THERE’S A MOMENT that tends to arrive somewhere in your 40s, a slow realisation that time is catching up with you.

It might be climbing a flight of stairs and feeling more winded than expected. Or a stiff back that lingers longer than it used to, or perhaps the hike you used to do once in a while has become more challenging these days.

There may be a quiet realisation as your inner self reflects on this new venture into middle age: I should probably be doing something to look after myself!

If you’ve never been into exercise or considered yourself “a gym person,” the idea of starting exercise in midlife can feel daunting, or even futile.

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But here’s the good news: from a scientific standpoint, your 40s may be one of the most powerful times to get started. When it comes to bone, muscle, metabolism, heart health and even brain function, it is never too late to start exercising.

In fact, your body is remarkably responsive to change at this stage of life, and you can expect to reap the rewards.

Them bones them bones

From around our 30s onward, we begin to lose muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone mass (osteopenia/osteoporosis). By the time we reach our 40s, that gradual decline can become more noticeable. Muscle strength can drop by 1–2% per year if we’re inactive.

Bone density declines 0.5-1% year on year in our 40s, particularly for women approaching menopause due to falling estrogen levels. Hormones fluctuate, our metabolism shifts, recovery can take longer and our risk of sustaining an injury increases.

It is not all doom and gloom; decline does not mean destiny. There are many things we can do to combat the impact of our bodies’ natural mechanisms for ageing.

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The body adapts to demand at almost any age. Research consistently shows that strength training and weight-bearing exercise can slow, halt and even reverse aspects of age-related muscle and bone loss. Your 40s aren’t a closing door, but can be a turning point if you haven’t already started building exercise into your life.

Bone........

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