This Video Changed My Life
Dear Natural Health Solutions Reader,
I know, I know. Roughly 10 billion videos on the Internet will “change your life,” and you “must see this!” because it will “blow your mind!”
But…
The fact that this particular video changed my life is simply the truth.
Before I saw it in October 2014, my workout regime was principally aerobic — lots of running, some biking, and a weightlifting session no more than twice a week.
But I was 59 years old and noticed that despite daily hard exercise, I was slowly gaining fat and losing muscle.
Research persuaded me of an emerging scientific consensus, summarized in a review article in Sports Medicine.1 Weight training, the University of Maryland researchers concluded, is uniquely suited to halt or reverse sarcopenia — the loss of muscle mass that naturally happens with aging.
Specifically, the researchers found that weightlifting for those over 50:
- Produces substantial increases in the strength, mass, power, and quality of skeletal muscle
- Can increase endurance performance
- Normalizes blood pressure in those with high normal values
- Reduces insulin resistance
- Decreases both total and intra-abdominal fat
- Increases resting metabolic rate in older men
- Prevents the loss of bone mineral density with age
- Reduces risk factors for falls
- May reduce pain and improve function in those with knee osteoarthritis.
Impressive, but a bit clinical.
Then I saw this video. I immediately upped my weightlifting workouts to four per week.
This gentleman is 70 years old.
Now, Mr. Sam “Sonny” Bryant is not necessarily a model to be precisely copied in the hope of achieving his exact result.
Rather, he’s an example of the fact that resistance training with purpose yields results at any age.
And as impressive as his musculature is, what I find most inspiring is his attitude. It’s worth watching this short video two or three times whenever motivation flags, listening carefully and taking every word he says to heart.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to go to the gym.
Sincerely,
Brad Lemley
Editor, Natural Health Solutions
Citations
- Hurley BF, Roth SM. Strength training in the elderly: effects on risk factors for age-related diseases. Sports Med. 2000
