The saying, “your health is your wealth,” is possibly be the best way to sum up this Wisconsin-based fitness instructor’s career. To the unknowing eye, Delores Steil is quite the opposite of what you’d expect from your typical fitness instructor.
Why’s Steil so different? She’s 88 years old and has been teaching fitness classes at the same YMCA for the last 27-years. Fox 12 Oregon recently did a news story on Steil and her fitness instructing career, which is covered in the video below.
Possibly the best part of the video is Steil’s thoughts on what others think about her. When asked if she sees herself as an inspiration like many of her peers do, she simply responds by saying, “I don’t feel special, but my daughters do, they think I’m great.”
If that doesn’t prove Steil is in the fitness industry for the right reason, then I don’t know what will. Here we have a woman receiving national news coverage and she shrugs off any attempt to point herself out as an inspiration to many people and stays humble. To top it off, Fox 12 Oregon state that she’s only missed one class in the last 10 years. Keep in mind, she teaches classes three-times a week.
If you Google “Delores Steil,” chances are the only thing you’ll find on her is this recent news story. This scenario reminds me of the article we wrote in November on Mark Bell’s “Why I Will Never Stop Lifting,” video.
In this day and age it’s easy to get caught up in the flash and glamour of the fitness industry. With things like YouTube, Instagram, and influencer marketing, the fitness industry is becoming much more saturated with those who do fitness simply because they can.
It’s increasingly harder to find those who do it for the pure love and enjoyment. Steil might be the definition of the pure love and enjoyment fitness can entail when you’re improving yourself and others around you.
Feature image screenshot from Fox 12 Oregon news report.
