Never exercised?
It’s not too late to take steps toward an active life
Diana Bridger was 59 years old and a self-described “committed couch potato” when she saw a photograph of herself at a birthday party and decided she needed a lifestyle change. “I thought, ‘I need to just move,’” the Fairfax County, Virginia, resident said. “If I lose weight, great. If not, that’s fine. But I need to get moving, just for my health.’”
Although she had never been active, Bridger, a retail store manager, signed up for a group fitness class at Orange Theory. “I had to force myself to walk in,” she said. The workout, which involved a treadmill, rowing machine and free weights, was challenging. But she was hooked. And after six months, she was confident enough to try something she had always wanted to do: a 5K race. She hasn’t stopped running since. Her new active lifestyle, she said, has benefited her physically and emotionally.
If you’re a sedentary adult, as Bridger was, meeting the recommended goals of at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week may seem overwhelming. You may even think there’s no way you can counter years of inactivity. But Bridger’s experience illustrates what recent research is showing us: It’s never too late to start exercising and reap the health rewards.
Consider a study published this year in JAMA Network Open that looked at the activity levels of 315,059 participants from 50 to 71 years old at four different points in their lives (15 to 18; 19 to 29; 35 to 39; and 40 to 61). Researchers found that the participants who were previously inactive, but increased their physical activity in later adulthood (40 to 61 years old) to four to seven hours per week had a 35% lower mortality risk than those who remained inactive. Participants who were already active and maintained their exercise levels into later adulthood achieved a 29% to 36% lower risk. The fact that older
adults who had maintained their exercise levels and older adults who were new to exercise experienced a comparable lower risk of mortality suggests midlife is not too late to start physical activity.
A University of Cambridge study of 14,599 adults aged 40 to 79 published this year reached similar conclusions. Researchers found that adults with cardiovascular disease and cancer gained substantial longevity benefits by becoming more active, regardless of their past physical activity levels. Those who had been inactive at the start and increased to an average of 30 minutes of moderate activity per day showed about a 24% lower mortality risk.
“There are clearly benefits at all levels (of activity),” said lead researcher Soren Brage, a principal investigator with the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge. “The most encouraging is you don’t have to be a super-athlete, and it’s never too late.” And the health benefits were seen no matter a participant’s body mass index, blood pressure or cholesterol. “Even if you have an established risk factor profile, you will still reap the benefits of increasing activity levels,” Brage said.
The health benefits of starting to exercise later in life extend specifically to the heart and muscles, research shows. A 2018 American Heart Association study of 61 healthy, but inactive, adults ages 45 to 64 found that participants who started exercise were able to reverse the cardiac effects of sedentary aging.
Those who exercised showed a 25% improvement in elasticity of the left ventricular muscle of the heart — the chamber that’s responsible for pumping blood out to the rest of the body, said Benjamin Levine, director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine in Dallas. Restoring the heart’s elasticity prevents the increase in cardiac stiffness that’s linked to sedentary aging.
There is one caveat, however. Because the stiffening of the heart starts in late-middle age, training needs to start before it’s too late, Levine said. That means before age 65, while the heart retains plasticity and the ability to remodel itself.
“Older individuals get heart failure not because their hearts stop pumping well, but because the hearts become hard and stiff,” Levine said. “There’s no medication that treats that problem,” so prevention through exercise training is the key.
Bridger said exercise has helped relieve her migraines.
Her back issues, including arthritis and a herniated disk, have also improved. Becoming stronger continues to motivate her to try new things, including longer race distances (10K) and stand-up paddle boarding. “I never felt fit enough to even attempt something like (paddle boarding),” Bridger said. During a recent lake trip, however, “I knew I was strong enough to get up on the board. I loved it!”
Bridger rejects the idea that there’s anything special about her. “I want people to know my age, and that at (almost) 60, I actually could make these improvements,” she said. “If I can do it, anybody can do it.”