I’m in my 30s (male), but have been a powerlifter since my early 10s. But I actually started feel like my body wasn’t as strong in my early 30s vs my teens or 20s.
But I sometimes see people say they feel better at 50 than they ever have when they were younger.
If I’ve always been healthy and into weight training, can I continue feeling as strong and healthy / pain-free into old age and even more so than when I was young? Or will my body accumulate wear and tear and physically get weaker as I get older?
Comments
No
No. I’m 56 and I take incredibly good care of myself and have always worked out my whole like. I do not feel better now than I did in my teens. I’m tired a lot Some ways I feel better though. Just not in every way. Our bodies change. You learn to change with your body and your energy levels.
56, I started TRT at 48 . So most start in mid 40s. It literally puts you back to 18. Energy, sex drive, sleep, alertness, etc.
Age is age. You will deteriorate.
The best thing to do is not to look at your deterioration as a loss, but as the byproduct of the gift of age.
Not everyone gets to live a long time.
My work outs are non gym. I have a house and walk 10 miles a day for leisure. I have a desk job.
Avoid injury.
Avoid straining.
Avoid impact workouts like jogging. Walk instead.
My vo2 max is 42 and i’m 64.
Start watching your vo2 max, that’s what you’re experiencing. It declines over time. You can increase it though. Mine was 31 a year and a half ago, increased it by walking.
Good diet and exercise are key.
I turn 50 this year. I’m a lifelong competitive athlete who had multiple D1 scholarship offers. I’ve been a competitive lifter for 16 years – first weightlifting and then powerlifting. I definitely feel better than I did in my 30s. In my 20s and 30s, I did a lot of stupid things, overtrained, and was constantly sore.
Now I follow a four-day powerlifting program and compete around 3 times a year, I compete in masters track and field, go to Pilates 2-3 times a week, do cardio on a Peloton or treadmill, do a trail race or two every year, and play other random sports. I’m not the greatest on earth, but I have the state masters records in the bench, deadlift, and total. I took third place at masters nationals in the 4x100m relay and fourth place in shot put. And, I’m not constantly sore or beat up. I don’t enjoy exercise for the sake of exercise. I go to the gym so I can beat other old people at sports.
I don’t take any prescription medications. My first surgery was at 48, and it was an emergency appendectomy. I’ve been working with the same physical therapist for 7 years, and he keeps me ready to compete. I sit in the sauna, eat enough protein, and try to sleep at least 7 hours a night.
I had back pain and sciatica pretty often in my 20’s and 30’s. I started walking in my 40’s a lot and hiking pretty much every weekend. I went dancing in my 50’s. I felt great.
Around 60 I found out the cartilage in my knees was almost gone. Now at 70 I’m dealing with arthritis and chronic pain.
This doesn’t happen to everyone. Some people are pain free into their 80’s. Ask your parents. Some conditions are inherited.
Read Younger Next Year.
If you’ve always followed healthy habits, you will still feel some slight decline even by your thirties. This is especially true for males. We peak physically between 18-23. However, many people discover healthier habits later, and they may indeed FEEL better compared to their younger years when they ate crap constantly, drank to oblivion and slept intermittently.
Pain-free is rather unpredictable, unless you have a way of avoiding every possible injury on Earth. If you follow healthy habits, you will maximize your strength and energy capabilities for as long as possible. You can’t totally avoid wear though, especially upon joints. Gravity never forgets, and you can’t avoid your own genetic heritage through your choices. There’s already a clock in your cells, based on the ones in your parents and grandparents.
I’m 56. You will deteriorate to some degree. It takes more work to maintain health and fitness. But we determine the rate of decline barring disease. I think your fitness priorities change too. Personal bests are not a thing. I’m more focused on overall health, functionality, keeping weight off, etc.
You may need to benchmark against age related goals. I have heard podcasters talking about adding mobility training w age as well as decreasing powerlifting workout duration. Like runners in a race placing for their age category if that makes sense. Try out this episode-
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mind-pump-raw-fitness-truth/id954100822?i=1000694180092
You can try to stay healthy and active, but your aging body may have a different agenda.
You get tired a lot faster as you age, and you get injured much easier. I feel like I’ve pulled something at least once a week, and I take relatively good care of myself.
Being old I feel better physically mostly because I’m so much healthier emotionally and mentally
Something something mind body connection
Early 10s.
That’s a new one for me.
No. I’m 72. I began running when I was 59. In the subsequent 6 years, I ran 115 half marathons and two marathons in my 60s. I was definitely fit. But the aches and pains after each race, and the amount of rest prior and recovery after is undeniable. That said, I never experienced the runner’s high in my 20s!
I hope to feel better than I did in my fifties, but a lot depends on my knees.
I care less about other’s expectations, and that gives me more mental freedom.
My guess is that most people who say this were not in shape when they were younger, hence they feel better now that they are.
Mentally you can. Physically probably not.
I started CrossFit in my 40s. I’m in better shape than I am in my 20s. Maybe I don’t run as fast, but I think I’m stronger since I do a lot more weight training now.
Idk my husband is 41 and he’s lifted and been in shape since high school. He did the 1500 lift thing a few years ago and he can run sub 6 minute miles for a 10K distance so he’s in pretty good shape for his age, I think! Like not a ton of our friends can keep up with him both weight wise and cardio wise, it’s usually one or the other. He credits lifting heavy and properly with his pain free lifting and running. Never had any long term injuries that weren’t properly rehabbed. He also takes a couple supplements for joint stuff and says he can feel it in his joints pretty quickly when he runs out of them but who knows how much of that is real versus placebo. His only long term injury is tendonitis in his elbow from holding our babies lol. So idk what he will be like in his late 40s and beyond, and he is only one person and genetics probably plays quite a role, but if you’re doing the right things for your body you’ve got time.
From my perspective, I’m 35 and my idea of fitness has changed with age. I suspect the same can be said for all stages of life so you’ll probably be forever changing your definition of what "good" is for you, and that’s a good thing. Also, as perspective changes, so do our habits. I think that’s why a lot of people feel better when they are older- because they’re not drinking a 6er every night and staying up too late all the time. I mean some of us still are but they are definitely not the ones saying they feel better than ever lol
My peak was 54. Gawd…those were the days!
I can’t speak from the male point of view, but my SO is 84 and has been working his entire life restoring houses and he even built a 1700s style home on his own land with the old fashioned tools. I think that has kept him young. We also walk 2-5 miles around a local lake. We started walking there during Covid and used to do it daily. Now we are in our 80s, we walk it 3 times a week on average. Cut wood & carry water, as they say. He says he was a lot stronger when he was 18-20 also,. No, we don’t take BP meds or statins, and we don’t smoke or drink alcohol now that we are older (we all had our youthful indulgences). He did have a back injury that slowed him down seriously for about 6 months, but he refused back surgery and recovered fully on his own. You can too.
I was heavy at 48. I started walking just a little bit each night. I had been very sedentary. I began walking farther. I took water aerobics twice a week. I cut fat from my diet (not all, just a lot) I lost 60 lbs in a bit over a year. I was in the same shape at 50 as in my 20s. It can be done.
At fifty, I’m stronger and look better than ever. Started lifting at 40. My max compound lifts aren’t the highest they have ever been, but that’s because I’d rather not risk injury, so I don’t max out anymore, but I don’t doubt that I could train up to my previous PR’s if I chose to.
But… athletically, it’s not even close. When I didn’t carry so much muscle like when I was 30 or 35, my lateral quickness was so much better. I was much faster, lighter on my feet and had better hand quickness and coordination. Still, I like me better at fifty than thirty. Except my hairline.