The age-old adage is that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. This might be why those who don’t exercise or look after their health have no desire to do so when they get older. They might think they are “passed it” or would never be able to keep up. Studies say otherwise.
According to research published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, your body has the same ability to build muscle mass when you’re older as it could when you were younger. Therefore, if you were put off by the idea of getting fit and working on your health in your later years, then here is some good news: there’s no time like the present to start.
Jim Owen is an example of how starting exercise in later life actually works. He outlined his journey to fitness and wellbeing in Just Move! A New Approach to Fitness After 50. Jim worked on Wall Street in a sedentary position and realised at age 70 that it wasn’t doing his health any favours. He started exercising and was able to build muscle mass just like any other younger person.
A research team at the University of Birmingham also looked into later-in-life exercise and how young and older men build muscle mass. They split the study into groups of two people. The first group consisted of people over 60 who, for the last 20 years, had exercised at least twice per week. The second group didn’t have a consistent workout routine.