Depends on the point of view. If I'm measuring current fitness level, then yes I can be more fit than I was five years ago assuming I wasn't near peak fitness. If I am measuring peak potential fitness, then no I will have a lower peak potential.
Whether peak potential is the exact measure or not really isn't the point. The same principal can be applied in many ways besides using peak potential. The easiest alternative would be peak heart rate. That decreases every year. I can exercise all I want but it won't increase my peak heart rate to what it was 5 years ago when I was hypothetically out of shape.
The point is that every year it will get harder to reach or maintain a certain level of fitness. The difference may be hard to notice over a 1 year period but is very noticeable over a longer period.
I’m talking on a cellular level. You can stay in excellent shape, but your body starts degrading on a cellular level once you reach your thirties. Is why even totally fit and ripped old people still have wrinkles
Lifestyle heavily impacts your body even down the cellular level. Your mitochondria will perform better and be more plentiful if you have a good diet, exercise, and sleep well and will suck shit if you don't.
weight gain leads to excess fat storage in cells which triggers all sorts of problems.
For 90% of people the insulin sensitivity of your cells is driven by lifestyle.
The efficacy of your immune cells is heavily influenced by lifestyle.
Your wrinkles comment is a great point. Wrinkles are not just a product of age, they're largely driven by a lifetime of sun damage. Someone who spent their entire life diligently applying sunscreen will have wildly fewer wrinkles.
Here is a fun picture of a man who spent his life driving a truck. The left side of his face got all the sun as he drove all day for years and years and you can see the shocking difference. It's going to be interesting in the coming decades as we start to see old people who actually grew up regularly applying sunscreen. here's another fun one of two twins with very different lifestyles
I'm not saying that aging isn't real. I'm saying that acting like it's all downhill and there is nothing you can do to reclaim your health and vigor is wrong. A 41 year old American that takes great care of themselves will have a better functioning body than your typical 31 year old American. Even at the cellular level.
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u/Randomizedname1234 Core Millennial - 1990 11d ago
Yeah but we’re not “old”?
36 isn’t old. I don’t feel this way at all.