98-year-old Woodbridge man does 40 press-ups a day

Bill Kober does not wait for the day to warm up before he starts his routine. The 98-year-old from Woodbridge, Suffolk, has kept to at least 40 press-ups every day without fail, dividing them into 20 in the morning and 20 in the evening. In a town where his workout has become a talking point, the numbers stand out because they are so ordinary and so relentless at the same time.

Kober says exercise has “never been important as such” to him, and his strength looks less like the product of a modern fitness programme than the residue of a long working life. He spent two years in the Army, worked in the building trade developing houses, then put in 28 years in a factory before finishing with a decade driving students to and from a school in Ilford on a bus.

That distinction matters because the story is not just about an unusually fit 98-year-old. For older adults, the question is not whether they can replicate Kober’s exact routine, but whether they can keep strength, balance and mobility alive enough to preserve everyday function. The World Health Organization recommends that people aged 65 and over get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, and include muscle-strengthening work on two or more days a week. The National Institute on Aging says strength training can help maintain muscle mass, improve mobility and add healthy years of life.

Kober is not a case study in gym culture, and that is part of the point. He does not present 40 press-ups as a prescription, only as a habit that has stayed with him long after Army service, house-building, factory shifts and school runs in Ilford ended. At 98, his daily total is a simple measure of durability, built one rep at a time.