"I'm getting old" or some sort of similar statement is something that I hear from ALL ages.

Even as young as 20 years old.

This is usually as a defense for not being able to do something that the individual once was capable of doing.

True, you're chronologically older, but it doesn't mean that your biology has to match that number or worse, exceed that number.

A better viewpoint is as the years go by, your environment changes. As your environment changes so do your everyday behaviors and preferences.

Let's use a hypothetical person here. We will name him Doug.

In childhood, Doug had sports, recess, hanging out with friends....he was moving around quite a bit.

Then college hit for Doug. The "Freshman 15" is a thing because the environment changes. Doug fell victim to "The Freshman 15". Sports are no longer a part of his daily life. No recess, gym class, or physical activities that he did in high school with his friends. Alcohol comes into play. Food is more easily accessible (and SO many options). Add in that Doug isn't working out consistently and we've got a recipe for a decline in physical capacity and abilities.

Doug graduates from college. He's off into the real world. He gets a desk job. He sits at said desk 9+ hours per day. He spends his weekends drinking away the stress of your week of his job. Doug still isn't working out consistently. He starts to notice that his sleep has decreased in quality and duration. He is starting to get winded walking up to the third floor at work, but solves that problem by taking the elevator (this means less steps during his day).

Doug meets the love of his life. He loves spending time with her and now when he's not working, Doug is spending time with Patti (yep, that was a "Doug" the cartoon reference) every waking second that he's not at work. They consider themselves "foodies" so they frequent all of the awesome restaurants that downtown has to offer.

I can keep this story going. Next comes marriage. Then comes baby in the baby carriage which probably means less sleep and more stress that will both negatively impact Doug's physical capacity and abilities.

You get the idea.

So yes, time went on and the years went by in this scenario. Before Doug knows it, he's 40 years old. He feels like a hot plate of garbage most of the time and he believes it's because he's "getting old" and that's just a part of growing older.

Is it though? Or is it that we tend to not adapt beyond our environment as we grow older? I'll let you make the call for yourself, but know that it's much more empowering and you'll likely be happier and more capable if you go with the "adapt beyond your environment" route.