Exercise and the Myths about Building Muscle as we Age!

In this episode of A SENSe of Wellness Podcast, host, Susan Greeley connects with Ngo Okafor to discuss common myths about exercise and aging. Ngo addressed topics like our metabolism as we get older, building muscle and burning fat as we age, and his recommendations to improve exercise ability and overall health with consistency over time. 

More about Ngo Okafor

Ngo Okafor is a two-time Golden Gloves boxing champion and Founder/CEO of
Iconoclast Fitness, a private training facility on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue where
celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Brooke Shields, Chelsea Clinton, Ralph Fiennes,
John David Washington, and Danny Meyer get in their workouts. Ngo is also the creator
of “28 Days Greater”, a training and nutrition methodology that helps people lose up to
25 pounds in 28 days.

A Nigerian immigrant, Ngo came to the United States with no professional network or
net worth, but through hard work, mental toughness, and consistency built himself into
one of the most sought-after personal trainers in America.

After a childhood spent bedridden in Nigeria, Ngo moved to the United States to study
computer science at the University of Connecticut. Never one to shy away from difficult
tasks (he had his mother photocopy class notes when he was confined to the hospital,
so he could keep up with his schoolwork), Ngo took up boxing at the relatively advanced
age of 31—and proceeded to win two Golden Gloves National Championship titles
back-to-back.

Using the same laser-sharp focus, Ngo established his personal training business,
creating a model others would envy and earning accolades like the one from New York
Post anointing him one of “New York’s hottest trainers whipping beautiful people into
shape.” Those beautiful people include Naomi Campbell, Julia Roberts, Iman, Kahlana
Barfield Brown, and Chanel Iman. Ngo has gained this loyal following by espousing a
fitness belief that the mind is the most important muscle a person needs to develop.
“The body is a slave to the mind and will do anything the mind tells it to do,” he says.
Ngo is frequently quoted in publications as varied as Elle, Oprah Magazine, Men’s
Health, Women’s Health, and Glamour, and is often a guest on television programs like
The Today Show, Good Morning America, and Good Day New York.

When he’s not in the gym, Ngo works with the non-profit he founded, Champion Spirit
Foundation, which provides free exercise equipment in Nigeria, for children to learn
boxing, as a path to raising their self-esteem. Ngo still models when he can fit it in,
having appeared alongside the likes of Gisele Bundchen and Mary J. Blige in
magazines such as Vogue, W, V, and WSJ.

Despite all this, Ngo says his greatest accomplishment is being a devoted family man.
He’s a husband and father to two beautiful children, Chioma, 8, and Amara, 4.