How I got this body: Pete Magee, 71

Steady dose of exercise:

In a typical week, I'd do a set of rehab tuneup exercises [for my knee] in the morning three times a week -- that's about a 45-minute to an hour effort. I'd also probably go swimming three times. Then I'd probably go twice to the local rec center, where I do machine weights. I also try to bike and kayak, too. I think I have a personality quirk where when I don't work out, I tend to get a little down. And conversely, when I get down, I work out and feel better.

A lifetime in the pool:

As far back as I can remember I was outside playing games, walking and biking. I started competition swimming at age 11. Then I swam for my high school and swam at Yale when I was in college and did a little intramural swimming in grad school. I had a big hiatus for about 10 years, but when I had my knee problem, I got back into it. I had a cartilage operation on my knee, so I started swimming in rehab and then got into masters' swimming.

Wife as training partner:

We do our kayaking and biking together. She's fun to do stuff with, but we like that we have separate routes to our fitness and then come together on kayaking and biking and hiking and cross-country skiing -- the outdoors stuff. It keeps us both doing our stuff because it's mutually reinforcing. I wouldn't have gotten into kayaking -- and certainly wouldn't do it as often -- if it weren't for the fact that she says she's ready and wants to go. We've been married 45 years, and it's nice to have some things to talk about that we share.

Protecting the future:

I think [staying fit] has certainly given me an extra dimension of my life. There's almost nothing we face that we can't do physically. It's kept a whole side of life open to us, and we really rejoice in that. I'm finding as I get older my recovery time is much longer, and so I think, "Gosh, if I don't do this, then next time I'm going to feel much worse." It's a way of pushing the active side of our life as far forward as we possibly can. I want to be able to go up and down the stairs as long as possible.