Am I Getting Older or Just Losing Physical Capacity?

Getting older doesn't have to suck, and getting older does not automatically mean you'll be in more pain and more discomfort.

As you age, your body through natural processes, will lose physical performance. This means that you will probably not be able to perform at the same level of when you were in your twenties.

Let's look at the definition of physical capacity:

"Physical capacity is the measurable ability of a body to perform physical tasks, actions, or work. It represents a person's physiological and neurological potential to undertake both daily living activities and higher-intensity exertion, reflecting the overall robustness of the body's systems" sciencedirect.com

There is a certain level of robustness, performance, tasks, actions and work you are able to do at certain times in your life. This robustness and performance can change at any age as well. When you are in your twenties you can lose physical capacity through sickness, injury, metabolic changes, weight gain, etc. All these factors can either be short-term like sickness and health related problems, or they can be long-term like weight gain, sedentary, poor muscle conditioning, etc.

The term "getting older" is also very vague. I'm thirty-eight at the time of writing this and I am older then I was last year. And in fifteen years I will be older then I am right now. I will not be able to put on more muscle and not be able to get stronger then if I was in my twenties. But this does not mean I am losing physical capacity. I will likely have to change my exercise program and the intensity level of my sport, but that does not mean I have to give up anything and everything. My physical capacity will have changed in terms of output, and my physical capacity will have to adapt to the current environment and way my body feels towards specific tasks, jobs and activity.

Likewise, if you are seventy-five, your physical capacity will have to change and adapt to different environments, jobs, tasks and activities. You will probably not be able to perform running sprints, chop firewood with an axe, or lift and move heavy household appliances or furniture. But this does not mean you lose your ability to perform physical tasks and activities - they just have to be performed at a different level. Instead of running sprints just walk up a low incline outside or on a treadmill. Instead of chopping firewood with an axe split kindling with a hatchet. Instead of moving heavy furniture like a couch, help your family out by moving a chair. The moment you stop doing anything is the moment you start losing everything.

Your physical capacity will change as you get older, but that does not mean physical decline. The tasks, activities, jobs, chores and movement capacity is still there but it has to be performed at your ability and capability.

You are getting older. Everyone gets older. At the moment of birth we are all getting older. The difference is what we are all physically capable of doing at any moment in time in our lives - and to keep doing what we can in order to maintain physical function and performance.

(This article was written without the use of AI)