BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s no rule that says strength has to fade with age. But after 40, how you train matters more than ever. Your workouts don’t have to get easier, but they do have to get smarter. For men navigating this new phase of fitness, the challenge often lies in separating outdated myths from sound advice. Let’s clear the noise and get into what really works when it comes to building and maintaining muscle and strength after 40. Why strength training changes after 40 Your body simply isn’t the same as it was in your twenties. Sarcopenia, the natural loss of muscle mass with age, is very real. However, it’s not inevitable. You can slow it down, even reverse it, by building and maintaining muscle through consistent resistance training. Your connective tissues lose some elasticity over time, and that means your joints aren’t quite as mobile, and your risk of injury increases. Choosing the right exercises becomes key, not just for progress, but for staying pain-free. Recovery also plays a bigger role. The days of grinding through soreness and expecting your body to bounce back overnight are gone. Now it’s less about pushing to the max and more about training often, but without destroying your ability to recover. What works best for men over 40 You don’t need to overhaul your entire workout routine, but a few strategic shifts can make a huge difference: 1. Focus on movement patterns Build your workouts around core functional movements like squats, deadlifts, presses, and pulls. At least once a week, include exercises in these categories: Horizontal push (pushups, bench press) Horizontal pull (rows) Vertical push (overhead press) Vertical pull (lat pulldown, pullups) Squat (goblet squat, leg press) Hinge (deadlift, hip thrust) 2. Don’t skip isolation work Isolation exercises like curls or lateral raises get a bad rap, but for older guys, they’re incredibly useful. These moves let you train hard with less stress on joints and more control over technique. Plus, they help build mind-muscle connection. 3. Train with moderate weights and reps Ditch the ultra-heavy singles and focus on working in rep ranges between 8 and 15. Occasionally going as high as 20-25 reps can be beneficial, especially for joint health and muscle endurance. Progress isn’t just about heavier weights. You can also track improvements in form, time under tension, pump, and even how quickly you get through a workout with good quality reps. 4. Pick joint-friendly variations Some popular lifts like barbell back squats or upright rows can become liabilities as you age. That doesn’t mean all barbell work is off-limits, but you’ll often get more mileage from dumbbells, machines, or cables that let you customize your range of motion. And yes, you can still train explosiveness. Just skip the risky box jumps and ballistic lifts. Kettlebell swings, sled pushes, and med ball slams are all safer alternatives that still deliver power benefits. Common mistakes to avoid Training over 40 isn’t about playing it safe; it’s about playing it smart. Here’s what to avoid: Lifting too heavy, too often: Max-effort lifts can take a toll on joints and tendons. Save them for occasional testing, not everyday training. Skipping cardio: Your metabolism slows with age, and heart health becomes even more important. Add 10-20 minutes of steady cardio a few times a week. Neglecting recovery: Sleep, hydration, and mobility work matter just as much as your lifting sessions. Ignoring prehab work: Warm-ups, mobility drills, and activation sets become essential, not optional. Final reps Getting older doesn’t mean getting weaker. With smarter choices, strategic training, and consistency, men can keep gaining strength, improving mobility, and feeling confident in their bodies well into midlife and beyond. Start where you are, keep showing up, and remember: longevity isn’t just about staying in the game, it’s even more about playing it well.The post Stronger after 40: the smarter way men should train to build muscle and avoid injury first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM When we talk about the Amazon rainforest and climate change, the news is usually grim: deforestation, rising temperatures, and biodiversity loss. But a new study offers an unexpected bit of hope. Despite the growing pressures of global warming and human impact, Amazon trees are getting bigger. According to research published in Nature Plants, an international team of scientists has found that large trees in the Amazon are increasing in size by a little more than three percent per decade. The research team, led by University of Cambridge ecologist Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, analyzed long-term data from 188 permanent forest plots and discovered a consistent pattern: the biggest trees are growing even larger. Carbon growth, carbon storage The findings are striking because they challenge the assumption that climate stressors would shrink or weaken trees over time. Instead, the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide appears to be acting as a growth stimulant. Esquivel-Muelbert explained, “Large trees are hugely beneficial for absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and this study confirms that.” In particular, the study tracked increases in “basal area”, which is the measurement of the cross-section of tree trunks at chest height, and found that this key growth indicator rose by 3.3 percent per decade for larger trees. This phenomenon defies what scientists call the “large-trees-lose hypothesis,” which predicts that bigger trees are more vulnerable to climate stress like drought or wind damage. But for now, these towering giants seem to be holding their own. A resilient (but threatened) forest That resilience offers a glimmer of hope. The Amazon rainforest remains one of Earth’s most important carbon sinks, soaking up as much as one-quarter of the carbon dioxide absorbed by land ecosystems globally. And while its overall health is under threat with about 121 million acres of forest lost in the last 40 years, this adaptive response suggests the forest still has tools to survive. “Despite concerns that climate change may negatively impact trees in the Amazon and undermine the carbon sink effect, the effect of CO2 in stimulating growth is still there,” Esquivel-Muelbert said. Other forests appear to be responding similarly. A 2023 study from the University of New Brunswick projected that boreal forests could grow 20 percent faster by 2050 thanks to warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons. Hope versus reality Still, researchers caution that the Amazon’s growth spurt doesn’t mean the rainforest is safe. As co-author and University of Leeds ecologist Oliver Phillips warned, “The only way the giants will stay healthy is if the Amazon ecosystem stays connected. Deforestation is a huge threat-multiplier and will kill them if we let it.” In 2024 alone, tropical rainforests experienced some of the worst losses on record, highlighting that tree growth alone cannot offset destruction caused by humans, wildfires, or extreme weather events. The take-home message? Let forests do what they do best. If given the chance, they can store carbon, regulate ecosystems, and help slow the pace of climate change. But their survival depends on our willingness to protect them.The post Why Amazon trees are growing bigger — and what it means for the planet first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

