People in their 30s/40s, do you think your physical peak has passed?

Posted by FlimsyEnthusiasm8153@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 922 comments

Elsewhere in reddit-land I recently commented that as someone in my mid-30s, I'm increasingly tired/achy after activity levels that wouldn't have got me like that before, and feel like my best years are behind me physically. Someone said don't be ridiculous, people are still winning Olympic medals and peaking in sports like marathon running in their 30s. But then recently I went to a wedding and all my friends (also in 30s and in good shape to look at) were talking about their bad back, physio appointments, can't drink tonight as I'm on a new medication for my migraines, etc. So are people in their 30s/40s being dramatic when they say "ooh my knees, ooh I can't get out of a chair anymore without making that noise, ooh I can't stay up past 10pm anymore"? Or does your body actually start going downhill in your 30s/40s? Haha

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jafferton91@reddit

32 and getting stronger

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VolcanicBear@reddit

I was a lifeguard at 18. I was obese throughout most of my 20's. Aged 38 next year I'll be doing my first full distance Ironman, having done two middle distance triathlons over the last 12 months. No, my physical peak has not passed.

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Builtfromcarbon@reddit

(I suspect you are a good person for me to ask about this, if you dont kind me asking it) Im 33m and overweight (borderline obese?). I would like to loose maybe four stone or so. Have you found that people treat you differently after your weight loss? If so, in what way? (Im assuming you are in real good shape now, right?) Also, do you think loosing weight has made you look younger/or made any difference to the age you look? Thanks ( sorry for the questions)

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VolcanicBear@reddit

No worries asking. To be honest I've not really noticed people treating me much differently, aside from people I already knew commenting on my being in better shape. I'm still pretty overweight though tbh, just a lot healthier whilst being so. BMI is still 28 or so. The main difference is I am more comfortable wearing clothes that actually fit properly, so inherently look "better" due to that. I will say though, I'm married, and we've been together since I was 20 so haven't really had any interest in the opposite sex paying me more than friendly attention. I'm also typically not that social tbh. I would say it's better to get fit for your own sake though. It will tend to bring more confidence which will in turn change how others perceive you and behave towards you. The difference in not straining against my gut to put on shoes and socks, that kind of thing just makes life generally more pleasant.

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Builtfromcarbon@reddit

Interesting,thanks Well done on getting into better shape

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IrishRoveress@reddit

Well done to you for getting yourself in shape again! People idealise the 20s as peak physicality but forger that in our times, people live and thrive so much longer. I spent my 20s suffering from an eating disorder, 6 stone and addicted to painkillers. I had the bare minimum regarding a social life and I was sad and exhausted every day. Now I'm in my 30s, healthy and confident, working a job I enjoy (not highly paid because, y'know, see above), going to the gym because it makes me feel strong and healthy, rather than doing so to get rid of any and all calories. It goes both ways - extreme weight loss/gain hurts people. And once you find the balance, it's all that matters. If anything "physical peak" as a concept isn't something that applies to everyone. We don't all need to be a Spartan hoplite, we just need to make ourselves healthy, happy and at peace with ourselves to live a good life. Congrats again.

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mitchmoomoo@reddit

Awesome dude. It surprises me how many folks think they can’t do casual or competitive excercise in their 30s. Unless you were an elite athlete, as in absolutely maximising your athletic potential, in your 20s, there’s no reason you can’t be in the best shape of your life in your 30s

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CuriousSummer793@reddit

Absolutely! I’m 33 and these past 2 years have been the fittest I’ve ever been. I ran a marathon at 31 and then started to get into obstacle course racing. After doing a few races for fun in 2021-22, this year is my first year in competitive age group racing. I’m nowhere near to winning my age group but I’m hitting PBs with almost every race and feeling a lot stronger than I was a couple of years ago, let alone in my 20s when I saw exercise as a way to stay small and skinny rather than get stronger. Most of the elites in OCR are in their 30s, and in age group racing the most competitive female age groups tends to be 30-34 and 35-39.

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DOTFD-24hrsRemain@reddit

This is an underrated comment. Lots of people see professional sports people retiring in their mid-30s and think that’s an indication of their own physical limitations. It’s simply not. These athletes are competing at the very highest of levels, where a minuscule drop off in your physical level translates to relatively large loss, results-wise. I remember playing for my local cricket team when I was a teenager. Our opening batsman was 55 at the time!

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Less_Ad4651@reddit

100% this. Your hypothetical, absolute maximum peak starts declining in your late 20s, but most people are so far away from it that it can be ignored. There's folk at my running club who are setting PBs in their 60s (and they're much faster than me, a guy half their age). Their hypothetical peaks are well past but their actual performance has only been getting better. Everyone except for active professional atheletes probably has huge room for improvement in their fitness, regardless of age or health.

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Legitimate-Bid7181@reddit

I came here to say this, thanks :) Most of us are not pro-elite athletes, so what peak are we talking about? We have never reached the peak, maybe not even any heights yet. I’m 40+ and getting into better shape every day. I only had pain when I was at an office job and neglected my back and posture, so I had lower back pain at 30. I worked on it, I still have a desk job, but not the back pain 🙂

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channeldrifter@reddit

My dad started running at 65, he’ll be doing his first full marathon this year and is in the best shape of his life. He was quite active in his 20’s but has only now hit his stride with running

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VolcanicBear@reddit

Cheers man! Yup, and that's only for the elite, professional athletes. Amateur athletes who do spend their entire 20s practicing their sport casually are normally coming into their peak in their 30s or 40s. Something about 10,000 hours to become an expert, and genuine physical fitness takes a long time to build after your teens.

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LPL09@reddit

Well there are other reasons than being an elite athlete. Somebody who works in an office for 10 years Vs a 30 year old who's spent 10 years hod carrying with a Z shaped spine and hips

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ColorsOfTruth7379@reddit

I haven't even begun to peak!

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tequiila@reddit

43 and the best I’ve ever been. done multiple half marathons in the last few years with full ones coming up next year. I’ve lowered my resting heart rate and increased my Vo2 max equivalent to a late 20 year old. If you are active and look after yourself you will do well at this age. I feel I have the time to do it now while I’ve struggled in my 20s and 30s. If you stop you will lose it quick, probably quicker than when you are in your 30s.

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Necessary_Figure_817@reddit

But if you were to do what you do now but in a body 10 years younger, surely you'd be better at it? I'm not saying the body you had 10 years ago but the body you would have had if you were never obese.

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space_guy95@reddit

Being obese when young and then losing all that weight and getting in shape doesn't necessarily do any permanent damage. Of course there are exceptions for extreme cases, but for your average obese person who's a few stone overweight and not morbidly obese this is valid. What they would have *potentially* been capable of 10 years ago is largely irrelevant, because we're not talking about professional athletes and the only true point of comparison everyone has is their past self. If someone has led a largely sedentary life until their late 30's and then seriously gets into fitness, they are going to hit *their* physical peak (as in the best physical shape they have ever been in, not their genetic potential) much later than someone who was athletic and fit in their teens. Getting hung up on what *may* have been possible is a great way of never achieving what still is possible, and the majority of people in their 30's and 40's still have the capability to be in the best physical shape they have ever been in if they really dedicate their self to it.

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fireflyfire@reddit

Eliyud Kipchoge's marathon records would indicate otherwise.

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LPL09@reddit

Again though that's not all physical, he's probably on a constantly improving routine and diet as elite sports science moves rapidly If he could reset his body to 21 with the same mind now he'd blow all his records apart

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thom365@reddit

I don't get your point. I'm sure everyone would love to go back to being 18 but with their current life experience, but that's fantasy. The OP asked about physical peaks and people have demonstrated that records are set in these years. You've responded with a hypothetical situation just to try and prove that people are past it once they're over 30...

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LPL09@reddit

Because he isn't isolated in time, there are other variables around him changing throughout For an extremely crude example somebody invents a shoe today that suddenly cuts 5% off your time and some legal wonder vitamin that does another 5%, and in the last year your body has declined 7.5%, you're still going to break your records with that 2.5%

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Camekazi@reddit

His physiology at 21 couldn’t sustain what he does in the marathon.

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LPL09@reddit

Well yeah I'd agree maybe not 21 for endurance, but there is a psychical/physiological peak point somewhere to the same ends, and it's likely pre 30s still

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InfamousEvening2@reddit

Yep, agree. Kipchoge has matured in to his current ability level and an unconditioned body couldn't handle what he does right now.

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VolcanicBear@reddit

Yep, endurance stuff is very much a mental battle and understanding how far and when you can push, which most young people just don't have the discipline for (not saying I do, it's still something I'm learning and I have very shit discipline). Incidentally, I can _just_ hit his record marathon pace if I sprint _hard_ lmfao.

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Creepy_Artichoke_479@reddit

Someone actually set up a giant treadmill that runs at his marathon pace, and most people could barely hang on even for a short distance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRYtn0j5ccA

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winterval_barse@reddit

Yes but think how insufferable you would be

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_Dreamer_Deceiver_@reddit

That's a different question all together. Now we are looking at hypotheticals. What if my parents had urged me to do more sport? What if I had different genes? What if I had different parents?

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Necessary_Figure_817@reddit

I guess the only sensible answer for your point would be what is the peak for humans as a general population. I guess OP was looking for individual examples.

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Typo1977@reddit

The 35-39 age group has the fastest average finish time at IM events and the 40-44 group a faster average than the 18-24

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VolcanicBear@reddit

Unquestionably, and I realise I kind of missed the point of the question, but since sorting that main health issue out, most other ones went away. My bad back isn't as bad, my knees don't sound like walking on rice crispies every time I go down stairs (just most times now). What I'm saying is with the correct approach, many of these things can be sorted. It does get infinitely harder as you get older, and I do regret losing such an athletic capability that it's taking me upwards of three years to even get close to having back, but it's (often) never too late to get it back. Genuinely though... Had I not become obese, and had my current exercise regime, the only reason I wouldn't be in peak physical fitness at the moment would have been due to other sports or idiocy induced injury.

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Nixher@reddit

This is not the question OP is asking, commenter already said they were obese in their 20s, and is now don't their first iron man, I'd say their peak is now.

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Incubus85@reddit

God imagine how much of a stud youd have been in your 20s!

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VolcanicBear@reddit

I'd met my wife by then, but I was still a mega stud. Just a fat one. Still am fat tbh, now I'm just fat and healthier.

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yermawn@reddit

51 and play squash 4 times a week - playing the best squash of my life and am in the best shape of my life.

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VolcanicBear@reddit

Squash? Pfffft yeah no way I can do that lmao. Good going dude, that is some high energy sport!

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gardenhippy@reddit

This is key - it’s your attitude. You get moving, keep moving and use your body and it works better for you. Congrats on your new energy

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Ok-Train5382@reddit

The winner of the last half Ironman I went to was in the 40-45 age category (or whatever was the closest to that, can’t remember the proper years) Very impressed by it

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Shmeckless@reddit

Props dude. My dad did his first iron man last year in his mid 50s and he's doing it again this year (Sunday actually in Tenby!). Your peak is when you want i to be.

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antebyotiks@reddit

You would’ve been better if you were in shape in your 20s though

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Typo1977@reddit

Get some! Good luck with the full! I just finished my first HIM about 3 weeks ago and I’m now addicted. The benefits of my 20 week training block, plus the base stuff beforehand are immense. Look better, feel better, loads more matches on OLD and all the previous aches and pains have disappeared.

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Wilsonworkerwilson@reddit

Boooom!

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biffo120@reddit

Im 45 and in the best shape of my life, run half marathons, 10ks and 5k park runs, looking at ultras next. I am sure if i dedicated when younger i would have been better but truthfully i never had the discipline or the resolve..there something rewarding in achievements when at an age i should be declining.

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Consistent-Farm8303@reddit

Question. Why is it most of the people I know interested in half marathons and up, tend to be in their 40s?

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biffo120@reddit

If you go to them you will see this not to be true. 16k plus people of every age, sex, size and ability. If it is people you know, at a guess i would say they worked their up from 5k's. From what i saw of ultras when i watched, this could more true and i would guess a mix of needing a new challenge, a little mid life crisis and stamina as opposed to pace. Older and younger do ultras also but there seemed to be more my age range.

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Consistent-Farm8303@reddit

Yeah it’s purely anecdotal. I’ve read 40s-50s are (for those not professional athletes) better for endurance sports. How true that is I don’t know.

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ll23sparki@reddit

The best part of ultras is the slower running the kind you learn from experience and not being a young whipper snapper, obvs you could be faster being younger but I feel older people get more from ultra running or maybe it’s just me giving myself excuses…

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biffo120@reddit

Yes this is what appeals to me, the challenge is to finish, tactical walking can come into play. I am bypassing marathon as it seems out of reach, i would feel any walking is a fail. I am sure the curiosity will bite soon though.

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njt1986@reddit

Yes, I’m 36 now, my physical peak years were probably 21-26. Then injuries started to pile up and now like, my ankles click and crack when I walk as a result of multiple fractures and ligament tears, when I kneel down my knee cracks as a result of an MCL tear, my back hurts almost all of the time after an accident when I was 28 in which I fractured 3 vertebrae and damaged a disc, and then there are the general “shit I slept funny” or “fell asleep on the sofa” aches.

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GrumblinBumblin@reddit

I'm 43 and in good shape for a 43 year old. Even if I wanted to, I'd never able to be as fast or strong as I was when I was 25 or so. That said, I'm healthy and have no physical limitations so I can't complain.

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Charming-Station@reddit

Early 40s here.. Fastest mile I've run was last year. I do benchmarks at the gym most months I'm in the top 5 of any age group. I never ran track or anything at school, played soccer for fun for 15 years before having kids. Smoked too much weed and drank too much beer in my 20s I would say that it definitely takes longer to recover from injuries

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anbu1233@reddit

Go to the gym eat healthy and hourly be fine you can clearly tell the old people who worked out and still do and ones that don’t by how they look and move

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lankyno8@reddit

From what I've been told, and my own anecdotal experience, there are two things that start to drop off in your 30s: sprinting and recovery. Aerobic fitness and static strength can be maintained/improved on. However slower recovery effects everything, both in terms of day to day, and if you have injuries. Eg. I used to go to the gym regularly on Sundays, however if I've played rugby on Saturday I'm sometimes so achy that's not really feasible - meaning that if I want to keep the same level of activity up I need to squeeze that session somewhere into the working week. I injured a tendon in the final game of last season, that injury has lingered until now, and while I am playing in the first proper game of the season on Saturday, I'm not 100%. Worse/slower recovery means you need to plan things a but more: in your early 20s if you feel you haven't been active for a bit you can go out and blast fitness and you'll get fitter; in your 30s if you do the same thing you're much more likely to get injured.

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helpme430@reddit

I think I hit my peak at about 12.

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cgknight1@reddit

I am in my late 40s so I will have clearly peaked *but* it's slightly worrying to me how many posters we have here in their 20s and 30s who post about aching all over and say they struggle to get out of bed. As for me personally - no I don't suffer from aches and pains and I can do what I consider normal stuff without difficulty. I don't know if it Iinked but I avoid processed foods and have for years. [I am not talking about people with medical issues].

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

I'm mid to late 40s now. I recall having all sorts of pains and problems in my 30s. Turns out I just wasn't looking after myself properly - the casual neglect that works in your 20s doesn't carry forward easily into your 30s. I now do regular exercise, including running, weights and yoga, and am in the best shape of my life, full of energy and enjoying life. Most if not all of my physical pains and problems are resolved now.

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Interesting_Branch43@reddit

This is exactly me!

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What-problem@reddit

This is spot on. I'm only 31 and I had a lot of aches and pains. I was so exhausted every single day and questioned whether I was just 'old now' and it was normal... I started drinking lots of water, lost weight, ate lots of veg with every meal and exercised. I felt like a bouncy teen again, full of energy and no more aches and pains! Exhaustion just magically gone. Then sadly I lost my sister nearly 3 months ago and it all went to shit again. I'm eating crap, drinking alcohol every night, not exercising, not drinking enough water. Unsurprisingly (now), I'm back to feeling like I've been run over by a car! The way you treat your body makes such a difference

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m4nf47@reddit

Sorry for your loss. At least you're well aware of what triggered your recent mental then physical health crisis. Hopefully you can mend mentally then physically again soon, you can do it!

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Extension_Reason_499@reddit

I lost my sister in 2019 and done the same thing lost my Dad last month and I am determined not to do it to myself. I hope you find a way back to yourself

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FingersMartinez@reddit

I hope you get back on track and I'm really sorry for your loss. I had a bit of a setback myself and I fell down the same way. There is a way back though and I sincerely hope you find it. All the best to you.

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foxifiknow@reddit

I'm so sorry for your loss. My sister is so much a central part of my life, and i have come close to losing her before and that near miss almost destroyed me. I can not imagine the suffering you are experiencing right now, but i understand how it has hit you. Please be kind to yourself, and reach out for support. Grief is savage. Also remember that mental illness, grief and stress can have a physical impact on us regardless of lifestyle. Get rest, drink lots of water, speak to people who will help you through this. Adjusting to that loss must be soul crushing, take care of yourself

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winterDom@reddit

Sorry for your loss mate. I had the same after a parent died. You can get back to it and you will

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Hitching-galaxy@reddit

Firstly - I am sorry for your loss. I was 29, 14 years ago, when I lost my sister. Siblings are people who you’d expect to be around forever and, if you were like me, had a rough teenage years so not many years to make a better relationship. So, lots of negativity as well as grief. I had stopped drinking but went full on back into it when she died - I felt like I had a reason to get plastered all the time. The irony being that she died from alcohol abuse. I did get back on course - I decided on an aim to get me out of the funk, which was to run a marathon (furthest I had run previously was 5k). Running really helped me sort out my head, as well as drinking and diet. And raising money meant I felt I was putting something back into the world again. The Allan Carr How to control drinking book also put me on the straight and narrow too. And ‘how to be happy’ by Derrin Brown (or any other stoicism book). Be kind to yourself, but also be a little tough love. I hope you pull through the funk 👍

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spaceship-pilot@reddit

You got this.

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Jkang75@reddit

I’m so sorry to hear about your sister. Yes body responds to how we treat it. Unfortunately grief trauma etc gets in the way sometimes and we can feel like we don’t deserve better. I’ve been struggling to take care of myself physically as well but I just keep trying even though to others it looks like I haven’t made much progress. I’m 47 and my 71 year old mother has more energy then me. Grief really does a number on you physically too. My peak stopped at 30.

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juan-love@reddit

Go for that run; it'll clear your head and make you feel better. Also; here's a digital hug.

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Populastact3484@reddit

Yes, but only it terms of raw talent. I am much more disciplined in my 30s and have much better habits. My 20s seemed like a trial run for my 30s.

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LeafLemming@reddit

You think that crappy diet and lifestyle is gonna bring her back or something? Get back to your fitness and eating good and stop being like the common population. You can do better, keep the head up and get moving

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worldsinho@reddit

Look after yourself bud. Your sister would want nothing less.

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mr_jah_ke@reddit

Sorry that's horrendous. hope you bounce back. From the levelheadedness of your comment I think you probably will. I feel I had this effect but in reverse; felt mostly fine until 25, then my brother died, my mental health went to shit by 28, phyiscal health (back, shouldern, neck, jaw) to shit by 29. Also ate well but now that I'm 31 and excercising loads (weights, pilates, yoga, drinking less, getting chiropractic treatment) - I'm mostly feeling great again.

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Fedent4019@reddit

I'm 40 this year and in ok shape. The motivation to work out isn't there anymore though, running after a small child and working full time gives me as much exercise as I feel I need

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Solid-Signal-6632@reddit

I'm so sorry for your loss.

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CryptOfVojo@reddit

Keep strong man! Get back at it please. I am so sorry. Stay strong! Lift! Give up alcohol NOW!

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blurdyblurb@reddit

Sorry for your loss, hope you get back on your feet soon.

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AmbientBeans@reddit

I'm 29 and already feeling this and realised I got away with doing fuck all exercise for too long and now existing issues I already had that were only mild are now regular issues for me so I'm trying to make the most of what youthful vigor I have left to be in shape. Ideally I'd kinda like to get a bit ripped for no reason other than to see if I can but I'd just be happy with being physically stronger and maybe looking slightly muscular. Your comment also gives me hope that I can probably stave off a lot of my aches and pains into my 30s and 40s by maintaining what i do now in some form or other into the future

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

What I wish I'd been told at 29 is just to sign up with an online personal trainer, and follow their advice. Within a few months you see huge physical differences. Their knowledge and focus on tailoring to your interests, goals and ability is worth paying for. Also brilliant for motivation ofc. You can hammer away at machines in the gym on your own or with a programme suggested by the gym, but if it's not structured and switched up and focused on progressive overload it will be a lot less effective. If you're going to workout, best to make it as effective as possible. I pay £100 a month, which seemed a lot initially but given I'd have paid a lot more to be toned, energetic and strong it's actually proving good value. I just workout at home with dumbbells, resistance bands, and a lot of body weight stuff. Three 45 minute sessions a week is all it takes to make a real difference. I work from home so do it at lunchtime, it feels so manageable.

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charlottie22@reddit

This is so key! Having an overhaul of diet and excercise in your 30’s makes such a massive difference and you can end up feeling fitter in your 40’s (I hope- 39 year old here…) I basically quit drinking a year ago- still have the occasional one but have so much more energy than I had before- sorted my diet out in early 30s and next challenge is excercise that I will actually stick to… I did have 2 kids in my 30s which gave my body a bartering- took until 3 years after my second kid to feel back to good physical health so that stuff does have an impact too

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Frosty_Technology842@reddit

I had an epiphany moment on the beach many years ago in my late 30s about my health. I saw lots of younger people who were, frankly, badly out of shape, and I said to myself "I'm not going to be 50 and fat". I started going to the gym and weight-training - a habit that has stuck with me (I'm in my early 50s now) and I made some solid changes to my diet (although changing what I ate and the quantity and quality of my food was a far harder challenge than turning up at the gym and pushing weights up and down for an hour). If you find an exercise that you really like, the habit will form quickly and you will be hooked. Good luck, it's worth it.

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GrimmBi@reddit

>quit drinking >Still drinking occasionally Choose one 😂

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Primary_Stretch2024@reddit

"basically quit drinking" = "mostly quit drinking" not "never drank again". Skipping that word changes the meaning. But you know that.

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GrimmBi@reddit

Gottem 😂😂😂😂

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MajorMisundrstanding@reddit

There's drinking and then there's *drinking*

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winterval_barse@reddit

I went for a 3rd kid at 37 and my body did not thank me for it, but like others have said, now that I’ve got a bit of maturity in my attitude I’m looking after myself way better and feeling good for it

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NightKid89@reddit

I'm about where you were after kid 2. He's 3 1/2 now. They both sleep soundly and so I am now getting back on track too! 34 years old, I don't feel it though. I work mostly with people younger than me and often forget how much older I am!

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sbdavi@reddit

I have to second this. I got caught up in life in my 30's. Overworked and over ate, the result was me being heavy and having a ton of issues. I started lifting weights at 44 and all the aches and pains just sort of disappeared. I'm 45 now, and feel better in myself than I have for decades. I must assume that it's how you take care of yourself.

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IntraVnusDemilo@reddit

I think this is the real answer here.

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Apart_Visual@reddit

Exactly this! I’ve never felt better or enjoyed exercise more than I do now, and I’m mid 40s.

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Winniethepoohspooh@reddit

Yup either do yoga or Tai chi or chigung or some form of martial arts... All Asian arts... Aches and pains are the accumulation of your previous 30 odd years of taking youth and body for granted.... Plus western lifestyle western diet western mindset.... Aches and pains is your body telling you yeah you've had 30 previous years of neglect and maybe you need mot etc I've aches and pains are normal.... I now need to use a foam roller after a run etc I never used to need it till physiotherapist said that's why my leg was super rock hard and tense I couldn't even get out of bus seat it was so painful.... Stuff I never experienced before, now Ive kept it all in check, I can run just as far and as fast as I used to touch wood... Yes old is a thing and that comes with aches and pains that's if you don't keep it in check and look after yourself....

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adydurn@reddit

This is how I feel, essentially I was working too hard at being in my mid-20s, and wasn't actually taking care of myself.

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Unlikely_Doughnut845@reddit

I often struggle to get out of bed (now in my 40s) but due to DOMS after a hard workout or long run. Running, weights and yoga for the win 💪

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KezzyKesKes@reddit

Collagen and protein is your friend - especially after leg day and stairs/sitting down is agony.

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Smeee333@reddit

DOMs make me sound like such a granny. Feels counterintuitive sometimes.

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Unlikely_Doughnut845@reddit

Nah it’s just proof that you worked hard enough to make a difference to your muscle strength

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No-Screen-7870@reddit

wish i had the time for this sort of thing

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OneCrispyHobo@reddit

̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ willpower

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No-Screen-7870@reddit

explain?

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heretek10010@reddit

Yep, when covid hit and gyms shut that was the worst I ever felt- loads of aches and pains. Went back to weights after and I feel good mostly, though now I'm getting close to 40 I get alot more training related minor injuries that disappear after a day or so.

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macamc1983@reddit

It definitely can be turned around

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CapableLetterhead@reddit

Same. I exercise most days now. Yoga, pilates, weights and hiit mainly and I feel much better. I drink lots of water and eat better too.

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Winniethepoohspooh@reddit

Tldr.... Computer games, mobile phones, Uber, deliveries of everything straight to the door... Western diet, western lifestyle.... Western takeout etc etc I'm mid 40s I look early 30s mid 30s I'm Chinese all my western mates are all pale tired wrinkled looking 60 knackered broken depressed... I'm in the UK I don't drink like they drink or smoke... I'm fitter last longer than I've ever been.... I've kept it in check... I've been unfit to being super fit.... Mindset is definitely a thing too, family and cultural influence will rub off and influence actions too

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Blueliner95@reddit

We of the Asian persuasion also have thicker epidermis thus not as wrinkled and we were probably/maybe given a taste for more veggies and less heavy cream sauce type foods

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LibraryOfFoxes@reddit

I'm part Chinese and I do think that helps with the young looking thing! I'm also mid 40s with most people guessing about 10 years younger than that. I don't smoke and only have around two drinks at Christmastime, so that probably also helps.

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CosmoDexy@reddit

Purely out of interest and nosiness - what do you have for your meals and snacks? I am keen to edge away from processed foods. Currently 32 and live relatively healthy but definitely get achey.

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BansheeZessinthal@reddit

I am late 40s and don't drive. I think walking everywhere has had a huge positive impact on my fitness.

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bu88blebo88le@reddit

Same as you on both accounts. If I could break down my own personal recipe it would be walk everywhere. Minimum 10,000 steps but more like 15,000. Also smoothies. I swear hemp hearts and Chia seeds are magic.

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StockliSkier@reddit

Same here. 43 and I barely drink anymore, mostly avoid processed food except for certain treats or if I’m doing heavy cardio and need it for fuel. I feel fitter than I did 10 years ago. I’m the guy who takes steps instead of escalators etc - those little moments are opportunities to have free exercise / health without costing much time. The world is setup to be too comfortable! I do lot of fairly moderate zone 2 cardio cycling, some strength training. My blood pressure / numbers are better than ever and can easily ride 100 miles on my bike which, while not exactly unfit before, I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing. Resting HR drops to 40 ish at night now. Genetically I am pre disposed to slightly high BP, but taking control of my own health seems to be keeping a lid on that for now. I think it’s also the fact that as we get older we realise we aren’t immortal. I didn’t think about death much in my 20s. Now life is all about longevity and spending time with good people and doing enjoyable and healthy things. I only wish I’d got on the health train a little earlier, and that would be my advice to anyone younger!

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FlyNeither@reddit

Because they’re all treating their bodies the same way they did in their 20’s and expecting it to hold up. If you do nothing else, stretch for five minutes each morning and take a multivitamin. It’ll change everything.

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sputnikconspirator@reddit

Stretching is definitely something I neglect too much, I need to get a good stretch routine.

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GrumReapur@reddit

I'm 34 and for the past year or so started getting sciatica and feeling shit ALLLLLLL the time. I saw a physio and they gave me stretches and yoga practices to get into and I did them and within a couple of days of doing 1 hour work, then stretches, repeat, the sciatica had completely gone. The sciatica is the result of sitting in a chair on a computer all day. About 2 months after me and my partner decided we would cut out processed food and go vegan...holy shit... I hadn't realised the impact that the diet could have until 3-4 weeks into that and my body felt incredible. I'm overweight, and what stopped me from losing weight was essentially a food addiction, mainly sugary snacks and crisps, as comfort food. Since eliminating all of this it has marked a big difference in my energy levels. I didn't realise I had a food addiction until I made this decision aswell. I would walk into a shop and so much of my body was telling me to get sweets and crisps, like...it is clearly a problem. I think I'm lucky to have realised this now as the propensity for cardiovascular issues only builds with age and weight. I'm still not up to a great fitness level and only doing started exercising recently, but want to lose the weight and just have a healthy lifestyle as I get older.

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Odd-Row1169@reddit

The internet is one big hypochondria machine. It's like if you took all of the complaining about Monday over their morning cuppa - every single one of them in the whole world - and put them into one place. People start agreeing out of the sheer force of the group pressure, there's feckin millions of em, and it's always Monday somewhere. Apparently.

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beavershaw@reddit

Walking has been key for me. On a typical weekday I'll walk around 14-15k steps without really thinking about it. Still get aches and pains but those are mostly from my 3 kids using me as a climbing frame. I'm 41 and slightly overweight for context.

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scupdoodleydoo@reddit

Same here. I get over 10,000 pretty much every day by walking my dog and using public transportation.

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GoosicusMaximus@reddit

If you sit all day at work, do no exercise, play games or watch tv when you get home, yeah you’ll be achy. The body isn’t designed to be immobile for long durations that frequently.

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GeordieJumper@reddit

Equally if you have a very active job you'll ache every night and every morning. I used to lie in bed on a night and everything ached.

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thevoiceofalan@reddit

About the same age also I avoided processed foods and walked everywhere until recently, injured myself. I think the walking and food make a major contribution to overall well being. I do have the aches and pains but that's from sports injury mainly, 20 plus fractures, dislocations etc. My younger friends are always complaining about feeling old but are eating McDonald's/Greggs everyday, drinking like a fish and only exercise by turning up at a gym now and again to get as much exercise in an hour as they can. It boggles my mind.

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-alexandra-@reddit

I’m mid 30’s. I had no issues real in my 20’s but over the last 12mths developed horrible joint pain, especially in one of my hips. I felt like I was 80 and was starting to really worry that I could be living in pain for the rest of my life. So a couple of months ago I decided to try daily walking before booking physio etc. I’m now power walking 7km a day and incredibly … my hip is back to normal. My flexibility is coming back. I can sit on the floor with my kids cross legged again. I can bend over without feeling stiff. I no longer have issues sitting at my work desk all day. It doesn’t hurt getting off the couch. We all know exercise is important but crap has it made me realise it’s vital for quality of life in the context of getting older.

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getroastes@reddit

It's almost like good food and exercise is all you need to live long. Funny how people spend their whole life watching stuff to try to make themselves more healthy when the advice is so simple. I've always been seen as crazy by my mates as I would bike anywhere, 15 miles was usually my max. I did once bike 20 miles to a mate for a sesh, then bike 20 miles back the next day, took me twice as long on the way back.

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Positive-Locksmith21@reddit

I will be turning 50 in December, shortly after I turned 40 my 2nd daughter was born and I was rocking a 40" waste line, I took running up and have seen the weight come off me over the last 9 and a bit years and my times keep improving 5k to 50k after I turn 50 I'm planning on doing my 1st 50 miler, maybe me in my 20s would have been a bit quicker over the shorter distances but I doubt that guy would have coped with the mental side of the longer distance runs 😁 diet has improved but still could use some improvement. I guess being an older dad was the kick up the backside I needed. You can most definitely carry on improving, it's just a case of getting off your ass and sticking with it.

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BachgenMawr@reddit

I walk a fair bit and I eat pretty well but I’m 30 and my lower back always hurts, have lots of random aches and have done for years. I have knee problems and asked the physio if it could be arthritis but it was just brushed off so I guess it’s considered somewhat common?

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Tao626@reddit

I find 20's to 30's complaining about being tired and achy far too common. I'm 32. I'm by no means fit and healthy, but constant aches and pains? Absolutely not. I would say I'm either at my peak or if I pulled my finger out and went to the gym I would definitely be there. I had a kebab for dinner. That's where my lifestyle is. I'm still rolling out of bed at 07:30 in the morning, going to work, coming home, doing chores, loving the wife, playing guitar, smashing some video games and going to bed at 02:00 ready to do it all again. That so many people in their 20's are incapable of doing that? I don't know if it's sad or pathetic.

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AndyVale@reddit

I used to think waking up with an aching back every day was just "LOL, welcome to your 30s." Then I got a new mattress for the first time in 13+ years and started taking just a bit more care of myself and suddenly... I feel okay most mornings. Sometimes even good.

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Fishflakes24@reddit

I'm 29 and one thing I've realised is when I was 21 I could go out do lots of drugs, smoke and eat crap and still be fit. Now I have to look after myself and live within reason, if I do that I'm fine but if I let myself go I'm fucked. I guess, if you look after yourself your 30's will be fine but have 1 cigarette and it will take you 3 months to recover.

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BiGsHooTBiGBiLL@reddit

This..our diet and lifesyles in the west is knackered. We seen it all coming for years with the yanks but decided to blindly follow in their footsteps and are now catching up with them. All be over soon though if we keep following sleepy Joe and his wish for world destruction but that's for another thread and probably way too many 'woke' people on Reddit to see what is really going on!

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Aka_Diamondhands@reddit

Because we worked so long. There’s pretty much no work life balance anymore. Your workemail, you boss WhatsApps you, have to attend shitty networking event etc etc

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Watsis_name@reddit

I think it's linked to a decline in sports participation. I have some bad habits, I drink heavily and smoked heavily for 20 years, but I've always played sports. I'm 35 now, my hangovers are way worse than when I was 20, bug I believe that's because my tolerance is higher so I drink more. Other than that I don't have the constant aches and pains other 30 somethings talk about. Obviously I'm not as fit as when I was 25, but my body is nowhere near falling apart.

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javajuicejoe@reddit

Processed foods causes dysbiosis and can take months, even years to remedy. Stress is also linked to it, but steering clear as you have can have a significant positive effect on health. Provided the diet is balanced which I assume yours is. My source? I’ve had a diet both ways, and the latter is far better.

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powered_by_eurobeat@reddit

I’m in the best shape if my life. Never been obese. I have a desk job but never owned a car, and exercise moderately (running, swimming, cycling). No aches or pains.

