By David Tepera, August 27, 2024

Notice in the title, I chose lifting weights over strength training. As much as those are similar, people are led to think differently.

Don’t misunderstand me, it is still good working out with bands, body weight exercises and other fitness programs, but you’re never too old to put iron in your hands and lift weights.

I’m referring to dumbbells, ez bars, pin-loaded weight machines, including free weights. This is good-old-school pumping iron.

Our 80-year-old client Ada sent us a quote she found “I’d rather be the oldest person in the gym, than the youngest person in the nursing home.” Now, read that again and do something about it.

It’s the weights that builds muscles around the joints to strengthen and protect. Of course, walking, biking or any cardio exercise is good, but lifting weights is the closest path to slow down the aging process.

I’ve written this many a time, but it’s humbling to hear the stories from all our senior clients of how their life has changed from lifting weights.

Listen, find a local gym and start your new journey to living. Get out of that old boring routine of taking prescriptions and watch television.

When you join a gym, and you’re not familiar with weights, then invest in a personal trainer for only a couple of sessions to learn the basics. Don’t be afraid of sticking out in a gym of youngins. You’ll be surprised how much respect you’ll get for lifting weights as an elder.

I apologize if I’m self-promoting, but we do offer a three-session training to teach people safe and proper lifting techniques, along with a lifting program. We do this so you can be comfortable to lift weights at your local gym.

Bottom line, quit making excuses for your current situation. Yes, all our days are limited, so why are you wasting yours away?

Every day I get up and punch Father Time in the face. Yep, I’m slowing down, but I’m not out and neither are you. I don’t mind losing a battle, but I will not lose the war of enjoying life.

I don’t care what your situation is to date. You’re the only one who can change it, so today you’re going to do something about it. Now, get up and get out!

Just be aware, everyday our body does it’s best to survive under the conditions placed upon it. How come we still breath when we are asleep? We take 12 – 15 breathes per minute which equals to about 20,00 to 25,000 breathes per day. We don’t consciously have to think about breathing because our body does it to survive.

What happens when we get overheated? The body will perspire in-order-to help cool itself. What happens when we get cold? The body will shiver in-order-to create heat.

Did you ever wonder why our finger tips get wrinkly while in water for a long period of time? It’s the body trying to create grip to protect itself.

Now, let me explain most diet failures. Have you ever noticed that with almost every diet plan, you lose weight in the beginning, but then it stops? What happened is your body survived the initial change, and since you’re still eating the same meal plan, the body doesn’t need to make changes. It’s just going to hang out and stay the same because it already survived the meal change.

Here’s a body builder trick. When we are competing and on a strict healthy protein loaded diet, every two-three weeks, we throw in a cheat meal. What happens is that the body does need fats, but when you deprive it of the resources, it will shut down the metabolism in-order-to survive. So, on cheat meal days, we eat pizza or burgers and fries. Now the body will kick back on it’s metabolism because it finally received fats needed. There’s more science to this, I’m just trying to keep it simple.
It’s common for us to hear from people about plateauing in their weight training. Again, when starting any weight lifting program, you’ll make good changes within the first few months. At some point, the body will no longer grow or make changes. The reason it already survived the weight load placed upon it. Since you’re still performing the same workout, the body will just hang out and stay the same.

At Ageless Muscle, clients get a different workout each week. We continue to confuse the body so it will continue to make changes and progress. I hope this is making some sense. I’m better at explaining than writing on certain topics.

One last little tidbit. Your pupils can reveal when you’re in love. When we are attracted to someone, our pupils will dilate. For me, this happens when I see ice cream.

By David Tepera, August 21, 2024

By David Tepera, August 14, 2024

In case you enjoyed watching the 2024 Paris Olympics, here are a few interesting facts.

The first modern Olympics was held in Greece in 1896. The contests lasted 5-6 months, and the athletes competed naked. In 2012, at the London games, was the first time all participating countries sent females.

There are many definitions concerning the colors of the five rings. One of them is pertaining to at least one of the colors represents each country’s flag.

In the 2024 Olympics, there were 10,714 athletes, 329 events in 32 sports, with 206 nations competing. So, you know, United States had 594 athletes.

Of course, we all know the name of Jesse Owens. For all you youngens, the significance of Owens is because he competed in the 1936 German Olympics when Adolf Hitler intentions was to use the games to demonstrate Aryan superiority. After Owens won 4 gold medals, Hitler refused to shake hands with him.

Remember, this was 1936 and Germany was invading and killing people in it’s path. At the Olympic games, the German public adored Owens and this bothered Hitler, who finally left the games.

