As we age, muscles naturally weaken, and even simple, everyday tasks become more challenging without consistent movement. Losing muscle mass and strength can affect your independence, mobility, and overall health over time. And now, as if you needed another reason to exercise, a recent study found that muscle decline often starts well before age 40.
The Swedish study, published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle, followed several hundred people for 47 years, tracking their strength, endurance, and aerobic fitness. Researchers found that both muscular endurance and aerobic capacity started to decrease as early as age 35, regardless of how often they trained earlier in life. Muscular power peaked slightly earlier at 27 for men and 19 for women.
From there, physical decline gradually continues and tends to speed up with age.
“A decline in physical capacity can be observed before the age of 40, which can later lead to clinically significant physical dysfunction, especially in individuals with a sedentary lifestyle,” researchers wrote in the study.
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No doubt it’s frustrating to stay consistent with training your whole life and still feel the effects of aging on your physical health. But the good news is that exercise pays off at any age. Even if you weren’t active earlier in life, picking up a regular routine in adulthood can boost your physical capacity by 5 to 10 percent.
“It is never too late to start moving,” says Maria Westerståhl, lecturer at the Department of Laboratory Medicine and lead author of the study. “Our study shows that physical activity can slow the decline in performance, even if it cannot completely stop it. Now we will look for the mechanisms behind why everyone reaches their peak performance at age 35 and why physical activity can slow performance loss but not completely halt it.”
