harold Sanco thought his nearly 35-year fitness career was over last year. One morning he woke up and felt numbness in his legs. His back hurt too. “What’s happening?” He thought. Sanko was concerned about the pain, but since he was rarely injured or sick, he did not visit a doctor. He then woke up the next morning unable to move his legs.
In the emergency room, he learns the horror of his situation. “You can’t leave this hospital,” the doctors told him. “You have a serious spinal impingement and we need to operate immediately. Any pinching can cause you to lose your legs forever. We welcome you now.”
Sanko, 62, struggled with around-the-clock pain and countless bottles of prescription medication, wondering how, when and if he would ever be able to tie his shoes again. Getting back to his pre-surgery fitness level seemed like a pipe dream.
Eight months later, after two surgeries, Sanko said he finally felt like he was turning the corner. “My form helped me come back. I could feel my legs again.”
Although doctors told Sanko it could take up to a year to heal, he wasn’t going to let the situation dampen his spirits. “I’m not sitting around getting old,” he said. Instead, Sanko thought of her back surgery as “just a break.” He said he’s not ready to throw in the towel on his fitness career. “I’m not letting this surgery affect what I love to do. I wanted to get through this and continue to live well.
AARP SrPlanet program
Last January, Sanko shared his story with AARP’s Senior Planet program and was selected as a 2024 Senior Planet Sponsored Athlete. Sanko is one of five seniors AARP found to be excited about fitness, identified their goals for wellness and are willing to share their experiences to inspire older adults.
AARP’s Senior Planet is a diverse collection of people age 60 and older who are changing the way one ages by embracing opportunities to change their lives, connect, and help each other—while learning, growing, and entertain, the website states. Its fitness department offers a diverse group of wellness lectures and classes, including yoga, stretching, tai chi and barre. Senior Planet described Sanko as one of the many candidates who applied to be a sponsored athlete this year. But his experience, positivity and knowledge set Sanko apart from the crowd.
He told them, “I know that aging can be synonymous with flexibility, strength and health… even when we suffer from significant physical setbacks that we don’t think we can overcome or change like I did.” Sanko said that wants to change the way we think about aging so that it’s not something to be afraid of. “We must embrace aging mentally, physically and equitably, with all communities having access to wellness and fitness opportunities that meet them where they are.”
As a senior athlete sponsored by the planet, Sanko hopes to pass on the countless lessons he learned from his injury. “I’m ready to inspire seniors around the world to look at their possibilities, not their circumstances.” He said he wants to focus on teaching classes and lectures in his Capitol Hill community. , who don’t do sports and who don’t go to the gym, to move, exercise and get fitter. I plan to start simple and easy.” Sanko said he is targeting community centers and higher organizations on the Hill.
Sanco now teaches zoom HIIT classes for every level and trains private fitness clients. He also offers private tennis lessons at Garfield Park and the East High School courts and is excited about his Fit for Tennis (or any racquet sport) class this spring. “It’s for people who want to exercise but don’t want to get injured.”
Sanko played competitive high school tennis in Texas, where he grew up. When he arrived in DC in 1989, he had never taught exercise. I met Sanko the following year. We both taught lunchtime fitness classes at Fit Physique, a fitness studio on Pennsylvania Ave., NW, owned by Hill fitness entrepreneur Dega Schembri, who co-owns Foundation Fitness in Cleveland Park. She saw the potential in Sanko to become a great instructor. “Dega grabbed a tape, put it in the player and said, ‘Show me what you can do.’ I had to make up a routine on the spot, Sanko said. “She told me she thought I would be a good instructor because I was smiling and upbeat.” Sanco found her niche in the DC fitness world. The classes Sanko taught often had waiting lists. He moved into management as a group fitness director as well as becoming a competitor in fitness challenges. He was one of the most popular fitness instructors in the metro area.
Sanco’s classes as an AARP Senior Sponsored Athlete will be found on the senior planet website (see below). He also said he plans to hold fitness classes this spring. He wants to spread the word that with patience, persistence and the right mindset, you can do whatever you want, despite your age. Sanko said he’s learned he can continue to do what he loves, but in a different way, and enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle again.
To contact Harold Sanco: [email protected] or www.haroldsanco.com
To learn more about AARP’s Senior Planet program: www.seniorplanet.org.
