Copyright by HighPoint Products

ABOUT US

My name is Michael Spitzer. Let me first thank you for visiting the site and learning more about us. I am the author of FITNESS at 40, 50, 60 and BEYOND. I am also the founder of HIGHPOINT PRODUCTS. Instead of the usual "About Us" you see on web sites, I wanted to personally tell the story behind the book and the company. I feel by telling my own story, it will be easier for you to understand why I was motivated to write this book and offer information and products that will help others. In the 1970s when I was a teen, I got interested in weight training and supplements as a result of seeing the movie PUMPING IRON and also reading Joe Weider's various muscle magazines. Later I discovered Robert Kennedy's MUSCLEMAG publications. From that point, exercise was a part of my life - although looking back now, I realize my consistency and technique was not always the best during those youthful years. For most teens and people in their early 20s, it is easy to get distracted by other interests and activities. During those same years I was working a full time job during my last 2 years of High School. I also had to work a full time job while attending college to pay for tuition. The summer breaks were spent working 2 jobs to save up extra money for the upcoming school year. As one might expect, I failed to train on a regular basis during those years. Immediately after graduating with a degree in Chemistry, I headed to Florida in my 1969 VW Beetle with $100 in my pocket and everything I owned in the back seat. The next few years were spent establishing a career and marrying the woman who has also been my best friend for over 28 years now. Eventually some associates  in the laboratory industry and myself took the chance at starting our own company. For the next few years, we experienced the classic business start up challenges working 7 days per week, 15 hours per day trying to get the company off the ground. Again, during these years almost no time or attention was given to diet or exercise. Too many fast food meals and time spent entertaining clients combined to create an unhealthy environment. My weight started to approach 240 pounds. In time, our efforts began to show success and our company grew to be one of the largest of its kind in the State of Florida.

As life began to return to a more normal "9-5" kind of routine, I was able to begin taking better care of my health. Returning to the diet and exercise principles that I knew were most effective at losing weight and building muscle, I dropped from 238 pounds to 210  pounds in 16 weeks. I should mention this was not simply a reduction in body fat, but also a visible increase in lean muscle tissue. Soon afterwards, we sold our company and I went on to work as an independent Technical and Business Operations Consultant. In this role, I have helped five (5) companies change course from decline and possible closure to regaining fiscal health and in most cases growing larger than before. By applying the same operational principles that made our own company a success, I was able to help these other people realize success with their own companies. Fast forward to the past 2 years. At the fitness center where I train 3 times per week, people started approaching me asking advice on diet and training. The usual comment was something like ... "I had no idea you were in your 50s. What is your exact exercise and diet plan?" I was more than happy to give useful tips. Time and time again, people returned to me months or weeks later and commented ... "Your advice really worked. Thank You. You should write a book". After having this happen 20-30 times, I started to think to myself that perhaps this is something I really should do. I started paying more attention to the people and trainers around me at the gym and I realized something. Many people (especially older individuals) are not getting the results they could because they have simply not been shown the right way to do things. I started seeing bad or even potentially harmful technique being used. I would see money being spent on trainers that did not always seem to be really attentive of their clients. Based on the questions people would ask me, I started to realize there was really a lot of misinformation and bad advice out in the world leading people down the wrong path as far as achieving their fitness goals. Perhaps it was a sense of nostalgia, but around this time I started to think back to my days as a teen when I discovered my first muscle magazines and training books by Frank Zane, Franco Columbu and others. I remembered how all those books and magazines helped me over the years. I then started to think about how important books have been to me during my lifetime. Much of what I have learned in life is the result of self-education thru reading. I concluded that the signs were all around me that it was time to "give back" a little bit. For all these years I have been learning from magazines and books. Maybe it was now time for me to be the teacher and write something that would help others. The result of this revelation is FITNESS at 40,50,60 and BEYOND. I spent 2 years on this project. I revised the book several times to be sure it was as fully packed with useful information as possible. I let people at my gym read rough copies of the manuscript as well as try the exercise and diet plans for themselves. The feedback was inspiring. Everybody was very positive and remarked this may well be the best single fitness guide they have ever seen for staying healthy as the years fly by. So in summary, the book FITNESS at 40,50,60 and BEYOND is the first step in the process of establishing a new company dedicated to the fitness goals of people aged  40 and older. I hope you find the book useful in helping you to achieve your own personal fitness goals. Thank You Michael Spitzer

Fitness at 40,50,60 and Beyond Bronze Medal Winner Best Exercise and Fitness Book of the Year Living Now Book Awards 2015