Former NFL player, College Coach Bill Curry Gives Top 5 Tips for Healthy Living

Bill Curry spent decades in football.

First, he played a dozen years in the NFL, mostly for the Green Bay Packers, including their Super Bowl I victory in 1966, and the Baltimore Colts. Then, he coached 20 more years at Georgia Tech, Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia State.

Now 75, Curry is in good health and physically strong. He stays active as a speaker on diversity and inclusion. And he stays fit by lifting weights three days a week and walking at least two. He wants to stay strong and agile to prevent falls and to maintain general health, and because it makes him feel good.All the wear and tear of playing was “very destructive” to his body, Curry says. He had five shoulder replacements, a knee replacement, and other surgeries.

“I’m going to keep doing those things as long as I can,” he says. “I’m trying to keep my body in reasonable shape. Weakness and balance go hand in hand.”

Played for Dodd, Lombardi

Curry played center for Georgia Tech from 1962-64 under Coach Bobby Dodd. He was drafted in 1965 by the Green Bay Packers, and the team won the first Super Bowl in 1966 under Coach Vince Lombardi.

An injury ended his career in the 1970s. As Curry puts it, “My knee exploded.”

A period of self-pity, lethargy, and obesity followed. Curry was frail after an injury before, and now fat – still in his early 30s and increasingly unhappy with living his life.

One day he decided to go for a run.

“ I ran for eight minutes, and I was on my knees gagging,” he says. “This little voice inside my head said, ‘You’re going to die, and it won’t be long.’”

That’s when he got serious about returning to a healthy lifestyle.

Some 40 years later, he’s not allowed to run anymore, or to lift weights above his head.

“But I can walk and ride a bike, and do leg presses at the gym, and keep my hips strong and all through my core,” he says. “You’re never so old that it’s OK to be weak.”

A different motivation

These days, Curry’s not trying to make a starting lineup, win a championship, or impress anyone. He loves being healthy, going for walks with his wife, and staying strong so he stays safe. His seven grandchildren and speaking engagements have kept him busy and motivated, even more, to be fit enough to continue living the way he wants to live.

Here are Coach Curry’s top five tips for healthy living at this stage of life.

1. Don’t give up on yourself and God, whatever that means to you.
2. Talk to your doctor about exercise, including strength training and getting your heart rate up on a regular basis.
3. Find something that you enjoy so that you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
4. Eat well so you can maintain lean muscle mass – to stay strong and to avoid becoming overweight.
5. Get the proper amount of rest every night. “You find out what you need and, by golly, stay in bed till you get the rest you need.”

Those are good tips for anyone.

Thanks, Coach.