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Key_Preference_4594@reddit

I feel much better in my 30s than 20s because I stopped working for someone else

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b_33@reddit

No, cardio has dropped but I think that's more to do with a sedentary lifestyle than it is to do with age.

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WouldLikeToBeACat@reddit

I think you hit the nail.

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Fall-Maiden@reddit

Eh, sorta I passed my physical peak when I was 21 playing basketball but that wasn't something I could continue. Now my literal peak passes each hill I climb hill hiking. Not as rigorous with gym sessions but no sumbtch gonna tell me I can't do it 😂

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creamywhip@reddit

im 51 and I'm in the best shape of my life I worked hard on my fitness and stamina and cut a lot of vices out of my life in the last 10 years .

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NJW_90@reddit

I'm 33 and no aches or pains at all for me! Feel the same as I did in my late twenties. It's all about mindset too, I will be forever young 😄

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L8eenL8@reddit

I just turned 30 and the only difference is that I’m finally paying attention to aches and problems that have been there since my teens. Once I take action, they tend to get much better and even go away completely. I was just better at not feeling anything due to constantly being distracted when I was younger. I feel like my physical peak is yet to come and Im very excited to see my body grow stronger.

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cu69te@reddit

Not 30/40 but I think most people by that age have unless you decided to get your life together and started working out

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Blueliner95@reddit

Yes and no. In my late 50s, I’m pushing more weight in the gym than I ever have. I can do 30 chins easily on back day. I couldn’t do one when I was 25. So on certain metrics I’m at peak. However, and this is just reality, I’m long past my time of peak *potential* performance. At say 22, I’d have had the highest athletic ceiling of my life. I was just nowhere near hitting it. At my age now, my potentially ceiling is far lower, but I’m closer to hitting it because now I am optimizing performance with attention to sleep, nutrition, training techniques, blood work, avoiding alcohol etc

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Justha-Tip@reddit

My physical peak passed as soon as I had kids at 25. I went from hiking for miles and climbing mountains to having a BMI of almost 30 within like 2 years (I had my first two kids 14 months apart and then immediately started to get chubby). My hair is graying (I am 32 now) I have no time to look after myself. I can't remember the last time I wore makeup unless I am going out to a family members birthday party/meal. I used to be considered attractive and was proud of my fitness levels and hourglass figure. Nowadays I'm in baggy bleach stained trackie bottoms, with a messy bun, no makeup, looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards and need a good nap. I haven't had my hair cut or eyebrows done in about a year. I'm planning on starting to exercise and lose a bit of weight, but I'll never get back the perky boobs and I'll always have stretch marks and my mummy pooch. It is what it is. Mum bod got me.

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NuttyMcNutbag@reddit

Do a lot of these wedding attendees have sedentary office-based jobs? Because that’s the most likely cause of their ‘ailments’. From the moment I started working in office jobs, I could feel my body getting older from lack of movement. My boss had ongoing back problems from sitting at a desk 45 hours a week for 15 years. In another office job, I had to compete trading onboarding about how to remember to move about the office once in a while to ‘reduce’ the damaging effect of sitting over the years. Even exercising and staying in shape did only so much to counter the physical torture of sitting in a chair straight for 40-45 hours a week. I’m 31 now and have taken a massive pay cut to move into teaching where I get to move constantly. I’ve actually got physically younger in many ways, my hair is thicker and my faint wrinkles have faded massively.

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Low-Cod4507@reddit

I haven’t even begun to peak

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rachelvs1@reddit

I'm 42 and a gran to 2 gorgeous babies... but still go to drum n bass raves n rave like the young ones... age is just a number my kids say to their baby's this is ur raving granny lol

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bearmk1988@reddit

I’m 35 and for the last, I’d say… 6 years I’ve been struggling on and off with little niggly injuries and aches and pains that stop me from making as much progress with my fitness. For example, when I was 29 I played 11 a side football for the first time in a few years (having played it from the age of 11 up to 21 basically every week). Towards the end I stretched for the ball as it was coming down from the sky, as I controlled it, my heel hit the floor and just… broke! Who breaks their heel?? Well that had me off my feet for a little while, I couldn’t run, or walk too much for quite a bit. Then, when that was healed up, I started hitting the gym a bit more (mainly cardio and circuit training) but went too hard too soon and ended up suffering with shin splints. That stopped me running for a while, so I bought a Peloton. That was a god send through lockdown, I felt great most of that period. Then lockdown ended, I played 11-a-side again for the first time since I was 29 and ended up on the receiving end of a poor tackle which tore some ligaments in my ankle, caused some pretty extensive tissue damage and just generally set me back massively. That was 2 years ago nearly. In that time, my partner and I have had our first baby. She’s 11 months old now, and I can safely say I’ve never ached so much in my life! The poor quality sleep, coupled with the old injuries and just general exhaustion of parenthood has really done a number. So, in short, yes. I’m definitely past my peak physically, I feels like that happened a LONG time ago now!

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Bowla1916@reddit

I've broken countless bones, including a few vertibrae less than 12 months ago and can honestly say I still feel fresh at 31. Like you I noticed a massive change to my physical well-being when I changed jobs from construction to sales which includes a lot of door to door walking... 16-20k steps a day. Staying active has a massive influence. If I lay around being a lazy git for a few days I genuinely feel worse.

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Soup_and_death_grips@reddit

Please remember that the majority of Redditors don't actually put much time and effort into maintaining and conditioning their body. Things like diet an exercise aren't just for improvement, they are also essential to slow decline. A 30 year old that exercise regularly and has a good diet might feel the same at 30 as at 20, while a 30 year old that's spend a decade eating shit sitting on the couch all day every day will feel like shit. Use it or lose it.

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Suspicious_Wall_4541@reddit

I gave up alcohol a few months before my 40th, I’m almost in the best condition of my life.. it makes a huge difference

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Bionix_52@reddit

44 now and I would say I was at my peak fitness about 10 years ago. I was at a point where I had enough time to go to the gym every day for an hour plus a 1km swim then a couple of hours on my hand bike (I’m an amputee so regular bikes aren’t an option) while watching a movie in the evening. These days I’m too busy running my company and frequently working 12 hour shifts with two hours travel each end. It’s taken a while but I’m finally back in the habit of going to the gym whenever I get the chance and things are improving but I doubt I’ll get back to where I was ten years ago.

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RaspberryNo101@reddit

I noticed a decline in my physical ability \*starting\* around 48 and I still think that was back-to-back covid variants that kickstarted that early; in my forties I was probably less fit than my thirties if I'd measured it but I didn't feel it and probably the same from my thirties to twenties. You really shouldn't feel like a crock in your thirties if you're looking after yourself properly.

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Facelessroids@reddit

I’m 35 and fitter than ever

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Sherpillionaire@reddit

Definitely not. I'm in my early 40s and I know that if I prioritise my health, I could well find that my physical peak is in the future. However, having a teenager, I do see that he's \*naturally\* coming into his physical peak without having to do the work.

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BohoOddity@reddit

I'm definitely fitter now than I ever was, but I'm paying proper attention to my body. I get enough sleep, eat healthy food and ditched sugar and I walk everywhere. I think if you walk a lot more it massively improves your health, you don't even need to do anything fancy just a reasonable pair of shoes and a direction.

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leftlanger@reddit

Sounds great! Any idea how much walking (miles / steps) you do on average per day? Do you do a lot of small casual walks daily (e.g. just going in and out of town) or are you doing more occasional big day-long walks?

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BohoOddity@reddit

On a lazy day I do about 11-13k steps, a standard day I'll do 15-18k and a busy day I can hit 25k. It's made up of smaller casual walks, things like the school run in both directions (3 miles each time as there's 2 schools), walking into town (2 miles each way), walking the kids to clubs (3 miles) or going to work/lectures etc. If you've not walked a long time it's worth starting small and building up as you get used to it. Your feet will hurt if you don't give yourself a decent time to repair or eat well. I was a terrible vegetarian for years in my early 20s and didn't eat enough protein or b12. My feet would hurt! But in the last 7 years I've been more mindful of my protein and nutrient needs and it makes a huge difference and I feel fine now.

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Mannyonthemapm6@reddit

I’m 28 and peaking lol

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frogfoot420@reddit

I’m 25 and I constantly ache. I think it has something to do with my ankylosing spondylitis.

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Left-Emotion-5089@reddit

I was always obese in my 20s and early 30s, I'm mid 30s right now and in the best shape I ever have been

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Sygga@reddit

Bad backs, bad eyesight and migraines seem to be more prevalent in people aged 30 and down, because of the increase in technology in our daily lives. Think about it. Mid to late 30's are the first generation where it became normal for every family to have a computer, mobiles went from being bricks to mini computers, TV went from 5 channels to hundreds, and we saw the rise in popularity of the Internet and the birth of Social Media. Older generations would watch a few TV shows, read actual books instead of a tablet, do hobbies, go out and see friends, etc. They would go out, come home, relax with a book then go to bed. We, on the other hand, stay up late watching garbage on TV, or scrolling through Reddit, YouTube videos and shorts, TikTok, go up to bed and have 'a quick flip' through Instagram or Facebook. Then we wake up and go to work, usually using a computer. Freeze right now and concentrate on your posture. Are you sitting up straight, with the screen raised to eye level, or are you hunched forward reading the screen closer to your lap? Neck and back strain, resulting in aches and pain. And how many hours a day are you staring at screens? Is the room lighting adequate? Eye strain, leading to poor eye sight and headaches/migraines. Now, to answer your actual question: Yes, I am 34 and know my physical peak is waaaaay behind me. I'm talking, when I was 17 or 18. But that is because I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Average duration of this condition is 4 years, but can be for life, and I am currently on year 16. It keeps gradually getting worse, and I am on roughly 2,500 steps a day, which is about a mile, or a weekly grocery shop around a large supermarket, although a bad day I can just about do 500-600 steps. So, barring a miraculous recovery, my physical peak is long gone.

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AnyIce1633@reddit

I am 59 not really if you don't psychologically worry I am as good as I was when I was 15

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Beanbag_Ninja@reddit

It's a tricky thing to define what "physical peak" is. Do you mean peak immune system health? Peak fitness? Peak strength? Peak resilience? Peak flexibility? Peak sexual drive and performance? Peak "ability to drink 6 pints then stagger home"? Because these all probably happen at different times. A male normally won't reach peak physical strength until his mid-30s - but that's only in terms of natural ability. If he leads a sedentary life until his mid-30s, then starts working out and eating better, he'll probably reach peak physical strength in his 40s, and his health will probably improve too! Meanwhile peak flexibility would have long gone in his late childhood or early teens, with no way of recovering it. Peak resilience (from injuries etc) probably occurs at a young age too, but again the environment has an effect on that as well. As for me, I somewhat coasted physically in my 20s, and now that I'm working out in my 30s, I definitely feel I've yet to reach my "physical peak" in terms of fitness and strength.

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WalterZenga@reddit

40 years old and I've run 133 miles this month, my longest distance month ever, on course for 1000miles this year. I was obese through my 20s and completely wasted what we're supposed to be the fun years, hopefully make up for it now. 8 stone lost.

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Complete-Walrus-2512@reddit

💯

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NoBig5130@reddit

No. A lot of physical fitness is mental. Unless you have a serious health condition or injury. If you tell yourself you’re old and beat up, you’ll most likely feel that way.

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Pitmus@reddit

You’ll soon be farting when you go for a wee. You know all that running, labouring, and physical sport, and dancing, it all catches up with you and it only gets worse, and worse, and you’ll realise why all those old codgers were such grumpy bastards. Spend money on decent shoes. Reduce sugar, reduce alcohol, quit smoking, cut calories, cut processed food, and eat healthy veg and meat. Cut all rancid vegetable oils, and do some yoga. Look after your teeth! That will help! Not much fun, so maybe arrange a more exciting sex life! As you get older you don’t get excited about much or look forward to anything either. Fortunately none of that affects me as I’m a vampire.

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Extension_Ad4492@reddit

Take up rowing. Peak is late 30s. Plenty of 38 year old Olympians.

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m4nf47@reddit

Late forties here. My own physical peak was in my mid twenties but my understanding is that certain types of athletes often don't peak until much later. So it might depend on what kind of physical activity you're thinking of.

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Keeponkeepingon22@reddit

M30 Personally shape of my life, physically and mentally. But I did spend all of my 20's drinking heavily.

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pullingteeths@reddit

I'm in my late 30s and pretty sure I'm at my physical peak since for the first time I'm both a healthy weight (not overweight) and eating healthily and exercising regularly. I used to be slim when I was younger before gaining a few pounds for a few years but didn't eat particularly healthily or exercise back then. I feel stronger and healthier than ever now. But it will totally vary depending on the person. Not sure when the cut off will be for starting to decline due to age, I'm hoping not until after my 40s.

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J4CKDOOR@reddit

35 and No I don't think so. I can lift more now than I could in my 20s as I do this regularly. And my cardio isn't too bad. If I did more of it I think I'd be as good as I was when I was younger. (I've certainly never been a proper athlete so regaining my own personal peak isn't unachievable) Probably a lot of people have less time for fitness when they are older with more commitments and things. But I've seen some really fit/strong people even in later life.

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1mactosh1@reddit

Early 30s, still training (running) and my aims for the next few years only get bigger. The physio can be great for prevention of issues too.

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jaBroniest@reddit

I lost 5 stone last year, and a stone this year, I'm in the best shape of my life, I'm 33.

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Styxand_stones@reddit

Congratulations! Can I ask how? I'm struggling

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jaBroniest@reddit

Eating correctly is a big help, making sure to eat at certain points of the day to help keep your metabolism burning the food you put in. Make sure your eating healthy whole meals, manage your portion control, eat around 2000 calories a day if your burning around 1000 kals at the gym. Walk to work if possible, avoid using a car at all cost. I walk at the weekend too, lakes etc. I followed a regime that I got online at first then I edited it to suit my body. Honestly I could talk for hours, but it comes down to what os best for you.

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Styxand_stones@reddit

Thank you, that all sounds very sensible and achievable. Congrats again!

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jaBroniest@reddit

Its definitely achievable its the consistency that's hard, you have to go atleast 3 times per week, that'd any real excerise. Weight comes off quickly at first, bit slows dramatically. Keep your heart rate high, relax to let tue beats drop, then hit it again, it helps massively when burning calories! The cross trainer is you're friend :) msg me if you need anymore advice :)

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saltandcigarettes@reddit

Incredible work mate! You should be damn proud of yourself

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oac7@reddit

Amazing work!! Very well done :)

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kirkyrise@reddit

5 stone in a year is incredible! Nice one.

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Kukotzki@reddit

I am in my late twenties. The only change I noticed so far is that I take longer to recover from long hours of travelling. Due to my job, I fly about three to four times a year back and fourth. When I was in my early twenties, I had no problem recovering from early flight hours and could go back to work the next day with no signs of overwhelming tiredness. As of this year however, I noticed the stress on my body as in slight nausea, stomach problems, chills when extremely tired. So I have to take two days before returning to work after an early hour flight. Apart from this, I haven't noticed anything else.

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ChequeredTrousers@reddit

No way. I’m a 44f and I’m in great shape. Started deadlifting and it’s been great for my physique. I can’t run for shitty knees, but I’m in good nick otherwise and I golf a few times a week and walk my dogs every day plus a few hours in the gym each week.

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FingersMartinez@reddit

I'm 43 and I've always been in decent shape. Not super fit but not fat. Last couple of years I noticed aches pains and old injuries resurfacing more and more as I stopped getting enough exercise and eating crap. I've switched my diet to focus on protein and healthy stuff. Cut out sugar as much as possible, almost completely. I started taking creatine, vitamins and omega 3 tablets everyday. Drink coffee up until 1pm then water or protein shake after. I only eat after 3pm and stop eating 11pm at the latest. I've started a weight training routine, half way through month 3 right now, 5 days a week, heavy day, light day repeat, Saturday and Sunday mostly rest. I've been feeling lots better and my knee seems to have repaired itself. I've lost weight, gained muscle and strength and my body is looking pretty good for my age. Something I heard a lot but never really got until lately, if you don't use it you lose it. As you age you start literally breaking down, you have to maintain it more than you did when you were young. To answer your question though, my physical peak has definitely passed but I'm doing what I can to at least try and get back there. TLDR; Lift weights, eat better and more protein, stop sugar, avoid alcohol, take creatine. Creatine has so many added benefits it's 100% worth looking in to.

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Optimal-Channel-2707@reddit

Not in my thirties in my twenties… my physical peak is fucked

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Peddy699@reddit

If you never cared about your health in 20s, you are still fine. However if you keep not caring in 30s and later, you will quickly get worse physically, less energy, aches etc. You need to care about what you eat and how much you exercise in 30+ and that stays for as long as you live. Better start caring earlier than later.

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One_Huckleberry3923@reddit

I just turned 46 last week and do a very physical job(tree surgeon). Certainly nowhere near as strong physically as i was 10 years since. What really surprises me is just how many folk who are considerably younger are physically unfit. Granted more jobs are sedentary nowadays but I've had young lads and lasses come for a trial and moaning by 10am how hard it is!

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seefooddiet242@reddit

I'm only 31 nearly 32 and 30s has been rough already haha. But also on my fourth pregnancy so that probably doesn't help. Had acute injuries like broken bones when I was younger but nothing that lasted longer than that. Pregnancy after 30 doesn't bounce back the same, managed to get a frozen shoulder which is still not right nearly 12 months down the line. Pelvic girdle pain with this pregnancy is really bad and I'm super anemic. I feel past mt physical best for sure x

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nunchuks2@reddit

100% yes. I (37) get injuries and things that were never an issue in my 20s. Ability to run, jump, bench press etc may not change that much in your 30s but the likelihood of injury seems to sky rocket.

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ImprovementThat2403@reddit

I'm mid 40s and as others have said, I had to make lifestyle changes in my 30s to overcome the general shit feeling I had. Now at 45, I've never been in better shape, but it takes effort, whereas in my 20s I could literally do nothing and look amazing.

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StickyRiceYummy@reddit

Just drink the fear of small children, you will be fine

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Ok_Situation_1525@reddit

I turned 30 this year. At high school I did a lot of dance so was at my most physically fit then. Over the past 5 years or so I would say I’ve put on weight from not making the right food choices. I have a job where I stand up all day and walk quite a lot but don’t do any more intense exercise. I plan on making the effort to improve my eating and take up exercise. I think I’ll then be at a similar fitness level to my 18 year old self. I feel people just need to put more effort in to health as they get older. Saying that I think my health in general is quite good. I rarely get ill and have no physical complaints. I guess sometimes it’s luck or genetics over lifestyle but it also surprises me how many people a similar age to me have a lot of aches and pains. It may also partly be to mental attitude in certain cases.

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Kockaponi@reddit

The things you mentioned are usually because of the lack of excercise and not an age issue.

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kaytiekubix@reddit

I'm in my mid 30s. For the passed few days I've had what I presume to be a trapped nerve in my back/neck area. But I have suffered with a bad upper back and neck for a few years now. My right knee hurts alot and has for the past few years and just get lots of aches and pains these days. I can still go out and party till 2/3/4am every few months, but back in my late teens, and 20s, I could party every week, several times a week. No way I could now. Physical peak has deffo passed and it's only downhill from now, even though I exercise regularly, and eat usually quite a healthy and balanced diet with plenty of healthy foods.

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sunlit_serenade@reddit

I'm 32(F) and my partner is 42(M). We both get the same reaction whenever people ask our age because we genuinely don't look it. We also go to the gym pretty regularly (most days of the work week, sometimes twice per day, sometimes on the weekend). Additionally we intermittent fast most days. I think our general fitness routine has kept us young. Definitely haven't passed physical peak yet!

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Savings-Hippo-8912@reddit

I'm 24. I pased my peak already.

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BicycleSalt2961@reddit

I’m 28, and yes. Lol

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T7MMU@reddit

Generally sports people such as boxing and football peak around 26/28 and by about 33 they are looking to retire. Obviously some like Ronaldo are pushing 40 and still in great condition but he use to be a winger and moved due to pace declining. So although in peak fitness for his age, he's past his peak.

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Ki1664@reddit

It’s cause 60% of our population is obese

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Lunar_Leo_@reddit

It's a problem with the typical British diet. I usually take food I've cooked myself to work and people always make a big deal - "Ooooh you're eating healthy!" No, I'm just eating properly. We all eat too much pre-packaged processed crap because it is nice and convenient but it's loaded with salt and sugar. I moved here from Australia and was stunned my how much convenience food is around in the supermarkets. Brits love the comfort of convenience but sadly it is causing health problems

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Ki1664@reddit

Currently listening to radio 4 “A thorough examination” podcast on ultra processed food and obesity in the uk; check it out it’s an interesting series

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eraticwatcher@reddit

> Americans always say British food is terrible. I 100% disagree, British food is bloody wonderful but the way British people eat, not so much Spot on. I do think our food can be a bit bland compared to other cuisines but there’s genuinely a lot that is healthy or can be made into healthy alternatives. A Sunday roast for example is great - lots of veg, lots of meat, potatoes. If you don’t drench it in gravy you’re golden. We often make shepherds/cottage pie at home and at it’s core it’s a great meal - meat and veg covered in potatoes. It’s stuff like sausage rolls, pasties and all the starchy stuff that’s not paired with veg and meat that’s crap.

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pukachang@reddit

I mean, potatoes are starchy. As is rice!

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Samuraisheep@reddit

Carbs (and fibre!) aren't bad though as long as you've also got protein, veg etc as the main portion of the meal.

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pukachang@reddit

Absolutely, love a good bit of fibre! Bran flakes keep you regular 👌🏻 ha.

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eraticwatcher@reddit

Of course the difference is with the aforementioned dishes, you can go heavy on veg and meat so it’s healthier whereas sausage rolls are 80% dough, 20% sausage

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Dahnhilla@reddit

>If you don’t drench it in gravy you’re golden. I'd rather die young than reduce the gravy on my Sunday roast, bin off the meat before the gravy.

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eraticwatcher@reddit

Well for what it’s worth, gravy isn’t heavy on calories it’s just full of salt ;)

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Dahnhilla@reddit

Stop using Bisto then.

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LordVile95@reddit

Just get low salt gravy

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JimmyTheChimp@reddit

Just make real gravy and add butter, flour and water to the meat juices.

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Frank_Story@reddit

My gravy isn’t. I make it from homemade stock and juices from the meat, add a splash of red wine, reduced or thickened with cornflour. My SO doesn’t use salt but I add salt to mine. Proper gravy not from granules- can’t beat it!

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winterval_barse@reddit

Agreed , but only proper gravy

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JimmyTheChimp@reddit

Just moved to Australia and you are right, obviously you can find crap in the boxed food sections and the freezer but the fresh food is fresh. There is a little section for ready meal pasta in Coles but that's about it. I work at a pub and the average person coming in to smash a chicken Parma is pretty thin, you can tell this is there treat for the week rather than how they eat every day.

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JoshuaDev@reddit

I’d add to this that it is shocking how pretty much all convenience food is so unhealthy too. Basically the only thing you can buy that can be cooked in under ten minutes that isn’t super unhealthy is fresh soup.

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darktourist92@reddit

Not just that but our diet is so carb-focused, especially processed bread and chips. It’s not hard to understand we’re getting more and more obese.

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Rolestrong@reddit

I lived in Australia for seven years and you guys do crap convenience food pretty well. I think from memory some of the western suburbs away from beachside Sydney eastern suburbs had some real health and obesity issues.

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Lunar_Leo_@reddit

Yeah you're right, it's far from perfect there too. But its still a different culture here when it comes to food

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bacon_cake@reddit

For sure. We've just had a baby and, if I say so myself, I'm in pretty good shape. But there were parents in our antenatal classes that we still meet up with who are in their early 30s and overweight and they're just... struggling with basic movement. It sounds so horrible to say and I don't even like thinking it but it's true. Everything just looks like such an effort. Get up to rock baby, sit down on floor to play with baby, lie down, roll over, get up from floor. Pretty easy for me but my god some of these people are huffing and puffing, groaning, if they can even do it at all in one fluid motion. It's summer and they're sweaty and smelly when we go out for pushchair walks. God knows how they manifested the effort to make a baby in the first place.

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Fantastic-Machine-83@reddit

29% of adults** Quite alot different, but still really bad

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Ki1664@reddit

I got my stats off this website https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/obesity-profile-update-may-2023/obesity-profile-short-statistical-commentary-may-2023 “In 2021 to 2022, 63.8% of adults aged 18 years and over in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity.”

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JWK3@reddit

\*overweight or obese, but your point still stands.

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luceifer4@reddit

Hell no

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Head_Manufacturer163@reddit

We are sedentary now by nature and poisoned by our environment. Our food supply is shocking and if it wasn’t for the fact we’re adamant on keeping people alive for as long as possible then it would show in the healthcare statistics. I’m in my mid 30s and past year or two I’ve made a conscious effort to be healthier and it seems to be working, so I can only chalk it down to nurture over nature

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Bug_Parking@reddit

34. I keep fit, kettlebells at home. Could knock off a 5k, do sprints. I am definitely past peak though, When play football, my legs lack a certain explosiveness that they once had.

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rjmythos@reddit

35 and I think I passed my peak at 22 😂 The big indicator for me is roller skating. I played roller derby in my late 20s to early 30s, so that was probably my actual physical peak, but I wasn't much above competently ok, so even then I was already on the decline. Nowadays I feel exhausted just thinking about a game day, nevermind actually doing one. Still love to skate, but it's pootle round a rink or park for an hour or so then done. I'm ok with this. I was never particularly physically outgoing anyway, always preferred things like reading and drawing to sports and hiking anyway.

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Hour-Sir-1276@reddit

Sometimes I (37)feel very down physicallly, knees hurt, I get tired easily, I need more sleep to recover, sex drive is weak compared to before . But, there are some days However, sometimes I don't know what happens but I feel very energetic like in my 20s. I can run 10km with ease, hit the gym for 2 hours and feel great. Last night I had sex for 4 (!) hours, my partner was amazed by my endurance, I felt like teenager, wanted to have sex again and again. Can't explain how it happens, why these ups and downs occur?

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ManicMadMen@reddit

Bitch, I’m 40 and the fittest I have ever been in my life. How fucking retarded are you to think 30 is old? Are you a kid?

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flibbble@reddit

I think it's probably worth breaking this down a little. In terms of maximal physical potential, if you've been well trained during your 20s, you will be past your peak in your 30s in some very anaerobic pursuits (sprinting etc), but not in more rounded physical persuits (say: 5km races and up) or in anything requiring skill and mastery. However, if you're not a 20s athlete then by definition you can reach your (actual, not theoretical) peak at any point once you actually start working out. Some things definately do start to decline in your 30s or 40s - alcohol metabolism and recovery, but it's not debilitating for many if you exercise. However, if you don't excercise then yes, you way well reach your 40s feeling really crap. The good news is that you can recover, but you do need to start to unpick your sedentary lifestyle, and because you've dug that hole over decades you probably need to take a while filling it back in lest you hurt yourself. For most it's not too late, C25k or taking up cycling or dance or something will do it.

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differentiation_@reddit

Personally I do not think so, I'm just 30 and in the best physical and mental shape I've been in for my entire life. Started a new career last year and that's been the biggest contributor, my body is still adjusting so I think my peak is still ahead of me. Fingers crossed anyway!

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DanielWayne86@reddit

I wouldn't say my personal physical peak has passed exactly. I'm 38 and more motivated to be fit and active than ever, and in some ways more active than past me too. However, I injured my ankle playing football recently and I've noticed that for an injury that would have healed within 4-5 weeks in my 20's is taking closer to 6-7+ weeks now...

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wondercaliban@reddit

Apart from niggles in my feet. I am in better shape than 20's and 30's. I weigh less, drink less and eat better

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MasterAnything2055@reddit

Yes. Now people could be fitter in their 50s than they ever were. But, their peak will be when the are around 25. And if they had worked as hard at that age then they’d be at their peak.

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Familiar_Remote_9127@reddit

Early 40s, physical peak passed a long time ago of course. Biologically it's in your late 20s but I refuse to accept that I am finished. I workout regularly and am in much better physical health than most people my age group.

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AnAspidistra@reddit

So much of what people in the UK talk about as inevitable age related aches and pains are actually just the result of the extremely sedentary lifestyle of many people in the UK. So many people drive absolutely everywhere instead of walking, spend a large amount of time lying on the couch, rarely do exercise and don't stretch or do anything which pushes their range of motion. Of course that is going to leave you physically less able than you were.

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SprinterSacre-@reddit

The problem is you have to make extra extra time just to move. I gym and play football 3 times a week but without moving and getting steps in daily it’s still difficult

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Global_Acanthaceae25@reddit

Sitting in an office can absolutely screw you if you don't exercise.

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Training_Chip267@reddit

Absolutely. I'm 44. I've always had a propensity for activity and have lifted weights, run and cycled for years. About 8 years ago, I got a promotion from being a plant operator to a relatively office-based role. For the first few years, it felt great. I no longer felt tired after a day's work. However, I soon, in spite of still hitting the gym and running, developed a sore lower back and aching arms. Last year, I made the biggest career choice of my life so far, and left the business to go back to being a plant operator (even on slightly more money). I'm physically active, on my feet all day long, with lots of stair climbing and clambering around. I sleep better, feel mentally great and much more present for my wife and kids, and my numbers in the gym continue to climb. My advice? Get off your arse. Move. As long as you're eating relatively well, it's probably the single best change you can make in your lifestyle.

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RegularHovercraft@reddit

As an office worker, I second this. I have to execise every day (or near to) to feel vaguely human. Also diet is important.

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chipscheeseandbeans@reddit

Yeah I’m probably lucky - I’m not someone who actively prioritises their health, but I’m accidentally healthy because of other choices I make - I walk or bike everywhere, my diet is mostly plant-based, I love cooking healthy food from scratch and have time to do it, etc etc. Similarly I was accidentally skinny in my 20s because of my, ahem, clubbing lifestyle.

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Less_Ad4651@reddit

Hah! Same. I ate shit and partied loads but managed to have the body of a marathon runner. Bopping for six hours a night three times a week is amazing excercise. Plus you're accidentally doing intermittant fasting and sweating like you're in a sauna. Now I'm in my 30s and a night out is just sat in a pub, I really have to keep on top of what I eat and drink.

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arthur_sleep@reddit

Aaah the pills I used to buy from the bloke who ran the cloakroom at a nightclub kept me in a size 6 for the whole of uni! There ain’t no diet like an amphet diet.

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Redditor_Koeln@reddit

Exactly. People spend their lives sitting down and then wonder why they get ill.

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100pc_recycled_words@reddit

100% - In my 30s, and when I wake up with a back of shoulder twinge )maybe once a month, that fades once I stretch out and het moving a bit) it’s always because I’ve been sat in my office chair without proper movement for a ridiculous length of time the day before.

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SightlessFive@reddit

Also people not drinking enough water, I don't know why people are shocked that their joints feel terrible when they are not even hydrated. Having a good mattress and proper footwear is essential too. My mum complains about her knee hurting all the time but will wear flat no cushioned shoes so all the impact is absorbed in her knee and not her footwear and then wonders why she can never recover.

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KonaTat@reddit

Okay, so I'm 28(F) and I fully lost my physical peak in my early twenties. I spent all my teenage life walking around the southeast (UK), then I went into retail work which abused me physically... backstory: I had slipped on ice and sent a shock into my back, I got yelled at until I came into work after laying in the street because I could not move... 8 to 12 hours on your feet 6days a week with either no break "because the manager forgot" or a 15 minute break that you still worked in, injuries from poor safety practices. So many young people are being physically and mentally abused by their workplaces that it is no wonder so many deal with anxiety, depression, PTSD and injuries. You dare speak up about it otherwise you get called ungrateful, disrespectful and lazy. I now have life long injuries that have no sign of healing because of my slipping on ice and having to work a 10 hour shift straight after, with bad practices like a 10ft ladder I was told to climb the same day and slipped off because it was not stable and they made me carry heavy items up it.

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taomgrown@reddit

I (38m) find it just takes longer to heal as I get older, used to be able to shrug things off with a good night's sleep but now it can take weeks. Did my back in lifting a sofa a few months ago and was hobbling around like an old man for a month..

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CaffeineBob@reddit

I can run further now, in my 50s than I've ever been able to. Lifting wise, tho, my peak was aged 41 while working at a large Iceland store in charge of the frozen dept - closest I've ever come to being toned

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crappygamer0607@reddit

I'm a 39 year old male. Currently I suffer from zero aches and pains. I count myself very fortunate in this regard as alot of people I know do seem to have one issue or another, whether it be the knees, the back etc etc. As far as peaking, I'm currently lifting weights and eating plenty. And whilst I'm not a big human by normal standards (6ft 160lbs) I'm definitely in better shape than my 29 year old self and the 19 year old self???? Well we don't talk about him 😀 So to answer the question. Absolutely not. I've got more in me

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darfaderer@reddit

I’d say I’ve hit my fittest since turning 40 but that’s more because I’ve started working at it. I’ve run my first marathon (and since done another 3), I’ve done a number of notoriously difficult fell and trails runs, I’ve reduced my alcohol intake substantially, I’ve done the coast to coast hike, the west highland way, the Cumbrian way, the Yorkshire 3 peaks twice, the national 3 peaks. I’ve climbed all of the wainwrights, all of the Welsh 3000’s, most of the Hewitts, just under half of the Munro’s. In my 20’s I used to do McDonald chicken nugget marathons 😂

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sputnikconspirator@reddit

I feel like I've found my fitness in my 30's, last year I decided that I didn't want to die before turning 40 from being unfit. I've lost over 50kgs, go to the gym practically every day, I've done Tough Mudder and now looking at some other events to try.. I find myself wanting to push my limits now more than ever and wanting to see what my body is capable of. If you'd asked me this maybe 2 years ago then I'd have been complaining about aches and pains and adult candy (ibuprofen) was my best friend...

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Little_Spread5384@reddit

For me there's too much focus on one type of exercise now. Lots of people I see in the gym only do free weights or cardio. You see a lot of older guys doing free weights and guided machines. I think you need balance. Few guys attend pilates or yoga also. You need that mix of things to keep you flexible and in shape. Think also jobs have become more stationery which won't help long term and a quick session in the gym isn't going to fix the 8 hours if sitting in work.

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Flitdog@reddit

I’m in my mid fourties’ and have avoided major injuries mainly, but I’ve definitely peaked in fitness but I’m not breaking down with minor niggles or things yet. I’m keeping training in the gym/pool 2-4 times a week to keep myself going. For anybody with kids between 1-10 it’s so hard to make time for yourself so don’t beat yourself up. If they have an activity at a leisure centre or something and you can afford it, then sign up as you’re there anyways. Just doing 30-40 minutes might help you feel that little bit better. Just my thoughts though.