During Owens attempt at the long jump, he scratched twice. There was only one more opportunity to jump. A German long jumper named Carl Ludwig Long told Owens to place a towel one foot before the take-off-board because he had plenty of distance to beat out the competitors. Ludwig helped Owens to obtain his 4^th gold medal. Ludwig and Owens became longtime friends. An interesting fact was that Ludwig asked Owens that if he didn’t return from war, that Owens would tell Ludwig’s son that war is only from the greedy people in power. We are all loving people and should treat each other as so. And yes, Ludwig lost his life serving his country.

So, you know, the gold medal isn’t solid gold. It’s true price is around $950 dollars. Simone Biles is the ninth-highest earning female athlete in the world in 2023. She made about 8.5 million before taxes. Tennis stars dominate the list of biggest earners.

Well, I hope you enjoyed a few fun facts about the Olympics. To me, it’s an honor to represent our country and represent the power of the flag that so many gave their lives for.

By David Tepera, August 7, 2024

I’m actually stealing the idea that sparked this article from a comedian whom I don’t remember the name of. But, the following is my personal spin. I’m sure the elderly will get a kick and relate to this.

Recently, I turned 63-years-old, also I spend my work days with clients from their 50’s up into the 80’s. Even though all these client’s quality of life has much improved, there will always be some aches and pains that come with aging.

Now, let’s take this a decade at a time, and relate getting older as being in school again.

Once you reach your 50’s, welcome to the beginning of old age. You are considered a freshman to the aging school of life.

It’s in the 50’s where life starts breaking down. For example; women freak out over the wrinkles and start paying the botox and filler doc’s bills. Men begin taking statins for their hearts, along with blood pressure and ED meds.

The mail I received in my 50’s was for AARP, 55 and up community living, along with life insurance programs.

People in their 60’s are the sophomores in the school of life. When you wake each morning, the neck is stiff and the knees are crackling as you limp to the bathroom.

I once came to work favoring one of my legs, Dylan asked me if I hurt myself on a morning jog. I said “No, I pulled a calf walking to the kitchen”.

The mail I received in my 60’s was for hearing aids, dentures, and medicare plus programs. Tina can’t wait for me to turn 65 because hopefully, we get to freeze some of our taxes.

I will say, the majority of our clients are well into their 70’s. You are the juniors in the school of aging. Everyone is retired and came to us to get stronger to enjoy travels and hobbies. There are many getting joint replacements, but we help with faster recovery outcomes.

The mails received are for assisted living, walk-in tubs, discounts on motorized scooters, along with anything related to arthritis. I’m sure when you wake, walking sounds like “snap-crackle-pop”, until you get warmed up.

Lastly, the 80’s are our seniors. You have decades of experience into the school of aging. Your prescription cabinet looks like the local pharmacy. Your surgeries typically include cataracts, prostate, heart conditions, and, sad to mention, but most have cancer complications and scares.

Your mail is all health related, along with funeral plots.

This is the reality of life, so just laugh your way through the school of aging and enjoy the journey. We will all eventually have the same experience, so choose happiness and love.

By David Tepera, July 31, 2024

A few weeks back, I had quite a response from my column about the skeletal system. Since we all have the capability to build our muscles, no matter what age, here are some basic and fun facts about our muscular system.

There are 600 skeletal muscles that make up around 40 percent of our total weight. The 5 main functions of the muscular system are movement, support, protection, heat generation and blood circulation.

Also, muscles make up the walls of many organs. The heart is the hardest working muscle in the body. It pumps 5 quarts of blood per minute and 2,000 gallons daily.

 Now for some fun facts; Guess which muscle is the most used? The answer is the tongue, so shut up and give it a break. The largest muscle is the gluteus maximus, and yes, that’s your butt, so you can input your own jokes.

The strongest muscle based on it’s weight is the masseter, which is the primary chewing muscle. I’m sure we’ve all accidentally bit our tongue and fingers at some point and realized how hard we chew.

Okay, here is an anatomy lesson that I’ll try to keep simple because too much detail will be boring. For those of you who are watching the Olympics, look at the muscularity difference between a marathon runner compared to a sprinter.

There are two types of muscle fibers in our muscles. One is known as slow twitch and the other is fast twitch. The slow twitch is aerobic, which requires oxygen. These are your marathon runners who run for hours. Their slow twitch muscle fibers are long and lean needing oxygen to perform. If you think about it, the skinny Ethiopians have the perfect body type for marathons.  

Now, the fast twitch muscle fibers are anaerobic, which means without oxygen. These are your sprinters. They typically run for less than 10 seconds and maybe take one breath. To me, their body types look like bull frogs. Their leg muscles are huge with vascularity.

These fast twitch muscle fibers are the same ones that develop from heavy weight training to create bulkiness.

