Exercisers Age Better

Athletes who compete into their eighties suffer few medical problems, but those who lapse into inactivity regress toward the general population norms for fitness, weight control and health problems, according to a study in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine (November 2008).

People who compete into later life in sports such as running or cycling can maintain their competitive edge into their eighties. Each muscle is made up of millions of muscle fibers. With aging, particularly after age 50, you lose muscle fibers so you become weaker. You cannot slow the loss of muscle fibers, but you can compensate for the loss of fibers by increasing the size of each remaining muscle fiber with regular vigorous exercise. If the results of this study can be extended to all regular exercisers, you can also expect to live longer and suffer fewer health problems than your non-exercising peers.