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brass427427@reddit

When I was 55 and playing badminton actively, I was beating 90% of the guy +15 years younger than me. Experience helps.

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chibimagaa@reddit

I was in a pretty bad state physically throughout my 30s. Health problems that occurred at 39 made me do a complete 180, and at 41, I’m feeling light years better than I did 2 years ago.

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MisanthropeInLove@reddit

Used to play football almost 12hrs straight, 3x/week. Now I can barely brisk walk 50 meters without dying.

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12345vwxyz@reddit

No. Mid 30s, never been in better shape and currently improving.

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Wigglesworth_the_3rd@reddit

Yes and no. I have felt a decline as I reach 40, but at the same time my time and energy for taking care of my needs has also declined. I suspect what I'm attributing to age is poor nutrition, exercise and sleep combounded over the last 5 years or so. I've taken up open water swimming 3x a week and I'm surprised at my progress (given my 'age'). It has made me feel fitter and more able. I've also improved my diet. I hope with a few years of effort I'll see improvements to how I feel and might even feel more youthful than my mid 30s.

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urgentassistance@reddit

Turning 30. The fittest I've ever been.

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katie-kaboom@reddit

Mid-40s here. Kinda yes, kinda no. On the one hand, I don't have the energy for sustained activity that I used to. In my 20s I was working literally from 6AM to 11PM, five days a week. I'd die from that now. On the other hand, I eat way healthier now than I did when I was younger, I exercise regularly, I strength train, I do different activities. I'm seriously training for my first 5K now - in my 20s I'd only run if something was chasing me. So I'm not sure I've peaked as such, more changed.

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SkullFaceMermaid@reddit

I don’t Drink alcohol at all now it’s not worth it. 17 year old me used to go out and get wasted on a weeknight, get home at 3:30am, roll out of bed at 6:30am and go to college like I’d had the best nights sleep of my life lol.

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Less_Ad4651@reddit

Same, I almost can't believe how little hangovers would affect me. I'd go out on a Friday night and chin ten pints and be home at 3. I'd then get up for an 8 hour shift at my retail job, doing shitty customer service all day. No coffee, no fry-up, no whinging. Just feeling a little dazed. I'd need a support crew following me round with coffee, bacon and Lucozade to even stand a chance of doing that now.

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katie-kaboom@reddit

Now seeing either 3:30 or 6:30 is an affront!

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didyouticklemynuts@reddit

A hangover will damn near put me in the hospital now, takes like 3 days to recover and I used to be a seasoned professional in my 20s. 40s as well

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oac7@reddit

Great to hear it! All the best :)

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Zillywips@reddit

Nah. I'm 39 and still aiming for new running PBs. But lots of my friends who don't exercise are struggling (getting fatter, complaining about aches and pains etc). My running club friends tho are mostly 10+ years older than me and in good shape - I regularly get beaten in races by people in their 60s.

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Less_Ad4651@reddit

Same. I'm 35, BMI of 21 and I'm one of the youngest and slowest in my club. Plenty of folk in their 40s-60s that are fast as fuck and full of vitality and life. Our head coach is 75 and while he doesn't run as much as he used to, he's in great shape, happy and looks about 25 years younger than he is. My running club genuinely fills me with hope and joy about middle and old age, I don't really fear ageing anymore, I fear getting fat and stiff and sedentary.

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ooh_bit_of_bush@reddit

>I regularly get beaten in races by people in their 60s. Yes, I got my 5k PB 2 months ago (I'm 36) with a 10th place finish out of about 300 at Parkrun. The gloss was slightly taken off by 8th and 9th place being in their 50s and 60s respectively. Still, I guess they've had longer to train.

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SunsetinSomerset@reddit

sCHNALLT ES DOCH EINFACH DASS AUSAUER DIE EINZIGE SPORTART IST IN DER MAN MIT DEM ALTER EHER BESSER WIRD. schnallt es doch einfach.

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wurschtradl@reddit

Geh bitte. Tuans inna im UK sub net sonaufpudln. Gibts jo net. Se werns scho schnoin.

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McBeano72@reddit

I've worked from home since covid and my back was getting wrecked from sitting all day, mid-30's. I got a standup desk and this mini treadmill and it's been amazing. I aim for about 10k steps on the thing a day, and I'm probably only sitting for a couple of hours during the work day now. Back pain is getting loads better, energy levels better, feeling more supple and mobile. A sedentary lifestyle is a killer man!

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ThePinkVulvarine@reddit

Facially yeah but physically no. Up til 30 I was overweight and unhappy with my body. At 36 I'm slim and accepting what I have

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UltimateGammer@reddit

In my 30's. Essentially feel like I'm in my early 20's bar one thing. Hangovers are now brutal.

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Peppery_Pete00@reddit

I think sitting/sedentary lifestyle is a lot worse for you than people think. We never evolved to do much sitting and now we do that for most of the day.

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carlovski99@reddit

I probably would be in a general decline anyway (46) , but what's really hit me was several bouts of chronic sciatica, which seems to have mostly gone into decline, followed by some fairly nasty osteoarthritis in my feet/ankles and elsewhere. Stopped me doing most of the sport I used to do. I could do some low impact exercise I guess like swimming or something in the gym, but I really struggle to motivate myself to do it!

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Deputy-Jesus@reddit

I’m 27 so can’t really speak for people in their 30’s / 40’s but I think it’s down to lifestyle more than anything. As people get older, most drive everywhere and spend a lot of time sat at a desk, or on the sofa. So whenever we do something more intense than this, its harder to recover from. Compared to being younger and likely more physically active. If we all moved more as part of our daily lives then I doubt there would be so many problems.

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crooktimber@reddit

I'm mid 40s and stronger and more flexible than I've ever been, alternating kettlebells and yoga. But injuries happen more easily, and recovery is longer. And while you're injured, your other joints and muscles get unbalanced, causing more injuries. I think most people can maintain a sense of vigour, but it comes at a higher cost of paying attention to sleep, nutrition, stretching and avoiding overdoing it, whatever that means.

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Klangey@reddit

This is absolutely it. Nutrients like Vitamin B and D, Zinc, Iron and Magnesium are all essential and as you get older the minor niggles and mechanical problems mount up, if you don’t manage that then you’re stuffed. Plus our lifestyles are tanking testosterone levels, so you also have to manage that.

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winterDom@reddit

I have no idea how to approach vitamins and nutrients because it gets confusing with multi vitamin absorptions rates and how much just gets peed out. For example I'm British Indian and we have much lower vit D food absorption and through sunlight. Makes it hard to dose up correctly And certain minerals need other minerals to avoid imbalance issues. People end up having a lot of calcium or potassium in their system for example It's really hard to know what works on the individual, what's okay, what's excessive and essentially expensive smarties NHS gps don't give you detailed blood work breakdowns so it's hard to know if you're borderline in correct figures or comfortably in the middle. I often wonder if much of the "feeling good" after vitamins and mineral supplementation (besides magnesium) is placebo effect

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Klangey@reddit

The ones I listed are the essentials IMO along with Omega oils , I take a blood test twice a year to make sure everything is fairly balanced, as you are right, the GPs don’t give you enough information and are sporadic with blood tests at best.

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crooktimber@reddit

There are home blood kits like Thriva that let you track your levels over time if you really want to get into chemical optimisation.

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Adventurous_Parfait@reddit

Aren't kettlebells an awesome tool for strength and conditioning? Steeper learning curve than barbell but I've never had a stronger core or general carry over to fitness outside the gym all while staying injury free. You can always throw in some olympic barbell lifts if you still want serious mass.

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crooktimber@reddit

Yup: swings, get-ups, goblet squats and clean & press, all with the same bell a few days a week and you’re pretty well covered for general strength and conditioning.

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OkNuthatch@reddit

39f and thankfully my body feels no different to when I was 20 (it looks very different but that is another story 😂). I feel fit and healthy and without any aches and pains. I attribute this to any time I do get them say like a pain in my shoulder or lower back I massage it - usually myself - I recommend a back nodger, they are a life saver. And I do exercises I find on youtube targeting that specific area. I also did a lot of work on correcting bad posture. Before I had a forward head position and constant aches in my neck. shoulders and upper back. I sorted that out and the pain went almost instantly. Truth be told I don’t even think I’ve reached my peak as yet as I’m consistently working out more than I have ever before and I feel myself getting fitter and stronger.

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portinuk@reddit

I have definitely peaked and I have data to support it: I run as a hobby. I do 5K every other day. I’ve been doing it over the past 15 years and I track my time. When I was 30 I set my record of 22 minutes. I kept running on the ballpark of 22 minutes until I turned 33. Then I started to lose about 10~15 seconds per year. Today I’m 40 and I simply can’t do faster than 25 minutes. Of course, there are some changes as well. I’m about 5kg heavier than I was when I set my record, so I reckon I could reclaim some seconds back if I get rid of this extra weight. But I feel it’s physically impossible for me to do it in 22 minutes again.

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Hardyminardi@reddit

I feel pretty much as I did 20 years ago, better in one or two ways. The most astonishing thing is that I'm 47 in a few months but I still have perfect eyesight, better than most, in fact, and not just for a 46 year old. It's even more surprising when you consider not a single member of my family has reached 25 without needing glasses, and I mean dead or alive. I am the only one. I've always had terrific eyesight, particularly where distance is concerned. Even now I can read text on signs from much further away than any or my non-glasses wearing friends and family, so much so that they often think it's a trick and I've pre-read the signs, or similar.

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Frosty_Technology842@reddit

I'm in my early 50s and without bragging too much, can confidently say I am in my best physical shape ever. Around my late 30s, I had a kind of lightbulb moment about my health and started going to the gym and eating properly. I don't drink alcohol that much anymore (can go a few weeks between drinks) and I gave up smoking almost 20 yrs ago. To answer your question - yes your physical peak can easily slide by, IF you do nothing to correct that. But some people do develop chronic health problems early on so yeah, it's unfortunate but I think, if you're motivated to look after yourself, you have to work around things like a bad back. We all age and there's no miracle cure for ageing but I believe that a good diet and frequent exercise can help offset some of the effects of ageing.

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_weedkiller_@reddit

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis age 21. This means I had I inflammation in most of my joints, horrible fatigue & anaemia. Lots of nasty medicines to knock out my immune system. Age 26 I was told I needed a hip replacement, eventually got that done age 30. I still need the other hip replacing. From age 25 I had severe anorexia, so lost all my muscle mass. Honestly I think I’m currently at my best (36) since being an adult. I started working out just over a year ago. I’m only a little bit underweight. The medicine I’m on generally keeps my disease under control, I have built muscle and strength. By body fat percentage (20%) is lower than when I was healthy weight but not going to gym. Obviously I still have a lot of pain but the gym actually makes it better, not worse. Mixture of endorphins and increased muscle mass meaning my joints are more stable. All those with healthy bodies and no aches and pains - don’t take it for granted! I’ve been in lots of pain and heavy duty pain relief since I was 21. The concept of washing dishes without pain in my hands is alien to me.

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BppnfvbanyOnxre@reddit

I am way fitter now at 63 than I was at 43 for sure. I \*usually\* eat way less, drink less booze and exercise a whole lot more. Lost 35kg between age 57-58 and so far kept it more or less stable. My knees are still a bit shot from accidents and age but a load better than when I was overweight and exercising infrequently.

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robjamez72@reddit

From about 20 onwards it was all downhill until at 45 I felt like an old man. Many things were a struggle but I put it down to my age. Then I got fit. Improved my diet, hit the gym etc. Now at 50 I feel at my best since my teens and it wasn’t actually as hard as I thought it would be.

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SnapDragon0@reddit

Age 32 I started working, I’m now 37, I’m look best i ever have, but, got dodgy shoulder that’s plays up and interferes with things, along with the elbow, my knee totally screwed too, actually blew the ACL, but do t give me problems like my shoulder and elbow

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Bish922@reddit

I think I'm great until I something really intense like play 5 a side (36 Years old) and it fucks me up for about a week.

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Dopaminergic_7@reddit

I was in my peak at 21. I used to train using a principle of no pain no gain. Would used to push myself really hard and would sleep like a bear and recover really well, all until injuries caught up to me. I was having joint pains all over my body, and couldn't get a proper sleep anymore. It all lasted until my 30s and I was in a major depression. Nearly thinking about suicide. Then, I met a really good osteopath who designed a physical conditioning program and changed my mindset. He basically saved me. I even managed to find a high paying career. Now I'm 31 and I feel nearly as strong as in my early 20s. Recovery is good, training smarter now, all really good.

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notoriousnationality@reddit

Yes it could the the beginning of the end of the peak.

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Juk1993@reddit

Are all these people who are aching at 30-40 fat or inactive? That will.make you ache.

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CorporalRage@reddit

36M here, I have some wear and tear mostly from my army days, I have some aching joints sometimes, but I have never been in better shape in my life. People nowadays do not know how to take proper care of themselves, they give in to being tired i.e. "I worked all day, now I am too tired to cook a proper meal". They waste away eating junk in front of a screen. So they drain, because they stop doing the stuff that actually gives you energy. If you are an adult and live an adult life with responsibilities, you will always be tired. So stop using it as an excuse to avoid doing the things that matter.

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ReAnimate_Studios@reddit

I'm in my 30s, I recently completed 30 miles across the Yorkshire 3 peaks carrying 30KG in under 7 hours. Sure some mornings after training for this I was a bit lethargic, tired aching. But it's a case of looking after yourself. Eating right, sleeping right doing appropriate exercise. After the 30 miles, I've taken time off to be with family spend time with my kids etc. But back training again. Just make sure to look after yourself. Both physically, mentally and emotionally.

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Working-Independent8@reddit

I had anorexia during my 20s and have focused on getting stronger and fitter in my thirties. I'm not sure about physical peak, as who knows what I'd have achieved in my 20s had I been healthy. BUT, mentally, I wouldn't have had the capacity to do what I've been able to do in my thirties. I'm 38 and in great shape now. I want to run my first marathon in my 40s.

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Mike_Rotch666@reddit

For me it’s just motivation - I’m 41 and most of my skateboarding friends have just got lazy and couldn’t be bothered to continue where as I still feel excited for it. I travel all round to skate parks try to learn new tricks / film tricks and started to do long distance skating. Skated 100 miles in one day last week. I’ve had an ACL reconstruction, broken wrist and bad hip which I could definitely use as an excuse to not do it but I feel it’s got more to do with your brain than your body. Old brains in young bodies

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jlmb_123@reddit

It may come down to luck and outlook. I was always energetic in my teens/twenties (I did a lot of amateur theatre and walking) but when my metabolism slowed down (at about 27) and I started to chub up, I went to the gym, started running and took up tap dancing. I had a knee operation at 30, went back to running and the gym (but had to drop tap dancing as I'd lost the spring). I've given up running for a few years now but go to the gym to do HIIT 3/4 times a week, hike at least once a fortnight, took up touch rugby only a year ago, play badminton weekly and I'm just training to be a ref in a few codes of rugby. I get sore but don't suffer badly. I'm 38 in a couple of weeks and people keep reminding me I'm not 20 any more but I don't seem to be doing badly and I'm not super fit or particularly trim. I think there's some absolutism to people's outlook on fitness: to either be the best or not bother, and that makes people sit around and not start. If you do something physical every day, your body will respond better to something which could cause you pain.

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chloephobia@reddit

No, I think most people are in denial about how unhealthy their lifestyles are in their 20s, then they reach their 30s or 40s and all the alcohol, processed food and lack of mobility, weight and cardiovascular exercises start to catch up to them and they blame it on their age. You reach your physical peak when you're with a healthy lifestyle.

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galaxycube@reddit

I'm 37, I'm probably the fittest I've ever been. I was achy and had problems developing when I was overweight, less active and didn't eat well. Also I do think there's something with low testosterone going on with men right now tho. I've got very low levels and there are days I just can't be bothered doing anything, it's not depression just a real lack of energy. I'm wondering if it's a bit of an endemic in men in their late 30s and early 40s who just think it's a part of getting older.

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Then-Significance-74@reddit

Im just turned 35 and am happy to say im in my best physical shape that ive ever been in. Ive got a tiny bit of a belly which im working on but im eating healthier, going to the gym regular and long hikes too. Im alot happier looking back at what i was like.

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Wizards_Win@reddit

For men it's mid 30's when they peak, for women early 20's.

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gogginsbulldog1979@reddit

I'm 44 and have the odd twinge here and there after the gym, but nothing bad. I've noticed a slight pain in my hip when I row, so that'll probably develop into something. Once I hit my 60s, I plan to just lie to the doctor about excessive aches and pains so they put me on heavy duty opiates. I'm a pensioner, fuck it, give me the fentanyl.

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E-wan111@reddit

I'm 36, been competing in various sports at various levels since my late teens really. While I know that I will never get as good at a single thing as I would have the ability to in my 20s - I take solace in the fact that I can still start something new and make progress in that thing. With regards to aches and pains, this is a big part of the shift that's happened for me over the past couple of years. I'd like to think I'm generally pretty athletic and capable, but I do have to put in more time for, what I call, body management. So more rest days (need 2 a week or I quickly know about it), regular stretching and movement sessions, sleeping is more important and I've recently discovered the magic of ice baths. Sounds like a lot, but training and being physical is a huge part of my life, and it just makes up part of my regular routine. I don't really think about it, I just do the work that my body tells me I need to do.

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mesamaryk@reddit

I’m 27, average height and low weight, and i notice clearly in the last year or two that my body doesnt have the same smoothness to its movements and speed of recovery that i used to in my childhood and teenage years. However, i am more and more living a low effort, sedentary lifestyle. So all in all i can’t conclude that age is the issue there; i should really be more active

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Temporary_Fennel7479@reddit

I think I peaked around 33 but I feel I could have maintain that for a bit longer if life 😂 would allow the chance. But now I’m getting a bit stiff and twangy, like if I move my head to fast I feel tendons or some shit pulling tight and coughing or any explosive movements also often have me feeling that and also bending over 😂😂😂 still look good and active I guess that’s why they have steroids, I think that’s not to far away into my future

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Grayzo@reddit

46 here and my mind says no, but my back and my knees disagree!

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TakenIsUsernameThis@reddit

I'm in better shape as a 50 year old than I was at 40. I started running when I was 48 and now do about 30k a week. My knees get stiff if I sit too long, and one of my hips always aches a bit, but I have much more energy, and I feel stronger than I used to.

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terryjuicelawson@reddit

Fittest was when I was regularly commuting to work by bike. "Forced" twice daily 6 mile rides which I wanted over so would do as fast as possible. This was 30s. I imagine those running marathons into their 40s probably have always run marathons, and from some I know who do challenges like that later in life they may be able to *finish* (which is great, I bloody can't), but it is not like they smash any times.

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Max_MM7@reddit

I'm 39 and don't feel that different other than more aches in my feet after a super long walk. It all depends on your lifestyle in the past I think and how healthy or unhealthy you were. Friends who didn't take care of themselves in their teens, twenty's and early thirties (drinking loads, eating badly, not exercising etc) are suffering a lot more I've found.

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Tzhorus@reddit

Hahahah

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LostAlphaWolf@reddit

Shit, I’m 21 and sometimes feel much older than I am. I look much younger though, oddly

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Appropriate-Divide64@reddit

Peaking is no excuse to give up. I didn't start lofting until my late 20s. By my mid 39s I'd peaked and become an absolute unit(tm), but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I switched to kickboxing and despite some injuries and a hip operation I'm doing alright and approaching black bel training.

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UnfeteredOne@reddit

I have always felt like im at peak, even in my 40s, an active life style does wonders. I had a heart attack at 49 and I've felt tired and old since then. I'm 51 now and feel exhausted all the time

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AdhesivenessDry6983@reddit

No, I got lazy in my 20s so I'll be peaking at 34 and beyond

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Kickkickkarl@reddit

I am 42. I had aches and pains and all over stiffness so just started yoga and now the aches and pains have disappeared.

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mynamesnotchom@reddit

No, I'm 30 and very unfit, getting back into training at the moment. I'm much less fir than I was but that doesn't mean my peak is gone. My brother in law is 47 and in the best shape of his life. Perhaps if I was fit for the entire last decade I'd feel different but I know I can achieve a much greater level of fitness than before, perhaps now I just need to eat and sleep more carefully than I did at 19 but that's a given. It being easier then, doesn't mean better, just easier. I know I could build greater strength and size compared so why would I consider my prime passed?

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Hookton@reddit

I'm mid-30s and completely fucked, but I've fair brutalised my body over the years.

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Hitching-galaxy@reddit

I’m 43 and am more fit than I ever have been, possibly even as a teenager. 3-5 x 5k runs a week 2x 30-45min spin a week 2 x 30 min weights a week 2 x 60 min martial arts a week Body fat now 16.8% (and falling), good weight and I feel great. So - in my 30’s, I’d have said I’d have peaked and it is all down hill. Now - definitely not. Just start stretching, monitoring what you are eating and increase activity.

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Twaddlefish_@reddit

I was a fat knacker in my 20s and early 30s. I started going to the gym, hiking, climbing, and eat properly. Lost 4 1/2 stone and despite a wobble during Covid I'm now the weight I was when I was 22 and definitely fitter than I've ever been. Being in bands, you need to take care of yourself. Cardio is so important and an unbelievable amount of musicians don't keep it up. I've just joined a band as a singer and I need to maintain that to deliver. So no, my peak hasn't passed - but I think it's easier to maintain being in shape in your 20s.

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PezMan123@reddit

30 here. Defo the fittest/strongest I've ever been. I feel like action man 🤣

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LisaNeedsBraces____@reddit

I’m 33 and the fittest I’ve ever been Takes effort, time and consistency but it’s really worth it to me to feel good as much as I can. Currently mid marathon training block for the second time this year and feeling great

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antbates1991@reddit

Some people have poor lifestyles and that's it. I used to get horrific migraines that would, no joke, completely paralyse me. I couldn't even get out of bed or move. I stopped having late nights like going to bed at 23:30 and getting up at 06:00. I occasionally get a migraine but it's much more manageable now. Diet is another big thing. I used to eat shit because I didn't put any weight on, so it didn't matter. I always felt lethargic and napped a lot. Now I use Hello Fresh and eat a balanced diet. No tiredness at all. I still drink occasionally, I had a pint last night for example but I never drink to excess anymore. I also stay active and have therapy once a month. I feel totally normal, healthier at 31 than I felt at 21.

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CurveTurbulent6646@reddit

Everyone passes their physical peak after age \~25. The problem is more that people don't take care of themselves. So if you were fat in your early 20's and fit in your 30's that great, but you have had your peak.

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AlligatorHater22@reddit

I’m 40 next year, I lost my 20’s to a severe spinal injury so I’m now in pretty good shape but I intend to be in ‘My’ physical peak in my 40’s! It’s up to us to set what our peak is. Especially when I had no choice in the matter.

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Impossible-Ad9530@reddit

I’m 42 and fittest I’ve ever been. Just last week I broke my 5k record which I set myself when I was in my mid 20s. Back in my 20s I smoked occasionally and drank far too much alcohol - plus didn’t really have much focus on diet. In my 40’s I’m loving being alcohol free and replacing any hungover/drinking time with outdoor pursuits. Plus I’m extremely conscious now health wise having a young kid to look after. I loved the parties and drinking in my 20’s but enjoying my 40s even more.

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oglop121@reddit

what time was the 5k then?!

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Impossible-Ad9530@reddit

21mins. Not fast by many people’s standards but it’s the fastest my legs will take me.

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oglop121@reddit

That's really good tbh. Even in my "prime" I never got that fast

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whosenomansisthis@reddit

Beautiful stuff

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oily76@reddit

Unless you were maximising your potential in your 20's you can probably get fitter and stronger in your 40's.

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louwatking@reddit

I’m 41 and I now make noises getting up and down 😩

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Suitable-Length4255@reddit

I’m always sort of shocked on Reddit by how many people in their 30s seem to have medical issues. That doesn’t reflect my day to day life experience at all. You all act like you’re in your 60s.

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LPL09@reddit

Don't forget it's Reddit tbf, it's a very skewed audience, I doubt there are many elite athletes scrolling through crazyfuckingvideos and worldpolitics every day as there are overweight academics

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Incubus85@reddit

Only cause theres hardly any elite ethletes. They definitely still do it lol

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yigyackyalls@reddit

>academics Probably a bit generous in that regard too

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Ok-Train5382@reddit

I don’t even think it’s overweight. I think it’s under muscled. I know plenty of older overweight blokes and the ones who have always lifted weights and had active lives are still fine, the ones who don’t exercise are the ones who are struggling.

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themcnoisy@reddit

It was only recently that elite footballers with elite medical care have been regularly playing until they're 40. Most were finished in their early 30s. The peak was often considered 26-32 years of age back in the 90s. For most of us, we don't have elite physios and medical care. Our peaks are at 26-32, and then it goes downhill, in some cases, fast. Combined with pollution, lack of exercise, sedatory work, and an over reliance on shit food, it's not surprising a large percentage of people are way past their use by date. I'm not surprised at all.

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Watsis_name@reddit

There's a pretty big difference between being able to play a football match at Premier league intensity for 100 minutes at 40 and complaining of constant aches and pains at 40. I guarantee those former professional footballers from the lower leagues who didn't have physios and dietitians at beck and call through their career are all much fitter at 40 than the average 40 year old.

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Watsis_name@reddit

You'd be surprised by how many people are born with medical issues tbf.

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karennotkaren1891@reddit

I know, 32 here with 2 auto immune conditions and several chronic health conditions. I'm doing alright, but yes I'm in agony.

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Disastrous_Ad_754@reddit

I work out, and aged 20 to 30 I felt like I could outrun trains and punch through walls. I'm 39 now and still strong, but it's more about being able to keep up than stay in front. Also everything takes longer to heal.

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Incubus85@reddit

I ache more now. However, I'm also more muscled than I used to be in my 20s. That takes more upkeep. I'm also heavier. I also dont jump about regularly. I'm also fatter... if i had my 20s build I might feel younger? Despite this I'm in reasonable shape if we ignore the torn rotator cuff, herniated cervical discs, lubar disc... and I may have blown another in the thoracic spine a couple days ago. Probably due to using my body too much. I do lift weights 4 times a week and do cardio a few times a week. I'm late 30s. I am not much weaker now than my peak but I actually need recovery time these days. I cant just bang through and stall progress while never being sore.. the body now tells me when its it's enough. It never used to. I perform better athletically than the vast majority of late 30 year olds I see. But I get the receipts the next day when I really push it. Did a 10 mile hike around the peaks with a heavy bag on in good time no problem. Did a 10k walk with the kids the next day absolutely no problem. Had to alt carry the kids too... I think anyone in their 30s or 40s should be able to do that with relative ease. If not you need to sort some things out. Its a shame to grow old without seeing what your body is capable of.... so says some old Greek dude who was carved out of marble.

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pritsey@reddit

I'm mid to late 40's. I run and cycle quite a lot, but got a PB in a half mara this year (1:35), so I'd say I haven't peaked just yet... I do think regular exercise is a must though - I see an awful lot of people that look like they get out of breath going upstairs.

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Bitter-Inflation5843@reddit

Your body will have some wear and tear, you'll recover more slowly and won't be as resilient. But all in all I'm in excellent shape. Better than when I was 20.

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Lopsided_Teaching_52@reddit

As I'm in my 50s I can observe that your energy goes down in stages. I'd say the stage when I realised I couldn't do high intensity exercise was when I hit 46.

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GoreBurnelli8105@reddit

My entire CrossFit class is nearing 40 (or older!) but have no issues coming in everyday and putting in hard work and getting fitter.

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laurentffn@reddit

36 and I've definitely peaked. I'm very tall, so my knees and back are struggling now. And then just from a health point of view I have some quite serious issues that weren't there in my 20s. But I'm not struggling to get out of bed or anything, just things like getting off the floor when I've been playing with my kids hurts my knees or aching back when I've been stood up for hours. Previously I worked in bars and could stand up for 12+ hours without a problem, now it's 4 or 5 hours and my back is starting to ache.

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SkullFaceMermaid@reddit

5 years ago, when I was about to turn 40, everyone who was already over 40 told me it’d all be downhill from here, & once you hit 40 everything hurts and you don’t have the energy you used to have and get tired all the time. I’m 45 now and honestly don’t feel any different than when I was in my early 20’s. I walk 5-6 miles per day with my dog and don’t find it a challenge. The only difference I find is that alcohol hits me harder, the hangovers are brutal and last for days and to me it’s not worth it. I just don’t drink anymore. The only other thunder I’d maybe say is I can’t handle spicy food the way I used to. Have always had a high spice tolerance, and can still eat very spicy food, but I get terrible heartburn afterwards

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beesontheoffbeat@reddit

Lifting weights, getting consistent 7-8 hours of sleep, avoiding a high processed diet, and upgrading your mattress will make you feel 10 years younger. It sounds like something people "just say" but it really, really works. Also, treating yourself to a good massage every now and then.

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FugueItalienne@reddit

I'm 35. There are a few things that suggest I'm not as resilient as I was but I think I've still got plenty of fire in the engine and if I put my mind to it I could be fitter than ever

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Adept-Passenger605@reddit

Im 33yo, Im in a very good shape and dont have any aches or others, but... I dont get as hard anymore as I was in my 20s and god I miss that.

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superkinks@reddit

I wonder if there’s a correlation between the age, the aches and having children. My back hurt horribly when I was rocking my 1 year old to sleep every single night then bending over to put her into her cot. Funnily enough, now the side has come off, my back is absolutely fine.

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Additional-Reaction3@reddit

I’m 63 and full of beans

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SnazzyPanic@reddit

I past my peak at like 15

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Intanetwaifuu@reddit

YESSSSS *cough*

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Infinite_Ad4251@reddit

40 in a month, I'm fitter than I was at 30, but not as fit as I was at 20

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Adventurous_Bid631@reddit

Sorted my diet and exercised regularly in late 20’s and felt great. Had kids starting at 36 and this really affected my physical (and probably mental) health. Neither child slept until they were 18-24 months and I was exhausted beyond exhausted! When my second was 10 months old I went back to work and my colleagues kept saying I looked thin. I weight myself and was 49kg. That really shocked me I’ve never been that light. Was still breastfeeding and just starving all the time despite eating all the time. Youngest is now 2.5 and both are sleeping and finally recovering! Doing couch to 5k, have gained weight and I’m feeling much better.

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DegenerateWins@reddit

The average age of a gold medal in the olympics is 26/27. The average age of a premier league footballer is 25. In your mid 30s your max physical peak has passed, for sure. Certain individuals may have been unfit in their 20s and a chad in their 40s and hitting their peak then, but their 20s would have been better if they tried as hard. Of course people can win the olympics past 30, but most are under.

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Doctor_of_Puppets@reddit

You aren’t quite correct. Aerobic capacity can peak in the early 40s, muscle mass of stimulated doesn’t tend to decrease until after 50. Type 2 muscle fibres do atrophy from late 20s so you’ll compromise speed (though not necessarily strength) from that age on. Most athletes’ bodies’ fail them due to miles on the clock, not physiological degradation in their 30s.

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Cadejo123@reddit

It olso depends in the sport

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Cadejo123@reddit

I'm olmost in my 30 when I was young I was fat and slow my cardio was shit know I'm getting stronger than ever and fiter so no

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Tricky_Moose_1078@reddit

38 and find things ache in the morning.

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GlassGuiser@reddit

Get to the gym and eat better. I'm 29 and still on the rise.

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northernbloke@reddit

It relative to what you consider your peak. If you've spent the last 30years sat on your arse doing nothing you could train and condition your body to reach a new peak fitness. My neighbour is 62 and a long distance runner. He may have surpassed his peak fitness, but at his current level he's leagues ahead of me. We chat about this and he reckons with the right diet and training he could have me (mid forties and a little over weight) long distance running in as little as 12 months.

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Horrorbmoviepunk@reddit

Yes I'm broken and a wreck. Ugly now as well.

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MengTheMerciless@reddit

I am 44. I am turning old. I just left work because I cannot manage going up and down hills. I know I will soon die.

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Horrorbmoviepunk@reddit

51 and same

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THE-TRUTH-444444444@reddit

Don't forget that you smell as well.

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Horrorbmoviepunk@reddit

I gave up bathing due to water prices. Just old and fked now.

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thegiantpeach@reddit

Honestly as others have said it’s mostly people not taking care of themselves. I’ve been very active since my late teens. I’ve had weight fluctuations through periods of hardship but now in my mid 30s I’d say I’m not as fast as I was in my 20s and I haven’t got the same recovery speed but that’s about it.

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ImmediateMachine3928@reddit

I'm 30 and I feel better than I ever have. People generally think I'm about 20. I don't really think I've aged at all since my late teens. I take care of my health and I'm very active.

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Icy_Imagination7447@reddit

I suspect most your friends work jobs they aren't happy with and are stuck in a routine. This will demolish any energy and motivation to do anything so they become unhealthy. There was a 60 year old instructor at my gym who would lead the most grueling workouts all day at least 5 days a week. Fitness is a state of mind more than an age thing

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LengthinessAgitated9@reddit

I was running half marathons in my 40s and I think I appreciated my body and keeping fit more……. 54 now and I still keep fit but the motivation definitely feels like it’s peaked and I have to accept nature is against me

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Sea-Cryptographer143@reddit

I am in my 30s and I run 4 times per week, highly active and don’t feel tired, only thing I can’t do is sleepless nights, I need 8hrs sleep to function 🤣

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zinonymous001@reddit

My peak physical was age 39. Blew out a disc, and even with surgery, have not been the same. Kind of a cascade effect.

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sangreblue@reddit

No way. I am a 46 year old marathon runner.

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Sam-101-@reddit

I guess it depends what your lifestyle was growing up. Were you partying, getting drunk, smoking and just basically aggravating or triggering early ageing? That's probably what it is tbh to face those symptoms so early on.

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Kiteslut@reddit

Turned 40 few months ago, lost about 30kg since last winter, haven felt better in years. Can do things that were beyond my reach for a very long time. Pushing myself with my training routine and practice and results are amazing. I am definitely heading somewhere where I have not been yet.

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Otherwise_Act2441@reddit

It's the lifestyle. Desk jobs are awful and destroy your physical health. Humans are not meant to sit 9+ hours a day.

