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Wang Deshun: 80-year-old Chinese runway model reveals his fitness regime

He believes that old age should never be used as an excuse for giving up

Sarah Young
Tuesday 28 March 2017 15:22 BST
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Wang Deshun made headlines when he appeared bare-chested on the runway in 2015
Wang Deshun made headlines when he appeared bare-chested on the runway in 2015

After making headlines for his bare-chested stint on the runway in 2015, 80-year-old Wang Deshun was quickly dubbed China’s hottest grandpa - and it’s not hard to see why.

With a chiselled physique, hipster beard and youthful guise, he looks just as good as men a quarter his age.

A picture of good health, we’ve all been wondering how he does it. What does he eat? How does he keep in shape?

But ponder no more because the actor-cum-model has finally revealed the secret to his seriously toned, super-strong bod in an interview with GQ.

Joining his first gym at 50-years-old, Deshun decided to devote ample time to daily exercise in a bid to avoid mental and physical stagnation; and he hasn’t looked back since.

Nowadays, his fitness regime is intense, lasting up to four hours a day with moves that really need to be seen to be believed.

A combination of weights, cardio and stretching, Deshun approaches the gym much like the runway - forcefully and with his shirt off.

From wing-flapping with weights, to hoisting his leg up by his ear, these aren’t the kind of moves you’d expect to see in the gym but he insists that they’re what keeps him young and limber.

Deshun also confesses to skating in a bodysuit during the winter, while he prefers to swim in the warmer months.

With a bod this good, you’d be forgiven for assuming that he eats a strict, protein-rich, gym-bro friendly diet but you’d also be very wrong.

Instead, Deshun eats whatever he wants and has even been known to chow-down on the odd breakfast buffet; pancakes, pastry, jelly and all.

A shining example of combating stereotypical ideas of ageing, China’s hottest grandpa proves that out golden years don’t have to lie in coming to terms with your beer belly or confining ourselves to low-impact pastimes like bowls or knitting.

It is, after all, never too late to pursue your dreams.

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