EB Butler of Copiague is 80, bench presses 350, and still isn't satisfied

EB Butler draws attention.

The 6-foot-tall, 235-pound muscleman is constantly being bombarded with questions, and often asked to show his ID.

“A lot of people walk up to me and ask, ‘Are you on steroids?’ I tell ’em, ‘No, I never took no drugs in my life,’ ” Butler said.

“They want to know if I have a special diet. I eat soul food. . . . When young men ask, ‘When were you born?’ I tell ‘em: 1943. June the 10th.”

So why does Butler, of Copiague, elicit so many comments? Because it’s not every day you see an 80-year-old who can bench press 350 pounds.

“I like what I’m doing,” said Butler, who noted that he has lifted weights since his 20s and still hits the gym two to three times per week. “I feel great when I work out. And, well, you can see that it pays off.”

BENEFITS OF TRAINING

According to Maria Carney, chief of the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Northwell Health in Great Neck, Butler is a prime example of why the public’s image of seniors should change.

“It’s the fastest-growing population, life expectancy has increased, and they’re very diverse in terms of function and abilities,” she said.

While the average 80-year-old is not pumping iron, she noted they’re not all “frail, weak or in a wheelchair. We have to get away from being ageist and really think about a person’s overall function and condition.”

Though many seniors are already active, experts recommend they check with their doctors and consider adding strength training — which can include weightlifting but also push-ups, squats and yoga — into their routine, as it has been proven to greatly benefit the health of older adults by maintaining muscle mass, improving mobility and increasing the healthy years of life.

A 2022 study by the National Institute on Aging determined that muscle power and performance peak, on average, at 35 years old before starting to decline, most rapidly once women reach 65 and men 70.

Says Roger Gerland, senior director of rehabilitation services at Northwell Health, failing to incorporate strength training into an exercise regimen can cause a person to lose 5% to 10% of muscle mass over the course of each decade, starting as early as the 40s.

Mike Gonzalez, lead strength coach at Core Fitness Studios in Glen Cove, said strength training also preserves bone health and minimizes the risk of osteoporosis.

“It doesn’t have to be high resistance, but even light dumbbell work that stimulates that kind of muscle contraction and blood flow is only going to enhance their life,” Gonzalez said. “It is something that should be worked into a routine — at every age.”

And people shouldn’t think of age as a barrier.

For those in their 50s and beyond who have never really exercised before, Gerland said, “As long as you’re medically cleared and you start off slowly, you can really begin to reverse some of the changes that have occurred in your body as a result of not being physically active.”

'THIS GUY'S PRETTY STRONG!’

Being physically active has never been a problem for Butler.

Growing up in Pine Apple, Alabama, Butler developed natural strength and a strong work ethic on his family’s farm before moving to Florida at 16, where he picked and loaded oranges, got married and started a family. In the early 1960s he became a Long Islander, settling first in Melville and then Huntington.

Butler’s son, Lloyd, remembers a time when he was little and got tired while bike riding with his dad on a long route in Greenlawn.

“So he found some rope on the side of the road and tied it to his bicycle and tied it to mine,” said Lloyd Butler, 53, of Wyandanch. Then, he pedaled himself and his son the rest of the way.

The moment he realized his dad wasn’t like most other dads was when he saw him carrying a washing machine down a flight of stairs on his own.

“I’m like, ‘OK, this guy’s pretty strong!’ ” he said, laughing.

A weightlifter on his own throughout his early 20s, Butler’s gym journey took off around 1970 in the basement of the Huntington YMCA.

There, he strove to have the physical build of an older, experienced weightlifter who ended up training him. Under his guidance, and that of other veteran fitness fiends, Butler learned the importance of technique. “It’s not how much you do, as long as you do it the correct way,” he said they’d tell him.

From the YMCA, Butler became involved in Amateur Athletic Union weightlifting competitions, bench pressing, deadlifting and squatting in front of big crowds in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and beyond.

Butler recalled that he weighed 181 pounds around that time and could deadlift 555 pounds. After bulking up to 185 pounds, he could deadlift 585 pounds, squat 400 and bench press 300. His career-best bench press was about 380.

GETTING SERIOUS IN HIS 70s

Today, Butler and his son — who got his first set of dumbbells when he was 11 — work out every Sunday at the LA Fitness in Farmingdale and whenever their schedules align during the week, since EB still works Monday through Saturday as a cement truck driver for Kings Park Ready Mix.

Butler exercises for two hours each session, with a set routine in the gym — building his shoulders, back, laterals, biceps, triceps, legs, stomach and arms.

“My father exercising his muscles has always been a staple in my life and his,” said Lloyd Butler, who beams with pride talking about him. “It’s just always been his thing.”

When he started weightlifting, Butler’s goal was simple — he wanted to be strong and have muscles. It was when he got into his 70s, he said, that his drive kicked into high gear and he “got serious with it.”

“I wanted to be a different-looking guy,” he said. “I wanted to do things that maybe guys my age couldn’t do.”

In October, EB Butler and his son competed together in a bench pressing contest at a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness in Farmingdale. In their respective weight classes and age groups, they both won. EB benched 340 pounds, while his son benched 365 pounds, according to Lloyd Butler.

“I’m 315 pounds,” Lloyd said. “Technically, I should be bench pressing a lot more, so he’s still stronger than me at the age he is. He [also] has more hair than me!”

A few years back, EB Butler asked his doctor whether he should be lifting heavy weights at his age, his son said. His physician checked him out, Lloyd said, and told him, “Mr. Butler, whatever you’ve been doing, keep doing it.”

In encouraging other seniors, EB Butler said, “Don’t try to do what I do because I’ve been doing this for a while.”

Instead, he said, “Start at the bottom. If you want to improve yourself, start there and work your way up. Find your exercise that you can do, that you feel good doing. Do whatever your body allows you.”

GRANDSON'S GIFT

EB Butler has been an inspiration not only to his son, but now to his grandson, Tyler.

For his grandfather’s 80th birthday, Tyler Butler, 26, of Copiague, trained hard to give the man he calls “Pop-Pop” a special gift. Having never been able to bench press 300 pounds before, he joined his father, Lloyd, and EB at LA Fitness and surprised him with a lift of 315 pounds.

“Growing up, I always saw Pop-Pop as a tough superhero. I call him ‘bulletproof’ sometimes,” said Tyler, who was introduced to fitness at a young age by his dad and works out with his father and grandfather when he can.

“It’s like, ‘All right, I gotta keep up.’ Because my grandfather’s strong, my dad’s strong, and I gotta be strong, too,” he said.

EB Butler beamed at his grandson’s achievement.

“It made me feel proud, makes me feel great,” he said. “We all push each other, but we’re having fun as we’re doing it. I know someday, that if he keeps at it, then I have to step aside and let him take the lead.

“But right now,” he said, “I’m in the lead.”

And on Father’s Day, he proved it. After first warming up with stretches, Butler hit the bench press, doing multiple reps of 135 pounds, 230, 250, 280 and 320 in the lead-up to the big, one-time lift of 350 pounds — which he did “clean.” That is, he took the weight off the rack completely by himself, held it up, brought it down to his chest without bouncing it off or arching his back, and then lifted the bar straight up to the rack without his spotter — Lloyd — doing the work.

Making it look easy, he rocked a bit on the bench beforehand, getting in the zone, and amping himself up —maintaining his cool, calm, collected demeanor throughout. Lying under the bar, he adjusted himself, got a good grip and pressed.

After his triumphant bench press, Butler said, “I’m proud to be 80. Next year I’m gonna do 400.”