Brain Gains: I have never finished a workout and regretted it. I get my heart rate up, break a sweat, and feel better the rest of the day. That doesn’t mean I don’t struggle to start the workout. Sometimes it is tough to get going. I read something this week that provides a little extra motivation. We have known for years that exercise can improve cognition and even change specific areas of the brain. What makes this new study different is that it looked beyond one region and asked whether resistance training can slow aging across the whole brain. Researchers assigned 309 adults ages 62 to 70 to heavy resistance training, moderate training, or a non-exercise group. After a year, both exercise groups reduced their estimated brain age by years. The effect was still there a year after the program ended. The group that didn’t exercise saw no change. We tend to think lifting is about muscles. Turns out some of the most important gains may be happening in the muscle between your ears.
My Man Gus: A few weeks ago, I wrote about the mystery of why the most terrifying predator in history had such ridiculously short arms. I never lost the child like interest in dinosaurs so it caught my eye when a 67-million-year-old skeleton, named Gus, sold at Sotheby’s for $50.1 million. I don’t know whether the anonymous buyer of Gus ever wondered about his tiny arms, but they clearly like Tyrannosaurus rex more than anyone else in the world. I was hanging in the bidding for Gus up until close to the end, when my wife disconnected the wifi. Scientists hope something this rare ends up in a museum, where it can be studied and seen by the public. Yeah, me too. Or maybe put him at a random truck stop. That would be fun. But if Gus disappears into a private collection, someone now owns the greatest backyard lawn ornament in human history. No word on whether the $50.1 million included delivery and setup. I’m guessing it will be about as tough to assemble as most IKEA furniture. If so there will certainly be a few bones left over. Probably just extra bones that weren’t actually meant to be installed.
Vegas, Sober: I’m coming up on three and a half years of sobriety. I was in Las Vegas for work this week, and a few people asked if being there was hard. Years ago, I probably would have thought the same thing. The truth is, I found it reinforcing. I slept great, woke up feeling good, had good conversations, and was present for all of it. Early one morning, on my way to the gym, I passed a man throwing up in a trash can and a couple completely passed out on the casino floor. I’m not judging. I’ve thrown up in more trashcans than I care to admit! I’m just grateful I’m not anymore. There was a time when feeling terrible was so normal that feeling good felt unusual. Sobriety didn’t take anything from me that was worth keeping. It gave me back far more than it ever asked me to give up. I wrote a little more about that here.
Daniel Silva Week: One of my favorite fiction authors is Daniel Silva, and one of my favorite fictional characters is Gabriel Allon, an art restorer and spy. A friend and great writer introduced me to Silva around 2004. I bought The Kill Artist that day, read it nonstop, then immediately bought the other three. I finished all four in about a week and couldn’t wait for the next one. For the last 22 years, I’ve preordered every new installment and devoured it the moment it arrived. I’ve grown with Gabriel through tragedy, loss, love, and pain, and followed him on countless adventures from Vienna and Venice to London, Moscow, Jerusalem, and back again. There is something special about opening a new book and finding an old friend waiting, while still wondering where in the world he is going to take you this time. This year’s book, Ransom, is out. It’s incredible. If you enjoy intelligent, well written spy thrillers and have never read Silva, you have just been handed a gift: 26 books waiting for you. What I wouldn’t give to start all over again.
Rodeo Date Night: Lorena and I had a great time at the rodeo last weekend. No research. No study. No larger lesson. I love a good rodeo, and I love spending time with my wife. Put the two together and you get a pretty great night. Plus, it gives me an excuse to share a picture with the best-looking city girl turned cowgirl there is!
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Have a great weekend.
Nathan
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