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hoochfarmer@reddit

Bro I’m 20 and feel like I physically peaked when I was 12. So if you still feel like you have something in ya thats great and I take my hat off to ya

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Dense_Ad7115@reddit

I was very fit in my early 20s, then gained a lot of weight _very_ quickly. I've been able to shed like 15% of it, but just can't get rid of the rest of it 😞 so technically yes my physical peak has passed and I'm much more tired/less motivated at 33. If I could shift the pounds I think I wouldn't feel too different from when I was 23, apart from a few injuries I've picked up along the way.

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T1NiEr@reddit

I'm half a year away from being 50years old. I exercise daily in some form or other. My strength is still increasing. I would say my endurance isn't as good but it's due to me trying to prevent excessive wear on my joints. My flexibility is of course not as it was in my teens, but I do regular stretching and some simple yoga moves to help with flexibility and mobility. My endurance peaked in my early 40s, when I started doing endurance running from my early 30s. Managed to finish 5 ultramarathons, each one faster than the last. Had to stop due to excessive damage to my Achilles tendons from so much running. Now I have gone a full circle from weight lifting in my teens and back again in my 40s.

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LooselyBasedOnGod@reddit

Early 40s here and I’m the strongest and fittest I’ve been thanks to conjugate style lifting and bjj. I’m not without aches and pains but it comes with the territory

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Ok-Train5382@reddit

Westside style?

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LooselyBasedOnGod@reddit

Yes mate, a modified version of it at least.

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ejmcdonald2092@reddit

31 here, commercial fisherman working trawlers for 15 years. My stamina is still improving, I don’t feel like my prime has been reached yet although I do suffer with very mild pains here and there, awkward sleeping conditions and heavy lifting on a moving platform has contributed to that I believe it is nothing major and I don’t take meds nor in enough pain to complain about it.

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11015h4d0wR34lm@reddit

Yeah mine has past. It has not helped when my line of work requires me to sit down 9-10 hrs a day. It is very true what they say "move it or lose it". Gotta keep those joints moving or they will cease up and make it much harder and painful to get around, I know first hand.

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floydie1962@reddit

In my 20s, I was extremely fit and physically strong. I trained a lot and did physical exercise. My 30s, not so much. There were too many aches and pains and back problems. My 40s, I regained my love of training and got fit again. In my 50s, I looked better than in my 30s. Everything ached, though, and I had a few ops for injuries I wouldn't have in my 30s. In my 60s in knackered. Everything hurts, I get infections and injuries, aches, and pains from the most stupid of things. Arthritis is creeping up my fingers. It's all downhill here

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Burzyyy@reddit

People on Reddit think they are past it as soon as they hit 30!! Recovery is definitely longer as you get older and the risk of injury higher. However, you just need to adapt your training. Personally, I am 38 and have been into fitness the majority of my adult life. I would say with weights I am in more maintenance mode now. But I have recently taken up long distance running. And I can tell you I definitely haven't peaked and I am a stronger runner now than I was in my 20's.

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LongFundamental@reddit

I'm in my mid thirties and my body feels as good as it did when I was in my early 20s, if not better. No aches, no pains, no stiffness, no reduction in physical capacity in any sense. Can still do a sub 17 min 5k and deadlift 2.5x my body weight. I put it all down to simple living, eating well, prioritising sleep and just staying as active as I can. I do often have people tell me they think I'm in my early 20s too! So must be doing something right.

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Pale_Height_1251@reddit

I peaked at about 40, working out harder than ever. Injury has set me back, but I'll get back there. If you have your overall health, there is no reason you can't be in great shape at 40 and definitely at 30.

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Bonfire_Ascetic@reddit

I'm probably in the best shape of my life right now, but still have a lot more to do. I was obese as a child and teenager, only since I moved away from my parents did I make progress on losing fat. The most difficult thing, I think, is trying to break out of the poor food relationship you have had forced upon you during poorly parented formative years. I'm no longer obese, and I'm constantly vigilant about calories and exercise. I don't drive and walk everywhere that I can. Prefer to walk than take public transport when feasible. I have an incredibly sedentary job so even doing so it's only breaking even at best. No chronic aches or pains so far though. We're just a nation of chunkers, either fat or muscled up with no cardio capacity. May be able to lift 200kg but are tuckered out after running for 10 minutes.

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NoHat2957@reddit

Was never that sporty in my younger years, but kept in generally good shape. My own physical peak (just cycling to work, doing some swimming and the odd bit of weekend casual sport) hit about 42.

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younevershouldnt@reddit

The trick is to get less unhealthy as you age, then you're always peaking 😉

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Frank_Story@reddit

Yes. This 👆

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Frank_Story@reddit

I’ve always eaten carefully and taken exercise of some sort and have only recently started to feel a slight loss of energy. No aches and pains. (63f) Look after yourselves- it’s worth it.

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nimrodella@reddit

I got herniated discs when I was 26, one ripped apart when I was 29, paralized my foot, was hospitalized, bedridden, lived with very bad chronic pain for 2 years. So yeah my physical peaks has long passed :( However my health awareness grew a 100 fold since then (39F), even with the chromic pain I think I am much healthier than my 20yo self (quit smoking, rarely drink, sleep 7-8 hours, meditate regularly etc.)

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Fishmongerel@reddit

Early forties, trained most days since I was twenty. No significant injuries or soreness. I’d say I peaked late 30’s. Still super fit, but slightly harder to recover after tougher sessions. Controlling diet and limiting alcohol makes it a much easier. To that end I never feel as good as when I’m training heavy with weights, so I’ll continue training as long as I can.

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Essie_87@reddit

From my own experience yes. I’ve worked physical jobs from 16 until now (I’m 36) and it has gotten progressively harder. I suffer with insomnia & constant aching muscles & if I don’t go to the gym I become depressed and dare I say if fat. My photographs show my age progression perfectly. I’m fit because I do weights, lift heavy things at work, walk for miles, run etc, but at my age my body doesn’t keep up anymore, but also I never had to do that through my 20’s. I don’t drink (I used to but again recovery is a beast no one cares for), I had children and that took it’s toll on my back My biggest one are my feet. I have to wear comfy shoes that widen at the front. I ‘never ever’ had that problem in my 20’s my pair of Reebok classics at 18 lasted nearly 10 years of abuse before I got rid of them, but I bought some for Christmas and had to throw them out immediately because my feet destroyed them and they just rub. I’m 5ft so people mistake think I’m much much younger all the time but I know I’m not at all. Life has taken it’s toll for sure.

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iluvopies@reddit

fuckin oath ! all my life trim taut & terrific no matter what or how much I ate or how little physical activity I did. Heading into my late 40's to 50 I'm turning into fat cunt. Weight gain but its fat ! & its so hard trying to lose that weight. No matter how little I eat or how much I exercise. Pisses me off !

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Missy_Who@reddit

I’m in my mid 30s. I used to be tired and achy all the time. I think I was too sedentary and had a range of bad lifestyle habits. Now I’ve made changes I feel better than I did in my mid-20’s. I limit screen time now, drink more water, get outside and exercise often, eat more fresh food, limit my alcohol, changed to a less stressful job, gotten better at managing my finances… so many things. Since the overhaul I just feel so much better. Wish I’d done it years ago.

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Cuppa_Miki@reddit

Absolutely not. I'm 33 and do weekly pilates and cardio gym sessions. I've never been fitter, my body feels so light. I never exercised in my 20s but now I'm older my body needs it. I ran a 5k no trouble a few weeks back. I have a dodgy hip, but stretching it and strengthening my muscles supports it and it gives me no trouble now. So my physical peak was probably in my 20s, but since I only just started taking care of myself I'm in better condition now.

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j56_56j@reddit

Nope I’m doing better now in my 40s with skating then I did as a teen. Apart from cold I have atm I’ve been feeling great.

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Yikidee@reddit

I am 43 and feeling better than I have since I was a teenager. Will I get as fit as I could have in my 20's and 30's? Probably not. Will I be in the best shape of my life in a year or so? Most likely and that will set me up to a great 50's and beyond.

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missdolly23@reddit

Nope. 40’s it’s real. I remember hitting 40 and bang, i ached more. But I am still fit and active. Climb, MTB, big hikes and walks. Mostly it’s sleep as I’m getting older and if I don’t get enough rest then I am feeling worse. The body is getting old but you can change things up to accommodate it. Pilates or yoga added in to help your posture, try biking instead of running for your joints. Eat better and not so late at night. Warm up and stretch before and after exercise. All these things will help. But I was peak fitness in my 40’s I think but mostly because life allowed me to prioritise it more whereas in my 20’s and 30’s it was family and lots of wine. Now it’s very much less alcohol and more walks in the mornings with a podcast.

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RRW2020@reddit

I’m in my 40s. Definitely my buddy has gone downhill, especially compared to 20s.

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swirlypepper@reddit

The older you get, the difference in lifestyle amongst peers leads to a much much bigger range of physical health and ability. My casual bad habits caught up to me hard by my late twenties so now I'm having to work on my health but it's showing results. I'm 36 and started jogging this year, walked the length of Hadrian's Wall in a week, and am feeling really good in myself. I can't say I'm at my peak now as I've always been active, but I don't feel like I've lost any energy or ability and haven't got any chronic pains. After 35 your body will naturally start to lose bone density faster than it grows it *unless* you give it enough nutrition (calcium, vit d) and weight bearing exercise to encourage growth. After 30 you lost 3-8% muscle mass for each further decade of life *unless* you get the protein and exercise to combat this. You lose flexibility from 30-40 *unless* you regularly work on range of motion. People in their 90s can exercise and have demonstrable improvements in the above parameters. There's no reason someone in their 30s/40s can't pull their health back if struggling. It's so worth doing - your body was made to move, dopamine feels great, aches and pains can be addressed.

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Jitsu_apocalypse@reddit

Goes downhill rapidly at a certain stage in your individual life, unless you take the necessary precautions. Exercise, diet, sleep, mood. Mine was mid 30s and as someone who didn’t worry about any of the four mentioned precautions the drop was severe, rapid and noticeable. I’ve turned it around somewhat thanks to lifestyle changes and TRT

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Longjumping-Basil-74@reddit

There are different types of being tired and achy - because you overtrained, trained incorrectly and got injured, experienced some wear/tear stuff, need to take some chondroitin&glucosamine or other supplements, or because you are getting old. The latter is noticeable and becomes a problem when performing regular daily activities, and usually happens first to people who don’t regularly exercise or heavily rely on the aerobic/cardio exercise. It’s good for the heart, but it doesn’t build power and strength, it trains your body to use the oxygen efficiently. Again, good for the heart, but you need power and muscle strength for high life quality when getting older - it helps to avoid falls, gives more ability to hold your falling apart body together ffs. 😒 So yes and no, there are many systems that can fail, and some are results of the repeated stressors (for example, if you run incorrectly, and it keeps a little bit injuring your ankles, it will get worse with age, because you keep doing it for longer time; but the problem is not the age itself, but the amount of time you had to repeatedly to fuck something up) Not drinking because of meds - is a perfect excuse, which I also use a lot. Not because I take meds, but because I can’t be bothered to deal with hangovers and dehydration, I am done with this shit and like to feel nice, not miserable. And I also got wise enough to avoid facing peer pressure and I just lie as a little motherfucker instead. In short - yes, people are falling apart but it’s not the age, it’s the lifestyle. The best thing you can do is to do power and strength training consistently and avoid getting super overweight and heavily addicted to drugs. But yeah. However I have a theory that younger people are feeling exactly the same but are too horny to notice.

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KAXJ@reddit

Knees.

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Skydome12@reddit

in terms of testostezone and how easy it is put on muscle and improve cardio health? Yes. In terms of still been able to improve physqiue and cardio health? No. I'm better more muscular now than i ever was and only improving month on month and im edging towards mid 30s. Just do the best you can to maximise the results, supplements good eating no drinking or smoking load up on carbs and water before a lift and you're good to go.

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Ok-Manufacturer2475@reddit

I m in my 30s. I play tennis 3-4 times a week after work and go gym once or twice. My dad is 64 and he regularly beats men in tennis in their 20s... So yeah... Sure there is a physical peak for professional athletes.. difference is not huge for the average dude

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EvilMonk20@reddit

TLDR: My story is probably addiction related more so than age. Long version: In my 20s I got away with murder. I ate anything, drank energy drinks, alcohol on weekends... always a little tubby being approximately 100kg (220lbs) and 183cm (6"0) but it didn't really ever look that bad (I never looked obese, just a belly) Severe back injury into my mid 20s (two moderate-severe prolapsed discs) meant that I had 9 months in bed while waiting for an "elective" surgery, until my insurance finally bit the bullet and allowed me to go in. Post-op was miraculous, as soon as I woke, I could stand, go to the toilet, and sit back down. With the new lease on life, I enjoyed myself again. This might sound ungrateful, but after a year in bed, pizza, red wine and chocolate were just heaven to return to and enjoy. I've always had an obsessive personality, I really enjoy things and usually get kind of addicted, or at least just do way too much (binge it) If I have a pizza, it's a large or family and I will eat the whole thing before the end of the night. If I open a bottle of red wine, what a waste if I don't finish it. etc. etc. 10 years later post-op, I let eating/drinking/binging get so out of hand that I hit 169kg (372lbs) I hurt my back again (35y) and this time surgery was out of the question. (I did it at home, no insurance and don't have stockpiles of money, also with so many associated risks having surgery for a previous area + someone of my size, it was simply out of the question) For some reason, my body is immune to medication via tablets/oral form. I've taken valium/opiates/paracetamol/codeine and a plethora of others to try and address pain, none have ever worked. So I decided to fight, 169kg in crippling pain, thought, nah f#@\^ it, I'll give it a go. So, I've started my new diet (about 16weeks in) and I am making progress to finally looking after myself. No booze, no carbs, no smoking, no binge eating etc. I've stopped looking at those things as a reward or enjoyment that "I deserve". They are a poison to my body and I simply can't do them anymore. I may have done irreversible damage, the back is still bad and my body is still morbidly obese, but I'm going to keep trying. I'm doing a ketogenic diet, have lost 28kg (61lbs) in these 16 weeks. My blood test results showed that not only are all my blood levels in acceptable ranges, but my liver function has returned to normal working order. I won't ever stop, I'm using my addictive brain for good instead of bad. This post of mine is probably more about addiction than age itself. But the takeaway is that an early 20s severely addicted male could get through unscathed, but the moment I got a little older, injury/obesity caught up with me and I was punished. My health now is still very poor, mentally and physically I struggle each and every day. There is no easy way to get through, you just have to keep working towards it, and find things in your life that make the "fight" worth it. Don't compare yourself to others, compare yourself to your yesterday you and ask yourself "What could I be doing to make a better, happier, healthier version of myself?" And when you do that, you'll start to make good decisions. For anyone who got this far, I apologise lol. :)

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stankdonkey@reddit

I don’t think it’s dramatics (largely) I think there are basically 3 categories of these aches and pains in our 30s/40s category 1 is comedy. Overplaying the pops and aches because it’s kinda funny. I think this is the largest group. Category 2 is the wildly out of shape. Things hurt because they don’t move enough so moving in general is foreign to their bodies cause all sorts of mayhem, inflammation, soreness, and exposing weaknesses in directly supporting muscular skeletal tissue like the quads and lower back. Category 3 (which I belong in) is probably the smallest category. These are the folks that it’s not the years, it’s the miles. People like firemen/plumbers/marathon runners/military who are in fairly good to exceptional shape but have a lot of wear and tear. I can promise you that it’s not a lack of use that cause my joints to hurt and I sure as shit don’t think it’s funny, but damn. I’m in my mid 30s but I’ve put my body through some terrible physical shit regularly over the years.

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BonkersMoongirl@reddit

70 years old and zero pain, flexible, no meds, fit and feel great. Off for my sprint session soon. I have mostly done some sort of workout all my adult life. I cook my meals from scratch. It’s true about the alcohol though. Doesn’t stop me trying sometimes but I am wiped out the next day.

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caveatemptor18@reddit

I last ran a mile in six minutes eons ago.

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Math-Hatter@reddit

38. Easily YES! Pandemic didn’t help, but i definitely peaked 28-32.

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RideMelburn@reddit

Sedentary lifestyles. I’ve always been fit from cycling . Lately I got back into the gym lifting weights again after 12 years or so. I am now physical strong again and my aches and pains have gone away. I feel as fit or fitter than I’ve ever been. I’ve put on 6kg of muscle and am leaner so the only thing suffering now is my power to weight ratio on the bike as well as my cycling endurance.

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PoeMe_a_Stiff_One@reddit

43 F, have some aches and pains, honestly I’m in better shape health than I was at 25, BUT, my stress is lower thanks to- kids being older and somewhat responsible for their own lives (15F, 17M and 22F), better income, less bills, inability to eat ALL the junk food (because 43), realization of what matters and what doesn’t (because life and experience in good and bad) and ditching slime ball partners and friends who were energy vampires. So, my cleavage may have looked better at 25 but everything else feels better at 43.

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Boatster_McBoat@reddit

Did some masters running in my later 30s, there were absolute jets out there in their 70s. I could beat them over 800m but over 3k plus they had me cold. The view was that your absolutely athletic potential peaks somewhere between mid20s and mid30s (endurance is different to sprint etc) but, and this is important, except for elite athletes, your potential curve is massively above your actual performance. So with the right regime people who were not elite as 20 somethings can hit their absolute peak in their 40s or beyond

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nickwebha@reddit

40 here. I am not sure I ever did hit my peak, still waiting.

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AussieGT@reddit

I was the fittest I’ve ever been at 40, but that was largely due to life choices to get active I’m my late 30’s, gym, mountain biking, adventure races etc. I then had a couple of injuries, compressed disc and then a broken ACL with surgery to reconstruct it. I have definitely passed my peak but this has also been coupled with a change in attitude towards risk, I feel fit enough doing less at 47, but def peaked around 40.

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petrastales@reddit

u/FlimsyEnthusiasm8153, It’s down to each individual and how they chose to live their lives in their twenties, their genetics, the injuries they may have sustained either by accident, negligence, or through their profession/line of work and the choices they are making now. However, for the majority of the population, irrespective of the exceptions you may hear about in this thread, there is generally a decline in health due to the fact that … - an estimated [64 percent](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/britain_diet) of British adults are now overweight, having a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more. This includes around 28 percent who are obese (with a BMI of 30 or more). - approximately [28 per cent](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/10825449/Britains-binge-drinking-levels-are-among-the-highest-in-the-world.html) of those aged 15 and over binge drink regularly - [37](https://www.kantar.com/uki/inspiration/sport-leisure/37-per-cent-of-people-in-the-uk-never-exercise-or-play-sport/)% of people in the UK never exercise or play sport 😬

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LevHerceg@reddit

No. On the contrary.

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FaceFirst23@reddit

Depends on a lot of factors; genetics, diet, lifestyle, etc. I’m 41 and I’ve been active all my life. Played basketball for 30 years (not high level, but competitive) and I still play and coach. My physical degradation is a result of that, ie some back pain and Achilles tendinitis. But I’m still able to sprint and leap comfortable, my strength has definitely increased since my 30’s, and as long as I train consistently my cardio vascular fitness continues to improve (my resting heart rate is 54 currently). My diet has always been my biggest downfall, but I’ve taken steps to improve that in a big way the last few years. If I do get health problems in future, it’ll probably be because of my poor diet for many years. The biggest challenge I find as I get older is recovery time. If I play two hours of basketball one evening, I’ll be wiped out for at least two days haha.

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Significant-Math6799@reddit

I didn't used to feel any real difference at all until this year. In fact I was regularly stating "I'm 40/41...!"etc partly to remind myself I was and am not as young as I used to be, I never felt any difference between being 25 and 25 or even 41. But this year hit me like a brick. I don't know if my age is the reason I've had so many symptoms appear but I wonder if my body isn't fighting them the way it used to because I'm older. I don't seem to get answers from scans and tests and feel like I've been written off as being old. I'm 42. I feel like it's a struggle to walk fast, I now gain weight at the speed known only to compete with the speed of light and I've been told my thyroid has stopped working (hence the weight gain). I feel pain ALL of the time and I now rely on medication just to feel pain free enough to drink a cup of tea. It's worrying, but it's even more worrying that so far nothing shows on a scan or a blood test and the only thing that seems to happen are more disabling symptoms. I had assumed it was the menopause but nope, even those tests are fine! It was never like this even a year ago! I have no idea if this is age, but my recovery from it I can only assume is limited due to my age as it's not down to my diet, my exercise, my sleep or even being social. I hit 41.5 and my life appears to have completely turned upside down.

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NoConsideration7426@reddit

38 here, some back/spinal issues arising from an accident but otherwise fit and healthy. Doctor recently told me I have the cardiovascular system of a 25 year old which surprised me greatly. I agree with others who say it’s about caring for yourself. Reducing stress is important too

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FatBloke4@reddit

>So are people in their 30s/40s being dramatic when they say "ooh my knees, ooh I can't get out of a chair anymore without making that noise, ooh I can't stay up past 10pm anymore"? That does seem a bit much. I'm over 60, overweight and not particularly fit but I don't whine about my knees, I can get out of a chair and as I write this, I'm still up at 01:20. >Or does your body actually start going downhill in your 30s/40s? It does - but it's a slow decline. In your 40s, things heal slower than when you were a teenager and most people need glasses for reading but things are not that bad. I was over 50 when my son was born.

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Sufficient_Tower_366@reddit

Don’t be silly. I was fitter and stronger in my late 40s then at any time in my 20s / 30s, thanks to cycling, diet and other exercise. The only difference with age is that you can’t take fitness, strength and flexibility for granted like u kinda can when u r young … u have to work on it.

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IvanThePohBear@reddit

I think I'm in better shape now In my 40s than in my 30s tbh The 30s is the age where you still think you're invincible like in your 20s and don't really take care of yourself That's where all the malaise creep in Last couple of years Ive been watching my diet and exercising regularly. Lost 30kg and my aches and pains went away. Not to mention my blood pressure and cholesterol went down

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Safe-Championship-18@reddit

Let’s not forget Mike Tyson and at his peak. I would say 17-25 are your best years if the conditions are perfect in all scenarios.

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Organic_Armadillo_10@reddit

Just turned 35 and I'd say probably. I'm also the heaviest I've ever been and need to lose weight and get more in shape. So I'd like to think I'll possibly get fitter and in the best shape of my adult life, but based on everything so far I'll probably keep procrastinating and not manage to keep it off.

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Safe-Championship-18@reddit

Even though I have more muscle now it’s harder to lift heavier these days. I’m 36 and when I was in my 20’s 35-40KG dumbbells on shoulder press was a breeze and I’d get over injuries quicker. Now I train smarter but part of that is due to not being able to recover as well.

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Winniethepoohspooh@reddit

If you don't look after yourself YES! I was on and off active but kept relatively fit sometimes I went through phases of turning into a gym or workout addict for context I'm 45 I'm fitter and more healthier than I've ever been, I look mid 30s though, but I'm Asian etc Example I never used to have to do release work, now I make sure I try and do release work on my legs... I've also got a thing I need to try and fix in my ankle... Ligament or misalignment from my period of over cycling?? Everybody is unique and will require For context and to blow western minds look at the Chinese aunties and uncles in Chinese parks with pecs and huge biceps in their 70s and 80s!!! It's the western lifestyle and diet

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Safe-Championship-18@reddit

I think the best barometer is your hormone levels, as a man your testosterone tends to starts dipping from 25-30 onwards so it would be imo credible to say that post 30 you’re on the way down. I’ve even heard people talk about women being past their peak according to their fertility etc so 🤷🏽‍♂️

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Tantra-Comics@reddit

Aches and pains are also a result of shitty diets which are common in your 20’s. You’re going out a lot and eating fried quick crap over and over eventually it causes inflammation on the body. I grew up to home cooked meals, and after moving to the west was eating out like crazy and developed pre hypertension and joint inflammation and looked like a floating trash can… fast forward. Intermittent fasting(I only eat dinner), walking 45-60min everyday and gym several times a week with an occasional swim and dropped a lot of weight by cutting sugar/salt and keeping junk to a minimum and wow! You feel better, your body tones up and and brain chemistry improves…. DIET is the number 1 thing!!

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dubhghall6616@reddit

33 electrician knees and back of an 85 yr old😂

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MeltingChocolateAhh@reddit

I'm in my mid-20s and have a physio appointment coming up soon for bad back. My knees have ached from time to time (on/off periods) since I was about 16 or 17. I actually *feel* less physically fit now and over the last couple of years, I find myself saying "ooh nah I can't do that to my body" when making plans that involve me having to walk to a place etc, not even related to a physically strenuous activity like a marathon, or exercise. I used to be able to do long train journeys - often with multiple stops just fine, but now, I just can not withstand it. I love cycling but haven't cycled since about the first lockdown because my knees just were having enough of it. I feel like my physical peak has passed. I know this post isn't aimed at my age group, but I felt this is relevant to comment. My dad always said your physical peak is age 30, like it's science, but I feel like it's a case of each body being different depending on factors. For me, a back injury and just bad knees held me back.

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Cruel_April999@reddit

I think people who feel that it gets worse just did not have any health problems in their 20s at all. Like ZERO health problems. And in their 30s they suddenly discovered that their body can actually cause inconveniences - surprise-surprise! I am 32(F) and I feel way better than 10 years ago. Many of my old problems disappeared or became better, and I certainly do not have any new health issues. For example, my upper back still hurts but there is nothing compared to how it hurt when I was 23, I could not do without painkillers back then. In case you wonder - my guess is that it was psychological, and I just became more resilient, wise and calm at 32. I also eat better, exercise better, I gained a bit of weight (still technically underweight though). Life at 32 is good.

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AutisticFanficWriter@reddit

My physical peak passed when I had to quit swimming at 11! Lol (Not to get tmi, but I'm a woman, an early bloomer, and didn't get on with certain products at such a young age) I'm now bang on 34 (today's my birthday) and overweight. Not saying I'll never get back to being healthy, but I'm certainly not it right now.

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saltandcigarettes@reddit

I (M32) used to think I was passed it, I used to play sports from aged 7-25 until my ACL went. Then I struggled to keep fit and motivated until I gave up at 28/29. Man do you go downhill fast. But, I started the gym again recently, and I have to say that strength-wise I don't think I've ever peaked as I feel stronger than ever, and feel like there's much much more to come. Agility-wise I'm probably over the hill though.

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Succulent_Orange@reddit

I'm in my 30s and I do not feel the same as you. Theres a cultural thing where we complain as we get older and blame age. I don't think this is fair. We work full time, 35-48 hours a week depending on your job, more than half your awake time. This is why you're tired. Sure your friends Might b be healthy but they're not as healthy as when they walked instead of drove. Nobody is as active as before they started work. You go to the gym and get 40 mins a day of exercise: that's not many calories burnt. People let themselves degrade and use age as an excuse.

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organicvaper@reddit

There was an article in the Guardian recently about a woman who took up power lifting after 60 and never felt better in her life. Age is just a number.

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colcob@reddit

I’m about to turn 47 and I’m in the best shape of my life, but that does come with more aches and pains than it did when I was 20 something, and it’s easier to damage stuff and harder to recover. I think you notice it in your early thirties because it’s literally the first time you can no longer take your body for granted and things start being a bit more difficult and hurting a bit more. Just means you need to start making active effort to look after yourself and get/stay fit. The peak of your potential maximum may have passed, but most people never reach anything close to their potential in their 20’s so your actual peak may still be ahead of you. Takes work though!

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yigyackyalls@reddit

I feel no different to my early 20s in terms of physical ability or mental capacity. Still never get hangovers. Respond well to exercise. Can’t say the same for my friends, they often complain of terrible hangovers and not being able to party for days like we used to in university (it’s probably a good thing we don’t do that anymore, but if we tried I certainly could do it). I sometimes feel like I age slower than most, I was an extremely late bloomer and didn’t have a growth spurt until I was 19. Looked 12 when I was 16. Late to enter puberty. Etc. I’m 32 now and the last time someone found out I was over 25 he laughed and told me to fuck off then just said “wow” when I said I wasn’t joking. I passed my driving test recently and on the way back from the test my instructor said “when you turn 25 you can buy a nice car because the insurance won’t be as much”. Sometimes I make noises when I stand up but that’s just because I find it funny and I’ve had a habit of doing that since I was about 10 when I started copying my dad who did it.

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oxfordfox20@reddit

40. Knackered. Still run around like a loon, stay up late, enjoy the finer things in life. I just hurt afterwards…

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ThomasRedstone@reddit

Your peak potential certainly has passed for a lot of activities. But if you weren't looking after yourself when you were at your peak potential, then maybe you can still be the best you've ever been in your 30s or 40s.

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PortsyBoy@reddit

Definitely. I turned 30 and it’s the knees and back for me. Weird

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oglop121@reddit

i am 35 and don't really feel any different than 25.

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GDACK@reddit

No. I’m in my thirties and still feel like I did when I was 21. On my worst days, I feel like I’m in my late 20’s. I think doing things that keep you fit *above and beyond* the level of fitness you need on a day to day basis is key. Example: I regularly hike 15 to 20 or 25 miles in a day. Mostly hillwalking. I hang glide, ride horses and swim and my daughter and I go ice skating and rollerblading. We also ski when we can. Lots of fresh air and minimal to no processed foods also helps.

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Elielmau@reddit

It's not my case. I have been training weightlifting for the past 10 months and I'm in the best shape of my adult life.

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BodybuilderWorried47@reddit

I'm 21 and have met 35 year olds in better shape than me. Depends on if you take care of yourself.

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pineappleandpeas@reddit

30s and fitter than I've ever been. The only aches and pains I have is DOMS from overdoing it in the gym/hard running sessions. Otherwise I feel great. I'm tired on an evening and don't really stay out late, but that's the reality of having a full time job and regular exercise - I have a sleep schedule that my body enjoys and I wake up feeling fresh. I eat majority home cooked balanced foods. There's not really anything I feel I can't do as I'm not physically able to. I work in healthcare and it's shocking the amount of young people who have terrible health and the vast majority is lifestyle related. We have a society that allows you to sit for 24 hours a day, eating highly processed foods/soda and peoples main social activities revolve around alcohol or drugs - no wonder a lot of people feel terrible. Add to that psychological stress and somatic referred symptoms that comes with it due to the fact the whole country has gone to shit.

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Lossy_highs@reddit

Snapped ACL aged 34 and its f'ed me over properly. After two years got it seen to, managed to get back to some form of muscle mass but Covid hit and I lost it again. I'm not the same person I was at all. Miss dancing the most. Used to be springy now I'm heavy on my flat injured side foot. Sux.

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ntermation@reddit

Just because some people are able to compete attge highest level of their sport at 40, doesn't mean you are an Olympic athlete because you are nearing 40. If you are breaking down earlier, it could be lots of reasons. Your friend who suggested a person who isn't you is proof of your physical condition is just really.dumb if they believe that.

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Bhap1@reddit

Bro im in my late 20s and already know my physical peak is going downhill. No aches and pains but general energy levels will never reach when im 17 again. Could go out and get pissdrunk then wake up 5 hours later feeling good. Could sleep on 3 hours go to the airport to go on holiday and feel fine after an hour of waking up. I never felt truly fatigued. Now its a daily thing. Miss 2 hours of sleep and the whole day is fucked.

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annawhowasmad@reddit

No, not at all. In terms of being able to bounce out of bed at 5am after a night of drinking, maybe (though I’d already lost the ability to do that by about 22). Otherwise, it’s been since turning thirty that I’ve been able to have the kind of lifestyle that allows for me to walk several hours a day, dance, and strength train regularly. I’m fitter than I ever was in my twenties - so my stance is very much that it’s not inherent, it’s about whether your lifestyle allows you to prioritise your health. When I was 24 and had about £10 a week food budget, it didn’t. Now it does.

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XihuanNi-6784@reddit

>Otherwise, it’s been since turning thirty that I’ve been able to have the kind of lifestyle that allows for me to walk several hours a day, dance, and strength train regularly. I think this is the main factor in people above saying they slumped in their 20s and got fitter in late 30s and 40s. Twenties used to be great but nowadays, with today's wages and rental market it takes about a decade to really establish yourself. It's only when people finally get a partner (big rise in income there itself), rise up the ranks a bit and maybe get a house or a solid long term rental, that they can really focus on living a healthy lifestyle that brings physical fitness. Even if they don't exercise a lot, lower stress levels, better living conditions can do wonders. Honestly it feeds into everything, I just got rid of a shitty mattress the landlord had. It was worn out and the slump in the middle was giving me back problems. Decent mattresses aren't that cheap. The water tank in our "new" flat is small and doesn't allow for two people to have comfortable showers if one goes a little too long. It's grating on my wife's nerves. We can't change it as it's a rental. All these little stressors add up and they're far more common in your 20s when you don't have as much money or options to change things. I think it makes a really big difference long term.

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Willy_Tingler@reddit

I’m in almost the exact same position. Hit 30 and started to take my diet and exercise more seriously, and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been. 3 years on and don’t feel like I’m slowing down. To specify I’ve also severely cut down on alcohol and junk food as well, which I feel was a cause of me constantly feeling slouchy and generally “not quite with it” through my twenties.

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asceticguy@reddit

I think I can lift heavier the older I get. I've seen people in their 50s lifting 50+ kg crates like they were pillows.

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kajata000@reddit

I’m not as resilient as I was 15 years ago; I’ve got aches and pains I never would have had at 20, and I feel stuff more after I’ve done it. But on the other hand, I’m fitter now than I’ve ever been in my life, I’m exercising more, and I’m probably generally healthier all round for it. I he very bad lifestyle habits as a young person and I paid for it, and I’ve spent a decade plus trying to turn that around. So, I guess it depends what you mean by my physical peak. 35 y.o. me could easily outrun 20 y.o. me, but I don’t know who’d feel it worse the next day!

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JoshuaDev@reddit

Not really in this age bracket yet (just turned 30) but I have never felt better… completely down to looking after myself better than I ever have though.. 7/8hours sleep, exercise 4 times weekly and eat well. Hitting 30 does seem like a bit of a fork in the road for people I know around my age though.. people either look really well or are aging super fast. Worth noting that the changes I’ve made generally are in part down to not being able to hack partying til 6am then getting up the next day like nothing happened anymore (which I do still attempt to do once every couple of months). So clearly some kind of peak as passed.

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simev@reddit

Late 40's here. I have ran Multiple ultra marathons in the last 5 years ranging from 50 miles to 62 miles. I am fitter now than I have ever been. In my 30's I was an obese couch potato weighing around 107 KG. Walking up a flight of stairs would wind me and running further than a few metres was out of the question . I woke up one day just after my 40th birthday and thought "I have to do something about this" so I changed my diet and my lifestyle and started the couch to 5k programme, that changed everything. So am I past my physical peak? No I believe that I am at my peak now. Many of the headaches and back pains etc are caused by current lifestyle, people may look in good shape compared to others around them but the question is, are they really? How is their diet, is their exercise regime (if it exists) holistic, does it cover cardio and resistance training ? or are they concentrating on lifting only? There is no reason why a medically fit person in their 40's can not be fitter than they was in their 20's, so long as they wasn't an elite athlete in their 20's that is.

