Vale Joe Weider, passing away this week, aged 93.
Joe is the man I credit with bringing resistance training into the mainstream. Not only that but Joe was a massive advocate for sound diet and regular exercise. It’s fair to say that many of the methods he advocated and techniques he pioneered have since been adopted by sportsmen and women and a large number of others.
Unfortunately, I never got to meet Joe personally. But I was a regular reader of his editorial column in “Muscle and Fitness” magazine over the years. It was through Joe I learned (some 20 years ago) of the promising links being made by researchers between weight training and preventing Alzheimer’s disease. It was also Joe who made me aware of the incredible benefits of weight training for the elderly in preventing muscle wastage and the falls which often accompany this.
For me, Joe’s message was so compelling that I organised my life to include regular sessions at the gym, pumping iron. I’m pleased to say that I’ve been doing this for 27 years - over half my life. I look better, feel better and have more energy as a result.
So thanks for everything Joe. Whilst you will be missed, your profound message will live on.