Cal Ripken Jr, baseball’s Iron Man, is nearly 52 years old but still working hard

Do you want to be in the same shape you were in as a player?

Personal Post

I work out for myself. I have a beautiful gym at my house, and certainly I take advantage of that. I like the solitude. I like the feeling working out gives me now. Recently, I got back into lifting a little bit, which I hadn’t done since I left [baseball]. But my son, who is going to [the University of] South Carolina to play baseball — he is 18 years old — discovered games you can play in the weight room. When he started lifting, I looked at him and said, “He might get stronger than me.” So on a personal basis, he motivated me to lift again.

How much do you lift?

I like squats. I like step-ups. With certain injuries in your shoulders, you have to be careful what you lift and how you lift. My gains are not to break any lifting records. I just try to continue to improve.

I use a lot of dumbbells. I try to use a weight vest when I do step-ups. My shoulder seems not to be working like it should right now. I don’t think it is from all of the years of throwing. Might be too much batting practice. If I were to advise people, especially people who are aging, your goals should be the ones that are important to you, and you should not measure yourself against someone else.

What is your workout routine?

I try to mix it up. I like interval training. You get a burst of intensity; at the same time, with the accumulated effect by limiting your rest in between, you get the cardio effect.

For my latest routine, I like paying attention to the baseball games. On my iPad, I can watch a condensed baseball game. The Orioles played the [Red] Sox, and they played 17 innings. That would take a long time to watch. A condensed game, they just put all the action plays in and you can watch a game in 10 to 12 minutes. If I am doing three different pieces of equipment, I’ll watch a game [on the elliptical], then I will move to the bike and watch 10 to 12 minutes of another game. Then, I’ll move to the treadmill for another 10 to 12 minutes. In the end, you’ve done 30 minutes of cardio.

What advice about aging would you give a young player such as the Nationals’ Bryce Harper?

As a very young guy, I got to the big leagues, and we had an aging team. We had Jim Palmer, Ken Singleton and Al Bumbry, great players who made the Orioles successful. But all of a sudden a lot of them were aging, and retirement was close by. When we were riding on the bus, I would ask them questions: What would you have done differently? Honestly, many of them said things like “I wish I would have worked harder or taken it more seriously. I wish I understood I only had so much time.” I made up my mind you had to maximize your opportunity. Maybe that was some of the motivational force for playing every day even if you feel tired or were injured. You’ll never get that day back.

Is there anything you regret?

Some people might say I’d regret that I played too much. No. Each and every game was an opportunity to meet the challenges of that particular day. One of the things I am most proud of, whatever condition I was in, I came to the ballpark ready to meet the challenge. Sometimes it worked out; sometimes it didn’t.