Two knee replacement surgeries and a hip replacement surgery can’t keep Charlie Dolan away from the gym. At 89 years old, Charlie still works out at the Eastern Athletic Club on Clark Street six days a week. Charlie has lived in Brooklyn Heights his entire life, with the exception of his tour of duty in Japan during WWII.
Charlie is somewhat of a fitness expert, as he has been a gym member since age 17. He first joined the YMCA, and later joined Eastern Athletic when the club opened over thirty years ago.
Should you be overwhelmed or intimidated by the plethora of gym machinery, Charlie is happy to help. He has often told new gym members that they are capable of using every machine in the gym, and happily shows them how. He is generally encouraging and glad to see new faces at the gym.
I will certainly think of Charlie as I’m sitting on my couch eating fudge for breakfast over the holidays, and realize that “vacation” nor any other excuse is worthy of keeping me from at least doing a few crunches. The knowledge that Charlie woke up hours earlier to get to the gym at 6 am, walked on the treadmill and used nearly every machine there will inspire me to get my butt off the couch. As Charlie reminded me, “You get out of it what you put into it.”
