Sticking with an exercise program is tough for many people, but not for 70-year-old Paul Gaudino, of Butler.

Mr. Gaudino's fitness television show has been recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running fitness program. The "Paul Gaudino Family Fitness Show" has been on the air for 34¹/₂ years, first airing on April 5, 1971.

The show, produced in Butler, is broadcast on public access channels. Jack LaLanne, who started an exercise show in the 1950s that ran for decades, previously held a Guinness record for his show.

When Mr. Gaudino started his program, he had no idea it would even make it on the air let alone last so long and break world records.

"I was just a shoeshine boy from Butler," he said, referring to his work in the family shoemakers business. He started working out when he was 14 years old.

"I had nothing going for me. I wasn't real intelligent, so I decided to build my body. And while I was doing that, I was building my self-esteem, too," he said.

He continued weight training and entered several contests. "I was Mr. Butler once," he said.

After serving in the Army from 1957 to 1959, he returned to Butler in less than his ideal shape.

"I had gotten married and had started gaining weight. When I got back, I knew I wanted to exercise again," he said.

While stationed in Germany, Mr. Gaudino met his wife, Barbara, who had escaped from East Germany. "She didn't speak English, and I didn't speak German. It made for some interesting times," he said. Over the years, his wife became one of his biggest supporters and often has appeared on the television show. The couple has five grown children.

As he started working out again, Mr. Gaudino shared his exercise ideas with friends, schools and other small groups. In 1971, he saw an advertisement in a newspaper about a television production course at the former St. Fidelis College in Butler County and decided to pursue the idea of a show on exercise.

"I went there and the instructor told me that I was the only one that showed up, but he would still teach me. He thought I was off my rocker. Heck, so did I. But I told him all about my idea, and I got him excited about it."

Despite the fact that his instructor "wasn't very motivating," Mr. Gaudino said, he stayed with the idea of an exercise television show. "He told me that I needed to learn to talk right, that I should take a class. I had five little children at home, and I needed work. I didn't have time to take a class."

Others were more encouraging. "Someone told me, 'You are doing what makes people react. Keep doing it.' I don't even remember who told me that. They were probably an angel," he said.

Mr. Gaudino started his show and has been teaching ever since. "It wasn't easy. Sometimes it was really, really hard. I had to paint houses, cut grass and work as a shoemaker just to keep going. Sometimes I thought maybe I should be out trying to find a real job," he said. But he received lots of encouragement from viewers, some of whom contacted him.

"I just got a note from a guy in the Cayman Islands. I've gotten mail from really all over the world," he said.

Mr. Gaudino believes that the main appeal of his show is that he is a regular guy who is in good shape and shows people regular exercises.

"I saw Jack LaLanne, who was my hero, and he would do exercises that people just couldn't do. I try to share with people things they can do," he said. That includes teaching classes from a wheelchair every Tuesday. "There are a lot of people who [use a] wheelchair. I give them exercises they can do," he said. "But they can also be done by older folks who can't lie on the ground or do more strenuous exercises."

In addition to his television show, Mr. Gaudino has made exercise videos.

"I just made one for children 7 to 12 years old," he said. "We need to get children exercising more."

For more information on the "Paul Gaudino Family Fitness Show," log on to www.exerciseman.com.