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Affectionate-Arm3653@reddit

I'm 29 and have some unhealthy habits (drink heavily on weekends/smoke/don't sleep enough) but eat healthy go to the gym/run/stretch/lift and I feel great (even told I look younger regularly). Routinely horrified at how unhealthy everyone my age is (and they complain a lot about health issues) - convinced it's processed food and inactivity.

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adydurn@reddit

I mean I ache and struggle to get out of bed some days, but it's not being past my physical peak that causes that. In terms of physical health I'm doing the most I've ever done and getting fitter as a result. I'm 38. So I guess no, I am not at my peak yet, and being a new dad that's reassuring to me. There are a few things I can't do that I used to, but it's also probably healthier that I don't do them anymore. I smoked from 13 until I was 18, not a long time and I'm way past the point where it should still be affecting me, so you can't even take that into account.

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Fifesterr@reddit

33, no issues whatsoever (apart from that one time my matras was worn out and I felt like a 90yo getting out of bed). I always thought people were being hyperbolic when they complained about their back etc?

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HaybUK@reddit

35 years old , my backs turning 80 tomorrow, 100% past it 💯

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HaybUK@reddit

35 years old , my backs turning 80 tomorrow, 100% past it 💯

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ooh_bit_of_bush@reddit

I'm 36. I've spent all my 30s trying to undo all the damage I did to myself in my 20s. In the past 2 months, I've ran a 5k and 10k PB. I've also had a bad back from tying a shoelace too vigourously.

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whosenomansisthis@reddit

Drank and partied and ate like shit while barely exercising through my 20s. Got sober, I eat pretty healthy, and I’ve built a proper exercise routine now that I’m in my 30s. Definitely in the best shape of my life with lots of room to keep growing.

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silverblossum@reddit

I think that it's largely linked to alcohol, smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet catching up with people. You can get away with a lot in your 20s. In your 30s your body just reflects how you treat it. Some people accept it as aging, when it could be vastly improved with different lifestyle choices. Dont underestimate stretching as well. I worked really hard on all of the above for three months, and felt the best Ive ever felt as an adult. I have not managed to keep it up though :(

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winterval_barse@reddit

I think it’s a case of having to try harder to do the same as you could. Also need more maintenance stuff like stretching and drinking water. Gone are the days of 24/7 cider, sleeping in a pile on someone’s floor and getting away with it. Last time I went to a rave I had to book the osteopath the week after

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Ok-Ad-9170@reddit

36 and in better shape now than I’ve ever been, I get up for an old man piss at 0300 most days and my knees hurt if I do excessive walking but otherwise I’m golden lol

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bang-on44@reddit

I was someone who never played much sports, only did 6 mths at a gym but liked to dance socially for up to 12hours a week, walked alot and carried heavy shopping bags a few times a week - I feel as if I was somewhat blessed with good genes too. My fitness and flexibility were the same in my 20s right through until I was 48. I had a child at 39 and modelled swimwear until I was 43. At 48, though, my physical activity declined, and now, at 58, I discovered I couldn't jump off a metre high wall anymore, I almost fell over. I have to bend carefully. My knees are a bit clicky, and I get lower back pain if I stand for long periods.

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p4ttl1992@reddit

I'm 31 and have been weight training for 10 years, my strength keeps getting better each year but I'm noticing some pains in my joints. My knee has recently been bad and I now have carpal tunnel in both wrists that radiates pain down my forearm when pushing. I wouldn't say my peak has passed tho and I'm always aiming higher

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salkysmoothe@reddit

There's a good YouTube channel called mark Lewis that has a guy who was obese in his mid 30s and got Jason Statham level of jacked by his late 40s and that plus Chris broad getting fit has been quite inspiring to me as far as getting back into shape

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channeldrifter@reddit

Almost 40, if I’ve peaked then I’m truly fucked.

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TheMegoosa@reddit

I'm still waiting for my peak...

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The_2nd_Coming@reddit

Ahahaha of course man, it's been a slow decline since I hit 30. Now I basically don't drink full so and try to play football for as long as I am still able to. I used to burst past people for fun but now can barely dribble a traffic cone.

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moodyillustratir@reddit

Once you have a kid your physical peak has passed pal

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Nick_Higginson@reddit

I’m 43. Getting fitter and fitter and doing things I’d never have believed were possible even when I was quite active in my 20’s. All started to go physically right when I gave up the drink about 6 years ago.

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cryptokingmylo@reddit

Not even close. I could Deadlift 180kg in my 20s but stopped lifting for newly a decade and let myself get fat. I got back into fitness a year ago, all the fat is gone now and I'm confident I will hit 220kg in less time than it took me to hit 180 back than. I'm mid 30s btw

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jonplackett@reddit

It depends what you’ve been up to in your 20s and 30s to compare too. I was super active when young, doing something like 10 hours of gymnastics a week. But then did basically no exercise at all from 15 to 40. 2 years ago I started running and now I’m easily the fittest I’ve ever been - but man do I ache a lot. I really miss being able to throw myself around and not get injured or regret it the next day / week / month

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gardenhippy@reddit

I’m 40 and I’ve had three kids during my 30s, honestly I’m way healthier and physically fitter now than I was in my 20s. Add a fresh dose of confidence and I feel like a much more competent person now. I have some gut issues following pregnancy but otherwise I’m lucky to be physically fit and I try to maintain that with regular exercise and a decent diet.

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victoriaismevix@reddit

Physically my body has gone downhill like, internally. Things hurt, I have Crohn's, I can feel when it's cold outside without going outside, my eyesight is going, my teeth hurt and my brain is fuzzy all the time *But* I look great and as far as my actual body goes I am in the best shape I've ever been in and more confident than I've ever been. I'm 36 if that helps at all.

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theweirdogoth@reddit

I'm 30 and whereas my weight hasn't really changed dramatically (though i do need to lose some) my back hurts a lot now and I used to be able to stay up until 3/4am easily and now I struggle to stay up past 1am! :(

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realmozzarella22@reddit

What if you never had a peak?

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didyeay@reddit

38 All good here. Best shape aimed for 40! People in their 20s look soft in 2023

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No-Blood-7274@reddit

I’m 43, and it’s only been the last two years that I can feel a slight decline. I demand a lot from my body and could do all the things I could do at twenty until I was forty. Its only a slight decline though butI I can feel it. Slightly longer recoveries, slight drop off in pace on a run, longer plateaus in strength in the gym.

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sloppy_gas@reddit

Yes but I was a machine. The moment I had to enter employment (48 hours a week and the rest) that was only ever going to be a memory. Nice while it lasted though.

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penicuiklass@reddit

I lost my health very suddenly at 23 so I don’t think I even got a peak, though if I did it was when I was 18. I’m 28 and I’m fighting tooth and nail for any quality of life at all. Many people just don’t want to talk about realities of age and/or poor health as it’s too horrifying.

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oac7@reddit

Wishing you all the best :)

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coco-ai@reddit

There's a whole heap of research coming through that indicates the older body is better conditioned for slow burn, endurance and so forth, so it's not just about the elite athletes either. As well as that, you can train in a more considered and effective manner. When I was in my 20s I flung myself into stretches and exercises, now I can build in a deliberate way, I can tell the difference between good and bad hurt, I can observe my trainers with a more intelligent understanding, my body awareness is waaay higher and so forth. I've lost the ability to whack on muscle in 10 minutes but I've gained a lot of benefits. There's a bunch of commenters below highlighting incredible older marathon runners etc and I agree with them, your physiology cannot be primed for some endurance at a young age, and you enter your peak in 30/40s - if you want to!

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jusme4647@reddit

I am 47 soon to be 48 next month and yes my back plays me up but I’m about 30 pounds less than I was in a My 20’s so I have more energy now and feel pretty good! I walk loads which actually helps my back and my mental health 👍

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Scrappynelsonharry01@reddit

I was always rough as i was born with disabilities but from my 30’s it’s way worse (granted developing an autoimmune disorder at 40 didn’t do any favours lol it affects my energy levels to no end) but even before that my aches and pains got worse lol

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Warioswallet@reddit

Everybody ages differently. I have noticed amongst my friends (almost 50yo) that maintaining a healthy weight is probably the single best thing you can do, and don’t smoke of course. Every extra pound of weight increases the stress on your joints and organs.

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HannaaaLucie@reddit

I have so many health issues that I reckon I peaked around age 27. I've never had great physical health from around age 8, but I'd say since about 27 I've noticed a lot more pain, aches, medication issues, existing health conditions worsening, etc etc. I'm in my 30's now and don't see myself getting much better from here.

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My_Feet_Are_Cold_@reddit

Well it depends how well you look after yourself. If you spent the latter half of your 20s drinking and sitting on the couch, then yes, not only will you feel achy and lethargic all the time, bit you'll also age like sh\*t. You get what you give.

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bananabastard@reddit

I'm early 40s, and my physical peak HAS passed, no doubt about it. However, I'm in the best shape of my life, and I'm the strongest I've ever been. I can do 20 dead-hang pull-ups, and can bench press 1.3x my body weight for reps. I have no aches or pains, and I don't take any medications. I did get up at 5am this morning because I fell asleep before 10pm last night. Even though I'm in the best shape of my life, I know my physical peak is behind me because I don't have the same potential or stamina I had in my 20s. And I have wrinkles on my forehead now.

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mynameisgiles@reddit

Being the smartest guy in the room, I cleverly *didn’t* look after myself in my teens and 20s, and started going to the gym in my early 30’s. My current theory is I’ll probably live forever.

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Wise-Boysenberry3907@reddit

I work harder now to have half what I had 10 years ago. But I no way I have peaked, I just have to work harder. I had a great bod for years, now I am 43 it’s average with slight wobble. But, that’s because I am a great dad and husband. I provide first, spend time with them second, and I come last. Once they grow and need me less, I’ll find time for more physical activities and I’ll be ripped with a majestic beard. but for now, the sacrifice is worth it :)

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ysabellatrix@reddit

I’m 34, adult acne from my 20s have 90% gone. Restarted my workout routine a few months back. I feel good.

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backspring@reddit

People need to squat and deadlift more. Prevention is the cure

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GurCalm4381@reddit

I'm 35 and whilst my back hurts from time to time I think I look after myself better now- better diet, exercise and meditation. I don't have a lift in my building so walk up to the 5th floor several times a day as does my 80 year old neighbour. I do live in Spain though so I think the lifestyle and fresh fruit and vegetables helps. Also here you will see older generations socialising together which is something we lack in the UK. I read the book Ikigai about how the Japanese stay so active as they age and the answers were surprising - gentle exercise, community and vegetables

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Additional-Cause-285@reddit

Absofuckinglutely. But that’s also fine.

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discombobulated38x@reddit

I spent most of my 20s remarkably unhealthy. I'm in 34" waist jeans for the first time in over a decade and loving it.

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Dixin_Buttz@reddit

There’s lots of delusional comments on here. Whatever anyone writes, the science is solid on this subject which is you are declining past your physical peak after 35 years of age. There will be people who say “I’m fitter / stronger now than I was when I was younger” but if you were properly training before 35 there is no way someone in there 40’s could keep up with their younger self. Even in endurance training. There will be a couple of cases which will be different, but on the whole there’s no denying it. Look at every physically demanding professional sport and the age when they decline and retire. Obviously there is the odd case of older people doing well, especially like heavyweight boxers / combat sports persons but Father Time remains undefeated. I noticed a massive drop off at 40. I just can’t do what I used to do (Thai Boxing / BJJ / gym). Rest days and supplements are needed. Warmups, cool downs and stretching are essential. I’ve just started my first course of testosterone replacement therapy so I can recover better and train more.

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kreygmu@reddit

I basically didn't exercise for all of my 20s, started cycling more and actually running at 29 and have kept that up for just over a year and now... I'm more sore than I used to be but at least I can run!

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obiwankanosey@reddit

Lack of exercise and a poor lifestyle does that. Exercise Eat plenty of fruit and veg Drink plenty of water Get plenty of sleep  The things we know we should do but putting it into practice is the hard part for most people

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pinkbutterfly22@reddit

I am 25… I am the person who can’t drink because of migraines and other medical conditions. The person who if sleeps 6h and not 8.5h will need a painkiller and a sick day off.

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UK_man_@reddit

Me @ 45

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Neat_Nebula3596@reddit

I'm 30 about to turn 31, I go hard on my bikes and skateboard every other day still, my endurance is different but I'm stronger generally. My knees hurt when I get up just from biking and skating my whole life, countless minor injuries start adding up

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-Never-Enough-@reddit

If I can keep up with Jack LaLanne's daily fitness regiment, my physical peak has not passed. I know that because I can't do that stuff now. But the things he could do in his 60s and 70s was amazing. Arnold Schwarzenegger often talked about how he was unable to keep up while being 30+ years younger.

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Dipso88@reddit

I'm 35, am physically fit though drink a lot, have a fairly poor diet and have spent 20 years on my feet in hospitality. The days I exercise I feel on top of the world and mentally sharper. Haven't tried the non drinking and healthy eating stuff yet.

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PedanticRedhead@reddit

Alas, my mid-30s aches and pains are a mix of a sports injury, genetics and early onset arthritis. Fun. I miss being able to walk x distance without wondering if my knees will give out. Or wondering if I bend them a certain way; will there be only a slight ache or will there be a sharp debilitating stabbing sensation that immobilises me for anywhere between a few seconds and several days. I miss being able to crouch. I used to be able to do that. Take care of your knees, kids.

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impamiizgraa@reddit

I did notice a decline in my overall stamina and health which has improved since I stopped drinking (16 months) and especially stopped smoking (2 months - woohoo 🥳) from about age 30 to now, 34. I also put on 15kg which didn’t take much effort, my metabolism seems to have evaporated. Once I lose that weight I think after 17 years of smoking and drinking to excess, I will feel fitter than ever. Defo I feel not as springy as early 20s but better than late 20s and believe that’s primarily due to quitting smoking tbh.

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AxelVance@reddit

People really do drink the kool aid and think that athletic excellence is solely down to the individual and that conditions are comparable. As if physical fitness isn't the main component of their job and one of the main focus of their lives at large and as if they don't have a number of people who support them and give them expert advice on how to avoid said achness, back problems and injuries. They have other worries like everyone else, of course. They are human but the fact that they don't have to put in a 12 hour shift or an 8 hour working day on top of training, physio etc makes a huge difference.

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fullycharged1@reddit

Good and relevant question! I'm turning 33 soon. In my 20s I went from fat to ripped, ran marathons, ultra marathons and ultimately competed in Ironmans. I was at my peak physically. I'm now 15kg heavier than I was, 2 kids, business, not much time to train. Physically I'm sure as hell I'm nowhere my physical peak, but I'd say for the past 6 months or so I keep hearing this knock on my mental door saying time to stop slacking fucker. I still train 5-6 days per week, but I'm lazy with my diet and keep slacking on this front. Levels of awareness are high.

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Golden1976@reddit

My 40’s have hit hard and due to some unfortunate health issues my physical health has definitely peaked.

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Feisty_Weakness_2315@reddit

i’m in my 30s and in the best shape i’ve been since high school! feeling great 💪

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JimmyBallocks@reddit

I was pretty unfit during my twenties, then as I neared thirty I came down with a fairly serious spinal condition that caused repeated episodes of being unable to walk and remaining bedbound for weeks at a time, and ended up requiring various bouts of surgery. My attitude towards exercise and fitness changed completely and I have ever since taken the view "make hay while the sun shines" and got as fit as I can whenever I can, because it's only ever been a matter of time before I'm consigned to the deck again and this made me really appreciate being able to be active. From a flabby twentysomthing to twenty-odd years of varying between whip thin and fit as a fiddle, to out of action and piling on the timber again, and back again. I'm now in my early fifties and just about as fit as I have ever been so I can say it IS possible to maintain something approaching a peak beyong your forties - BUT - it does take more work to get to this level of fitness, niggles and little injuries are more frequent and take longer to recover from, and yes most everyday actions are increasingly accompanied by various grunts, yelps and bellows.

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wsparkey@reddit

It’s because you/ they aren’t looking after themselves properly. Exercise (strength and cardio), sleep enough, eat and drink sensibly.

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davidoggloader@reddit

My physical peak lasted about 30 seconds when I was 15 and came 2nd in my school 100 meter race. Pretty much straight after that i smoked my first cigarette and its been fags booze and drugs ever since and the slow but steady decline towards middle aged poor health.

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TraditionalWatch3233@reddit

Just turned 40. Had some chronic health problems in my early thirties, but now quite a lot of that has gone, so now feeling physically better than in a long while. I can’t run as fast as in my twenties, I can’t stay up as late without consequences, but on the other hand I also recently completed my most difficult mountain walk ever. So in some ways peaked a while ago, but in others probably still to peak.

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Successful-Wing7916@reddit

You shouldn't be having a bad back in your 30s. In your case, obviously, you're going to feel more achy after certain activities. But if you're going to a physio in your 30s, that means your body is weak. You can't massage an injury out. You have to strengthen your body so that you don't feel pain and get injured. I always tell the "oh, I have a bad back" people to do some squats, bridges, hip thrusts, etc... Basically, whatever will strengthen your back. Again, you can't just pop out some static stretches when you're cold to alleviate your symptoms, which is what people usually start doing. This just makes it worse. If you have a bad back, that probably means that you're not lifting your body weight with your glutes (your ass) and your abs, so you're overloading your lowerback and your hamstrings. This is where aches and pains come from, and a "bad back." Unfortunately, people would rather pay a physio hundreds a month than actually fix the problem. You don't even need to go to a gym. Do some body weight squats and bridges at home, and you'll feel infinitely better.

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Soundasleepx@reddit

Do you think this still applies to people whose backs hurt because they work from home? I haven’t injured mine and it’s awful. I have massages and am incredibly knotty. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours is doing me in, so I’ve started standing, but even that is too stationary. I’m trying to fit more exercise in and am hoping it will help me feel better.

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ahowcroft@reddit

Agree with this 100%. The amount of people going to physios when there is no need for it is astounding. Easier to lie on a table than do some squats I suppose.

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Rare-Imagination1224@reddit

My Physio prods me and makes me do exercises, makes sure I’m doing them right , tests my strength / range and then gives me a tailor made routine to do at home &fix what’s wrong. This woman literally saved my life when I tore my rotator cuff, it took a long time but I can swim butterfly again ( I’m 50). Physio’s rule! ( but you have to do all the work yourself )

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ahowcroft@reddit

Absolutely there’s a place for physios and glad you’ve had good results. I just meant that a lot of people go to them without ever actually needing to. My partner goes to a physios because of scoliosis and being a former a swimmer - she will probably need assistance for the rest of her life. They absolutely have their place 👍🏻

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brighthair84@reddit

Not weak, just injured. I herniated a disc, developed cauda equina and was nearly paralysed so physio is for rehab. Nothing to do with age

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Global_Acanthaceae25@reddit

You're generalising a bit there - I work with two guys who can lift far far more than most people (competition level) and both have bad backs from sat in an office all day (imagine two apes wearing ties). I was squatting 25 reps at 160kg (I'm 85kg) when I got a bad back (squatting helped it after to be honest) but it happened walking down stairs once - just screwed for 2 years. Knee also went after playing football and running to a high level. Then again I used to drink massive amounts and take drugs - everything was extreme with me, so maybe it caught up with me. Ironically the injuries happened when I was 6 months Vegan and t total.

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Vivid-Fall-7358@reddit

What a myopic post. Some people have a bad back because their muscles are weak. Some people have legitimate damage. This is fairly common in active people. The reason one goes to a physio is to get informed advice. Telling someone with broken bones or torn ligaments to just do a load of squats is not at all the answer for someone with a mechanical issue unless you’re trying to fuck them up.

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RickyMEME@reddit

In my mid - late 20s I was very unfit. All sorts of health problems. I am now 31. I am approaching fitness levels of my teens. Deffo not passed it yet if you eat right and work hard. I believe when I am 32 I will be in the best shape of my life and the healthiest/fittest I’ve ever been.

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ioanaioanaioanaioana@reddit

36F, best shape of my life. Im eating healthy, working out, following my gut and enjoying life

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thebyrned@reddit

I feel like physical peak in 20s only applies to athletes. For normies you can be at your peak well into 40s if you look after yourself

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AEL1979@reddit

I had a baby aged 41, am now 44, and it fucked me right up. No telling if I’d have been at the peak of physical fitness otherwise (I suspect not!).

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AdSingle6957@reddit

You seem to be friends with a bunch of fannies.

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Spamgrenade@reddit

People on reddit who claim to be knackered by 30 - 40 sure are being dramatic, unless they are heavily overweight and unfit. I'm 55 and didn't really notice signs of aging until I was well past 45.

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badger906@reddit

I’m 34, I’m the most physically fit I have ever been and it’s only improving every day! I cycle more often, further and fast! I lost 75lb in weight and became skinny! It’s changed my life

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Chillonymous@reddit

I don't think I've reached my potential physical peak but I do think it takes so much more work to maintain and reach that peak. 37 years old

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robstur@reddit

I am in my mid 40s, always been a bloater. Since April I have lost 24 kg and now running about 40km a week. I am currently below the weight I got married and in jeans smaller than university. 1) not peaked yet 2) fuck me why didn’t I do this earlier!?

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Paratwa@reddit

Not me. I’m in my Prime. https://i.imgur.com/ZlCq0wD.gif But seriously, I just want exercise more, and watch what I eat more, no more pain than what I was in my 30’s. Waaay stronger than I was in my 20’s, but less endurance.

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umognog@reddit

In my 40's, falling to fucking bits, but my kids, other kids and folks in their 20s can't keep up with me and (in my experience) moan more about it.

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M_issa_@reddit

I’m late 40’s sitting on the floor and getting back up is much harder now days but otherwise I think I do alright for what I need in my everyday life. I’m not going to be running anytime soon, unless it’s life threatening 😆

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herefromthere@reddit

38 and in the best condition since I was 23, when I was living on a farm in the middle of nowhere (so no shops for junk food or booze). I dance twice a week socially (salsa, bachata, kizomba) and am in the gym two or three nights a week too.

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designgrl@reddit

No, I feel the best ever.

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Conradlorenz@reddit

Just turned 39. A week before turning 39 I set a personal best on a hill climb I love. What is sorta amazing about that particular new record is time spent on the bike. The previous record was set in 2020 during the pandemic and I was able to ride as much as possible (Vo2 Max lab test of 63) I had 211 hours & 3400 miles on the bike and I was able to beat 2020 me in an 8th of that time. The difference this year was my diet. I happened upon Tim Spector's message of having a good gut biome. I started this diet which also recommends 30 plant sources a week, not as difficult as you may think, although admittedly a little expensive. Ollie from GCN had also done something similar when he achieved 5w/Kg, again based on Tim's diet.

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funkytwotwo@reddit

I'm 45 and I don't have aches or pains and have high energy. I don't jump as well? Jumping down from a height hurts so I am not as "high impact" as I was. I don't know if I'm lucky but I feel as good as I did at 20 physically. My father's side all were pretty active until their 70s and 80s and were in sports until their late fifties. We may just have good joints.

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joeire32@reddit

Never felt better i do 3 or 4 times a week in gym and walk my dog as much as possible. Big thing at our age is sleep with young families but just jump into bed earlier at night.

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bouncing_off_clouds@reddit

Speaking as someone in her mid-thirties, I don’t believe it’s as much of a shit-show as everybody makes out. Either that or it’s psychosomatic and people only feel it BECAUSE they believe your mid-twenties is where it all starts going downhill. There’s a woman i work with who turned 30 last week and she’s acting like it’s the end of her fucking life. Not only is it ridiculous and slightly insulting, it also drives me INSANE!! I don’t have kids, but I’m an overweight 36 year-old woman who could absolutely stand to lose about 5 stone. And when I hear people in their twenties and early thirties talk about how exhausted they are and how achey they are and how “a good night for me is being in bed with a book by 9:00,” it blows my mind. Statistically speaking, I’M one who should be saying that shit, while they’re out partying all hours. But I only get the odd ache here and there (mostly from sleeping in a weird position or knee/back twinges) that are gone by the time I get to work, I can’t even contemplate the thought of being in bed before 10:30/11:00 and I love going out, drinking and dancing till rolling in at 3am. Sadly no-one in my peer group is into that shit anymore cos they either have kids or just don’t enjoy going out. Every time I’m in a bar, listening to the buzz of conversation and good atmosphere, clinking glasses, great music, laughing hen/stag parties, or up dancing on the stage/dancefloor - I end up either taking tons of photos/videos or just staring around, trying to take it all in. Because one day, it will be the last time I ever go “out out” and that breaks my heart.

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International_Put727@reddit

I’m 40 and I’m doing a half marathon in 6 weeks. I definitely looked slightly better in my 20s (thicker hair and better skin elasticity) but I am definitely stronger. I also sleep better and move more (not working crazy hours in a toxic corporate environment helps). Don’t believe the hype, your 40s can be great!

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NightKid89@reddit

I'm 34. I run 3-4 time a week and do some basic calisthenics. I play with the kids and work part time in a coffee shop. Most days are great. I still eat shit food. I'm definitely a stone overweight, especially compared to how I was pre-baby number 2. The only aches and pains I get are in my knees due to a running injury from almost 10 years ago that got partially resolved or from staying up too late (1-2am) and getting up early (pre-7am). I do find that most of my pain is exacerbated by a lack of sleep. Other than that, most days are fine. I only suffer with headaches near the end of the day due to my dependence on caffeine, though so long as I have my coffee by 2pm I'm great. Sometimes I forget and then I'm a cranky bastard!

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DooMZie@reddit

I'm early 30s and do martial arts. Recovery and injury time is a lot longer than it was in my mid to late 20s. If this is the rate or things, 40s gona be rough.

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naitch44@reddit

Without a doubt, 42, ache all over, fatigue, can’t drink, can’t exercise like I used to Neck pain, back pain, stomach pain, head aches. I’m literally falling apart.

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Beginning-Branch-392@reddit

Im 44, Flexibility is less, but I still lift weights 4 times a week, don45 - 60 mins of cardio the same. I'm as strong as a lot of lads in their 20s & 30s Difference is, if I pick up an injury, it can take weeks to get back on track, the young guys, they heal much quicker!

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leeliop@reddit

Defo, been working out 4 days a week for 20 years, and 28 me would run circles around now me in terms of max weight and volume

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jonquil14@reddit

Early 40s and in some ways yes but I’m most ways no. There’s a reason these years are called the prime of life; it’s not just about the physical, these are the years where you’re earning money and you’re independent and raising your own kids and really doing the work of your life. Maybe I notice it more because I’m around others with actual disabilities and who are getting older, but I feel quite fit and healthy most of the time. I’m more aware of what it takes to keep my body working at its best, and while I’m probably past the years in which I’d win an Olympic medal, it’s not like I was making any Olympic teams in my teens or 20s either.

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Hellarouge@reddit

Nahhhhh. I’m 40 in February and my fitness over the past 10 years has been better than my entire 20s.

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Spank86@reddit

41. My physical peak potential has obviously passed, my ACTUAL physical peak, no way. I get faster, fitter, and stronger every year. Sure stuff takes longer to heal when i get injured and i ache a bit more than in the old days but i outperform on all levels from when I skated by with natural ability as a 20yr old.

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AvailableVillage8544@reddit

Nope! I lift weights, get around 10k Steps a day and do a few cardio sessions a week. I eat well and have been doing this for the last 6 years. I feel better than I did in my early twenties!

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ArmitageShanks3767@reddit

39yo here, I have a three year old, a 5-month old, and also starting to suffer from early onset arthritis from major hip surgery I had when I was 13. The stress I think leads me to drinking a lot more and also find my diet and exercise have gone to shit. I feel absolutely dreadful, by the way.

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Eve-76@reddit

Since giving birth to my first child in my 30’s and let me tell you I exercised ate healthy did my pelvic floor exercises, since the birth I can’t laugh , sneeze , cough , run for the bus without peeing . I’ve being exercises to strengthen my pelvic floor since he was 16 yrs ago and it hasn’t helped , I can’t even dance , I can’t exercise without peeing , I don’t know what to do except eat lean and walk

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Fun-Explanation7620@reddit

No, I’m running my second ultramarathon of 2023 next week aged 42

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KatVanWall@reddit

Started running at 35 and felt like I was at my physical peak then. Kind of thwarted that by getting pregnant 18 months later though … Now 44 and feel no different from how I did then in terms of physical fitness. Last year I did a fair bit of landscaping that involved a lot of digging and toting around heavy slabs and no part gave me trouble during or after. I do feel tired a lot but that’s because I don’t get enough sleep! (Blame having a small kid coupled with being a night owl and burning the candle at both ends.)

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RedWestern@reddit

I think if you want the fullest answer to that question, you’ll need to watch the episode of WILTY where Mr. Motivator (at the time 67, now 70) reveals he does a press-up for every year he’s been alive, and then proceeds to do a bunch with Rob Brydon. They both did way more press-ups, way more quickly than I ever could in a single minute, and they’re about twice my age. I think the lesson I’m getting is that how your body ages depends on how well you look after it. If you treat it like a temple, you’ll be in peak fitness well into your 60s. If you treat it like a nightclub, a brothel and/or a sewer, you’ll be old before your time.

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ProfessionalMockery@reddit

It's kind of true and not true at the same time. I think your body's ability to repair and avoid injury certainly peaks in your 20s, but as you say, many athletes do not peak physically until around 30s-40. The reason is that it simply takes 20 years to build your body and skill to it's maximum potential in those sports, but I'm sure they would be the first to tell you that their aches and pains increased a lot after their 20s. Eventually they get to a point where their progress can't keep up with degradation due to age, and that's the peak.

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Jimlaheydrunktank@reddit

32 here. Definitely my fittest and strongest I’ve been and I’ve only just started. Exercise is your best friend by far.

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Affectionate_Tap1718@reddit

49. Yes, past peak but the downhill is so slow it’s almost a plateau. Feel better than in my 20s because I used to sort parcels in a warehouse back then. Horrible deep nervy pains all over. Now my job involves walking 6+ miles a day and the cycle commute is also 6 miles each way. So I feel pretty good and my waist size has never changed since teens.

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imenmyselfe@reddit

I've had it better decade ago but now I'm still better than most so I gues I'm fine even though I could do better.

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AdieGill@reddit

I started triathlons at the age of 57, raced my first Ironman at 59, and a further 5 until I was 64! Selected for the South African national triathlon team at the age of 64, and qualified for the World Half Ironman Champs at the age of 66. During those years I also took part in many ultra distance trail running races (35 - 110kms). Today I’m 71 and still run trail, but much shorter distances - and when my arthritis allows!! So hey - you’re never too old to be active…..and at 30/40 you’re still in diapers!!

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hpool82@reddit

I'm in the best shape of my life at 41 and only getting fitter and stronger, so nope 👍

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propostor@reddit

I'm 35, don't give too many fucks about my diet and sometimes get more drunk than is sensible. I also hike a lot and actually feel fitter now than when I was in the early 20s. The only difference now is that I can't take a hangover anywhere near as good as I used to - it beats me up for days or even a whole week if I have a real bender - and I don't have the same athletic build as my younger self (I'm not overweight but I'm not toned at all now). At 33 I did the Great Glen Way in a bit over three days. Quite a feat if I do say so myself. It did fuck me up though. My feet swelled to actual Hobbit foot proportions for a few days. That being said, I don't look down on folk in their 20s or 30s who complain about being older or weaker. If you don't exercise it's bound to happen, just one of those things.

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therealtrebitsch@reddit

I'm 35 this year and in the best shape I've ever been except maybe when I was 18. People in their thirties who feel like their peak has passed are the ones who never exercise but drink all the time and eat horribly

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Otherwise-Falcon-729@reddit

Oh come on. There was no need for that.

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jamsnaxx@reddit

I’m 39. I ride a bike to work. I run 4/5 miles every day during my lunch break. I weight-train 3/4 times a week. I also ride 40/60 miles a week for fun but average 20mph. I recently did a 1 mile 10% average climb (on the bike) and out of the 90’000 people that had attempted it, i placed 5000th. Putting me in the top 6%. I recently broke my 5K running PB that I made 6 year ago. I think cardio-wise i haven’t hit my peak but I don’t like to lift heavy-weights like I used to just through fear of injury.

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Corkster75@reddit

I turned 48 today and it definitely has! 🤔

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No_Dragonfruit_8435@reddit

Testosterone levels have been dropping every decade since like the 1950’s. Testosterone heals muscles and keeps strength up, encourages red blood cell production and encourages energy to be used by muscles instead of stored. Low testosterone causes low estrogen which makes joints stiff and achy. People are far less physically active than previous generations, eat more high calorie inflammatory foods, get less sleep because of phones, more allergies to milk, eggs, dairy, nuts, gluten etc probably because of the chemicals used in farming.

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tropicalazure@reddit

I was fine until I had Covid. No, seriously. I was absolutely fine. Now I have eye inflammation, spinal pain, locked up shoulders and lower back, leg pain, regular infections that my pre-Covid body just swatted away, crumbling teeth, gut issues, neuropathy through all 4 limbs, and agonising headaches. I cannot emphasise this enough. I was Absolutely Fine. I had nothing wrong with me, hiked miles every day, worked 60 hours a week and travelled regularly, for work and social life. Now I do neither. I feel 90 and am beginning to look it too.

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Fayelll@reddit

When I hit 30 everything started changing and I feel I just put weight on by looking at cake... when before I could eat shit everyday and not gain a pound and the change seemed to happen really quickly.. I feel so ugly this last couple of years since turning 30. Just doughy looking no matter what I do.

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Crookles86@reddit

As turned 35 my lower back turned to sand

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Miss-Hell@reddit

It may have passed but I’m 38 and in the best shape of my life and doing more than I’d ever imagined. So maybe I am at my physical peak, maybe just not my potential I could have

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homealoneinuk@reddit

Didnt feel too much of it in 30s, but at 40 the drop was insane.

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Ecstatic-Language997@reddit

I’m early 40s and I’m currently the strongest, fastest, fittest and leanest I’ve ever been. Nothing aches, ever, no pains no issues of any kind. It literally just takes a half decent diet, 7-9 hours of sleep, and gym 3-4 times per week, which I’ve done for 25 years or so now

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Allthebeerbutnoidea@reddit

I'm mid-30s. I was fit last year and felt like a teenager. I am unfit now and feel like an old man. It is hard work getting fit again but I'm putting it in. I think it's down to weight and fitness, honestly. Having said that I know an ex- professional athlete who is still in a better condition than I have ever been and he said every morning is painful.

