Charles T. Kuntzleman was born on November 4, 1940, in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to Walter Allen and Phyllis Kuntzleman. He attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and continued his education at Temple University. He married Carol Lee Emhardt in June of 1962, and after her death in 1973, Kuntzleman married fellow Professor of Health and Physical Education, Beth Ann McDonald in October of 1974. He has five children: Deborah Ann, John Walter, Thomas Scott, Rebecca Ann, and a stepdaughter, Lisa Kristin.

Kuntzleman's career began at his alma mater, Muhlenberg College, where he was the Assistant Professor of Physical Education and coached football, track, lacrosse, and wrestling. In 1968, he moved to the Lehigh County Community College, as the Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Lecturer in Anatomy and Physiology. After focusing mainly on teaching, Kuntzleman became a consultant for Rodale Press. In 1969, he and Beth McDonald cofounded the YMCA Fitness Finders, an organization that aims to motivate children to stay fit.

While teaching and coaching, Kuntzleman wrote books providing fitness instruction, suggestion, and analysis. Just a few of his published titles include Activetics (1975), Rating the Exercises (1978), and his most famous book, The Complete Book of Walking (1978). In this book, Kuntzleman described walking as "nature's way of helping people be their best — both physically and mentally." The book provides information about selecting proper shoes, what to do if minor pain occurs, how to handle weather conditions while walking, the benefits of walking tours, and walking as a family.

Kuntzleman's books also encompass a wide variety of general health and wellbeing topics; for example, his books Maximum Personal Energy (1981), The Well Family Book (1985), and Healthy Kids for Life (1988). Healthy Kids for Life, which is also very popular, describes the importance of setting and meeting goals in order to keep children healthy. He gives simple advice to the common public, such as, "Plan ahead. You'll need to recognize obstacles and plan how to get around them." He strives to make fitness easy for the average person.

In addition to the books he has published, Kuntzleman has also written numerous articles for periodicals and scholarly journals, such as the renowned Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance. He developed physical fitness programs for the YMCA and created the “Living Well Corporate Fitness/Wellness Program” for the Campbell Soup Company. He has also worked on several activity manuals for his own fitness programs, as well as for other programs.

Kuntzleman's work has provided him with several prestigious awards, including the Healthy American Fitness Leader Award, several grants, and a spot in the Fitness Hall of Fame.  At the time of this writing, having retired from the University of Michigan, Kuntzleman continues to conduct physical fitness workshops in the United States, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and Spain, though he also retired as National Director of the Fitness Finders Program in 2014.