Ho and Okazaki recently placed seventh in their age group at the U.S. Amateur nationals.

Name: Anne Ho.

Age: 45.

Profession: owner, Plaza Clubhouse restaurant.

Height: 5 feet 2.

Weight: 108 pounds.

Workout habits: "I practice dancing three to five times a week, depending on our competition schedule. Each workout is between 1 to 2 hours. I also jog at Ala Moana Park twice a week. (It's more fun than running on the treadmill.) I always take some time to stretch before any workout."

When and why I started working out: "I have always been an active person since I was young, but I didn't have a regular workout routine until I started to get seriously involved with competitive ballroom dancing. In order to do well in the competitions, not only does one need to know the dancing, it is very important to be in good physical condition."

My good foods/bad foods: "I eat everything that we serve in the caf? (Plaza Clubhouse on Cooke Street) since it is always fresh and healthy. My weaknesses are dark chocolate and pastry — any pastry."

My biggest motivator: "No. 1 is my dad, who is 81 and in good shape. He plays ping-pong two to three times a week and often beats people younger than him. He goes up to Diamond Head Crater every Sunday morning and does not need to stop when going up that 99-step stairway. I want to be in that kind of shape when I reach his age.

No. 2 is the competition."

My biggest roadblock to fitness: "Laziness and too much good food."

What saves my sanity: "Good rest, great practice and my family."

My next challenge: "To be one of the top three amateur senior couples (being older than 35 is considered senior, as in many other sports) at the national competition. We made it to the finals this year and placed seventh in the senior division."

Advice for those in the same boat: "Set a goal, aim high, try your best and do not be afraid to dream big. Even if you do not reach your goal, you will at least always be better than when you started. The worst is if you do not even try."

Name: Glenn Okazaki.

Age: 55.

Profession: Head draftsman at Sato & Associates Inc., a structural and civil consulting engineering firm.

Height: 5 feet 9.

Weight: 178 pounds. (target weight: 170)

Workout habits: "Ballroom dance practice 1 to 2 hours, three times a week, low gear during the holidays (great aerobic workout) and four to five times a week in high gear the rest of the year. Cross training once a week with light weights for upper body toning, and 20 minutes on the Stairmaster at 24-Hour Fitness on Kapi'olani Boulevard."

When and why I started working out: "I started working out in 1994 while doing competitive ballroom dancing (dance sport) with my wife, Tracy, until she was sidelined with a knee injury three years ago. I still maintain my ballroom practice and cross training schedule with Anne Ho, my dance sport partner for the last two years. Besides our dancing ability, as in any sport, we must have stamina and we must be agile to be competitive. It is also a plus to be fit and trim to increase our presence on the competition floor because we are being judged from the moment we set foot on the floor."

My good foods/bad foods: "My good foods are anything that tastes good. My bad foods are eating too much of anything that tastes good. I TRY to eat in moderation, and when snacking, I TRY to keep those fat calories to 30 percent of the total calories. I eat anything, but in moderation. I confess to having vegetable salads for lunch three times a week."

My biggest motivator: "To excel in dance sport, and the encouragement from my wife, Tracy, who has a good eye for precise footwork and techniques — and I never hear the end of it when I do it wrong."

My biggest roadblock to fitness: "Tracy's great cooking and binging at the buffet. Skip the salads! No, actually, I believe we are our own roadblocks to fitness. I steer myself through those roadblocks by setting goals that I want to achieve in dance sport."

What saves my sanity: "Placing in the finals or winning at a dance sport competition and knowing all of our hours of practice and training are not in vain and that we are achieving our goals."

My next challenge: "Is to always try to take our dancing to the next level and do better at the next competition and the next."