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Suitable-Length4255@reddit

Professional athletes work through injuries, which can cripple them later on.

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Global_Acanthaceae25@reddit

Yeah loads of ex footballers carried on too long - I know a reasonably famous guy who is completely fucked at 30. Trouble is it's your job - you have to carry on sometimes. Guess it's not much different to guys on site (bricklayers etc) who can't work beyond 50. No amount of yoga and vitamin d is going to help that.

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Suitable-Length4255@reddit

I can’t remember who it was but I remember a very high profile English footballer and he had to face the choice of one more season or being able to walk without pain for the rest of his life. It was huge for him to choose walking.

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Sadlamp1234@reddit

Think it was Ian Wright. Not professional but me and a lot of my mates played to a decent level amateur football and are all early to mid thirties now and there's not a single one of us that don't have atleast some issues. I always feel that people who say they're peaking in their 30s didn't have the most active 20s. Yeah I'm 33 but there's a fuck ton of miles in the knees and ankles. You really feel it playing against people in their 20s, you can be a much better player and just get absolutely blown away when they hit that explosive gear change.

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Magical_Crabical@reddit

Mid thirties here. My physical health took a wallop from undiagnosed hypothyroidism (under active thyroid) - felt cold and tired all the time, no energy to work out, and due to the condition and workplace stress, I piled on weight. Medicated since early last year and even this far on I just keep feeling better and better. Getting back into a regular workout schedule, bags of energy, super excited to cook and eat well. Weight wise, I wouldn’t mind being smaller but I’ve come to realise that dieting is futile, I do the healthy behaviours (regular movement and eating well) for their own sake and my body will respond how it pleases.

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AberNurse@reddit

Absolutely, I peaked in my mid-late 30s. I will never get that level of health and fitness back.

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HVHYXI@reddit

This doesn't answer your question, however, I highly recommend you have your testosterone levels checked. The amount of people that have low testosterone without knowing it is crazy, and it causes so many problems. If your testosterone is low enough, you can get your levels boosted with T injections.

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rwirl@reddit

Oh yes. It was about 25. Definitely has passed by now!

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Flat_Development6659@reddit

The people who are still succeeding in athletic endeavours in their 30's/40's looked after themselves and were usually succeeding at them in their 20's too. The people struggling with their health in their 30's/40's were largely sedentary through their 20's.

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rising_then_falling@reddit

I'm 50, and fitter and stronger than I've ever been. Also heavier and my back and knee are a bit screwed. My tolerance for hardship has dropped. I used to wash in freezing mountain lakes and sleep in my car without batting an eyelid. Now it's the big tent and warm showers. I took up ski touring recently and there are plenty of skinny uktrafit 60-somethings in better physical condition than me, and skiing better too. It's not over until serious injury gets you.

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waxfutures@reddit

Just turned 40, I'm definitely the least fit I've ever been and, although still definitely in the 'ideal' BMI range, maybe even in the lower half because I'm tall, have started visibly putting on weight for the first time in my life. It's because I work a desk job, spend my evenings sitting around doing fuck all, eat badly/too much, and do practically zero physical activity at any time. To use the old 'the body is a temple' metaphor, mine's fallen to ruin. My peak of fitness was probably about 4 years ago when I was working a much more physical job. I keep telling myself I'll start going to the gym when I've got a car, which will be very soon if I don't biff the driving test. Currently I've only got a motorbike and it's far too much of a faff to deal with carrying a gym bag and dealing with getting changed in and out of bike gear multiple times.

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toxicmog@reddit

Yoga, stretching properly sorts you out.

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Flashy_Scholar1066@reddit

There’s a man called David Goggins , Check him out

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CareerHour4671@reddit

I'm 47. Quit drinking a year ago. Since then have focused on cardio with running and rowing plus gym 6 days a week. Have a six pack and feel amazing. There are guys in their 70s in amazing physical shape. Age is a number. Keep healthy and keep moving.

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I_will_be_wealthy@reddit

yup. you're right. Some people are in denial and dont want to hear that so they try to put down anyone else. Actual athletic peak is probably 24-25 year old. between the ages of 24-35 you're in a functionally optimim state where you can burn the candle on both ends, work super long hours and have energy and not worry about your health. Post 35 you will notice your body responds badly to processed goods, junk food, high card food etc. Your body responds quite badly to 5 hour sleeps - when in your 20s you could function perfectly fine. Your body does downhill fast - unless you really work hard to eat good and exercise. You can manage your physical decline a little bit better.

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bakedNdelicious@reddit

I’m in my late thirties and I definitely feel aches and pains I have never felt before. Im a Guide leader and take kids camping every year which we do very traditionally so it’s hard work and although I’m naturally physically strong for a woman I don’t exercise anywhere near as much as I should and it shows by how much fitter I am by the end of the week. So I am planning on starting to try and work out more at home. My sciatica has never been better as it was while I was at camp because I was so active whereas my desk job exacerbates the pains in my back and leg.

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Overall_Ad5379@reddit

Yes

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ti0228@reddit

At that age 30’s to 40’s I again starting doing 10 km runs and swimming as I was a “little” obese. Started walking to my work which takes only 45 minutes one way. I started visiting Asia and specifically Indonesia, twice a year, visiting my retired parents in their country of birth. I started visiting concerts almost weekly in my Amsterdam city music venues. Visited two or three summer festivals a year. Migrated to another EU country for my work ten years ago. Must admit that now that I reach my 60th year I start to slow down and do longer walks and swimming instead of running and decided to do only one festival this year. Still visit concerts if they excite me. Am visiting and discovering more European city destinations as I neglected those in favor of Asian destinations. Am thinking of starting a study on line and picking up a sixth language, Spanish. I try to stay moving, learning new stuff and hopefully I can stay mentally fit. That’s my little worry now to stay mentally fit and excited. Must say after every decade added I still can say live is hopeful and beautiful.

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Rendelf@reddit

Diet, life choices, exercise. 60% of the UK are overweight or obese…. perhaps these 20- and 30-somethings are in this group who eat shit and don’t look after their bodies?

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Kuhneel@reddit

I'm nearly 43 and feel as though I'm in the best shape of my life. Mostly kicking booze, sensible eating and daily exercise are game changers. Sure my joints are a bit clicky/clunky, but it's mostly just noise.

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Sadlamp1234@reddit

Yes 100 precent, I'm still in decent knick and remain actual, gym couple of games of sevens a week, long walks but 18 -27 was playing football to a high amateur level before a few really bad injuries. I always feel that people who say they're feeling fitter than ever in their 30s had a low bar in their 20s. No amount of eating right and stretching is changing the fact my knees are fucked. All my mates are pretty much the same, you take up running in your 30s absolutely proud of you but my 33 has a lot more miles on the clock than someone starting out.

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destria@reddit

I would say my peak fitness was in my mid-20s but that's not related to age but more my lifestyle and general commitment to keeping up a fitness regime. I could probably be as fit now in my 30s but I'm just into different stuff now. I certainly don't have loads of aches or pains and I've always had headaches/migraines since my teens so that's no different.

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rickaboooy@reddit

I’m late 30s. My body is definitely slowing, but I don’t think I’m ‘passed it’ or anything.

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Freckled_Scot982@reddit

This is going to sound contradictory but my late 30s and now (I'm 41) I've been the fittest and strongest I've ever been and that's with an underlying health condition (Hypothyroidism - weight gain/difficulty losing weight and chronic fatigue is a huge factor) and I have knee and back issues. It's relentless but I have to constantly work hard to maintain my strength.

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duluoz1@reddit

I’m sure I had more potential in my 20s and 30s, but I’m in my early 40s now and never been fitter.

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oshgoshbogosh@reddit

I think it depends on context and circumstances If you train as soon as you hit adulthood, and this becomes your life (I.E semi-pro/pro athlete) then yeah I’d say somewhere between 25-30 yes you’d definitely peak fitness wise. If you’re not the 0.1% of the above, you could hit *your* peak at any age. I am late twenties, but have friends in their early 40’s who are wayyyyyy fitter than I am but when they were in their twenties they were same lazy sack of shit I am today. I am hoping I jump on the Ironman and marathon bandwagon at 40 but I enjoy beer and pizza too much right now

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CovertFlobert@reddit

I'm in my mid 30s now, and while my physical peak has probably passed, overall I'm in much better shape now than I was in my 20s. I'm a slim dude who used to leap and climb over things as a preferred means of mobility - those days are probably over. But I am running, exercising, doing some light cardio and getting my 20k steps/day in, so I feel in great shape - especially compared to many of my peers who complain about joint and back pain all day. Switching to a healthier nutrition has helped a lot, too.

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Renegade9582@reddit

It's not about the physical peak,more about the mental peak now,considering the cost of living, winter bills around the corner and the toilet paper outage.....🤔🥴

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Ok-Train5382@reddit

You are not an elite athlete. You probably don’t have the diet or routines of an elite athlete. If you failed in your nutrition, exercise and mobility/flexibility routine you shouldn’t feel like shit in your 30/40’s however, most people keep treating their body like they did in their 20’s and as you age you just get less resilient to the (Mia)treatment our bodies can handle in our youth

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antebyotiks@reddit

It doesn’t mean at 40 it’s impossible to get fit all the people saying it doesn’t matter are stupid and just wrong. You can’t still get fit but you just have to do extra stuff to look after yourself, things like stretching, better diet, rest days, injuries will require more care and rest, probably will be worth spending money on decent shoes etc. basically all the things you get away with not doing when you’re young you can get away with.

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Party_Divide_3491@reddit

Lol 'peak'. That's quite an assumption you make.

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bothsidesofthemoon@reddit

I'm not sure there is a peak. One minute you're a fertilised embryo, then you get a gradually increasing amount of back pain, then you die.

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bzzklltn@reddit

31 and completely fucked. If I sit down or stand still for more than 5/10 minutes are screwed. Something happens to my hip/pelvis so I can’t put any weight on my left leg with horrible sharp pain. All my joints seize up and I walk like a mannequin till they loosen up again. Everything clicks. My knees will just give way while walking, they’re forever covered in muscle tape because I’ve strained or damaged something. When I park up after work I have to get out the car immediately or it’s game over. Sometimes I’m so drained of energy I just sit there and zone out and then it’s bad news. There’s a couple of use at work that joke about being shot like horses because we’re broken.

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VitreousAlarm@reddit

M47 and assure myself that one day - very, very soon - I will wake up feeling twenty again. And it's really not that 20 ever felt good, just better :)

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OkResponsibility6262@reddit

You need to stay active or get active unless you’ve won the gene pool lottery.

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fearsomemumbler@reddit

I probably peaked in my mid 20s. I played rugby into my early 30s and from my mid 20s I had injury after injury, so I packed it in with two knackered shoulders and a knackered ankle at 32. I took up cycling and was pretty decent at that until I got knocked off my bike by some prick in a white van and broke three vertebrae in my lower back. I recovered from that but never really regained my strength, and lost loads of weight while trying my hardest to gain it, which ultimately led me being diagnosed with cancer. But wait there’s more!! A year later I nearly died of sepsis from an intra-abdominal infection, which wiped more weight and muscle mass off me. So now I’m my late 30s, doing my best to fight off cancer but I am a physical wreck and feel like I have the body of a pensioner who used to carry heavy things for a living. Don’t take it for granted as it can be stolen away from you before you know it!!

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Jay_J_Okocha@reddit

I'm 32, my lower back gives me trouble but apart from that I'm pretty good.

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Cheeslord2@reddit

48. Definitely deteriorating, but not yet to the point where I can't do things that I want to. Eyesight is the one I notice most as it used to work fine, now things get blurry if I stare at a computer screen too long. Also intermittent tendonitis occasionally gets me. Not worth complaining about things yet though - plenty of people have it worse than me. At least I don't need regular pills for anything yet.

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OJay23@reddit

Definitely hasn't peaked. I'm in the best shape of my life. BUT... if I do pick up an injury (say a pulled muscle), it does take a few days to get over, whereas when I was younger, I could sleep it off overnight.

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McFry_@reddit

I’m 38 and probably in my best shape, been doing kick boxing for 4 years

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KezzyKesKes@reddit

44 here. While I’m not as skinny or as fit as I was in my 20s, I’m not doing too badly. Can still leg press nearly 150kgs (I’m also a woman) and run a 10k. I used to smoke and drink heavily back then but everyone did in the nineties. Despite a neurological issue which has popped up over the past few years (hopefully will get to the bottom of what it actually is soon) I’m doing better than I have done in years. I’ve never slept well so although I can stay up past midnight, I’m usually bolloxed the day after.

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martelnoir@reddit

I’m in my early 30’s and I feel so ‘over the hill’ it’s unreal.

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TheRunnerBean@reddit

Hit 30. Training went a bit downhill. Stuff felt heavier. I ached and got niggles. Couple of months later I hit new personal bests and felt unreal. My cardio is worse as I have reduced this but I feel I can still get stronger, however, my deadlift has stalled after hitting a 3.2x BW pull.

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JustEnoughEducation@reddit

I’m 30, I definitely feel like I could be physically better than I’ve ever been. I just need a rocket up my arse to actually achieve it.

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6IXfootand8ight@reddit

I was a little bit overweight at the start of my 30s and had aches, pains and felt older than I was. Decided to start a sport (motocross and MTB) which led to me getting fitter and losing weight. I don’t have any back pain now and my knee injury hurts less. Now in my 40s and I have so much more energy than I did 10+ years ago and i feel younger than my age.

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DannyNic8@reddit

I'm soon to be 34, I try to swim regularly and play football twice a week. I wouldn't say I am past my peak but I have slowed down a bit and my recovery time from bumps and bruises is a little longer. Otherwise not much has changed.

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No-Bit-5781@reddit

Physical peak for me was late teens before i drank and smoked too much and had expendable income to buy takeaways etc, I continued to hit it hard in my 20s. I developed numbness in my hands in my 30s, doctors tested for Carpol Tunnel Syndrome but suggested it was not serious enough to operate so I just suffer from it and I broke my foot in my 20s. I decide to take up jogging in my 30s and my foot started hurting where it had broken, now in my 40s it bloody aches most of the time. The think i developed a better sense of pacing myself though now plus I haven't smoked for over 5 years which makes me feel I can keeping going longer when I am cycling although I suspect I am slower now than when i was in my teens

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the_fourth_child@reddit

My back is fucked and has been for years and I’m only 32. Can’t wait for the next 20 years!

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pizza_goes_splat@reddit

Yes, but I feel that I've made up for it by being able to look at more angles in situations and give a much more rounded conclusion.

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marquis_de_ersatz@reddit

Yes. Because your peak is in your twenties. Even if you personally didn't exercise at your peak, it still was your potential peak. No need to be upset about it, it's life.

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No-Palpitation2816@reddit

36 & the only thing my body can’t do anymore is drink & work when hungover in my early 20s working a double shift Saturday after a big Friday night out was fairly regular and while I felt shit I somehow managed it. now a big night for me is 4-5 pints and that takes a weekend to get over. I won’t ever drink a night before a work day, maybe I’m just not willing to push through while feeling shit and no longer have to. Apart from that I actually think I perform better at football, 7 a side 2 or 3x a week, lift heavier at gym with better form but I also eat better and prioritize sleep.

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hwoppy2@reddit

I’m 48 and fitter now than I’ve ever been.

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be-bop_cola@reddit

I'm 39, and if you'd asked me this back in April I'd have told you I was the strongest and fittest I'd ever been. Unfortunately due to work and life kicking my ass the last 4 months, I'm now completely back to square one with fitness and I have a bad back. Started again on Saturday at the gym and again today, so fingers crossed I'll be somewhat fitter before I hit my 40th birthday.

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HorseyBot3000@reddit

No. In my mid twenties I was almost obese on the BMI Scale. I was a smoker, drank every day, didn’t exercise aside from the odd walk, and managed my stressful job by binge eating. I’m now in my early thirties. I’m just about a safe weight on the BMI scale and exercise every day. But it took a lot of work and mental discipline to get here!

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HiddenIdentity2@reddit

I am 34. And I have aches. Not many. But a few. Many coming from the abuse I have my body when I was younger doing stupid things and the many broken bones. However physically I am in the best shape of my life. I have completed a marathon and half Ironman a full Ironman and a 100km run in the last three years. You just need to train. Hydrate and eat well and you will be fine. It won’t work for everyone. But I feel great.

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Glassback_@reddit

Yes. (40s guy here) Although it could be argued i never peaked, hah. Healing rest and recovery, and sleep in general are a wreck now, 25 years ago I could have healed a pitchfork through the chest, nowadays, if I sleep funny that's me fucked for the week Doesn't stop me training though

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autocthonous@reddit

Yes, I had a brief few years in my mid-to-late twenties when I wasn't getting injuries all the time, but now it's constant. A large part of the problem is being so busy with work and other commitments that time to properly look after yourself is in short supply.

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jkrkoti@reddit

Im a sports massage therapist & im 30. I do around 30 hours a week of hard massages as well as kettlebells 3 times per week I would say im in the best shape of my life, but 3 years ago i was suffering with chronic back pain, bad knees, bad ankles, bad shoulders etc etc For most people its a case of not stretching regularly, not warming up & cooling down (more importantly) properly when they exercise or having some strength imbalances in their muscles causing bad posture

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ChelseaMourning@reddit

I think my ability to make easy quick changes and recover quickly has passed. I’m 37F and nowadays I’m finding it much harder to lose weight despite doing the same things I would do 8 or 9 years ago to lose weight. I could lose 10lbs in a month back then, where’s now I’m lucky if I can lose 2 in that time. I’m only 9.5st to begin with but it’s frustrating nonetheless. I also have a lower tolerance to alcohol (esp wine) and I find it harder to exercise than I used to. I’m probably deficient in something, but I’m already taking iron supplements. My lower back also hurts regularly and I can put it out sometimes by sneezing hard. So basically being over 35 sucks.

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Mysterious_Yak_79@reddit

I'm in my early 50s, and what I've found is that sitting around makes the aches and pains worse. I think I need to lose weight, though, to benefit more.

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TumTiTum@reddit

Fuck yeah. Jesus Christ I *looked in the boot* three days ago and put my back out. The hair that once grew at the top of my forehead now seems to sprout from my ears. I can sleep for hours at any time, and do whenever the opportunity arises. I'm a fucking shadow of a man. I'm 37.

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Domb18@reddit

I’m 37 and train BJJ 3-4 times a week and weight train at least twice a week. I have two young kids and do shift work. If my physical peak is ending, it’s going out kicking and screaming as far as I’m concerned.

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Spiritual_Mastodon68@reddit

I had a bad back for years which after a couple of MRI scans has resulted in DDD which is just something I've to live with as one doctor in A&E put it. I have noticed now that I'm in my 40s my knees are rapidly going down the toilet can't do much sport now at all now lucky to be able to play 15mins football with my boys then my back & knees are shot. I joke with my wife that we will have to move to a bungalow soon. I deffo found I was at my physical peak in my very early 20s was at the gym 5 times a week back then.

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cloche_du_fromage@reddit

Based on strava, I hit my physical peak cycling at 48. Slightly depressing now knowing that I'm very unlikely to hit any more PBs.

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n3ver3nder88@reddit

You're only 2 years away from the next Masters category where your PBs 'reset' though

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Vivid-Fall-7358@reddit

Depending on your power curve, could potentially train towards favouring the endurance end of the spectrum over power. The latter might be on the decline but cardiovascular potential seems to remain high for much longer. Or tracking down weaknesses in core strength/position/weight etc.

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Cutterbuck@reddit

When I was 40 I could strain my back getting out of bed, I could hurt my shoulder checking my blind spot driving. When I was 45 I bought some dumbbells and started walking. I am now 50, I run 5k three or four times a week, and I lift weights three or four times a week in the gym. I think I am fitter in my 50’s than I was in my mid thirties.

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bibasalcackles@reddit

Peaked early 30s due to having a lot of time and head space to do a lot of physical activity. I'm now fairly swamped by life and work and cannot dedicate 10+ hours a week to the exercise that got me strong and healthy.

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zbornakingthestone@reddit

I'm approaching 40 and I'm definitely approaching my peak. I only started Crossfit in my mid 30s and that's pushed me to new highs. But I absolutely cannot cope with a hangover anymore - I need days to recover.

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sv21js@reddit

I think our sedentary lifestyles and work culture have a big role to play in this. My mother is nearly 70 and as a yoga teacher has had an active life that allowed her to keep her muscles working. She does not complain of nearly as much pain and discomfort in her joints as some friends my own age.

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ChainSoft3854@reddit

I know exactly what you are talking about. The amount of my mates (Im 39 as are a lot of my friends) and the spectrum of ailments across my friendship group just gets worse every year. Personally I train 2-3 times a week at the gym to keep in shape, a bit of it for ego but also because I want my kids to appreciate that keeping fit is important. I’m nowhere near the body fat levels and six pack of my early 20’s but I am now comfortably lifting much heavier weights than in my 20’s so I’m happy enough. The earlier you get to grips with what your body needs (and also what it can’t process anymore) plus the occasional exercise session then the easier it is to stay in shape and not fall into the trap of self pity and custard creams, something I’ve definitely done before 😂

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salted_hobbit_feet@reddit

Yes. I used to go to the gym to get fitter, faster and stronger - I now go to the gym to remain moderately broken. I'm only turning 30 next year and already I feel it :') for context I play rugby, have most of my life and definitely feel it is harder to deal with the physicality than it used to be.

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SportTawk@reddit

I've only just found it a bit tiring, aching knees and slightly tired, and I'm 72, prior to this I felt fine, I'm guessing it's because people don't eat any fresh food, but just heat stuff up in the microwave, takeaways, fast food and so on

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aredditusername69@reddit

36 and have some aches am the day after playing sports but not day to day. Don't think I'm necessarily passed my peak, just a bit out of shape.

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JJD14@reddit

I Hope not I’m 28 and I’m fitter now than I’ve ever been in my teens or early 20s. I run between 30km-45km per week now and lost 3.5 stone after years of over eating and snacking with 0 exercise during school and uni. The thought of going back to that scares me. When I first started running, my knees and shins were always in agony and even just standing, I had lower back pains but I’ve got none of that now.

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guyb5693@reddit

You are at your physical peak in your early 30s. By your mid to late 40s you are well past your physical peak but not yet starting to really decline.

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Davina33@reddit

I'm not the best person to ask as I've been chronically ill since I was 18. I'm now 38. I don't feel like I ever had a physical peak lol. Seriously though, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 35 thanks to long term steroid use but I've probably had it many years prior and I've also got arthritis. My lower back and hips ache constantly. I didn't have these aches in my 20s. Oh am I'm not allowed any treatment for my osteoporosis until my thyroid levels are stable.

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LyndaCarter_@reddit

I am 47 and my physical peak has so totally passed that I cannot even see it from here. I make a real effort to stay in shape - I jog for 30 mins 3 times a week and do a moderate full body weight workout 2-3 times a week, plus go for long walks regularly, but this is not the body I had in my twenties or thirties.

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Japonicab@reddit

Yes and no. I'm 39 and same fitness level as before. I do notice I can't do some things I did when younger without more consequence like having too much alcohol (hangovers are too much) or sleep on the floor (would not be able to do that now). I'm normally good, but last week I slept bad one night and my back hurt for two days.

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Purple_Wrongdoer_985@reddit

I'm in my late 30s and I do get tired very easily, but that's probably because I do a physical job. I don't have any aches and pains, though. I'm not on any medication for any ailments.

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CockroachDue9084@reddit

Not at all. I feel better than at 20

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m1nkeh@reddit

I am 39, my left knee has given me considerable issues for about 4 years now Can no longer play sport competitively.. it gets me down 😞

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Noartisan@reddit

Yes of course...At 44 I'm careful now about how I treat my body, knocked my big toe and developed gout in it.. Absolute nightmare for a month. Change in diet etc has fixed it and not had any probs after. None of this occurred to me when I was younger.

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TheImplication696969@reddit

I’m 45 and passed my physical peak around 40 years ago!!! On a serious note yeah mines well gone, too many injuries in my youth, dislocated my shoulder 6 times playing footie, broke fingers playing footie and getting in the odd fight I wish I hadn’t, asthma at around 40 ffs, ibs diverticulitis and a few other things, but I don’t feel awful everyday just some days aren’t as good as others.

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delaquanda@reddit

Definitely - mainly in terms of reactions. Didn't notice 'til playing badminton with 20 year olds at age 31. Their reactions looked super-human.

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TwyRob@reddit

I was feeling a bit broken a few years ago. I recently took up climbing (Jan 2023) and since then I am fitter and stronger. Usually still feel somehow broken though, but now it's due to falling or over exertion. Years of general inactivity had made me feel worse.

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fazzonvr@reddit

I guess, yes, theoretically. But I was overweight and alcohol addicted in my 20's. Got into road cycling to kick the habit. Now I'm 32 and fitter than I was. (Casually doing 200kms on the weekend) So yeah, I guess my body could be fitter if I was younger. But I'm in the best shape I've ever been. It's all relative

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therealijc@reddit

We’re meant to peak? Shit!

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handsome-michael@reddit

I am 31 and in big pain but that's from working in kitchens Have an appointment for insertional achilles tendinopathy next week 😭

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Think_Bullets@reddit

Mid 30s spent 15 years behind a bar, one knee gets a little stiff and has been nagging me after I dropped 15 feet of a bouldering climb. Otherwise fine. Best friend is having major back issues and has had a desk job for the last 10 years but was sporty in high school and some gym in his 20s.

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slashdotnot@reddit

People get very confused between the scientific term of "peak" and the every day term of "peak". When you see Science literature describing how peak performance goes down from about mid-late twenties, its talking about the absolute PEAK of PEAKS for athleticism and human genes. i.e if a man/woman is going to break a world record its going to be around or before that age.  It does NOT mean that from your mid-late twenties if you only ever ran a 1 hour 10km run you are doomed to forever run slower than that. You can 100% improve on that and be fitter than you were in your twenties because you were never running at the PEAK of your genetic abilities. A lot of aches/pains from knees/back/joints experienced in 30s/40s come from lack of taking care of themselves, poor posture and sedentary lifestyles. All of these are near 100% reversible with proper effort. Just most people don't want to put in the effort and instead attribute their aches and pains to inevitability or aging. Does your body require more looking after as you age? certainly. But does it mean YOU have personally passed your physical peak? Not at all!

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Falconstarr07@reddit

I am in my late forties and just recently beat my Parkrun 5k personal best which has stood for 5 years. I am in way better shape than when i was in my thirties

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Hopeful_Record_6571@reddit

26 here. I don't ache or anything. Feel basically the way I do when I was 18. But Yeah. Intellectually and physically, the peak has come and gone and I'm on the slope downwards. The "prime years" where your mind learns quickest and your body adapts fastest are gone. Doesn't matter though. Definitely not an excuse to quit anything or slow down, so who cares in the end?

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UnlikelyFront6246@reddit

I’m a long distance open water swimmer and we tend to hit our stride at later ages. When I was in my 20s I may have been able to do more jump splits but now I can do an endurance event that lasts longer than most work days so I’d say I traded some abilities for others.

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eryuu@reddit

Honestly 33 here and feel better than ever. Ditched obesity at 27 and been to the gym since. Taken up hiking and scrambling. Honestly I have less issues now than when I was in my late 20s. However I think I have some sort of early on set arthrisis, if that's a thing as my joints don't seem to recover from damage....

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Ukhotwife1984@reddit

I’m 39 but don’t feel like I’m slowing down at all really. I can run just as far as I did 20 years ago, feel just as fit as I did then etc. Only thing I struggle with is I put weight on quicker now but I don’t feel like I’ve slowed down at all.

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DMMMOM@reddit

As someone bordering on 60, I can defo say that my peak has passed but not that long ago. During lockdown I got really fit, obviously having that focus and ability really helped so it's doable, but outside of those conditions I probably wouldn't have done it. Very gad I did, maybe it's extended my life. But once you hit 50, you can't escape the basic wear and tear of half a century of working all those joints and there's not much you can really do to slow the degeneration of tissue. Enjoy it while you can because getting old is relatively miserable and the future more so.

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Ready-Journalist6087@reddit

I would say your physical peak has passed only if you let it pass. I am 34 and only started exercising 1.5 years ago , during COVID, as I had become complacent and lazy to be honest. I have had a break between September 2022 and April 2023 but since April I have been exercising every day, sometimes as much as 90 minutes per day, and I have never felt better and healthier. I do a bit of everything (yoga, Pilates, core exercises, strength exercises, running, walking) so I don’t get bored and also make sure trust my whole body is getting what it needs (I stretch daily for 10 minutes and am therefore less likely to ache, as compared to last year when I started exercising and mostly disregarded stretching. Of course everyone is different and exercising daily is not easy for everyone, but what matters is to try your best and also listen to what your body is telling you.

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appetiteneverceases@reddit

At 31, I'm potentially doing more exercise now than I was at 16 (when I danced), so although I am physically fit, I have noticed age showing. My knees and back are usually the first to start to hurt if I slightly overdo it.

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Annual_Hippo_6749@reddit

I'm 41 and in the best physical shape of my life. But I also have all the issues of the last hard 20 years As a male, I've peaked hormonally, so I use testosterone at low dosages and it makes a significant difference. Hard fact though is if I had put this much effort into my body when I was 20, I would be better than I am now. Can't beat the clock, but can do as much as we can to get the best mileage out our meat suits

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Fair-Advertising-348@reddit

Hahahaha I'm 29 and I peaked around 18. To be honest, more like 13.

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pjeedai@reddit

Anecdotal but reading the other comments seem to be part of the consensus. I'm 49 (m). Biologically I'm by definition well past peak potential. However after a fairly active teens and early 20s some sport injuries plus the pressures of work and socialising my late twenties into thirties meant I did very little of the sports I had done, ate poorly, drank too much and ... felt some decline and less able to deal with hangovers but didn't feel too bad for it generally. Couple of lasting niggles from poorly healed injuries but nothing crippling. Didn't notice the slow but insidious decline, just chalked it up to "getting older". Got to 38 and first child being born was a shock to the system, struggled to keep up with a toddler after a week at work, needed the whole weekend to recover from working but now up at 6am and active all day to deal with kiddo. Hit a brick wall physically and took a long hard look in the mirror (and at the scale). Lots of sitting down for work and started getting bad sciatica, old injuries went from occasional niggle to daily reminder and constant background pain. Gave up smoking, put on 7 more kilos in weight. Felt like crap, looked like crap. Didn't want to be a fat dad at 40 so made a conscious decision to do something about it, couldn't do much at first so started by walking 10k steps a day, then upped it to a min of 5kms at a decent pace (started at 12mins per km, then 11mins, then aiming for sub 10mins per km, then 9mins). Really paid attention to diet and supplements, cooked everything from scratch, weighed portion sizes, cut out takeaways. Lost 7 kilos (about a stone) in 6 months. Target weight was to lose another 7 kilos but upping amount I walked wasn't viable so started at the gym as well, just light weights and some cardio a couple of times a week. Lost the next 7 kilos over the next 10 months. Hit target weight and waist size I hadn't seen since my early 20s and felt much better for it physically, sciatica gone. But injury niggles remained and despite now having a six pack didn't feel much better about myself - under all that 30s bloat was the same skinny 20 year old I remembered. Turns out pushing a mouse around for 20 years doesn't build much muscle So having hit those goals I set new ones. I consciously started eating more calories, watched my macros and kept up a good level of lean protein, hitting the gym 3-5 times a week to lift heavy and over the next two to three years transformed myself into a much better shape. Did a lot of corrective work on the particular joints/muscles that had injury niggles and by 46 was in the best shape of my life. A lower peak potential than I would have been mid 20s, but far closer to that potential peak than I'd ever been. People kept asking me if I was done with my diet/fitness fad but the answer is .. no, its not a diet. It was a complete change of lifestyle. My maintenance work and diet now is the minimum I need to do nowadays for all those decades of accumulated injuries, years spent sitting down and general wear and tear to not have an effect. If, like the past 6 months or so, work takes over again and I have less time to work out those niggles come back, the sciatica flares, the weight piles back on. So the decline is there, I have to work harder to stand still, I feel like I spend more hours in the gym correcting posture and muscle imbalances and rehabbing injuries than I do "getting swole". And those injuries stack up - I blew my MCL getting out of my car, threw my back out picking up laundry, did my PCL when my dog bent my knee back the wrong way, all on top of the ankle injuries and thumb injuries I've had from playing basketball in my teens, that hip and shoulder that never felt the same since the motorbike crash. But I'm ok with that, I'm not doing it for any competition, my wife has loved me in every shape I've been. But I feel better because I have some control over the decline, I'm conscious of it, I actively address imbalances and issues, I'm conscious about the fuel and the payload I put into my body. There's a difference between seeing the decline and just complaining about it or treating it as an inevitability and seeing a decline and working to minimise the negative aspects, working to your strengths and giving your body the tools and the fuel to do what it needs to. So yah I may rattle a little because now I supplement with Omega 3, zinc, creatine, psyllium husks, I may ache if I work out and leg DOMS can take 3 days to clear. I miss eating But compared to the utterly drained feeling, the bloated feeling, the stiff joints in knees and hips and hands I get if I \*don't\* do all these things ... I feel better now (even after a few lazy months) than I did during most of my 30s. I can't run (knee and ankle combo punishes that sort of impact), but I can walk further, swim faster and lift heavier than I have at any point in my life before now. Semi ironically this week on the scales after 10 years of this I hit the same weight that triggered me to start this whole process - I now maintain about 95kgs but after a couple of weeks holiday in France I'm back up to 97kgs where I started. But my body composition is completely changed, I may be borderline obese by the BMI standard but its buff dad/dad bod rather than skinny fat and all around my tummy. I'm not in the best shape I \_could\_ have been - if I'd done this since my 20s I'd be in a different place. But I am in a better place and a better relationship with my body than ever before, and when I am with other people my age no one believes I am the same age or older than some of them. If it wasn't for the almost completely white hair I'd get away with people thinking I'm 10 years younger than I am tl;dr decline is real and inevitable. how you deal with it is a choice.

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mysticbiscuit1977@reddit

Now I'm.in my 40s I definitely feel like physically I am not at my peak any more. I have gained weight due to a knee injury. I still exercise regularly and eat healthily but I tire much more quickly when working out. Just she I guess

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ohnobonogo@reddit

Fuck yes

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Goldedition93@reddit

I was in the doctors this evening because I thought I had appendicitis, turns out I pulled a stomach muscle from working out…I’m 30

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mrspillins@reddit

Depends how shitly you treated your body during your teens and 20’s. I didn’t particularly look after myself during those years, but now I’m my 30’s I’m pretty darn fit and still improving. So for me, I still haven’t peaked. But if I’d have looked after myself in my 20’s, I might be finding my 30’s comparatively worse. But ultimately I’ll never know if I was capable of more in my younger years.

