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Is it too late to improve your fitness and health once you are past the first flushes of youth? “Absolutely not”, says Laventure. “You can train the older body, and markedly so.” And, he says, with so much “untrained reserve” it’s possible for sedentary people to make huge gains, and fast.

An article from guardian.co.uk has an interesting article about the benefits of exercise, no matter what age you are. The fact is that the over-65 age group is less active than any other, but exercise doesn’t have to be difficult – and it can help you live a longer, happier life.

Studies show improvements in balance, strength, gait, muscular power, blood pressure, endurance and bone density as a result of regular physical activity in older age. For example, one study on 90-year-old women in a nursing home found that 12 weeks of strength training took the equivalent of 20 years off their thigh muscle age, resulting in improved walking and mobility.

“There’s also good evidence that physical activity has important effects on the mental health of older adults,” says Laventure. A joint study by the National Institute of Mental Health and Age Concern in 2006 found that regular exercise was associated with reduced stress, depression and anxiety; enhanced cognitive function and overall psychological wellbeing; and increased self-esteem and contact with the community.

In fact, the benefits of physical activity – at any age – are so compelling that it could be argued that a bigger threat to health and longevity is not exercising. “Inactivity is life-limiting”, says Laventure.

Why it’s never too late to exercise via guardian.co.uk