This week’s Member Spotlight features Terry Schwartz, a regular in the 1:30 class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Terry is an absolute legend and a force to be reckoned with in the gym.
What’s your name and how old are you? Terry Ann Schwartz and soon to be 73.
Ever had a cool nickname? “T” when I was a child. Just the letter T.
Married? Kids? I have kids and I am single right now.
Where did you grow up and what’s your opinion of the place? I grew up in the colonial town of Aurora, Oregon. Covered wagons came across the country and settled in Aurora. There were old-timey buildings up on the hill. It was a great town to grow up in. We ran around wherever we wanted all day long.
What’s your all-time favorite movie? Oh, gosh, there’s a lot. “My Cousin Vinny” comes to mind.
What do you do for a living? I did payroll at Fred Meyers at the stadium store for 40 years. I also traveled to other stores, helping them get their payroll up and running.
How long have you been a member at the gym? Since right after COVID. I knew Dawn from Fred Meyer Corporate, where I did a lot of her classes. During COVID, she did Zoom workouts, then when classes started here again, I came with her.
Tell us about your all-time favorite pet. We had three dogs named Ruff. Ruff #3 was probably my favorite pet. Just a sweet, sweet dog.
What class or classes do you usually attend? I do the 1:30 class twice a week, and I go to LA Fitness to do weight training.
Pancakes, waffles, or french toast? French toast.
Were you an athlete growing up, and if so, what sports did you play and were you any good? When I was in high school, I played basketball. I did hurdles and a little bit of track. Back in my day, girls didn’t excel as much. There weren’t opportunities. So it wasn’t until I was maybe 39 that I took a weight training class, and I haven’t looked back.
Where in Portland has the best burger? I just like a burger at home cooked on the barbecue. Juicy, layered with everything. That’s it for me.
What’s your favorite workout/movement? Well, I’m practicing pull-ups, but I do enjoy deadlifts. I like pullovers, too. I just like the way it feels.
What’s your least favorite workout/movement? I think it has to be anything up over my head. I just don’t have the mobility. But I try.
What are some things you do in your free time? I like to travel. I travel a lot. I learn more and more, every time I go out and about. I’ve been to so many places, I’m running out of places to go. Soon, I’ll have to go to the moon.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be? To make everybody have a nice, safe life.
What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed in the sauna? Oh, boy. Maybe 25 minutes.
The cold plunge? I’ve not done that yet, and I’m not sure I will.
Where was the hottest weather you’ve ever been in? Probably just in my car, going across the desert in the US. Even with the windows rolled down.
The coldest? That would be when I went to the base camp of Mt Everest. It’s pretty chilly up there around 18,000 feet. I don’t know the temperature, but when I woke up in the tent the next morning, my toothbrush was frozen.
Has a workout ever made you puke? No. Never even come close.
What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten? Cuy, which is guinea pig in Peru. They love it down there. If someone has a birthday, they all go have a cuy fest. My friend Sue and I, we had to go pick out which ones we were going to eat. That was definitely weird.
What’s your current gym goal? I want to get 10 pull-ups. If I can get at least eight, I’ll be thrilled. I also want to deadlift 200 pounds.
What’s your advice for new members of the gym? Take it slow and steady. Don’t worry about trying to be a superstar. There’s a lot of people here who can help you do the movements properly, and that’s the key thing, doing the movements properly, before you worry about how much weight you can lift.
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