We seem to be entering a phase of extended activity participation for a lot of people, or  'healthspan' as it's usually known. We're assuming it's due to an increased knowledge of how to look after our bodies and, maybe more importantly, what to avoid at all costs.

This seems to be manifesting in seemingly unlikely feats by increasingly older humans. We were thinking about this when we read that Dale 'Greybeard' Sanders was tackling the 2198 mile Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail isn't a scenic stroll, it's an arduous hike with 141 732 meters of cumulative elevation. That's approximately sea level to summit of Everest 16 times.

3 Days ago he crossed the finish line at 91 years old. It's an awesome achievement and, maybe like the 4 minute mile, now we've seen what's possible we can all aim a little higher, health allowing. 

You can get all the details on his site here.  Where he's selling merch, obviously, he's keeping up with everything.

It pairs well with this article in The New Scientist about the benefits of weightlifting in women aged 50 - 80. And it wasn't the usual task of putting them on a leg curl machine. The researchers taught them to safely deadlift 50kg with a hex bar (a bar with a large hexagon shape you stand in the middle of). The thinking being that free weights activate all the stabilising muscles as well as the main muscle group. 

All of the group improved strength and also balance and walking speed. We've covered walking speed before as indicative of overall fitness. The article is here (but it's paywalled).

It seems like most research is converging on that fact that if you want the healthspan, you are probably going to need to lift weights as some part of your routine. There's probably a legitimate business opportunity right now in gyms for older users.  Spaces with specialist coaching and equipment in a non threatening environment. With no banging beats.

Drop us a message if you have any ideas.