 Hey everybody, Dr. O here. So it's never too late to build muscle, right? I hope I've convinced you that increasing lean mass and muscle strength is a great way to lose fat, get healthy, and prepare for old age. But what if you're already in your golden years? Is it too late to undo the damage of a sedentary life? The answer is absolutely not. Let's dive into the research. Some amazing studies here. What does the science say? The effects of resistance training on muscle size and strength in very elderly adults, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. This was a review of 22 different studies. The meta-analysis found a significant effect of resistance training on muscle strength in the very elderly. Then they did what's called a subgroup analysis, where they only included the oldest old participants, so they were 80 years of age or older. There was an even larger effect size of resistance training on muscle strength as they got older. There was also a significant effect of resistance exercise or training on muscle hypertrophy in the very elderly as well, which means muscles got stronger, muscle strength, but also got bigger, muscle hypertrophy. Conclusion from this review. We found that very elderly can increase muscle strength and muscle size by participating in resistance training programs. Resistance training was found to be an effective way to improve muscle strength even among the oldest old. Next one. Intensity strength training in non-agenarians affects on skeletal muscle, so 10 frail institutionalized volunteers in their 90s underwent eight weeks of high-intensity resistance training. Their strength gains averaged 174% in the nine subjects out of 10 who completed the training, 174% increase in strength after eight weeks. Mid-thigh muscle area also increased by 9%. This means they regained the muscle that a typical person loses in 10 years by strength training for eight weeks. That is profound. All right. Other things from this study. Mean tandem gait speed improved 48% after training, so moving around better and more efficiently. So a quote, we conclude that high-resistance weight training leads to significant gains in muscle strength, size, and functional mobility among frail residents of nursing homes up to 96 years of age. Super cool. All right. Another one. Exercise training and nutritional supplementation for physical frailty in very elderly people. This one looked at 100 frail nursing home residents over a 10-week period. The mean age of the 36 women, yes, and 37 men enrolled in the study was 87.1. They ranged from between 72 and 98 years of age. So the vast majority, 83% of the people in this study used a cane, a walker, or a wheelchair to get around. Half had arthritis. Many had pulmonary or lung disease, bone fractures, hypertension, cognitive impairment, or depression. So these people were in a bad way. So what'd they do? Three 45-minute strength training sessions per week for 10 weeks. So 94% of the subjects completed the study. Right? If they can do it, so can you. Muscle strength increased by 113% in the subjects who underwent exercise training as compared to controls. Gate velocity, or walking speed, increased by 11.8% in the exercises, but actually declined by 1% in the non-exercisors. So these are people that should be, right, getting worse, and instead we're getting better, much, much better. Stereoclimbing power also improved by 28.4% in the exercises. Then let's look at muscle size. The cross-sectional thigh muscle area increased by 2.7% in the exercises, but declined by 1.8% in the non-exercisors. So their muscles were getting bigger while their friends' muscles were shriveling. So conclusions. High-intensity resistance exercise training is a feasible and effective means of counteracting muscle weakness and physical frailty in very elderly people. All right. Another one. Let's not forget that the heart is a muscle too, right? So controlled endurance exercise training and VO2 max changes in older adults, a meta-analysis. So VO2 max is considered by some to be the most important measure of fitness we have, right? How fit are you? How much oxygen can you use, and it plays a major role in how intense you can exercise and how long you can do endurance events or activities. So this meta-analysis looked at 41 trials, including 2,102 older subjects. So the mean age of within group populations of these studies was 60 years and older. So endurance training led to an average VO2 max increase of 16.3% compared to control groups. So a quote, endurance training improves aerobic fitness in older adults, thus providing protective benefits for cardiovascular aging and quality of later life. So it is never too late to build muscle. That's the whole point I'm trying to make here, and these studies back this up in a profound way. These studies should give you hope that anyone can build a stronger body regardless of their age or their physical condition. But keep in mind that all the people in this study were following supervised training programs. Safety needs to be your primary concern anytime you increase physical activity, but this is especially true as we age. The last thing I'd want you to do is to do this the wrong way and get hurt. So I think these studies should give you hope, but I hope that my story gives you hope as well. I know I'm not 80 years old, but I felt like it. When I started my journey, I could barely make it up a flight of stairs. I remember a week or two before I started literally having to stop and catch my breath. Halfway up a flight of stairs, 14 steps. Now I walk 12 to 14,000 steps per day and I lift almost a quarter million pounds per month. I'm very proud of that. I'm living proof of what is possible if you never give up. That's where the key takeaways here. Exercise and physical activity can improve your health regardless of age or that physical condition that you're currently in. It is never too late to transform our health. I say our health because I'm on this journey with you. So what are our action steps? Talk to your doctor and consult with a personal trainer if you need help designing a plan that is right for you, better, safe, and sorry. I hope this one helped. I was fascinated when I found these studies. I hope you're fascinated too. Have a wonderful day. Be blessed.