Fit, Not Finished

After a hiatus, Dan Eckel comes back strong to bodybuilding

Before 2022, Dan Eckel had not competed in a bodybuilding competition since the late 1980s. But by the year’s end, Eckel was on top of the bodybuilding world for his age group, having won the national title at 62 years old.

His success is due, in part, to his mentality, which is rare in the bodybuilding world.

“I can get ready for a bodybuilding competition in three weeks,” Eckel says.

Eckel’s genuine love for fitness means he doesn’t want days off. He chooses to stay in great shape since he finds exercise and eating well very rewarding.

“I like to look good, but it is also an amazing stress relief,” he says. “I don’t feel right unless I’m working out consistently.”

Eckel’s love for fitness goes back to his childhood. He was very competitive and says that at only 5-foot-6, he had to be in great shape to keep up with his six older siblings. He was the seventh of 12 kids in his family.

His favorite childhood sport was, unsurprisingly, wrestling. He wrestled all the way through college, which would become his avenue to bodybuilding once his wrestling days were through.

“After college, my college wrestling coach suggested bodybuilding,” Eckel says, “and I’m like, ‘Bodybuilding?’ It was the furthest thing from my mind.”

Eckel eventually gave it a shot, and he learned quickly that he could hang with the best.

“I was working out anyway, and I’m seeing these guys that are winning these contests and I’m like, ‘Well, I think I could do that,’” he says. “I always like to challenge myself, so I kind of just challenged myself.”

Adopting the lifestyle was no barrier for an already-fit Eckel, but the fine details were what he’d need to develop to win.

“There’s a little bit of a learning curve,” he says. “My workouts were strong, my diet was strong, I had to learn about posing and how bodybuilding works. About the spray tanning. The little details that separate the good from the great.”

He says that the spray tan at first seemed strange, but he understands that it is simply part of the sport when it comes to standing out.

He was, and still is, rather lean as far as bodybuilder standards go, but that hardly gets in the way of his ability to compete. He attains his physique in allnatural ways, and says that his schedule and habits barely change when he has an event coming up.

To get contest ready, he may somewhat increase his intensity in workouts, but his main change is cutting out sweets such as baked goods or sugary drinks. Eckel says it all comes down to eating well and hitting the gym.

“I focus on my diet. And when I say diet, I don’t mean I go without food. I just get rid of the sugars, the bread, the fruit drinks, the milk products.

And once I do that, it’s like your body just comes around in addition to your workouts,” he says. “Right now, I’m not preparing for anything and if I want a doughnut, I eat a doughnut. When summer comes along and I want to look better, all I do is cut the junk.”

After winning countless accolades in Ohio and placing ninth in a national competition in 1986-87, Eckel had realized his bodybuilding dreams and stopped competing.

In the years since, he started a family and now has three boys; Aidan, 16; Alex, 14 and Ashton, 12. Eckel has lived in several different areas around Ohio, but settled in Grove City, where he has lived since 1997. He grew up nearby in Hamilton Township.

“(Grove City is) a comfortable place. I don’t mind sending my kids about to play,” Eckel says. “My neighbors know them. We take care of each other and it’s a quiet little neighborhood.”

Eckel’s interests span beyond sport as well. He has a degree in graphic design and started Hocking Hills Canopy Tours with his friends. When they started, zip-lining tours were not nearly what they are today, and business has been booming because of the novel, well-organized experience they offer. With a family and a successful business, bodybuilding would still find its way back to Eckel.

In 2022, he made a friend that would get him back in the game. He made friends with someone who is still in the bodybuilding world, who encouraged him to come along to one of her competitions and ultimately convinced him to enter.

He first competed in an open, which involved all age groups. Eckel came in third in multiple categories, beating out some competitors who were half his age. He followed it up with another prestigious open competition from the National Physique Committee and placed second for the whole event.

Then the judges recommended Eckel head to nationals, where he could compete against his age group and get his Pro Card. So, on July 20, 2022, he did just that.

“I walk in and I always wear long sleeves and baggy clothes, because I always wear baggy clothes since it’s more comfortable, and I asked this guy who looked like he was in charge, ‘Hey, where are weigh-ins?’” Eckel says. “And he says, ‘You can’t go to weigh-ins … you’re not a competitor.’”

“And he’s apologizing to me after I won the whole thing.”

He won the award for classic men’s physique, which Eckel says is similar to the Arnold Scwarzenegger era, before bodybuilders were as massive as they are today. He placed second in the bodybuilding category, nearly making him a two-time national champion in his first year back on the scene.

“Bodybuilding to me is fun,” he says, “but I don’t take it serious. It was really fun to win and it’s always fun to win, but I laugh at these guys that act like they’re gonna die if they don’t win. It’s like, come on, it’s a beauty pageant for Pete’s sake!”

Eckel exemplifies the notion that it is never too late to take control of your health. He loves giving advice and sharing his wisdom with anybody who asks.

For young people, Eckel preaches patience and consistency. He believes that young lifters get too caught up worrying about impressing their friends with heavy weights.

“Don’t push yourself so hard that you don’t look forward to the next workout. … If it becomes a chore to work out, you’re doing it wrong,” he says.

For older adults, Eckel has similar advice; he says that taking a slow path to get where you want to be is the best method. He says there is nothing wrong with starting with small weights or just doing good old-fashioned push-ups to get started.

“Start at the beginning. If you haven’t worked out in 15, 20 years, don’t expect too much quickly. Just get started because anything that you do today, you’re gonna benefit from,” he says.

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