Longevity and Weight Training

As I close in on birthday number 85 Im still lifting (relatively) big iron, having fun playing with other toys in the gym and running outside in the weather.

Throughout seven decades I have enjoyed the experience of working out and feeling good.

Im convinced that people who dont enjoy the process of training and only look for the results are not going to get very far.

The business side of fitness has expanded dramatically since I got my first set of barbells from Joe Weider back in 1955.

A lot of the current advertising focuses on the results that can be obtained through buying new products, following specialized programs, getting elite coaching, or taking special supplements.

Staggering amounts of money are being put into startup companies that are searching for drugs or innovative treatments that will allow anyone (with the money) to enjoy a longer healthy life.

 

What’s New that works?

Significant research done at both US and European medical centers has consistently shown that good muscle structure is a critical component of controlling nerve signals from the brain to all internal organs.

In short, keeping your bodys major organs functioning properly is dependent in part on having solid healthy muscle.

This means that healthy athletic muscle is necessary for keeping all the organs in your body functioning properly.

It does not mean that massive muscle means you are healthier. It means that having a good overall base of strength is necessary for optimal health.

IMHO what is relatively new that works well, is the great number of gyms where one can train using a variety of fitness approaches.

The key thing is that when a person actually does the necessary work, they can get the benefits.

If you don’t do the work, nothing else matters.

 

Mirrors and Smoke

We are deluged with marketing messages about things to eat (or drink) that allegedly transform your body or change your life.

The implication is that the only thing one must do is eat/drink the product and great things happen.

The latest craze is putting protein into every conceivable substance that we consume.

Vendors pound the message that we need to eat more protein to be healthy and build muscle.

How much?

According to long standing researchand recent reviews reported in the New York Times, those of us who are active athletes need roughly 1 gram or protein for each KILO of bodyweight.

This is a guideline, not an iron clad rule of the universe. Some people will need more while for others this may be a perfect recommendation.

The marketing mythology is that we need a gram for each POUND of bodyweightor double what the researchers recommend.

See.our appetites are seen as a major business opportunity by Big Protein.

If we gobble or slurp more than we need, it gets excreted mostly unused to build muscle. Little is stored as fat

IMHO most of the people who work out regularly will gradually develop a sense of how much protein they actually need each day.along with other foods. With experience they will learn to eat what they need and not go crazy ingesting lots of extra crap or following some marketing blitz.

The newbies and inexperienced trainees are the big potential market for protein enhanced drinks, nacho chips, dried fruit and probably toilet paper

 

Health Span

IMHO having an active life with superior health in later years means building and keeping good muscle mass, keeping your aerobic capacity high, and eating in harmony with your own needs.

It does not involve mindlessly gulping supplements or nostrums that merely sound good in advertising.

The main thing is that there are no substitutes for doing the work of lifting weights, doing aerobic training, and practicing healthy habits.

Like Tony Robbins said: If you arent doing it, you dont know it

Lift Big!

Richard