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AirportCreep@reddit

I was in my best shape in my late teens early twenties as I played sports 4-5 times a week and then mandatory military service in Finland for a year. After that it went downhill with drinking and shitty food so I slowly gained weight throughout mid-20s. I've now managed to stop that trend and I've lost about 10kg this year by just adjusting my diet and going to for strength workouts 3-4 times a week. I haven't felt this fit in a long time, but I have long way to go... 106kg now, the objective is 90kg.

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Own-Butterscotch1713@reddit

As a woman yes, I find my boyfriend to be fitter now he's hearing 40s

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Smudge_09@reddit

I’m 39 and have just smashed my half marathon PB, I would say I don’t feel as strong as I did in my mid 20s though.

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Doctor_of_Puppets@reddit

Nope. Early 40s now and never been in better physical condition.

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Majestic_Falcon_6535@reddit

I have definitely noticed a decline in my energy levels since my late 30's, I find it that little bit harder to get back up after kneeling down, and feel like I've ran a marathon after climbing one set of stairs. My peak has passed.

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GiantSpicyHorses@reddit

I was in terrible shape in my 20s (not overweight, just a heavy smoker, binge drinker, and party animal, with an awful diet), started to turn things around in my 30s, and now in my 40s I am definitely in the best shape of my life. I have way fewer general aches and pains than in my 20s and way more energy. Never felt better, although now I've said that I'll probably get diagnosed with incurable cancer next week.

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Lunar_Leo_@reddit

No. I'm almost 36 and I'm in the best shape of my life. I feel I'm m mature and wise enough now to have the consistency to go to the gym and eat well. I love to cook and make most of my meals, I try to get to the gym 4 times a week minimum, I walk everywhere as work and shops and the gym are close to home, I get plenty of protein, I avoid too much sugar and processed shit. It isn't difficult or a struggle, it's just my life now. My energy levels are great and I'm proud when I look in the mirror. I'm still waiting for my peak :)

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CharacterFactor981@reddit

I am 39,l feel alright, maybe becoz l am slim. But now starting to exercise by walking and doing push-ups, l natural like vegetables but not a fan of water, forcing myself these days though to drink it. I stay away from pills unless it's really necessary. If l am to get vitamins it means l have to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables rather than processed vitamin tablets. Tablets weakens your immune system.

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Kuliquitakata@reddit

Nope. Keep your body moving (particularly with a full body strength and mobility protocol - doesn’t have to be anything fancy!) and you’ll be fine.

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sharplight141@reddit

Absolutely, my metabolism crashed years ago and can't eat whatever I want anymore with no consequences. Sad times

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BossStannis@reddit

35 here. Older I am getting the more exercise I am doing. Fitter as less booze and smokes too. I may not be as fast as I was but I’m definitely fitter than anytime in my partying 20s. Do it to feel good and keep fit. Not to compare.

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liquid_profane@reddit

Yes my has, but theny physical peak was probably about 17 years ago, when I was in my early 30's,.have had spinal fusion surgery since then lol

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AirFive352@reddit

I'm 34. My muscle mass has vastly increased since my twenties but my cardio fitness has nosedived. I have been on physio for the last 18 months with a dodgy knee and my GP says there might be something wrong with my lungs. Take me back to skinny 20s.

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OriginalMandem@reddit

Oddly no. But when I was 40 I finally figured out a health issue that had been plaguing me for maybe 15 or 20 years resulting in me being very overweight and having low energy etc etc. I've never been 'buff' though and I'm going bald, which I'm not super happy about. But I probably gave better physical endurance now than ever.

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FirstSipp@reddit

I’m 36. I have a propensity of getting muscle knots. But guess what: that disappears if I quite coffee and standup every hour at my desk job. Frankly I think the combination of inflammatory food stuffs and greater levels of sedentary work will wear on anyone. Otherwise, I got worse hangovers in my 20’s and have greater resilience in my 30’s. I can lift more and am noticeably more intense/forceful in my Muay Thai training than all the late teens and 20-somethings at both gyms I practice at. I can easily stay up/out way past 10. I just don’t like ruining my schedule because I am a productive adult (fortunately). I don’t have the spastic energy a 20 year old would have but have out-raved (yes, out raved) 20-year olds in the last year. My performance is definitely at the highest power I’ve seen. To be fair I hear the 40’s can potentially yield another fitness peak. Don’t listen to this weird self-destroying shit about you going downhill. Your best years are ahead of you. At my age, if I see a 30 year old barely able to stay up past 10 I’d question their health or doubt they had a shred of fortitude.

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Thisisopposite@reddit

I don’t, I got told I look around 20 today by a 19 year old, I look younger for sure, I’m 33 and I have grown a few inches, I was 5ft 9 and now I’m 5ft 11, I also can’t grow a beard still 😂

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Tomasx123@reddit

as a professional athlete that was in tremendous shape, you start going downhill fast when you hit your early 30s. While, yes, you can still be in great shape, you start to struggle with those younger than you. You start slowing down, reactions are not as quick etc. Where you can still compete is with your experience and decision making. of course there are exceptions but that is why many athletes start looking at retirement in their mid to late 30s.

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Ohbc@reddit

I hear similar complaints from my friends and I'm shocked at how bad their health is. But I'm not entirely sure it's anything to do with age but simply activity levels. The only body pains I get, are entirely self-enflicted - I lift weights and run and I get sore muscles but it's not a bad feeling. I am in the best shape I've ever been and I'm only improving. Well not at running, I actually hate running but I recognise the importance of cardio for my health.

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Treehockey@reddit

32 currently in the 2nd best shape of my life, got in a rut for a few years but I’ll be beating that plateau soon. It may sound crazy, but take glucosamine-chondroiton-msm supplements every day. Your joints will last years longer. Seriously. It’s one of the stupidest things that doctors prescribe it only for old people who already have destroyed joints. It’s a preventative and it actually works. Also work out regularly, running is probably the easiest one to to every other day

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arthur_sleep@reddit

Never underestimate the sheer stress of having children puts on your body. I had two in 18 months and it physically destroyed my pelvis and lower spine…weirdly I’m now flat footed which I never was before. Then the top of my back from pushing prams / carrying kids. Not getting enough sleep, drinking too much coffee. Not cooking properly because you’re too tired etc… It’s only now mine are past toddlerhood that I’m feeling healthy again, I’m exercising, making good food choices for the family, drinking water (thanks American fridge). I’m not saying kids are the reason for everyone feeling gross, but they take a lot from you and don’t give you time to put back into yourself.

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mangopancake-@reddit

Nah,from being pretty sedentary in my 20s I got into competitive olympic weightlifting when I was 31 (competed 20 times, lifted at British Championships and qualified for Euro and World Masters the year covid hit). Started BJJ aged 37 and train 6x a week. Varying the intensity as my rate of recovery takes much longer and I'm not as motivated or have as much energy. I'm more likely to skip sessions and pig out these days and not feel guilty about it😄

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LordofFruitAndBarely@reddit

The amount of people in their 30’s and even 20’s complaining of constant aches and pains is disturbing. Unless you have some kind of chronic condition, why is your body so wrecked? Take good care of what you’ve got, and you can feel great well into old age. Anatomy is a science that is well understood now. What we need to do to be healthy is known, people just don’t do it and would rather complain

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steptoeshorse@reddit

I've always been into exercise/sport etc. I'm 47 now and the best way to explain my physical decline is not so much the activity but the recovery needed. In my 20's I could play football on Saturday and run a 10k race on the Sunday. If I play football now I need til Tuesday before my body will agree to anything that doesn't involve the sofa and Netflix.

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Amazing-Window-346@reddit

Nope Im 40 and doesn't better than when i was 25 in the navy

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DareSudden4941@reddit

I read somewhere once that it’s because before the dawn of modern medicine 30s/40s would be near the end of your life

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daxamiteuk@reddit

There is no inevitability to this. It’s a consequence of our increasing poor lifestyles . Reduce inflammation by drinking plenty of water, take omega 3 supplements to try to correct our modern omega 3:6 ratio imbalance, reduced processed food intake, get plenty of sleep , and stay active . Don’t hunch over your mobile phone all day! Look up mobility workouts by people like MoveU or Roger Frampton or Joe Therapy on Instagram, they give all sorts of advice and exercises you can do for free , the trick is doing this on a daily basis. It’s not easy to stick to this - I’m bad at it myself . But it’s absolutely possible to reverse the damage our pathetic modern lifestyle inflicts.

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BobBobBobBobBobDave@reddit

I was fat, unfit, smoked, and drank too much from my early twenties to my mid thirties, then I made an effort to sort myself out. So honestly, I feel a lot better in my forties, but there are obvious reasons.

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BansheeZessinthal@reddit

I would say I reached my peak fitness at around 38, so I am clearly a late bloomer. I am now 47. I have noticed more tiredness, etc, in the past few years, but aside from a vitamin D deficiency, all of my other tests have come back indicating I am pretty healthy. You do become more aware that the clock is ticking, though. I am being investigated by cardiology for t wave inversion on two ECGs at the moment, but they are not overly concerned and think it could be benign. There were two weeks where I thought, "This is it, it is all downhill now," and started catastrophising, but I am over that now. I don't have that many aches and pains at 47, and it does make me wonder why your friends have so many. I have also only had physio twice in my life, briefly. I have also slowed down on drinking because I can't handle it anymore, so that fits with the age thing.

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FarmingNoMore@reddit

I'm 52 and was probably at my best fitness after I turned 50. That said last year I ran my first half marathon (and now try and run one a month). In my 40's I took up cycling and between that and running I feel fitter than I ever had.

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decentlyfair@reddit

I am 58 and though my energy for going out is fairly non-existent, I am doing ok. Lost a load of weight,go to a PT twice a week and walk the dog. No aches and pains although my knees say no occasionally to stuff but I listen to them. I eat healthily but always have (portion sizes were bad) everything is in normal range from blood pressure to cholesterol. I drink rarely but enjoy it when I do but age/experience makes me stop before I get silly. I can do squats lower than my pt and my flexibility is the envy of my yoga teacher despite being overweight at the time. I am probably fitter and healthier than I have been for a very long time (although wrinklier).

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Bagel-luigi@reddit

100%. With enough training and discipline I could probably get into better shape now (age 30) than I was during my military life (age 20-25) but I simply do not have the energy or the time. More so the time than the energy, but the energy decrease is most certainly noticable So personally my physical peak has definitely past, but that's not to say my body physically does not have the potential for it. One of my close friends a few weeks younger than me quit his job and visits the gym daily, and he's in the best shape I've ever seen him. But then come the financial issues of not working......

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Somerlouise@reddit

I am 50 and am in far better shape now than my 20’s. In my 20’s I was sedentary and overweight. Now I run daily, walk everywhere (25,000 steps average a day) and eat much more healthily. So your peak doesn’t have to be in your 20’s or 30’s.

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nigeltuffnell@reddit

Late forties and I worked very physical jobs in my teens to thirties. I shifted between desk jobs and physical/hybrid roles through thirties and forties, and now have a pure desk job. It got to the point that I was in Physio every fortnight for back and shoulder issues, which were work related (I was self employed and worked on my own so did everything). 100% I am past my physical peak. I am in the gym regularly with a personal commitment to get "back in shape" by 50, but I'm a long way past what I was in my late twenties. I find it quite interesting that lifting certain heavy objects which I know the weight of has become a lot harder.

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chimphead123@reddit

I don't think people understand the concept of physical peak. There's just a bunch of people who treated their bodies like shit when they were in their 20's and then decided to get healthy. Sure they're more healthy than they were at 20, but if they had applied the same effort when they were younger they likely would have been in better shape. There's a reason why footballers, boxers, etc. usually slow down in their 30s, because they have passed their peak. It doesn't mean they're still not super healthy but a peak 25 year old is usually in better shape than a peak 40 year old. Its pretty simple.

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Jazzlike_Wish101@reddit

I m 50 and its only in the last year I feel a bit achy when I get up in the morning ...30 s 40 s is too young

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brighthair84@reddit

I have medical issues which aren’t age related (autoimmune) but no, I regularly exercise. Bought a peloton and love it. I’m working on my heart, lungs and strength to be fitter for older age

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java_dude1@reddit

Not by a long shot. Started cycling 2 years back and this year started joining organized events and races. At 42 I'm in the best shape of my life. I usually cycle 250 to 400km a week and have dropped 20kg in the last year. I'm just getting started.

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2918927669@reddit

I'm 49 and was at my physical peak around 44-48. I'll get fit again, I'm not concerned it's all downhill from here. I just need to put in a bit of effort.

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ExtremelyDubious@reddit

Definitely. I'm 40 and I don't have much in the way of niggling issues or general aches and pains yet. But my metabolism keeps slowing down and it keeps getting harder to avoid getting fatter. I don't have the stamina that I used to and I've noticed that my natural walking speed has got slower over time. That's quite aside from cosmetic issues like hair loss and worsening skin problems. My physical 'peak' was never much to get excited about, but it's definitely past and gone.

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Diseased-Jackass@reddit

I've just turned 30 and feel like death is sharpening his scythe.

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antitrollpatrol@reddit

Yes. 38 was the beginning of downhill.

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JamJam120199@reddit

Past it at 24. Was a peak form individual, 50+ amateur boxing matches, marathon runner & was at the gym every day bar Sunday. Covid put me in a coma for a month, muscle atrophy amongst a plagues worth of other covid relate illness destroyed my body. Took me a year to build up the energy & fatigue resistance to do a 5k Everyday is pain & no matter how hard I try I know I lost that feeling of "youth" I had prior to covid, even my coaches/ teammates in sports noticed how "old" my body acts.

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Comfortable_Key9790@reddit

No frickin' way! I'm in my 30s and I'm fitter now than I was in my 20s, in every single way.

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the_real_mr_rabbit@reddit

Yes, it's biology and hormones working against you.

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ThatsNotMyName02@reddit

40. I used to think so at 38. Decided to fix my diet, lose weight and stop drinking. Also started on testosterone. Probably the best I’ve felt since I was 20.

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benjamink@reddit

36, never been fitter/faster (and I've always been active running, cycling, climbing, hiking etc.) Not going out eating/drinking 2/3 times a month has made the biggest difference. I still get left for dust by plenty of older looking runners and cyclists at races and events so I'm determined to carry on improving!

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Sad-Personality8493@reddit

Yep. My physical peak was around 27. Im 42 now and im completely fine with being a middle aged man

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No-Screen-7870@reddit

sadly, yes - i’m 39, overweight and working on it, but don’t have any time for deliberate exercise. Would love to be able to address it

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AveryWallen@reddit

Not at all. I'm not saying this blindly in false hope. I'm still at my peak. Just not my sexual peak. There's been a clear tapering off there. But physical strength peak, 100%. I thought I was the shit when I was in my mid 20s. My 43yo self, warms up with my 1 rep max weight from my 20s. And I was training pretty hardcore then. But changes I can see; I can't eat shit any more like I used to and expect to feel strangely fine. I eat a pack of biscuits like I routinely did in my 20s or early 30s, and I feel like utter shit the rest of the day. I can still drink and feel fine the next day. Not that I do though. I guess I just automatically look after myself better these days. In my 20s I probably had a constant low-level depression and didn't know what the fuck I was doing. These days I'm at least 95% dialed in to my life.

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cypherspaceagain@reddit

I'm 41. With this fear in mind I signed up with a coach in May and have done more fitness work in the last few months than I have in the preceding 20 years. I've lost 10kg, I look better, I feel better. If I'd always been fit and healthy, yeah, my peak had passed, but since I did nothing for 25 years, no, my peak is ahead of me.

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threeminutesoftime@reddit

Mid 50's and fat still feel like I was when I was much younger don't ask me why haha.

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BeNiceTitMice@reddit

Yes! But I’m not exactly a blob fish either. ☺️

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ThePinkBaron365@reddit

Slipped a disc at 35 which means I’m not supposed to run or life weights. 36 now and put on a bit of timber after doing very little exercise for a year. Swimming and yoga is helping me - and I’m trying to eat healthily

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v2marshall@reddit

32, believe in in o pretty good shape. Muscle density is good but injuries are more consistent and recovery is now key. Strength is also probably better than ever but that is also down to better recovery and diet

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SlyZip@reddit

After 26 it's all downhill.

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waxy_dwn21@reddit

Honestly I think a lot of how you age is probably related to genetics and how well you look after yourself. I know an incredibly in shape 55 year old who can do muscle ups and pistol squats with a weighted vest - yet I also know able bodied folks in their 20s who are very out of shape and get lots of aches and pains.

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guzusan@reddit

Late 20s. Physically require more effort and longer recovery periods, but definitely more capable and committed.

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_Dreamer_Deceiver_@reddit

Nope. Almost 40. I was fat before now I'm not. I'm more active now than I ever was. Sure I have new aches and pains but meh I feel much better, overall than I did before. Maybe if I was fitter in my 20s I'd think differently

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DannyS2810@reddit

I’m in my mid 30s and always assumed my peak was my mid 20s when I was super fit. After a bad breakup I’ve spent the last few months bettering myself and I’m fitter now than I’ve ever been! I think it’s just easier to get lazier as we get older. Time and discipline and you can be super fit at any age

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Simple-Courage-6279@reddit

Yeah definitely. I was very fit and strong in my 20s, I'll never be that level again.

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Mental_Beast@reddit

Im mid 40’s and in my best shape ever. Its only the beginning.

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djdavies82@reddit

Depends, cardio wise yes, I will never be able to run as fast as I used to. Muscular wise no, I’ve never been in better shape. A lot of it comes down to lifestyle choices and the long term effects it has. A friend of mine was obese for all his life up until he had a gastric band fitted (at 40). Before the band he would complain of knee/hip/feet pain (to the point he had trouble walking) but since he has lost the weight a lot of those problems have gone.

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DarkangelUK@reddit

I'm 44 in Oct, took up weight lifting 10 years ago, lost 80lbs and fitter than ever. Lifetime natural lifter and repped the 50kg dumb bells on the bench press the other day, I've climbed Ben Nevis 3 times and it's gotten easier each time. People just get less active as they get older and that affects them

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MommaToANugget@reddit

I’m in my mid 30s, I gave birth a couple of years ago but still breastfeeding and I definitely feel like I’m still feeling the impact of that everyday. However, I absolutely think that once we’re completely weaned, with some regular exercise and a shape up of my diet, my peak is yet to come!

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javajuicejoe@reddit

No definitely not. But I am lazy.

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Street28@reddit

I was the fittest I've ever been in my late 30s, then I tore my knee ligaments climbing and needed surgery. I had to write about 18 months of exercise off while I waited for the surgery then rehabbed. I'm now 40 and am just about back to where I was. I'm climbing as hard if not harder but my strength is up but my cardio speed is a bit down from a couple years ago.

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SkullDump@reddit

I’m 50 and I know I’m well past my physical peak because I lead an incredibly healthy and self destructive lifestyle but the effects and impacts of those things aside I’m in pretty good shape. One of the things important I learnt early was, in my late twenties and never having suffered back ache I spent sone time having to sleep on a shitty mattress. I got back ache within months to the point that one day whilst getting out of the shower I spent 45 minutes lying on the bathroom floor unable to move and in excruciating pain. Since have I have always ensured I have a good mattress and I have never once and since experienced even the slightest twinge. So whatever you do in life make sure you have a good mattress.

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mrthreebears@reddit

I'm 40 now and I'd say I was at my peak around 25/26. Back then I was laughing off highspeed crashes, peeling car doors off like a terminator, Scuba Diving and spelunking while working a 60 hour week and getting my on maybe 4 hours sleep a night My prescriptions now come in a small sack every month and a sneeze is enough to make me have to sit down to recover lol

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Hot-Objective5926@reddit

Nope - I’ve never been stronger in my late 30s, did my first strongman at 38

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xeneco1981@reddit

Use it or loose it! As we move less and less, our “peak” fitness gets younger and younger In an office all day? Not eating the best you can? Then the best peak you could have ever achieved is behind you It’s not too late to turn things around, just need to be more active….but start gently!

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OrchidRainDrop@reddit

Nah - my guy said that his 20-something self wouldn’t have won a fight against his 40’s self. He grew stronger, more powerful, and with better control and judgement. Not as fast, but bone-crushing. He’s had enough experience to know - it comes with all the schizophrenia he’s encountered.

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LordAxalon110@reddit

I spent 20 years as a chef working between 60-100 hours a week, between the damage it's caused to all of my joints and various other medical issues. I've passed my peak and I'm 38.

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utrecht1976@reddit

I'm 47 and in better shape than 10 years ago. How? Less alcohol, better food, more active.

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Haunted_Entity@reddit

100% ... in my late teens i could pass a parachute reginment fitness test (1.5 mile in under 9min iirc) 75 pressups and 75 situps and like 5 or 10 pullups. Nowadays if i walk up the stairs too fast or have to jog to the car cos of rain i breifly see god. As an atheist i can tell you, thats scary.

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pocket__cub@reddit

I'm 40 this year and signed up to my first marathon a month ago. I walk 15-25000 steps a day in work. I don't think I've ever been so physically fit. I spent a lot of my teens, 20s and 30s drinking and smoking a lot. I've also always had joint problems and pain on and off and the only thing that helps me is to keep moving. This is due to a genetic condition. I can see why a lot of people get aches and pains in their 30s and 40s. Especially if they have sit down jobs, or a lot of stress, or poor work life balance.

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Consistent-Farm8303@reddit

Just turned 30. Stronger than I was early twenties. Cardio’s nowhere near as good but that’s mostly down to neglect. Feel more drained and more easily than I did back in the day but that’s mainly due to adult responsibilities and a mentally taxing job. Takes a bit more to recover from hard exercise though. Can I drink like I did in my early twenties? Fuck no.

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Illustrious_Force565@reddit

Was super fit a couple of years ago. Did lots of swimming and thousands of miles of running and cycling. One injury to my hearing resulting in constant searing pain and a decent into mental hell ruined all that. Piled on 3 stone (doesn't sound a lot) but I'm finding it so much harder now to loose the weight. If that injury hadn't occurred I think at 38 I'd still have been improving physical wise. C'est La vie.

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MalcolmTucker88@reddit

Nope, I've never been fitter than now and I'm 35. You only start to deteriorate if you allow yourself to deteriorate. I've got a marathon coming up and I've got my first Iron Man next year. I could barely run 1km in my 20s.

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DiZ1992@reddit

Depends on what you mean by peak. Sure, my knees hurt sometimes when I go running now which they never used to do... But on the other hand I can run faster and further than I could previously. My joints sometimes ache if I don't warm up before moving furniture or something now, but also I'm stronger than I used to be anyway. Feels like things are starting to deteriorate a bit but also it's still well within my power to improve things, just have to put effort in.

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Sorry-Log-1854@reddit

I became a personal trainer at 46 and was in better shape than I was at 26. My brother is 44 and a PT and he's in outstanding physical shape. Age has nothing to do with it in my view.

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Comprehensive_Gap693@reddit

Im chill. I'm 38 and a woman. My physical shape is determined by my physical activity, how I eat, sleep and do self care. Do I feel more physically prime than when I was 20. Yes. At 20 I was perma drunk living off mcdonalds, not really sleeping and doing fuck all exercise. Uni life .. I now exercise regularly, eat well, sleep right and understand my body. I realised massage and regular red light therapy makes me feel awesome so I do it. Boringly I can look at patches of 20s and 30s where I felt much better and it's related. I feel fab now. Maybe I'm not as quick at swimming and running as I was mid 20s but endurance is better etc so balanced out.

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CrimpsShootsandRuns@reddit

Early 30s and before injury last year (not age related) I was in by far the best cardio shape of my life. A year on and I've taken to lifting since I can't run right now and I'm stronger than I've ever been.

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Viv_84@reddit

I'm 38 and just started my new job in a cash and carry . I hope not or else it's all down hill from here lol.

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jjsmclaughlin@reddit

I would say I was at my physical peak between about 27 and 33. The wheels really started to come off after about 42. Not that I'm a wreck or anything, but I would just echo what everyone else has said: Less energy, more injuries, longer recovery time.

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TheJacketPotato@reddit

I'm turning 30 in 2 months. I'm occasionaly tired, but for the most part I think I'm better physically than I've ever been. I don't go to the Gym or anything like that. However I do go for walks regularly, cycle sometimes. I eat somewhat healthy I think? Could I outsprint 20 year old me..? Probably not, but I think I'd put up a good fight.

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Joshthenosh77@reddit

I don’t think I know

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welchyyyyy1@reddit

Wait till you get to the mid fifties, literally everything hurts 😂 And I use the word literally literally

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Ronotrow2@reddit

No I was at my sexual peak at 34/35

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Throwaway100562hd@reddit

Theoretical genetic limits? Yer, of course. Injury proneness? Possibly. Recovery time? Maybe As for as I can get myself with hard work? No. I'm in my late 30s and determined to get myself fitter than I've ever been, and I was pretty darn fit in my late 20s.

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No-Can-6237@reddit

Not if you lift weights. I was strongest in my 40's.

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Pedal_bin@reddit

I'm 40. I've got some aches and pains but nothing major and I could do with losing a couple of stone. I have a dog who I walk 2 or 3 times a day for at least 1.5miles each time, I play airsoft and I've resumed going to the gym As for physical peak, probably reached it mid 30s

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gaz19833@reddit

I'm 40 this year and in ok shape. The motivation to work out isn't there anymore though, running after a small child and working full time gives me as much exercise as I feel I need

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Psamiad@reddit

40 and fittest I've been. The people you're talking about have other problems not related to age. Poor diet, lack of exercise and possibly mental health problems too (which often manifest with physical symptoms).

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RaymondBumcheese@reddit

I have to do more exercise for less results so, yes.

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Daedelous2k@reddit

Maybe it's a lifestyle thing. Nowadays we have so many things that encourage us to be couch potatoes, social media, video games, streaming services, work from home. These things are increasingly leaving us much slower. I am kind of the same, but there's one scene I am thinking about to inspire me. The scene of Renton and Spud exercising in Trainspotting 2.

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Clever_Username_467@reddit

I had a frail mediocre body in my 20s, and it's been all down hill since then.

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luv2belis@reddit

Strange one as I'm in my 30s and definitely have a few more niggles and aches, but I started at the gym over 2 years ago and playing football every week and I'm definitely in the best shape of my life and the strongest I've ever been, and constantly improving. I never did any weight training before though.

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JohnCasey3306@reddit

Oh long passed, of course. It's a biological certainty.

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Slink_Wray@reddit

Physical? Probably. Intellectual/creative/social? Doubt it.

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ll23sparki@reddit

Early 40’s here, I have slowed slightly but have not got to my peak. I run ultras and after having some time off ( my husband died) I am fitter than I ever was, I have completed the Lakeland 50 and the Hardmoors 110 miles this year, along with other running and walking events. Ok it takes more to recover but certainly not hit my peak yet. I think as you get older you have to listen to your body more and have better rest and recovery but as a friend once said- you are only as old as the man you feel’.

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gazmbuku@reddit

I'm 42 and last week hurt my shoulder and achilies. I tend to over do it and cause such injuries (had a go at surfing for the first time). It's usually doing something new that causes most issues

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CautiousAmount@reddit

I was quite big in my 30s but recently I’ve taken up walking football (first time playing for 20 years) and then gradually moved to men’s football. I’m not as fast as I was but I can hold my own, just. I’m fitter now than I was ten years ago.

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Ordinary-Doubt5574@reddit

I am 49 now and last year I ran my first marathon and this year have already run 5. I feel like I am at the fittest in my entire life. I am improving on my fitness rapidly as I train more and its unlocking new levels I didn't know existed.

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PennyyPickle@reddit

I'm gonna be 30 next week and feel like I'm the fittest I've ever been so unless something drastic happens in the last week of your 20s, I feel pretty good about entering my 30s. My dad is nearly 58 and is still super active and fit - he cycles upwards of 50km every Thursday night with my 65 year old uncle. They're still as active as they were in their earlier life, but I guess it's a little harder for them to maintain.

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Traditional_Leader41@reddit

I'm not your age demographic, I turned 50 this year. At 17.5st in my early 40s I knew I was seriously unfit and decided to do something about it. I cut back on the boozing. Not stopped, just once a week instead of two or three. I started watching what I ate, not hardcore dieting, just cut down on the takeaways and fried shite and started eating lots of fruit. I bought a good bicycle and started commuting and weekend riding. I bought a sit up bar, the kind that fits under your room door. First 10 a night, then more till now, 100 a night. I try and make sure I get at least 7hrs sleep a night. I ache nowhere near as much I used to and I feel great. Since then I've lost nearly 4st. I'm not ripped but I'm fit. Last Saturday, I decided to see if I could go for a jog. Run once 6yrs ago and none before then since school. I did 10km. Jogging and fast walking combination. 10yrs ago, that would've killed me. According to Garmin, I've a resting heart rate of 47 and a fitness age of 46. All those kinda stats might be bollocks but I feel better than ever. It's never too late to do something about your health.

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blahdee-blah@reddit

I’m late 40s and, aside from knee replacements due to dodgy genetics, I’m still pretty fit and healthy. I exercise regularly, can do a night of dancing (although I am more tired in the morning than I used to be - I prefer to arrange a lazy day but it’s not essential). I have some arthritis in fingers and toes although, being a woman, I’ve just stared HRT and can’t believe how much that has settled down. It’s more important for women to do strength training at this life stage too. I’ve always had a bad back so I’ve kept up with Pilates on and off which I’d imagine is helpful. I do think this is the ‘use it or lose it’ stage.

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Josquius@reddit

Maybe. Ish. But then I've had a bad knee since my early 20s and always had troubles with tiredness. So.. Not really. Just the kids make it feel worse.

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Arrakis_Is_Here@reddit

Most definitely. My physical peak was late 20s/early 30s. I was in the gym every day doing cardio and weights. I cycled to work and back. I was eating right. I was doing all this for two reasons. 1. My relationship was in trouble and me being overweight was one of the issues. 2. It gave me a few hours away from my partner When we split up, I quit the gym but kept cycling to work, which was now a 9 ½ mile round trip, instead of a 4 mile round trip. But then my new bestie at work happened to live 2 streets away from me and started giving me lifts to and from work. Then depression set in as my bike rusted away in the garden. Then I broke my knee right before lockdown and was sedentary for over a year. Got to a point last year where walking up hill was giving me chest pains. I'm slowly getting fitter, but I'm more injury prone now. So I have to take it easy. But I'm still a mess. On a bad day I can barely walk, all I can do is lay in bed and hope that strong painkillers and sleep will see me better the next day. It all comes down the individual at the end of the day

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smudgerc@reddit

Mid 30s here and have always been in to fitness to some level since the age of 15. I'm less "ripped" than I was at 25 but I can run and bike further and feel healthier. I have plans to train for a long distance triathlon in the next couple of years. I may not be as fast as I used to be - I stopped playing football because 18 year olds made me dizzy. But I am better at other things now and probably less injury prone as I have learnt to take care of my body better and the importance of stretching and mobility rather than just lifting heavy weights until my knees and shoulders hurt. If I was in pain just doing daily acitvities it would drive me crazy and I would be worried. I plan to be able to play with my children and grandchildren and neices and nephews for the next 30 years. Pain and discomfort has a cause - and it is rarely just age. It is generally fixable if you treat, strengthen and stretch the problem areas. Seek professional advice and follow a treatment plan. Incorporate rehab into your daily life, even if only 20 minutes a day.

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Draigh1981@reddit

I've actually been working out more, started running (slowly building it up) and doing yoga, at 42, I feel better now than in did in my 30's, no physiotherapy or whatever necessary. Also started drinking more water instead of soda's. A healthy lifestyle gives you a healthy body.

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cbxcbx@reddit

Physical whomst?

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ifuckedamelon@reddit

Yes. 36 here, late teens early 20s regularly running track. Lifting weights/hiking. Through my 20s was an athletic build. 30s slight decline but still doing to same level of exercise. It just becomes slightly harder to do. Certainly past my prime.

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StuLife101@reddit

I'm in my 30s and no. I might not be running a marathon without injuring myself anytime soon but I'm physically stronger than I have ever been because I regularly go to the gym 3-4 times a week. It depends how you go about things I guess?

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kickyblue@reddit

Turned 44 last week - I do 120kg/130kg full squats. 170/180kg deadlifts - some intense Muay Thai with 18yrs and 20yrs and stay well ahead of them in sparing sessions. I didn’t do any of these when I was 20 or 30 or 40 yrs old (except Muay Thai).

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halllp122@reddit

100% I used to not need sleep and could work out 5 or 6 x a week, now Im tired when I wake up, unfortunately my health and fitness peaked and left me behind after my 20’s!

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JuneauEu@reddit

I'm closing in on 40 and a few minor issues... Read. Hurt my back, knee, neck and shoulder Are now very hard work to keep remotely active so yes. Very much passed my physical peak.

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dennis6969696@reddit

I'm mid 30s, and for the first time in my life I have held down the gym for more than a couple of weeks. I've been going about 5x a week for the last 3 years, so I'm undoubtedly in the best shape of my life. Paradoxically, though, I do feel my physical peak has passed. How I wish I could tell me 21 year old self the benefits of working out to see what my younger, less injury-prone self could have accomplished.

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No-Entrepreneur-2724@reddit

I'm certainly past my prime when it comes to taking certain kinds of abuse. Joints aren't nearly as impervious to stress, especially high impact things. Jumping, or even worse, falling, from heights is a much more daunting prospect already. At \~20 I could take a serious drop and be back to normal in a minute. Now not so much. And this is at 34. There's a noticeable difference there. I'm not really suffering much from my age besides that, I think. Still flexible, still not having any real persistent aches and pains. Well, I've woke up with a stiff neck a few times but that's worked itself out over the next few hours. I expect I will have to slow down a bit eventually, not to wear out joints and ligaments.

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FebruaryStars84@reddit

I’m 40 next year, and honestly I’m currently in the best shape I’ve been in for 20 years from going to the gym & improving my diet. BUT if I’m awake past 11pm more than 2 nights in a row it will take me a week to get over it.

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oROSSo84@reddit

Haha oh yer, most definitely

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Bonjello85@reddit

It's being unfit not old that makes you feel that way.

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lightninseed@reddit

I’m in my mid-30s and am very lucky to have no aches or pains, but my metabolism has finally caught up with me and I’ve put on 4 stone (56 lbs) in 2 years. This has obviously made me feel less physically fit and I have to be really careful with what I eat and drink now.

