Updated May 22, 2026 06:57<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nSir Geoff is the last surviving member of the 1966 winning England team.(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/p>\n
England legend Sir Geoff Hurst has revealed the exercise routine he uses to stay fit and mentally strong at the age of 84.<\/p>\n
Herro, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final, spoke about how he continued to work after losing many of his teammates to dementia in 1966. He is speaking out alongside other athletes and celebrities as part of Age UK’s initiative to keep older people active and help them age well.<\/p>\n
A poll released by the charity suggests that a lack of self-confidence is preventing young people aged 50 to 65 from taking part in group activities and team sports. It is estimated that one in four people in this important age group are ‘physically inactive’.<\/p>\n
read more: Former soccer player signs up for groundbreaking dementia study on heading effect<\/span><\/span>read more: Groundbreaking research on link between ball heading and dementia requires ‘brain bank’ of former professional soccer players<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
\n
\nGeoff Hurst scores England’s third goal against West Germany in the World Cup final(Image: Getty Images)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
Sir Geoff said: “At nearly 85 years old, I am still working and headlining the speaking tours I have undertaken over the past 10 years. I strive to keep myself physically and mentally healthy and am a huge advocate of the benefits of physical exercise after losing many of my teammates in 1966 to dementia.”<\/p>\n
“Four times a week, I take a 30-minute walk in the park in the morning, then do a 20-minute Joe Wicks workout at home every other day. This daily exercise routine makes me feel much younger than my age and keeps me mentally sharp. Anyone of any age can benefit from physical activity and movement, and even joining a team and making new connections.”<\/p>\n
Joe Wicks, also known as The Body Coach, is an advocate of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and quick, healthy eating. He rose to fame during the Covid-19 pandemic with his “PE With Joe” livestream, keeping millions of people active.<\/p>\n
Sir Geoff is famous for scoring a hat-trick in the final against West Germany 60 years ago, leading England to their only World Cup victory. He is the last surviving member of the team.<\/p>\n
Exercise is known to be effective in preventing or delaying dementia. Five members of the 1966 World Cup winning team – Nobby Stiles, Jack Charlton, Ray Wilson, Martin Peters and Sir Bobby Charlton – have died from dementia. Manager Sir Alf Ramsey also suffered from dementia until his death in 1999.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n
\n
\nSir Geoff’s lecture tour(Image: Daily Mirror)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/button><\/div>\n
Sir Geoff told how he was fitted with a pacemaker five years ago due to atrial fibrillation, an arrhythmia. He also said he suffered a “mild stroke” several years ago. Two years ago, during an event as part of a speaking tour, he suffered repeated nosebleeds and was forced to leave the stage.<\/p>\n
Sir Geoff is speaking as part of Age UK’s Act Now, Age Better campaign, highlighting the health and wellbeing benefits of exercise, particularly team sports and group activities. A poll of 2,700 people aged over 50 in the UK shows that lack of confidence is holding people back from taking action.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my own career, I know that being part of a team can make you feel an incredible sense of connection, with shared experiences and unforgettable highs. But as life gets busier and we get older, staying physically active can feel out of reach.<\/p>\n
“In fact, when you find yourself putting off making the first move, that’s the time to start. Because even small steps towards taking more action can go a long way. It’s never too late to start. Anyone, at any age, can benefit from being more proactive and can even rediscover the joy of joining a team and building new connections.”<\/p>\n
Approximately 36% of participants (representing 5.1 million people) are worried about not being good enough at team sports and group activities. A similar proportion, 34% (equivalent to 4.8 million people), worry about not fitting in because of their age. Women were more likely to feel this way.<\/p>\n
Paul Farmer, chief executive of Age UK, said: “We want all adults over 50 to start preparing for their health in later life in the same way they prepare financially for their pension.”<\/p>\n
This comes as a report by MPs on the Commons Health and Social Care Committee blames lack of physical activity in later life for an increase in health conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The report found that inactivity is linked to one in six deaths in the UK, costing an estimated \u00a37.4 billion a year.<\/p>\n
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said: “We know that making exercise easy and attractive for people to do throughout their lives is one of the most effective ways to maintain independence in old age.”<\/p>\n
The MPs’ report called for more “social prescribing” of exercise such as yoga and swimming to patients, but warned that physical inactivity “has become part of everyday life, especially for older people”. “This includes local action to improve poorly paved roads, unsafe intersections and lack of toilets and seating, as well as national transport and planning decisions that make travel easier.”<\/p>\n
In the UK, the Chief Medical Officer recommends that older people aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week and do activities aimed at improving or maintaining strength, balance and flexibility at least twice a week. Figures show that 44% of people over 75 engage in less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#England #legend #Geoff #Hurst #Joe #Wicks #workouts #helping #stay #fit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sir Geoff Hurst has revealed how the death of his England team-mate in 1966 after battling dementia made him realize the importance of staying active in old age. 00:01, May 22, 2026Updated May 22, 2026 06:57 Sir Geoff is the last surviving member of the 1966 winning England team.(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster) England legend Sir Geoff … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1510,1511,1454,502,1513,1517,1514,1509,1515,1512,624,1508,1516,810],"class_list":["post-685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dementia","tag-england","tag-fit","tag-fitness","tag-geoff","tag-helping","tag-hurst","tag-jeff-hurst","tag-joe","tag-legend","tag-stay","tag-uk-age","tag-wicks","tag-workouts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}