Who are You Kidding, Honey? Age is Not Just a Number.

I will be 53 years old in three weeks, and one of the hardest lessons I had to learn in my fitness journey is as follows: I can't exercise like I am 30 anymore. If I attempted half the shit I see fitness influencers doing in their internet reels nowadays, I'll end up breaking more than my will to live.

Yet some people just love to chime in that, “Age is just a number!”

NOTE: Buckle up because I'm about to dive into one of my biggest pet peeves that many fitness instructors, fitness influences, and wannabe business leaders exercise: toxic positivity.

Biology is a not a suggestion. It is a set of guidelines. 

"Age is just a number" sounds cute on a birthday card, but in reality, it’s about as useful as saying “gravity is just a force.” And before you judge me for being "pessimistic" or a "fuddy dud," know that I was once an offender of this phrase as well. Meanwhile, I kept getting injury after injury because I was treating my body like I was still young and cute, literally abusing it. And this doesn't just relate to physical activity. Your metabolism isn't the same either. Try going out on an all-night bender on your 50th birthday and tell me how you feel the next morning. Or eat an entire box of Little Debbie Cream Pies and tell me how you feel in a couple of hours (damn, I miss eating an entire box of Little Debbie Cream Pies).

Let’s stop this toxic positivity and be honest: muscle mass starts declining after 30, and by 60, it drops faster than my voice when talking to a hot guy. Sarcopenia (the fancy word for muscle loss) is a biological inevitability. A 2024 study in Age and Ageing found that older adults like me face barriers to maintaining activity, but not because I'm lazy. It's because my body simply doesn't bounce back like it used to. Nowadays after a hard workout, I need at LEAST two days to recover. Translation: I can’t “just push through it” unless I enjoy hobbling around like I'm wearing dirty diapers, and you probably can't either.

Don't get me wrong. Exercise is still the best medicine. It's just that as we get older, the dosage changes. The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee makes it clear that older adults benefit from movement, but intensity must be adjusted to avoid injury (source linked below). That means you may have to swap the CrossFit heroics for something less likely to tear a rotator cuff (maybe something like yoga, swimming, or brisk walks where the only thing you’re crushing is your step count). And seriously don't be fooled into trying something you see on TikTok. I won't fall for that again.

Pretending age doesn’t matter is like ignoring the “check engine” light on your car. You can keep driving, but eventually, something’s going to blow. Overtraining, torn ligaments, and chronic pain aren’t badges of honor. They’re receipts for ignoring reality. Recovery slows with age, and pushing past those limits doesn’t make you stronger; it makes you reckless.

Look, acknowledging age isn’t depressing, sad, or surrender. It’s strategy. Live smarter, not harder. Lift lighter weights, eat healthy, embrace low-impact cardio, limit your alcohol consumption, stretch like your life depends on it, and work on balance and movement so you don’t end up starring in your own “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercial.

So let's be clear. Don't ever tell me that age is “just a number.” I mean, technically it is. But if you ignore the reality of age to placate your ego or hide the inevitable, it doesn't make you look younger. It makes you appear foolish because honey, you're not as young anymore as you think you are (and nobody thinks so either). Age is a roadmap, a caution sign, and sometimes a flashing neon warning. Respecting it, lets you keep moving, keep living, and keep laughing at the people still insisting they can party like it’s 1999. 

Spoiler: they can’t.

Cool Reference:

• The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 2nd Edition