This fall, discover a way to approach the season with grace and simplicity, focusing on God's goodness and savoring moments through a Biblical lens. Explore intentional traditions like family prayer walks and cozy home activities that honor God and fill your hearts with hope, while also embracing the beauty of His creation through outdoor adventures.

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One of Michelangelo’s most fragile sculptures returns to public display after decades in storage and three years of meticulous restoration. The River God goes on display on October 19th as the centerpiece of a newly-built gallery at the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence, the oldest art academy in Europe which has owned the piece since the 16th century. Created between 1526 and 1527, the clay model was a life-sized study for what would have been a marble river god at the foot of the tomb of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, in the Church of San Lorenzo. Michelangelo was inspired by the river deity sculptures of antiquity to recreate a reclining male torso with bent legs. He crafted it of unfired clay mixed with casein, plant and animal fibers on a core of iron wire. It has no head, arms or legs below the knee, because it was meant to be a reference model for his clients’ approval before the expensive marble was acquired to make the finished piece. He never got to that stage, so this model is the only surviving example of Michelangelo’s vision. It was donated to the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno by the sculptor Bartolomeo Ammannati in 1583. Since 1965, the work has been housed in the Casa Buonarroti. Three years ago, a complex process of restoration began, overseen by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure and funded by the non-profit Friends of Florence. The history of the River God is marked by centuries of attention and conservation interventions. Donated by Ammannati for educational purposes, over time it was subjected to more or less invasive restorations, such as the insertion of metal elements in the 18th century. Archival documents attest to the use of wooden and chestnut structures to facilitate its movement without compromising its integrity. After periods of oblivion, the work was rediscovered in 1906 in the Plaster Room of the Academy of Fine Arts and transferred to the Accademia Gallery for storage. In 1964 it was deposited at the Casa Buonarroti to ensure better conservation conditions, at the initiative of director Charles de Tolnay. In the 1980s restorer Guglielmo Galli reported serious structural problems, including cracking and deformation, aggravated by the presence of ancient bronzing that altered its color and legibility. The complex technical difficulties of the restoration led to its postponement for a long time. The turning point came in 2015, when a loan request for the exhibition I Medici e le Arti a Firenze nel secondo Cinquecento at PalazzoStrozzi made a radical operation necessary. The restoration, carried out by Rosanna Moradei of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure with the support of Friends of Florence and under the direction of Giorgio Bonsanti and Laura Speranza, took place between 2015 and 2017. After an anti-wormwood treatment, work was done on the internal structure and surfaces with targeted consolidations. The bronzing was removed and the surface freed thanks to microaspirations and solvent-gel, restoring the work’s original materiality without erasing the traces of time and the modifications it had undergone. After the exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, the model was transferred to the venue on Via Orsanmichele, where it remained protected until the completion of the new hall.

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2025. Eric Gay/AP PhotoSpaceX’s behemoth Starship rocket took to the skies above the Gulf of America for the 11th…