One of the biggest mistakes for women is spending too much time on cardio machines. You want to be lean, but all you end up with is jiggly skinny muscles because you need to lift weights. And, NO, women, you’ll not get too bulky from lifting weights, so that’s no longer an excuse. You don’t have the testosterone levels for it.

Lastly, it takes 43 muscle to frown and only 17 muscles to smile, so obviously, it takes less effort to be happy. Enjoy your day my friends.

By David Tepera, July 24, 2024

When you wake each morning, are your first thoughts about taking on the day, or is it woe-is-me again? Those are your choices, so what’s yours?

Yes, sometimes, out of nowhere, life will sucker punch us, but there comes a time where you must come out swinging. Just know, it’s okay to take a step back and take in the realization of the situation.

In business and personal life, out of the family, I’m the one who will confront any situation that needs addressing. It took some time, but Tina and Dylan have taught me to take a step back to calm down and be rational. For most people, our natural reaction is to defend ourselves. That’s the warrior in us.

You don’t win every battle as a warrior, but you’ll take pride knowing you gave your best. Whining and quitting is the easy way out. Don’t let that be you.

Take a reality check. How do you spend your day? Are you a complainer and a whiner because you think you got a raw deal? Do you tell everyone about your aches and pains? Are you the most negative person in the room?

Listen, I know I’m being harsh. Believe me, the people around you aren’t being honest, either. No body likes hanging around a whiner. Why don’t you change your attitude and be a warrior?

The definition of a warrior is a person engaged in a struggle or conflict, who will take on the challenge and become a fighter.

 I personally know disabled people who are determined warriors. They don’t want to be labeled as weak. They have the determination to take on challenges and conquer the day.

Most of you know, I lost my son who fought in Iraq over twelve years ago. Dustin introduced me to many veterans at the VA hospital in Houston. Even though they were recovering from wounds, they all had inspiring stories of warriors giving their lives for our country. None of them felt sorry for themselves.

Now, your whining days are over. We all have physical and emotional challenges, so we don’t care about yours. Today, you’ll no longer feel sorry for yourself. Take responsibility for your current situation and turn it around. That choice is totally up to you.

We all have a warrior in us, so get out there and kick some butt.

arrior in us, so get out there and kick some butt.

By David Tepera, July 17,2024

I became fascinated with the human body during college at the University of Houston. I had a great professor, Dr. Joel Bloom, who taught most of my anatomy and physiology classes.

Dr. Bloom took me, along with a few classmates, to the Texas Chiropractic College to dissect human cadavers. The goal was to have hands-on learning with all muscles and bones. It was this experience that eventually led me into orthopedics.

So, I’m going to share some basic and fun facts about our amazing body. Just think of the complexity of having all our senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.

A baby’s body has about 300 bones at birth, but some will eventually fuse to form 206.

Most bones are contained in the hands and feet of 27 per hand and 26 per foot.

The femur is your thigh bone and is the longest and strongest of all bones. Also, one of the most painful to break. The weakest and softest bone is your clavicle or collarbone. That’s why it’s the most common broken during contact sports.

Bones stop growing in length during puberty. However, bone density and strength change over the course of life. That’s why I stress the importance of weight training, especially among the elderly.

There are three bones in the middle ear to help us hear. The staple is the smallest and lightest bone of the human skeleton.

For some people, the most used bone is their mandible because they never stop talking.

Here’s a fun one to ask your friends. Humans have seven vertebrates in their cervical region or neck. Guess how many vertebrates are in a giraffe’s neck? The answer is seven. I’ve seen them and they are huge. Just know, that all mammals have seven neck vertebrate.

When you see someone in a wheelchair and they don’t have much use with their arms, then they broke their neck. If they have full use of arms but no use of their legs, then they broke their back. The body typically loses all feeling from the sight of the spinal break down the rest of the body.

Also, know that the tendons connect muscles to bones, and ligaments attach bones to bones, which are typically located in the joint regions.

Lastly, cartilage can’t repair itself because it has no blood supply. That’s why our joints wear out leading to more than 2.2 million hip and knee procedures each year in the United States.

Well, I hope you enjoyed a little information about our bodies. Of course, there’s so much more to know about our amazing skeletal system.

By David Tepera, July 11, 2024

The one factor that keeps most people from stepping out of their comfort zone is the fear of what could go wrong. But, if it goes right, it will be a life changer.

What could go wrong if you took night or online classes? You only waste money if you don’t finish. How would that one class or classes change your life?

Our son Dylan started the process of obtaining his real-estate license. Even though he has a full-time job at Ageless Muscle, and will eventually take over the family business, he’s finding other means to increase his income. I encouraged him to pursue it.

