People Who Have Strong Legs Live Longer
- Sandro Torres
- May 7
- 4 min read
Do you want to look good, be healthy, be independent, be strong, and live many years? Listen to what I'm going to tell you.
Recently one of our members sent me a video where they talked about a study where they concluded that the strength and size of the thighs contribute to the longevity of your life.
So I decided to do some research to learn a little more about the details. What I found, you've probably already concluded.
The study was done in Japan. They measured the leg strength of more than 1,300 people and followed them for 5 years. What they concluded was that those who had the strongest legs had a 75% lower risk of mortality than the rest. Furthermore, those with the strongest legs had an 88% lower risk of heart disease.
Let's start with the most logical part of this study...
The most logical reason is that by having stronger legs, these people have more strength and balance. They can do more than others and are more independent. They don't need help to climb stairs or do any physical effort. With the strength, they can support themselves and be motivated to live longer.
The other logical thing is because, once again, they have more strength and balance, the risk of injury is much less than those who do not have that strength and balance. Many elderly people die from falls, hip fractures, broken ribs and other things like breaking a bone and being hospitalized while they recover.
As I mentioned before, this is the most obvious. But now let's talk about what is not so obvious to many.
Many men like to work their upper body by having big arms without working their legs. With women there is a similarity. Many women want big legs and glutes, but they work their legs in a comfortable way.
These people avoid the pain caused by lifting weights with their legs…
If you have experience lifting weights you will understand me and if you don’t, I will do my best to explain myself.
If you are one of those people who works out your legs properly, you know that it requires a lot of energy to do so. Not only that, when you are doing your squats, deadlifts, lunges or any leg exercise with your maximum weight, you feel like you are going to faint and when you finish your set you end up seeing bright dots and we are talking about 3 to 5 sets per exercise. When you finish working out your legs, you end up without energy and with your legs shaking.
It is not only your legs that are working hard, this is also your heart sending all the oxigen and energy to your legs.
That happens at the time of your exercise…
But it doesn't end there. For the next few days you are left sore where sitting on the toilet is very difficult. This is how I realized why the bars that are put in the bathrooms next to the toilet for the disabled are so important.
And if you are one of those people who does not work out your legs or only does it lightly, you also have an idea of how difficult it is to work out your legs, for some reason you don't do it and you avoid it.
The reason I mention this in the topic is because I want to clarify the second very important point of the conclusion of this study which is:
People who work out their legs are mentally stronger and more resilient than those who don't.
These people who have more leg strength did the hard thing to have that strength. They were willing to fight the pain by doing what was necessary to have that strength. They apply the law of pain, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Just as you apply this in your physical activity, you do it in your life.
As you are in one area of your life, so you are usually in all areas…
When they end a relationship, when they lose a loved one, when they lose years of their work in a failed project, when something painful happens to them, they just face the pain, assimilate it and continue with their life. They purposely seek out pain and discomfort because they know that it will make them stronger.
This is a great virtue that makes one live longer because we do not quickly give in to any setback and relapse. We fight against the pain even though we cannot bear it and we seek to improve as human beings.
cSo I think that not only physical advantages help these people to live longer but also their mental strength that they have to be able to fight against any pain in life.
So if you want to look good, be strong, independent, be healthy and live longer, work your legs as they should be, learn to suffer and take pain with love. Remember that what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.
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