30 January 2026
Why Your Cardio Fitness Doesn’t Have to Decline with Age
Getting older needn’t mean slowing down.
If you assume that ageing automatically means your fitness slowly slips off a cliff, then you’re wrong. Some people might be more puffed walking up the stairs or struggle with certain exercises that they used to find easy, but this decline isn’t actually inevitable.
Although your cardio fitness, which is your body’s ability to deliver and use oxygen during exercise, will tend to fall with age, the rate at which it drops varies hugely.
There’s even research which shows that your cardio fitness is one of the most flexible ageing curves as various factors can have a huge impact. And most of these factors are under your control!
Although your cardio fitness, which is your body’s ability to deliver and use oxygen during exercise, will tend to fall with age, the rate at which it drops varies hugely.
There’s even research which shows that your cardio fitness is one of the most flexible ageing curves as various factors can have a huge impact. And most of these factors are under your control!
The Benefits of Staying Fit
The better your cardio fitness, the healthier your vascular ageing; this is a measure of the health of your blood vessels. Healthy blood vessels are more flexible and better at regulating your blood flow, which could reduce your risk of heart disease. Around the world, heart disease is the leading cause of death, so doing what you can to lower your risk, could go a long way in helping you to live longer.
Plus, being physically fit also helps you feel better in yourself, it improves your mood and confidence, and it gives you energy to get through the day. Think about it: if you’re fitter, you can keep up with the kids, take the stairs comfortably instead of the lift, carry heavy shopping without feeling exhausted afterwards.
Plus, being physically fit also helps you feel better in yourself, it improves your mood and confidence, and it gives you energy to get through the day. Think about it: if you’re fitter, you can keep up with the kids, take the stairs comfortably instead of the lift, carry heavy shopping without feeling exhausted afterwards.
Staying Fit from A Young Age
Don’t wait to get fit. Because if you’re fitter in your twenties and thirties, and stay active into your forties and beyond, your long-term risk of dying early or developing heart disease is usually lower.
In a big study involving 4808 participants, whose fitness was measured in stages over a 20-year period, every minute of higher early-adulthood cardio fitness was associated with a lower risk of premature death. As well as this, every 5% increase in cardio fitness maintained throughout midlife was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, meaning your risk of dying from any cause is lower.
In a big study involving 4808 participants, whose fitness was measured in stages over a 20-year period, every minute of higher early-adulthood cardio fitness was associated with a lower risk of premature death. As well as this, every 5% increase in cardio fitness maintained throughout midlife was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, meaning your risk of dying from any cause is lower.
Fitness Isn’t Just For The Young
If you weren’t active as a teenager or 20-something, it doesn't mean you're doomed! Instead, it just gives you an advantage. However, you can and should be working to improve your fitness, no matter what age you are.
A big study involving more than 122,000 adults found that higher cardio fitness was strongly linked to a lower risk of death from any cause, and interestingly, this benefit was even seen in people with high blood pressure.
A big study involving more than 122,000 adults found that higher cardio fitness was strongly linked to a lower risk of death from any cause, and interestingly, this benefit was even seen in people with high blood pressure.
How Can You Improve Your Fitness?
Although they are linked, the amount of exercise you do and your physical fitness aren't the same thing. You could be physically active, but not very fit while on the flip side, you could be very fit, but have lower activity levels. Activity is what you do, whereas fitness is how your body responds: are you out of breath walking for example, or can your body handle something much harder?
To improve your cardio fitness, aim to do aerobic exercise five times a week. This could be running, cycling, swimming, brisk walking, rowing; basically anything that gets your heart rate up and leaves you out of breath.
These workouts shouldn’t all be the same intensity; turn some into an interval session, mixing short bursts of high intensity with periods of rest as research has found that, when done regularly, HIIT (high intensity interval training) can improve cardio fitness.
Over time, make sure you’re increasing this intensity, to challenge your body and improve your fitness.
Staying strong and mobile not only protects your joints and muscles, but it can make aerobic exercise so much more comfortable and pain-free. With this in mind, aim to strength train two or three times a week and progressively overload the weight you use; this means gradually increase resistance or reps to keep challenging your muscles
Stretch before and after exercise too and if you spend a lot of time sitting, try to get up regularly and stretch, even for five minutes.
To improve your cardio fitness, aim to do aerobic exercise five times a week. This could be running, cycling, swimming, brisk walking, rowing; basically anything that gets your heart rate up and leaves you out of breath.
These workouts shouldn’t all be the same intensity; turn some into an interval session, mixing short bursts of high intensity with periods of rest as research has found that, when done regularly, HIIT (high intensity interval training) can improve cardio fitness.
Over time, make sure you’re increasing this intensity, to challenge your body and improve your fitness.
Staying strong and mobile not only protects your joints and muscles, but it can make aerobic exercise so much more comfortable and pain-free. With this in mind, aim to strength train two or three times a week and progressively overload the weight you use; this means gradually increase resistance or reps to keep challenging your muscles
Stretch before and after exercise too and if you spend a lot of time sitting, try to get up regularly and stretch, even for five minutes.
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