting a daily step count.

Whatever your blind spot, Johnson says it's important to work on your weaknesses, rather than just gravitate to your strengths, to improve your overall wellbeing long-term.

"The earlier you learn those lessons the better but it's never too late."