Getting older: a reason, not an excuse

"It's too late for me now" gets said by people of 35, 50 and 75, all with exactly the same face. Too late for what, exactly? The gym doesn't ask for your birth certificate. The stairs don't either. The only thing that has ever checked your age is a man selling funeral plans in the adverts during the snooker, and he wants your money, not your squat.

It isn't too late. It wasn't too late ten years ago either, when you said the same thing. It's only ever too late in the sentence.

Next: What actually changesBack to the contents

Some things do change with age, and it's better to know what they are. The UK Chief Medical Officers describe a natural decline in muscle mass and bone density from around the age of 50, and say that losing muscle strength is the main thing that limits people's independence as they get older.¹ When muscle loss becomes serious, doctors call it sarcopenia (sar-koh-PEE-nee-uh).²

That sounds bleak, until you notice what the answer is. Muscle doesn't read birth certificates either. Give it a reason to stay and it stays. Give it a reason to grow and it grows, whatever the cake says.

Next: The ninety-year-oldsBack to the contents

In 1990, researchers in Boston took ten frail volunteers living in a care home, average age 90, and gave them eight weeks of proper, heavy strength training for their legs. The nine who finished increased their strength by 174 per cent on average.³ That's nearly three times as strong, in two months, at ninety.

I'm not saying they then went out and robbed a bank. I'm saying that, if they'd wanted to, they could now have got the door open. The Chief Medical Officers put it more politely: it is never too late to gain health benefits from getting active.¹

Next: BonesBack to the contents

Men's testosterone falls slowly from around 30 to 40 onwards, by about 1 per cent a year. The NHS says that on its own, that's unlikely to cause problems.⁶ So if a clinic on your phone is telling you every man over 40 needs topping up, read the TRT section of Steroids: the real story first.

A man of 45 who feels tired all the time might have low testosterone. He might also have three kids, a mortgage, and a habit of watching a man in Ohio restore a rusty axe until one in the morning. Rule out the axe first.

Next: Starting at any ageBack to the contents

The guidelines for adults over 65 are the same as everyone else's, with one addition: activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility on at least two days a week, alongside 150 minutes of moderate activity.⁷

• Start with week one at home, the same as everyone. Sit-to-stands are a leg session that also gets you out of a chair, which is a skill you will want for a very long time.
• Practise balance: stand on one leg while the kettle boils, holding the worktop. Swap legs when it clicks off.
• Walk most days. Your bones count every step.
• If you have a health condition, have a word with your GP first. The stop signs chapter has the details.

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