BEN MURPHY
by Wendon Swift
The Celebrity Fitness Book, 1983


How tall are you and how much do you weight?

I'm 5' 10 1/2" and weigh 180.

Do you follow a daily workout schedule?

Yes. I've been a tennis player for the last eight years. I play daily. I used to play twice a day. I combine that with long distance running, sprinting, and weight work. I try and spend a 40-hour week working out and playing. Now that I'm retired from competitive tennis I do what I can.

What keeps you going?

I keep records of my daily workout: Every mile I run, every weight I lift. I'm a great believer in setting flexible goals--and reaching them. I'm 41 now. When I was 25 I set a goal to keep a weekly point system for my workout and to increase the number weekly. When I get to the age of 50 I'll level off. Between 75 and 100 I'll start decreasing points weekly. So if I'm off a goal for a few weeks I can make it back. Most people can't remotivate themselves to get back into it if they stop for a while. That's why a lifetime goal is better. If I do this and keep my goals I'll live to be 100. Otherwise I'll lose a year and live to 99.

How to do you make yourself exercise if you don't feel like it?

I don't force myself to do anything. If one day my body doesn't want to, then I don't do it. I let my body talk to me. The last six months I've been so busy filming I've missed three and four day stretches. Everything is in my diary. Well, almost everything...

Why is being in shape important to you?

Because if you don't have that you don't have anything. The longer you stay alive in a healthy condition, then the better life is worth living.


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