When my mother turned 40, she said, "Everything works fine until you turn 40. Then everything starts falling apart." She stuck with that theory until she turned 50, which was when she said, "Did I say 40 was the end? Because that was nothing. It's 50 when your body really goes down hill." At 60, she became more philosophical about aging, saying, "Appreciate what you have when you have it."
While there isn't necessarily one age where you wake up feeling old, 45 does seem to be an important age when it comes to cardio fitness. In one study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers studied over 20,000 men and women from 1974 to 2006. They looked at lifestyle variables such as body mass index, self-reported aerobic exercise, and smoking while measuring their cardio fitness by using a treadmill test. Researchers found that cardio fitness declines over time, but goes down hill at a faster rate after 45 years of age, at least for those participants who didn't exercise.
The bottom line is that how healthy we are as we age is directly related to how much physical activity we get and there are too many people who think it's too late to turn things around. It's never too late to change how you live, something our readers prove time after time. Just check out this post, Live Better as You Age and read the comments and you'll see what I mean.
What about you? Did you notice your body or fitness level changing with age? Did that motivate you to make changes in your life? Leave a comment and tell us about your experiences with exercise.
- Exercise for Seniors
- Combat the Effects of Aging with Exercise
- Growing Older, Gaining Weight
- Total Body Strength for Seniors
Source:
Jackson A, Xuemei S, Hebert J, et al. Role of Lifestyle and Aging on the Longitudinal Change in Cardiorespiratory Fitness. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(19):1736.
In 2002, at the age of 55, I had a heart attack, leading to a bypass. It was after my hospital stay that I realized the importance of exercise! Oh, if only I had done it when I was younger! Today, I work out at the gym no less than 4 days a week, no less than 45 vigorous minutes each visit. I recently lost 25 lbs. and can honestly tell you that exercise saved my life. It is so much a part of my life now. Since I am retired, I see this as my job and also something that I do for me. My doctor is very pleased with me. I so encourage everyone to get out there and exercise and yes, it can be fun too!
Wow! Good for you!! How motivating
This is definitely not true if a person has stayed in shape and exercised throughout the years. I’ll be 50 in April, and I’m in better shape than I was when I was 20. I’ve worked out 5 days per week for 25 years, and I feel great. I have no aches and pains, maintain my weight, started a new career as a high school math teacher, and feel about 35. I’ll admit that my friends and my husband, who haven’t exercised since high school, are in much worse shape, though, and have begun having health problems.
I’m 57, took up real exercise 5+ years ago because I noticed that just doing my regular everyday activities wasn’t enough to stay in shape. My problem is that cardio bores me to tears so prefer to work with weights. Fine and dandy but I tore up a tendon in my left arm back in July that still drive me crazy. So now its mostly just daily hour long walks with the dogs and push ups. I need to get into lower back work outs because I’ve noticed the tightness slowly returning.
Give me a healthy arm so I can return to my regular workouts and I’ll be happy.
I’m a 48 year old female. I have made staying fit a priority in my daily life for the past 12-15 years. I do not feel 48. I feel better now and have more energy than I did 15 years ago. I do high intensity cardio 3 times a week and do weight training 4 days a week. I know that as we age our metabolism naturally slows. Therefore, we need to work harder at staying fit. I just plainly love to work out!! It’s my favorite time of the day. I love a good hard sweat! And I love what it does for my body! Inside and out!
I started to devote myself to better health about a year ago. I had always exercised, but not religiously. It was really tough at first. I thought it was my age. I was really sore for weeks and pain and stiffness in my knees would not go away. In addition, I was breathless. However, I soon realized that all of this was due to the extra weight I was carrying around. I’ve lost over 30 lbs. and I can honestly say (I know it sounds so cliche’) that I am in better shaped at 50 than I was at 30. My endurance and strength truly are better than when I was 20, although I still have a few more pounds before I reach the weight I was in my 20’s. Essentially, I feel great!
It’s amazing, but something as simple as regular exercise, sensible diet, and watching one’s weight can not only slow down the aging process, but will even turn the clock back as far as one’s physiological age by 10 or more years.
At age 35, the body reaches a plateau as far as physical ability. Starting between 50 and 60 years of age, the body starts to undergo rapid and massive reduction in strength, agility, and endurance; this applies to a sedentary life style, good diet notwithstanding. Don’t get me wrong, good diet is essential to good health, but just not enough for keeping fit.
Cardio exercise and interval training are the keys to maintaining optimal body function. With exercise, changes also happen at the cellular level with improved mitochondria function. I was surprised at how many discrete positive results accompany exercise for seniors.
The positive note is that even at an advanced age, starting an exercise program has a dramatic positive effect on one’s physiology.
When I started up an exercise program again 5 years ago at age 58, my flesh was starting to sag at the knees and pectorals. My belly looked like I had half a watermelon under my shirt.
Today, after 5 years of lifting light weights and cardio workouts on an elliptical machine, I look and feel 20 years younger. The half watermelon is gone, there is little fat, and the body is trim from head to foot. When I get up in the morning, I can feel a surge of energy through my body as I move. I can move quickly with a strong sense of balance.
My goals are, keep the blood flow and oxygen exchange performing at an optimal level, maintain maximum muscle tone, and be able to handle physical tasks with reduced exertion and strain.
I know I’m maintaining brain function as well through improved blood circulation. The other side of this coin is activities to help stay mentally sharp and alert.
I somehow missed Paige’s excellent posting “Live Better as You Age”, cited above.