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Thimerion@reddit

33m, as soon as I could no longer make it through the night without getting up for a slash I knew I was past my prime.

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ahowcroft@reddit

Depends on your job/life I’d say. If you’ve been a site labourer since you were 16, then yes you might be starting to hurt in your 30’s/40s. Other may still be fit as a fiddle though.. depends on your body and how you care for it with diet/stretching etc. I’d say a lot of people I meet who are aching and groaning are that way due to inactivity. Desk jobs and little movement does your body no favours. I know plenty of people who complain of ‘migraines’ but drink alcohol every night, and then don’t hydrate properly during the day. Easier to blame it on a condition and take a pill than make life changes. I’m mid 30s and never felt better. Plenty of stretching, active job, decent gym time, lots of cardio. Eat well (mostly) and don’t drink too much. 5’ 8” and 65kg. In the Army reserve which helps with keeping fit. I don’t have kids which probably helps with sleep, which is an important part of your bodies recovery cycle. Drink decaf drinks after dinner time. Basically, people vary, but no, I’d say 30’s at least is not an age you should be aching/failing in. Make some life changes if you are. (Medical conditions permitting etc). All that said, we’re all individuals. People age differently. Generally though, I think many people are worryingly unfit/unhealthy. National health stats back that up unfortunately.

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tiredandstupid82@reddit

Yep. I'm remarkably fast for an overweight 41 year old, but numerous injuries from my youth has caught up to me. A hip injury from when I was 13 is a constant source of pain, I injured my back pretty badly when I was 22, and it flares up a fair bit, about 9 years ago I fell down the stairs and damaged my shoulder and arm, that causes me grief and has resulted in a loss of strength in my left arm. I've also got a brain hernia, so can't carry half as much as I used to, which also affects my strength and stamina. My peak passed a LONG time ago lol

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RibNSaucyArseCrack@reddit

I think I peaked at 17 tbh. 29 now and everything hurts.

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Saule_pine@reddit

In my early ish 30s and honestly feel in the best shape I have felt in my adult life! Working out and changing diet habits has been a game changer! Also as a plus my mental health is much better!

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BreakfastLopsided906@reddit

I’m 32. I run a gym. I’m constantly pushing myself physically with my sessions. I’m a scuba diving instructor, canoeing instructor and kayaking instructor as well as having quite a few qualifications in hill walking. That’s how I try and spend my time away from work. I also have a dog so I’m constantly making sure she’s out and about. So for me, no. My physical peak hasn’t passed. I’m living it babyyyyyy!

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SomeWomanFromEngland@reddit

In my personal case, yes. I’ve gone past my physical peak and it’s all downhill from here. It’s not the same for everybody though, and there’s multiple factors involved.

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Jebble@reddit

I've had chronic back and neck pain for over half my life now, I'm early 30s. I've probably not peaked from an attractiveness level, but my body will never get better, that's a fact. I always love when a doctor asks me on a scale from 1/10 what my pain is, eh.. probably a 20

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prelude_to_nowhere@reddit

Diet affects me. Eat crap = feel like crap. Eat well = me skipping round the house.

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Djinjja-Ninja@reddit

Years ago. My physical peak was probably in my mid to late teens when I was playing competitive squash and sailing 2 man dinghy's. Then I discovered beer and drugs and women at university and it's been downhill from there. Though removing that now in my late 40s, i'm probably at the same sort of level fitness wise that I was in my late 20s.

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Grey_Belkin@reddit

I'm 40 and my physical peak is still ahead of me, but everyone's different, there's no set point for that sort of thing. I've got chronic health problems that I've had since childhood so I've had the aches and pains and tiredness as long as I can remember, but for various reasons I'm fitter now than I've ever been and plan to continue that trajectory. It's best not to compare yourself to others.

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GolfTraditional8113@reddit

Agree with a lot of the replies, I'm in my late 50's haven't noticed my strength and energy dipping too much. Still keep fit with an active outdoor job, I'm ex forces and maintain my fitness with a lot of exercise. The biggest thing I've changed is drinking more water, keeping away from processed food and eat as healthily as I can. I would have considered 39-40 ish as my best years - ran 3.35 marathon then and run 8 minute miles on shorter runs now. Yeah everyone aches but it's mind over matter ( so my 82 year old father says!) And he's still working!

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iamDEVANS@reddit

I’m 34 and I feel great Push pull legs at the gym, plus 30-40mins star master cardio. I play football once a week And have a nearly 3 year old who loves playing on the trampoline. Two years ago, I slipped on my drive and broke my ankle(badly), resulting in pins and a plate, unfortunately I didn’t get an physio and me and wife did it ourselves, took about another year ish for me to be able to sprint again, but i can still sprint down the wing at football and squat heavy at the gym, zero pain zero medication.

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sprootique88@reddit

34F, not in a good place mentally but physically I feel better than 10 years ago

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MoonRoover@reddit

im 20 and all the time i have something wrong, past week ive had really bad shoulder pain. Within the last year ive got bad heel pain, back pain, eye ache, jaw ache

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ReplicatedSun@reddit

I'm early 30s, I dont feel like im massively declining but i had shoulder surgery the other month which has seriously hindered my ability to do some stuff easily, and ruined my plans of starting weight training again any time soon.

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CarlaRainbow@reddit

Absolutely. But then I've been dealing with hip problems for 10 years since I was 27. My husband also has hip issues & under 40.

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SometimesMonkeysDie@reddit

Early 40's. I'm probably stronger now than I've ever been, but cardiovascular wise, nowhere near my 20's. I played football every Sunday, normally after a night in the pub before hand. I wouldn't dream of doing that now. An old knee injury suffered during said football "career" and an old shoulder injury cause me a bit of trouble, but aside from that, I'm physically fine

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itsableeder@reddit

I'm 37 and I'm the fittest I've ever been, but only because I started lifting a few years ago and I only started doing *that* because I was suffering all the classic aches, pains, etc. What I've found is that if I let myself slip into a sedentary lifestyle I really suffer from it. My back hurts, I throw out my neck from turning over too quickly in bed, all the classics. Spend a week back in the gym and it all goes away again. The only issue I'm having really is that it takes me longer to recover from heavy lifting sessions now than it did in my early 30s. I've had to change up my routine to account for this, and had to accept that I can't lift super heavy every session anymore, but that's fine.

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Dapper_Recognition_6@reddit

For me it did at 36 but you can ho gym and get it back or be a ftness perdon inthe girst pkace sports retirement is now at 40 years old when at one point it was 30 , i need to vig mg gimbetnall

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Nixher@reddit

I'm early 30s and I'm trying not to. In the last couple of years I've started going gym and gained muscle, and also started running 5k's. Finding the time is the hardest part, but I'll run atleast once a month, usually two, and I'll go gym 3 times (4.5hrs) a week at most, sometimes only get one session in. I'm definitely at my peak in regards to physical strength, cardiovascular health and stamina etc but like many on here, my joints tell me off for trying.

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sad-mustache@reddit

I am f30 and while I am not at my peak I feel like I am heading towards it. No aches and pains but maybe they are coming haha

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XvisenyaX@reddit

31F, I have problems with my lower back. I injured it one week before my 30th birthday. But otherwise, I work out 2-4 times per week. I go to sleep at 10PM but I started to wake up at 5:30. I have much more energy and am physically in better shape than I was in my 20s. The older I get the better I feel mentally.

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StatisticianOne8287@reddit

I started working or much more in the last 2 years (currently 35) hiking and home workouts with apple fitness. I haven't been this fit since I was about 21. With the progress just by working out at home, I know the only reason I've peaked is if I slow.down or stop. I can definitely get fitter and I know many people who started training now and have hit their peak in their 40's or even later. Mark Lewis on YouTube proves into your 50's you can keep smashing it 🤘

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bladelife85@reddit

Im 37 and physically healthier than ever .. just mentally fucked .. it’s all about the balance

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Forgettable_Doll266@reddit

Yes, but only it terms of raw talent. I am much more disciplined in my 30s and have much better habits. My 20s seemed like a trial run for my 30s.

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macamc1983@reddit

Age waits for no man……

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oHUTCHYo@reddit

41 year old here. Weight trained since I was 17. At 30, suffered two slipped discs and underwent surgery. At 40 suffered a hernia and underwent surgery. At 41 Ive also developed another issue too embarrassing to share plus have tennis elbow and some rotator cuff pains. At 41 I feel less strong, more brittle and generally more aware of being prone to injury which makes me more self aware of risking personal bests and stupid weight on compound lifts. The good news - I’m as muscular as I’ve ever been and put that down to experience and developing a lot more knowledge on lifting (i.e. form, technique, nutrition etc). The other good news is that both in hospital tests and occupational health tests I have very good pulse/circulation and the occ health chart classified me with the health of a 20 year old athlete.

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Junior_Tradition7958@reddit

No. I think I need to kick my own ass to get to my physical peak. I’m lazy.

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False-Hovercraft-669@reddit

Obviously if you were fat in your 20’s then you could get much fitter in your 30/40’s. But if you were relatively fit in your 20’s then unfortunately your peak has passed that’s just a fact, as for aches and pains in your 30’s you need to realise that not much longer than a couple of hundred years ago you’d be nearly dead if natural causes in your late 30’s so no wonder you get aches and pains! Lol

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Small-Interaction733@reddit

Without a doubt, I developed back issues that are somewhat genetic/unavoidable in nature which has pretty much eliminated running entirely, and often stops me from doing too much of anything physical over a long time. I still try and keep fit, but I find it hard to imagine that I'll ever be as fit as I was, and the back issues certainly aren't going anywhere.

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Hot_Job6182@reddit

Not sure whether this will help, everyone's different etc, but I'm also a keen runner who had to stop due to back issues. I discovered eventually that my back was buggered because I wasn't stretching, it got a lot better once I started stretching to touch my toes for 30 seconds several times a day.

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ooh-sheet@reddit

I definitely peaked mid 20’s but after the birth of my second child my immune system went haywire and has been attacking me for the past 11 years.

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MGMishMash@reddit

27 so not by any means old but approaching 30 and finding myself getting fitter every year. I’m a very active cyclist and have consistently hit power PBs every year since picking up the sport. I can feel that there’s still further to go and it feels like i’ll keep getting fitter and stronger well into my 30s and beyond. Anecdotally, most folk I know who are active in their 30s/40s are incredibly strong and the common notion of being passed your peak is misplaced. I know some insanely fit people in their late 40s, and feel that the reality is, unless your a professional athlete, you wont be able to maximise your physical potential for a long time anyway. The ceiling may reduce as you get older, but your relative performance to that can consistently increase. However, while my physical fitness and strength is good, years of neglect in back strength and likely poor posture from desk work means my back and neck get very stiff pretty often. I can still stretch and work it out, but I find I have to invest hours a week into maintenance exercises. It’s frustrating being well conditioned in one area, but still experiencing niggles, and yeah, I can imagine it only gets worse as you get older.

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Preserved_pineapple@reddit

36f. Peak possible? Yes. My peak fitness? No, because I’m only just working on it now. Not everyone is a born athlete and the only person I compete against is myself. My 5k best is definitely yet to come and my long term goal right now is a half marathon in about 18months-2 years time. My 21 year old, smoking, drinking, sleeping until noon lazy self was not my peak. Peak idiot maybe

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VioletDaeva@reddit

Late 30s, I'm currently in better shape than I have been since my very early 20s, mostly due to a change in diet and exercise caused by being diagnosed diabetic. Probably missed my peak, can't go back, will have to do what I can to stay in shape regardless.

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Beth1993B@reddit

No, I can still run on very little sleep

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Wide-Negotiation-158@reddit

Well I used to be super fut and healthy, worked a physically demanding job and climbed all the time as a hobby, then I broke my back at 27, so the body has been downhill from there. I'm nearly 36 and I feel like I'm in tatters no matter what I do to try fix it

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Whiskeyjack1977@reddit

46m, in good shape and work out regularly. Last week was drying myself after a shower, hadn’t been at the gym or anything, and put my foot on the toilet to dry it, knee felt tight and I was wondering why. 2 hours later quad on inside of knee (vastus medialis) is swollen as hell. Doctor next day tells me it’s either a ligament or muscle tear and I’ll probably need an MRI, I’ll need to see a consultant orthopaedic doctor and a physiotherapist. That shit didn’t happen in my 20s or 30s!

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Aggravating-Doubt-65@reddit

The more you looked after yourself when you where younger the more your body be thanking you for it later, however when the decline notably sets in you can either use it as an excuse to be even less active and the rot will just snowball or you can slow it down majorly if you start doing somthing about it and even reverse things. The body is regenerative not degenerative.

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mynicknameisFred@reddit

Without doubt I am the strongest, fastest and most powerful I've ever been at 35. My recovery might be more of a priority than someone who is younger but I'm definitely no where near passing my physical peak. Most of the population just don't move enough- even the basic take a short walk at lunch level is a challenge for many.

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Tumphy@reddit

Getting older is a bit like owning a classic car. When you’re in your teens and twenties you can neglect your body and abuse it and you can get away with it to a degree as long as you don’t massively over eat and aren’t greedy. In your thirties it can catch up with you. I’m in my late 40s and feeling fitter than I have for years. Run a few times a week. Walk whenever I can and try not to take the car for anything under 2 miles. Heavy strength training a couple of times a week, mobility work, and throw in a HIIT session at least once a week. Have to not over eat and not over do drinking etc. Takes work! But no aches and feel and look at least 10 years younger. Exercise and good food are the true fountain of youth.

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Guy_Incognito97@reddit

I’m about 40. I feel as good as I ever did, but it takes effort. I have to sleep properly, eat right, exercise, stretch and rest. If I act like I’m 25 I will feel like I’m 60.

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newtonbase@reddit

I'm in my 50s and have had periods of fitness every decade of my adult life. I've never had trouble getting cardio fitness back but strength and flexibility are so much harder. I get injured much more easily and recovery takes forever.

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SuperBiggles@reddit

I’m 33, overweight to obese, but… healthy fat if that makes sense? Physically active job, on my feet all day, run around and play with 3 year old most days, plus taking my dog for about an hour and a half walk a day. So, I’m fat to look at, but deceptively healthy underneath. Few months ago I even did a half marathon despite still being about 14 stone Having said all that… I feel better physically at this age than I did when I was younger. Probably cos I was uselessly bad at sports and wasn’t active if I didn’t have to be as a teen/in my early 20s. I don’t ever get aches and pains like other people my age bang on about, but I’d say that’s probably more to them having sedentary lifestyles/work. None of my friends in the same age group ever whinge about aches and pains. Most wr whinge about is being tired all the time because of kids, work, life, etc… The only thing I sadly say about my friends in the same age bracket is that we’ve all delightfully got a lot fatter. There’s not a single one of us who could fit in the clothes we all use to wear at Uni or whatever.

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louloubelle92@reddit

I’m 31 and at a much lower weight than in my early 20s. Last year when I was 9 months pregnant I could still touch the floor with my palms flat on the ground. So in much better shape than I ever was in my teens/20s!

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Blackfist01@reddit

That past me when I turned 20.😑

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gozew@reddit

Got Crohn's at 31. Fuck aye I'm past it. Army in my 20s and was fit. Getting back there now I'm not with my whore of an ex though. Motivation.

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Maleficent_Resolve44@reddit

It’s mostly about your lifestyle. Yes you’re past your potential peak in your 30/40s but if you exercise regularly and eat well, the difference is minimal besides a few niggles unless you’ve got lingering injuries or diseases.

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y0urnamehere@reddit

Mine peaked by 20!

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Ok_Peak1112@reddit

42, and aye, I'm past it....I had a good life, so no regrets!

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ChampionshipFew7099@reddit

yeahhh. im 34 and i still exercise all the time, loads of gym/cycling/walking. but when i get an injury its basically permenant lol.

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GrumpyOldFart74@reddit

I run marathons - my peak performance for distance running was late 30s to early 40s. Now in my (very) late 40s it’s becoming more of a struggle. For more sprint and strength-based activities - sprinting, football, rugby, martial arts and boxing - the peak was 10+ years earlier. Late 20s - 30

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what_i_reckon@reddit

I’m 39, I would say yes I’m past my peak. But the difference is minimal, the only thing I’ve noticed is the hangovers are a day long ordeal after only having a few drinks. Other than that I’m fine. I do work a physical job as a builder, when talking about jobs everyone seems to think tradesmen are fucked physically by their middle age, this is nonsense, being on my feet and using my body is what keeps me fit. Of all my friends of a similar age it’s the ones who sit at a desk all day everyday that seem to have the most health problems and physical ailments

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Nerves_Of_Silicon@reddit

The **potential** limits of your physical fitness start peaking during your 20s (though depending on the attribute, some of them don't peak until your 40s). But nobody ever hits their maximum potential (except for maybe some professional athletes). So the theoretical maximum may be decreasing over time. And it may be getting, in general, harder to keep and maintain progress. But that doesn't mean it can't be done. It does mean that you have to work harder over time. And probably smarter too. A lot of aches/pains are not because your fitness is declining, but because you're not doing any preventative work on them. Adding some regular stretching & strengthening exercises to your morning routine goes an awfully long way.

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Crafty_Eye6235@reddit

I’m 36 and I look and feel fitter than I ever have.

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Unlikely_Doughnut845@reddit

I’ve ran regularly since my early 20s, ran competitively since my mid 20s. Now I’m in my 40s I have found I can not sustain the same level of training as I could 20 years ago. My lifestyle factors are different- I have a young child so my recovery time that used to be spent napping, stretching and relaxing in the bath is now taken up building dens, answering every question under the sun and constantly tidying up. So my inability to sustain high mileage could be down to less quality recovery. I hope to be still running or at least keeping active in my 50s so it’ll be interesting to see how I manage then with a teen/early 20s.

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lil_red_irish@reddit

Mid thirties, my knees crack often, I can tweak a muscle reaching for something, wake up with pain because I slept wrong, need longer to recover from drinking etc. But I wouldn't say my physical peak has passed. I can still do everything I did in my twenties, maybe even more. Still work out regularly, go on hikes, etc. But I'm not married or with kids, so I don't have anything stopping me staying in reasonable shape other than my own laziness. For some, the loss is a choice, for others it's life. Got kids and a hectic job, you're not going to be able to hit the gym often. My limiting factor is long hours at my job, and poor joints from being hit by a car, but that was the same issue in my twenties. That said, yes, recovery time from drinking goes down with age. Nothing you can do about that. And for men peaks can dip due to lowering testosterone levels.

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MysteriousTelephone@reddit

I don’t believe so. Though I’m only 31, I hear so many people younger than me whinge about not being able to do things “like they used to” and I just don’t get it, I have tonnes of energy, and am stronger than I’ve ever been.

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Ilikeporkpie117@reddit

My physical peak passed when I was 8 years old, it's all been downhill since then.

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vcockle@reddit

When I was in my mid-twenties my soon to be 30 friend said someone told her "as soon as you turn 30, you'll wake up every day with some sort of pain. The day you don't is the day you'll die". We refused to believe it, then she turned 30 and confirmed it was true. I'm now 34, had a hot water bottle on my back all day and currently have my knee propped up. I can also confirm it's true

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Professional-Pea9283@reddit

My body has been going downhill since I was born.

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PtoThei@reddit

M/30 As someone who has always worked out from teenager, I definitely feel in my peak right now. I am a dedicated weight lifter/ bodybuilding type of person, always been natural and always prioritised my nutrition etc. But as I've got to this age, I feel the knowledge I've picked up from over the years, training effectively and efficiently along with always improved nutrition has led me to be in my opinion my physical peak. After learning from mistakes and bad habits in my 20s, I feel as the older I've got the wiser I've become when it comes to balancing Work/ Family/ Fitness. Long story short, I've fine tuned and understood my body better as I've got older and try to help those around me from the journey I've had.

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ApologiesArePainless@reddit

fuck yea i cant do shit without feeling tired, im 43 lol

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SunsetinSomerset@reddit

mARATHON RUNNING. yeah FUCK THAT

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Eyeous@reddit

There is no escaping father time - I have less potential today than I did a decade ago. Having said, I’m in significantly better shape today (42M) than I was 10 years ago and so I feel less aches and pains. My point is its never too late to make lifestyle changes, get in shape and feel remarkably better physically.

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Scarred_fish@reddit

51. I have a few issues to be mindful of but I feel awesome. Technically probably past my peak but plenty more things to achieve and fun to be had!

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Joshawott27@reddit

31, and yes. I was never particularly physically fit, but I accepted that my youth is behind me when I went back to university and in my last year, realised that my body just couldn’t do all nighters any more. It’s hard to describe, but I genuinely think that if I tried another Monster-fuelled all nighter (thanks dissertation!) that I might die. I really want to improve my physical health, but my current work and living situations makes it very hard to figure out.

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Key_Preference_4594@reddit

Probably. Like I’m quite close to my peak in my late 30s. I look 20s, still do 50-60 push ups a day, 100 sit ups a day, I can party til 10am in morning although the main difference is that I need a day and a half to recover. When I was 19 I’d recover in half a day

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JeffBroccoli@reddit

Not at all. I just turned 40 and I’m probably in the best shape of my life. You just have to do something that excites or interests you and stick to it. Admittedly I would say I’m more sore and prone to injuries than if I had done the same activity when I was 18, but you can’t let that stop you

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PrestigiousTest6700@reddit

I’m mid 30’s, I weight train, swim, play netball and walk dogs for a living. I’m achy but I take my cod liver and rub on some WD40. The more I do, the less tired I am. The less I do the more tired I am.

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Significant_Spare495@reddit

It's complicated. I'm older than the audience you are targeting your question at - but when I was in my 20s, technically my body would have been at its fittest potential. Bit for me it was late nights, drinking and smoking. My 30s I felt good but mentally were a bundle of stress. Quit smoking, became more healthy. Took up running in my 40s. Late 40s I overcame a middle aged back injury and other more minor niggles to run several marathons. Does that mean body is in better shape than in my 20s ? I dunno.

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No-Photograph3463@reddit

I'm not even 30s but late 20s. I'd say maybe my absolute peak strength, power and speed has probably passed. But my endurance is getting better and better, and same with mental strength.

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Chargerado@reddit

I’m mid fifties, I’d say 20-50 , if you keep up a certain level of regular fitness activity, you are pretty much at a similar level. If you have a physical job however, this may take more of a toll on your body and effect you adversely.

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Necessary_Figure_817@reddit

From a human physiology standpoint, by the time you reach that age, it's passed. Some comments here are saying they are physically better than when they're younger. That's great but that's not quite the same, that's just you becoming better at something. If you were to do that same thing at your prime age, you would have been even better at it.

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FrenzalStark@reddit

Haha I’m 35 and I’m not sure I ever really had a physical peak. But then, my teens and early 20s were fuelled by various drug addictions and I’ve replaced them with functional alcoholism in the years since so I’m probably not the best test subject. In fairness I’m probably a lot stronger now than I ever was mainly just because I’ve gained quite a bit of mass from eating well (obviously didn’t eat a lot in the drug years and hated food with unfamiliar textures as a kid) but I wouldn’t exactly class it as a physical peak.

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NikaCknits@reddit

5 years ago, at age 31 I slipped in my kitchen, straight down on my backside, didn't even get the chance to put my hands out to break my fall. I had an Old Lady™ fall and have been an old lady ever since, thanks to the continued pain from that injury. So yup, my peak has passed, and it wasn't even a very high peak.

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Widget_widge@reddit

Mid 30s here. Yes, my physical peak definitely has. That's not to say that I haven't improved or got better in some aspects, overall the physical peak has gone. I reckon I was in prime at 28. I cycle a fair bit so that's my litmus test. Recovery time has increased as well as fear factor.

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mrhippoj@reddit

I'm not sure I had one, man

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Your_Queen_Citrine@reddit

I’m 32 and I’ve been physically active for all my life. I played tennis, football, volleyball in school while also orienteering. Later martial arts, aerobic classes, then took up hiking. Hit 30 and I got into rock climbing and long distance trail running, I’m definitely not past my peak, getting faster and stronger every year. I know plenty people 10-20 years older than me who can keep up with me outdoors. I don’t bounce back after a night out like in my 20s and running definitely comes with some niggles, but I’m in good condition and have better stamina than a lot of youngsters I work with. Definitely need more sleep than in my 20s though! God knows how I survived back then.

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Mdl8922@reddit

Certainly. I'm 34, my neck hurts from racing cars in my 20's, my back is shot, my right knee is shot, I'm tired all day. Gym regularly & I play football so I'm not in bad shape but the abs are long gone.

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Marlboro_tr909@reddit

Late 40s here, absolutely. Used to be reasonably fit, now a 3 Mile run aches for days

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bman198628@reddit

I'm 37 and feel that my pure static strength is the highest it's ever been. However, I constantly ache and get little nagging injuries quite often, oh and ask me to try and change direction while running these days and I think my hips will shatter. Playing football last year had me bedbound the next day!

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iamnogoodatthis@reddit

Mid 30s - I think I'm in better shape than I've ever been. But that's because I do more exercise that I ever have. If I'd become gradually more sedentary then probably yeah I would have declined gradually along with that. I do have a small collection of recurrent aches and pains, but nothing major. I can both get out of chairs silently and stay up past 10, maybe I'm sort of miracle human

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mrafinch@reddit

I’m turning 36 next weekend and I feel I’m at my most healthy weight and I’d say I’m slightly above average “fit”, but definitely at a peak for strength/stamina/(sometimes) motivation. I run 10/20km per week happily, go to the gym 2-3 times a week and try and also go climbing once a week; if time allows. A year and a half ago I weighed 13kg more than today, eating a shit diet, no fitness worth talking about and felt like shit all the time. I have my issues though. Severe lower back pains from years of bad posture, each morning I can barely walk on one foot as the muscles are really tight, problems with my hands/wrists (not wanking enough), a fucked up knee and other little niggles. I notice that if I don’t go to then gym, go for a long walk or whatever else then I become tired and achy too, despite doing *nothing* and “looking fit.” Having to be asleep by 2230 was a hard pill to swallow too… gone are the days of getting mashed up until 3am and walking into a 6am shift fresh! My motivation to *keep fit* is mainly to manage what problems I do have and to give myself the best chance to avoid any other complications down the line. It’s also what I tell myself other people my age are at the gym for; if matey with biceps bigger than my head is suffering from an old elbow injury and still pushing big weights, so can I!

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Due-Growth-8846@reddit

I didn’t feel it until I had a baby at 40. Felt a hundred years old during the pregnancy and for a good 6 months after. 2 years down the line I’m pretty fit in general but I get hip/back/shoulder ache fairly regularity. Definitely can’t dance the night away any more. Went to a Harry Styles concert and needed two naps the following day 🥴

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Kinitawowi64@reddit

42 now and I think I peaked in my early 20s, honestly. My diet went to shit for years after that (I got a retail job working awful shifts and resorted to the local takeaway for sustenance too often), and now I've got proper shifts but bad habits (I'm almost entirely sedentary these days) and my diet is still awful (I work from home and the fridge is full of chocolate and it's just *there*...).

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Due_Insurance342@reddit

I know I have, I turn 38 next week and have 2 prolapsed disks in my lower back, diabetic neuropathy in hands and feet can't do half of what I used to do how I wish I could go back 10 years

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Dogstile@reddit

I'm 30 and no, not really. I don't think I have the raw motivation or energy for what I did when I was 16-20 but in many ways i'm in much better shape. I'm not as strong but i'm faster, my technique for everything is better, i think much better, etc. So most of the sports I play, i'm better than I was before. I will probably avoid the hockey fights though, my hands are starting to get a bit crunchy.

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Illustrious-Mind2338@reddit

If you do an office job and drive or public transport to work then it’s got to be a mix of that - posture, sedentary hours… and shite going into food and drink nowadays. But then I need orthotics in my shoes and if they become worn out or I don’t wear them as much my back will hurt. I swear that everybody should go to a chiropodist and get their arches and gait checked. I reckon there’s stupid amounts of people out there that have aches and pains based on flattened arches and plantar fasciitis that can be cured with a £30 pair of orthotics. I’ve recently noticed a degradation on my beer drinking ability. Used to be 10 pints no issue. Now 6 and I’m hungover. I wonder if there’s a change to sulphites etc in that that negatively changes things? Or I’ve just lost all drink-skills in 6 months… so yea, crap added to food and drink I am certain doesn’t help.

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Geoffstibbons@reddit

I'm more impossibly gawjus now than I ever was in my twenties.

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Stillyourdreamgirl_@reddit

I’m in my 30s and my weight has just ballooned. I eat healthy and exercise but my body and even face just isn’t the same as it was in my youth

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BravasPondering@reddit

I reached my peak in my late teens because my GP said I was too young for my complaints until it just got worse and worse. So you can say I've trained for my 30s and beyond and I have been steadily feeling worse year on year. I reckon people with normal ouchies should just exercise more like the doctor tells me for my progressive health problems. Apparently it fixes everything.

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Strong_Roll5639@reddit

I'm 35 and haven't ever really been particularly energetic. I do cycle a few times week but that's it really. My husband on the other hand is 37 and wins 10ks against 19 year olds 😂

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Theres3ofMe@reddit

Yes. As soon as I turned 40, all of a sudden bits of my body started falling apart - some worse than others. I'm female, and I'd say for most of us, we suffer worse than guys when hitting that age. I'd love to be super fit with a 6 pack, but due to developing fibroids in my uterus, i cant be aa physical as I'd like ...🙄

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ElementalSentimental@reddit

I'm 45. I feel like I'll never have skin as smooth as I used to, and I'll always have more grey hair (but I'm planning on keeping it). I don't have any aches and pains on a regular basis, although I am capable of sleeping awkwardly. I don't take medication or have to take any special precautions to avoid foods, etc., although I do get indigestion more easily if I overindulge. If I had been fitter when I was younger, I'd say my physical peak had passed, but that my overall fitness still has much more to do with diet and effort than it does with age.

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7ootles@reddit

I'm in my early-mid thirties and nope. I'm still fast when I need to be, still flexible, can still pick heavy things up. The only aches and pains aside from my knees\* are from my sedantry lifestyle (which I really ought to do something about). ^(\* Deformed kneecaps, diagnosed at fourteen. Doctors said I wouldn't see forty with my original kneecaps though, and yet it's not got much worse since my late twenties.)

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ManyHabit8785@reddit

It’s all down hill from 35. But the incline is up to you.

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Jazzy0082@reddit

Pushing 40, and I think I peaked in my early/mid 30s. I spent my 20s drinking a bit too much and not playing sport anymore so got a bit out of shape. At about 32 I got back into eating well and exercising and have managed to maintain it over the last few years. It's been harder with 2 kids in the mix, and I'm not as good physically as I was 5 years ago. I definitely ache for longer after exercise.

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FalseAsphodel@reddit

I'm in my mid 30s and I ache like hell *right now* because I'm extremely pregnant lol Normally I have no particular problems ever since I got a fantastic mattress and realized I needed to put a pillow between my knees when I sleep. No more aches in the morning! I was depressed and persistently anaemic in my mid-late 20s so by comparison I feel great. I do find I get tired after a day where I have to stand up all day or lift a lot of heavy boxes, but no more so than I would have in my late 20s.

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Notagelding@reddit

I'm 42 and active. I've always been active and haven't noticed myself slowing down. However, I did play football for the first time in ages last week and thought that it was taking me longer to change direction 😂

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birge55@reddit

Late 30s here. I work a physical job and lead an active lifestyle and my body has been showing signs of deterioration since my late 20s. I can still do everything I enjoy but my joints and back tell me about it after.

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robster9090@reddit

No definitely not.

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kbm79@reddit

Nope. When i was 37, i thought im going to be fit at 40. Regular exercise, healthy eating - i was. Regulary lifting weights is key. Not huge power lifting, but enough relative to yourself to ensure you keep your muscles working and joints moving. I also do a 80/20 split of good proper real food vs the ultra processed stuff. (Who cant resist a slice of pizza...)

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MarthaFarcuss@reddit

I get tired/injured more easily but I find I'm way more committed to staying in shape than I ever have been and potentially healthier, too. I don't have any mobility issues or pains or aches. Yet. I do yoga every day, even if only for a few minutes it helps. I can't eat junk any more because it makes me feel awful. Same with drinking, I've given up. I like an early night. Basically I find my body is far less willing to put up with the crap I used to put it through, but generally I feel pretty good

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Kid_Kimura@reddit

I'm 36 and definitely feel past my peak in many ways. Some of those are due to disability stopping me from exercising as much or to the same intensity that I used to. The biggest thing is just the difference in energy that I really took for granted in my 20s. I had a physical job then would think nothing of going straight to training and doing back to back kickboxing/MMA sessions or spending 2 hours in the gym. I have to be much more careful with planning what I spend my energy doing now. In my late 20s and early 30s I started having more issues with injuries, which is typical for people who train like an idiot when they're younger. Benefit of not being able to train as much now though is that my back/neck/knees hurt a lot less.

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Theodin_King@reddit

Yes. But I was at my fittest at 31/32

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Zennyzenny81@reddit

I'm definitely not as good at competitive sport at 41 as I was at 31, but I still play and enjoy it and *just about* stay good enough to be selected for squads. Moreover, I put in a lot of time and effort to keep my body in good condition including a lot of yoga (which massively helps combat the gradual loss of range of joint movement as you get older - if you don't use it you lose it!) so I still *feel* good even if I'm a bit slower than I once was.

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LiftSomeTin@reddit

Everyone has a different peak. I spent 15 years being smashed to pieces weekly, my peak has long gone. I tried to go back to rugby at a competitive level in my 30s and I couldn't physically hack it any more. Professionals can hang on, but their training and recovery has to change significantly to keep trucking. There's people I've met who take up physical hobbies in their 30/40/50s, having done nothing but sit on the sofa for their whole lives. To them, peak physical condition is happening now, or in the future. Then there's that weird thing where people wear injuries like a 'badge of honour', when in reality a lot of times it's a tiny niggle that just comes from getting older, being sedentary, failing to get injuries treated, or all of the above.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

I'm early 40s, and my back and knees are fine. It probably helps I don't play sports! All the guys I know with knee/ankle surgery play football in their 30s/40s. I've got a massage gun for when the tendonitis in my foot flares up - but I had that in my early 20s too. I'm no spring chicken health/fitness-wise, but my joints? They're alright. Now my wife's? Those are buggered, but it's hereditary.

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sleepyprojectionist@reddit

I’m 39 and have arthritis. I have always had awful lung capacity, but thanks to long-covid I get out of breath pretty easily. So, yeah, I spend most of my time limping and wheezing. I’d say that’s definitely past my peak.

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