I am exhausted just thinking about it. But it's an all-too-familiar story. About 27 years ago an eastern Iowa man looked down at his belly and didn't like what he saw. At that moment, Mark Mueller of Cedar Rapids decided to start taking action. He has now been to the gym for over 10,000 straight days, according to KCRG.

In Sickness and in Health, Mark Mueller Has Never Missed a Day

He's so dedicated, he keeps a color-coded journal. He started his daily workouts at age 38, and now at 65, it has become such a habit, that he feels bad NOT to do it every day. That includes a stretch of time when he was sick with walking pneumonia. "I found out I had walking pneumonia, so I had to pretty much stay in the weight room and lift light for a couple of days." Even after knee surgery, he managed to improvise, focusing on upper-body workouts while he recovered. Mueller also came down with COVID-19 last January. Surely, that made him take a break, right? Nope. It was all about the stationary bike and treadmill.

What Was Mueller's Motivation to Never Skip a Workout?

He simply vowed to take the plight of seeing his gut hang out further than his chest and nip it in the bud. He's doing it all for his health and he's learned it feels really good. Once he hit 9,000 days there was simply no turning back. “You can always find a reason not to workout, you need to be finding reasons to workout."

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Mueller Doesn't Plan to Let Up

He recently ran into a 95-year old acquaintance at the Y, who gave 65-year old Mueller even more motivation to take this further. Meanwhile, as I sit here finishing my giant cinnamon roll and Monster Energy drink, I find myself running out of excuses not to take the one-block stroll to the Y myself after work today (except I didn't bring workout clothes, but if I could meet Mark I'm sure he'd tell me fancy gear isn't required.)

READ MORE: 10 free apps to help you get fit in our new normal

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