Eight Reasons Why It's Great to Start Exercising Later in Life

There's no question that people who were athletes-competitive or not-in their youth have certain advantages over those who take up an active lifestyle in middle age or later. If they've kept up any level of exercise, their hearts and lungs will be better conditioned than those of us who were relatively inactive for many decades. Their muscles know from years of practice how to most efficiently perform a task (say, running up a hill). And former athletes have already mastered the discipline required to lace up those sneakers and get out there, even on the days when they don't want to.

But we late-blooming athletes have our own advantages too. I took up running at age 50, and it's one of the best things I've done for myself. And, believe it or not, I'm almost glad I waited as long as I did. Here are eight reasons why those of us who take up exercise later in life can feel good about our choices.

1. We set realistic goals. Folks who set records in high school or college sports, who remember how quickly their bodies grew stronger and faster in their youth, often set unrealistic goals when they're older. I can be ready for that marathon in just three months, they think, or I can still break a seven-minute mile. But those with no past laurels are free to set more modest goals, like simply finishing that mile. And we can feel good about ourselves when we reach these realistic goals.

2. We don't expect a free ride. Aging former athletes sometimes feel that working out shouldn't be such a challenge-after all it wasn't this hard when they were twenty. We late bloomers always knew exercise was hard, so it comes as no surprise or disappointment when it is. Knowing it's going to be tough, we're prepared, and we don't let the challenge get us down.

3. We've succeeded at something hard before. Yes, we know exercise is hard, but so what? If you've lived to a certain age, you've done hard things before. Maybe you've raised children or performed well at a tough job. Maybe you've survived illness or family troubles or grief. Whatever you've been through, you've learned that you can do hard things and that you have it in you to succeed. You've learned the value of simply showing up and soldiering on, and that will help you prosper in your new athletic endeavors.

4. We've also failed (and survived) something worse. People who achieve big success young-in athletics or any other field-often have a hard time dealing with the inevitable failures and losses that come with aging. A slower-than-expected race finish or a minor injury might feel devastating to a one-time champion. But if you're new to sporting efforts, a bad 5K finish or a turned ankle is not going to ruin your month. You've certainly been through worse things, and you know that the occasional setback is just a part of life. You'll lace up again tomorrow and move forward, undaunted.

5. We never learned bad athletic habits. If you trained under a hard-driving coach many years ago, you may have developed habits that are not good for your aging body-things like ballistic stretching or "running through" an injury. Those old lessons can be hard to un-learn and may end up harming an older athlete. But those of us who started exercising recently, as thoughtful adults, have the benefit of contemporary science and the ability to sort out good advice from bad before we get set in unhealthy ways.

6. We're not afraid of our ignorance. Related to advantage 5, we new runners (or walkers, or swimmers, or whatever) don't feel, as some former athletes do, that we're supposed to be experts on physiology, nutrition, or any other health-related field. We're willing to seek out and follow the best, most current advice on how to get fit and take care of our bodies rather than blustering through on outdated advice or flawed intuition.

7. We don't compare our current selves to our younger selves. Newsflash: as our bodies age they become less strong, less supple, more achy, and slower. For people whose physical prowess was once a great source of pride, this can be a devastating truth. But those of us who never ran very fast or jumped very high have no image of glory days clouding our vision. We don't lament the lost god- or goddess-like bodies of our youth, because we never had them to lose. We're more likely to be content with the bodies we have now and the small improvements we can still achieve.

8. We don't care what people think of us. Most young athletes love the accolades, the attention, the applause they earn for a good performance. They grow used to being watched and judged. When they're older and someone younger and stronger passes them by, they may still feel they're being judged, but now that perceived judgment stings. We who never earned the laurels, though, have nothing to lose. We figure that nobody's watching us, so we can perform for ourselves alone. There's real freedom in that.

So what are you waiting for? If you're no longer young and you've never been athletic, there's no time like now to get started.


Janet E. Gardner is a writer, runner, and fitness blogger living on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. After a lifetime of sloth, she took up running at age 50, and it changed her life.

Visit her blog, The Old Broad Runs, at http://www.TheOldBroadRuns.com.

Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TheOldBroadRuns.

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