“I’ll walk with the cane until I’m limp-free,” he said. “For me, it’s about listening to my body.”

He knows his body well. The 53-year-old owner of Nicklaus Martial Arts America and Core Exercise Training made a career of physical fitness.

The human form has been his textbook for nearly 30 years, ever since Nicklaus found a calling in showing others how to improve their bodies through exercise and discipline.

The same calling drew him like a magnet back to the adult exercise classes he teaches, weeks after doctors finished putting new parts in his leg.

“You and I would still be in bed, going, ‘oh, my hip,” said Ann Endres, a student instructor for the adult workout program. “I think Fred really has a passion to make people feel better – to really suck the marrow out of life.”

Nicklaus studied English and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and bought a local martial arts studio in 1982, having developed an interest in the sport’s combination of physical activity and discipline.

Pressing both hands on his kitchen counter, Nicklaus slowly swings his leg back, holding it aloft for a few brief moments before bringing it back to the floor. He does routines nearly every day. He walks, too.

At his own pace.

“This is the speed I go at,” he says, walking by the park across the street from his house. “I’m not setting any land speed record.”

Independence is highly valued by Nicklaus. It’s something he wants to keep long after his recovery. It’s something he imparts to his students. No weights, no equipment, he teaches people to build muscle with the living weight set – the body.

Don’t worry about competing, he says. Do what you can – what you feel is good for your body.

Surgery on his leg took about three hours, Nicklaus thinks, and left him hospitalized for days.

Once out, he needed a walker to get around. Then he used two canes. Then one.

“Two things that come to mind when I think of Fred are resilience and enthusiasm,” says Robert Smith, his friend. “He’s a very motivating person to be around.”

Nicklaus talks readily about determination and patience, how they can be a path to reaching goals.

He relies on them each day for his recovery.

Both attributes are also perfect for dealing with pain – like the kind Nicklaus felt when cartilage in his hips disappeared, bringing arthritis and bone-on-bone contact.

It hurt to sleep, Nicklaus says.

“Genetically my hips were incorrect,” Nicklaus says. “From what I understand, the part of my ball joint was not fully covered by the ball socket.”

The man who spent much of his life teaching others how to tone and fortify their own bodies needed doctors to fix his.

Before his first hip surgery nearly six years ago, Nicklaus decided it was time for an adventure.

In the winter of 2005, Nicklaus climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Smith climbed, too, camping with Nicklaus during the ascent. His friend of about 20 years never complained about pain.

“If he was suffering you would have never known,” Smith says. “I’m sure he was feeling the effects.”

Nicklaus kept a diary about the difficult trek, recounting the camps, changing landscapes, and snowy and mist-covered peaks of the African mountain.

“It’s a mysterious, wild looking place,” he writes in an early entry.

High altitudes and hip pain made it difficult to sleep, and conditions grew worse as oxygen levels fell.

Sickness and lethargy beset Nicklaus and much of the group as they neared the 19,300-foot summit.

On Jan. 22, 2005, Nicklaus made it to the top of Kilimanjaro. Months later, he underwent surgery.

“He was literally trying to get these things in while he thought he still could,” Smith said. “You don’t know what the outcome of a hip operation is going to be.”

Nicklaus recovered from the work on his right leg, and learned a new workout designed to strengthen the central parts of his body – the core. The routine helped him get back to full form.

It worked so well, Nicklaus decided to teach it to others.

“It helped me get over my hip replacement,” he says.

It’s helping him again.

Cane in hand, Nicklaus stands in the middle of a ring of nearly forty people. He calls out forms, using his hands or assistants to demonstrate the next set of stretches, jumping jacks or punches.

Some, he does himself.

His students come from all backgrounds. They come to prepare for mountain climbing. They come to fight off bad backs. They come to stay off the couch.

Kathy Sevallius, 61, is new to the classes.

“He wants you to work, but he doesn’t want you to over do,” she says. “He encourages you to do a

little more all the time.”

Nicklaus shows them what’s best for their body. He carefully listens to his.

Recovery is day-to-day, bit by bit.

Just before reaching the top of Kilimanjaro, Nicklaus and his climbing group stopped for water.

The simple act did something more than quench thirst. It restored hope.

“Now we believe even more in our possibilities,” reads Nicklaus’ climbing diary. “Onward and upward. The camp is far below. We are getting closer to the top. Now we are sure that we will make it.”

On the web

Visit these sites for more information about Nicklaus’ workout classes:

http://coreexerciseslacrosse.com/

http://combatendurancetraining.com/