John Cena knows his time in WWE is coming to an end.

The 47-year-old told PEOPLE recently that even though his in-ring career is in its twilight, he will always work to keep himself in the best shape possible.

“I know my WWE journey is coming to an end, but fitness was a part of my life long before the WWE journey started,” Cena said. “Fitness will be a part of my life, hopefully as long as my heart’s beating. So the WWE has been a great chapter in my life — it’s year 23 for me — and the sun’s setting on that chapter in the book, but fitness will never not be a part of my life.”

Cena continued to say that the goals of his fitness journey have changed throughout the years.

“When I was a young 12-year-old, it was to look muscular so I couldn’t get beat up. And then as a late teen, it was to be strong so I could play sports,” he continued. “And then as a young 20-something, I wanted to aesthetically look good just to keep myself disciplined.”

Cena received a degree from Springfield College in exercise physiology and movement studies. Following graduation, he moved to California intending to become a professional bodybuilder. He switched career paths and became a professional wrestler instead, signing a WWE developmental deal in 2001. Now that he’s approaching the post-WWE period of his career, Cena says his fitness goal is simply to be physically active as long as he can.

“At 47 now, my goal is to be physically active until I can’t. I put a number in my head of like, I’d like to be physically active into my late 80s or 90s. To do a parallel squat in my late 80s,” Cena continued.