As a young man, Ben Barretta was a naturally gifted athlete who worked hard to achieve success in several sports. In 1947 he led South Philadelphia High School to glory on the gridiron where earning all public honors as a running back. He also excelled as a centerfielder for the baseball team.
After high school, Ben married his wife of 57 years, Angela, and together they raised 8 children : 5 boys and 3 girls. The boys all participated in sports and Ben kept active and healthy through coaching and exercise. Even in his late forties, Ben could still compete against athletes half his age.
That all changed when Ben was diagnosed with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, a condition that affects a person’s balance and makes it difficult to walk.
After a decade of declining ability, Ben underwent major surgery and had a CSF shunt placed in his brain to drain the fluid. The procedure improved his balance, but after 10 years of inactivity and muscle atrophy, he had an extremely difficult time walking. When physical therapy and attempts at a typical regimen of light exercise such as water aerobics and infomercial equipment failed, he finally allowed his son Mike to help.
Mike had developed the O15 Workout, a revolutuionary new method of combined strength and aerobic conditioning. The workout can be tailored to any person’s starting condition, even a 78 year old man with a decade of inactivity under his belt. Ben began on a 3 day per week schedule of this modified version of the workout, now called Senior Momentum.
After 6 months of this thrice weekly regimen, Ben’s results are nothing short of a miracle. He has regained his ability to walk normally and is enjoying his newfound independence. In addition, he looks and feels 15 years younger. The O15 Workout and Senior Momentum have succeeded where traditional methods of physical therapy and exercise failed him, improving his both his quality of life and his body, inside and out.