If you need a career change or start a business, then you already know the only thing stopping you is you.

I remember being nervous the first time I introduced myself to my wife Tina. We had seen each other at the gym for over 15-years. I had never dated any lady from the gym because it was my “me time”, plus, believe it or not, I’m actually a loner.  

There was always something about Tina that caught my attention. The way she carried herself with confidence and mystery. Finally, I was a gentleman and had a very brief hello, along with a weight training compliment.

What could go wrong? I kept asking myself, as I went through every scenario. But, then, what could go right? I had no idea she would one day be my wife.

Okay, I’m sure you’re bored with my personal life, but sometimes I hope it’s a way we can connect.

Listen, quit being hard on yourself. Every day is a day lost if you’re unhappy. Stop worrying about what other’s think or could go wrong. This is your life, so just go for it because if it goes right, you will be happier than ever imagined.

We all deserve to be happy. Brush off the haters and surround yourself with positive people. That’s one reason I became a loner. I was focused on my career, along with being a single parent and didn’t have time or care about other’s negativity.

Just know, the only thing that could possibly go wrong is that you didn’t try. If you want to change your life, then just imagine what could go right.

By David Tepera, June 26, 2024

There have been some interesting conversations over the past few weeks; many of our clients are expressing their quality of life from years of weight training.

Eighty-year-old Paul is throwing around bags of mulch weighing up to 70 pounds per bag from the store to his flower beds.

Seventy-six-year-old Reese rented a beach house and was able to play in the surf and chase his grandchildren all over the beach.

Seventy-one-year-old Joanie, after a lengthy battle with an illness, can now carry groceries up a flight of stairs, plus is continuing to get stronger.

We actually have testimonies from all our clients. Even though we train people of all ages, it’s humbling listening to the elderly enjoying life again. Just know, our seniors range in age up into the 90s.

Maybe, to some of you, this isn’t that big of a deal. But, when you’ve been down physically for a long period of time, it feels good to feel good.

Remember, being happy doesn’t mean you have it all. It simply means you’re thankful for all you have.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s rare to be pain-free as we get older. But, there’s never a time to throw in the towel. Those aches and pains are your body telling you to get moving again.

I’ve heard many a time, “my knees hurt, so I can’t exercise.” Yes, osteoarthritis will catch up to all of us, but you must continue exercising, including weight training, to build the muscles around those joints. This will slow down the wear and tear on your cartilage, plus improve your quality of life. There’s more to it, so if interested, email me. We give free advice all over the country.

What activity do you miss the most? What will it take for you to feel good again? Don’t let your identity be someone who is physically handicapped.

Be honest, is your conversation with others only about your physical disabilities and doctor’s appointments? Is that what you want to be known for? Believe me, everyone around you is tired of hearing your downfalls. I know people have legitimate medical issues, but quit telling others. Why not be an inspiration by fighting back in life? The easiest path to getting better is through exercise.

Making excuses is now over. This is you day, because once you take back control, it’s going to feel good to feel good.

By David Tepera, June 19,2024

How many of you don’t like going to work? Are you one of those employees who flies below the radar, and performs as minimal as possible? Well, how would you feel if you got fired? The bills will be rolling around soon, and I bet, all of a sudden, you realize how important that job was.

Why not go to work each day and prove your worth? That’s the best way to ensure job security, plus it could lead to promotions and pay increases.

One thing is for sure, unemployment and death will bring you back to reality real quick.

I’m sure by now, some of you experienced the loss of a loved one. It’s a sucker punch that never goes away. You just learn to accept the void, heartbreak, and move forward to appreciate others around you.

I know this is a strange statement, but take a look at your spouse, children, parents and even pets. How would you treat them today, if you knew they would be gone tomorrow?

Don’t just celebrate holidays and birthdays. Why not let every day be an opportunity to express love to those important to you?

We all have busy lives, but we must find time to let those close to us know how much we love and appreciate them.

Lately, Tina and I have started the process of dialing back our hours working at Ageless Muscle. We’ve put in years of dedicated work to build a unique brand, and the business is doing well. But, we need to spend more time with family members while we have them.

Hopefully, as you get older, you start appreciating the life you have left. Of course, we don’t know when our day comes, but each is one day closer, so why not choose love over hate?

I wake up each morning thanking God for giving me another day. I might not be my best this day, but He gave me the opportunity.

Listen, I’m hoping to make you think. Don’t wait until tomorrow, but go for it and hug your loved ones a little longer than usual. Let them know how much you love them because if not, one day, you’ll wish you did.

Lastly, my mom Eileen Tepera proudly reads my column each week, and I want her to know how much I love her. She is truly amazing.