Mitigating age-related decline in strength and stability | Peter Attia and Mike Joyner
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February 24, 2026
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Age 82 and working with a knee problem for a year. I’ve regained most mobility and remain active. Still I can’t alternate weight bearing onto my right leg on the stairs. Steep hills are okay, but not the stairs.It just points out how healing slows down and some of these activities you take for granted take long time to recover.
Gentlemen, I really appreciate the mention of rope jumping! I am 72 and started jumping when my children were little, and I couldn't get out to run. Still jumping 47 years later, double unders, crosses, etc. I also have been lifting heavy weights consistently. Also just started rucking although I have always carried a backpack instead of a purse.
Testosterone replacement therapy minimizes lots of this issues …
Does mike have an Instagram account?
Adrenal fatigue hits from overdoing 😮😊
I am 72. What I noticed about my physical activity levels is this – after I retired at age 66 I lost all of the walking and movement I did at work – 1/2 mile from the parking lot to the office building. Walk 3 flights of stairs to my office. Then back down the stairs to meet someone in the lobby. Up and down at my desk to go to the printer. I worked 8 hours a day and then took spinning or strength classes after work. Now that I am retired I haven't been able to figure out how to make up for the loss of work related activities. I still spin and and am adding strength back into my routine. Thoughts or suggestions?
It's hard to junp rope when you have ankle injuries or are overweight.
Twins
Now I want to downsize to a two story house to have the stairs to keep practicing on. 🤯
Husband and I are 60 and 62. We are way more active than most 30-50 yr olds, actually more active than our kids who are 20 & 22. We both exercise quite a bit throughout the week. We do ❤️ to walk neighborhoods and check out all the one story homes and lots. I mow our yard (with a push mower) and don’t want too steep of hills for later in life. But the stairs are back on the list!!! ❤️
Note: I take care of my mom in our home who is 102 and now 97 pounds. She was never an athlete but always active. She broke her hip and had surgery 6 years ago. The decline is real, and will happen to everyone. It has been a graceful decline with a few bumps.
Blah blah blah
There is NO proof that OLDER ATHLETES NEED MORE PROTEIN…..They more resistance training……
Older adults who dont move NEED more protein…BUT the ones who are active gym goers…OFTEN CALLED GRAND ATHLETES….
At a young 80 my routines include: TRZ 3X/wk 15 min, Yoga-Go 5X/wk 12 min, walking 40K steps/wk and walking golf thru the summer. After seeing this video I tested the step plan and made 60 steps in 40 sec, can get off floor without hands and 3mi/hour normal. So, do I need to get stronger?
I used to love jumping rope. Front , back , criss cross single vs double great for cardio, coordination and reflexes.
at 71, I cycle 65km three times weekly, and do weights at home. This keeps me going.
I love your pod casts. The only thing I would like added is that aging is brutal and super hard. I am a nurse in internal medicine and 70 to 80 year olds need hope and understanding about how hard it is to live life at their age.
64, training all my life, 2 recent decompression surgeries of lower back @61, 315×2 floor press with fat bar @ 189, and running a 5k this Saturday, aiming for sub 30 minutes, the point of all this is it's not that hard, pick a goal an work towards it, when reached, set another, and eventually you'll get to where you want to be. Start today and hang in there.
Anyone have a link to this study about the college kids at bedrest?
I'd like Peter to address the needs of people, like myself, who have been active their whole lives but managed to develop spinal stenosis. I cannot do anything to jar my spine. What type 2 exercises does he recommend? Tx
Dr. Attia, my name is Jaime and I am a MD working in primary health care in Brazil. First of all my thank you for reckoning Ayrton Senna´s life and achievements long time after his dead.
Since I only recently have started to follow your channel, I am not sure if there is any discussion about Hydroxymethylbutyrate use for muscle grow and recovery. Here in Brazil it has become a hype and people is using it widely. Thanks
greetingd from belgium, i am 56 and train every day minimum 100 burpees, plus kettlebelles every twoo days with pull ups and dips ,even on leave you can do burpees, it's a drug for me.
My aunt said, "I was fine until I hit 75." She went on to live another 15 years in decline, very rapidly. She was a shut-in, her sight declined dramatically, so she lost her license. Luckily she had much younger friends and family who looked after her. She stayed in her home, until the last few weeks.
This was a woman who loved travel and socializing.
Can anybody tell me the conclusion of this video because its totally out of my mind
I am 71 and have been doing high intensity circuits in my home for almost 7 months. The physical therapist who showed me how to exercise said my heart rate is comparable to his (he’s 35), adjusted for age, as his heart rate when he works out. I chose to go to PT because I could feel my strength and balance starting to be compromised. I can get up from the floor, I do wall push ups, I can climb stairs without any difficulty, I can exercise at high intensity for 25 minutes with kettle bells and weights. I have lost almost 100 pounds in the last several years but I am still obese, just not morbidly obese. I am only limited by severe arthritis in my back and knee, which makes stairs painful but I still do them. I intend to do all of this until I can’t.
One thing not mentioned That I think is extremely important in one's final 15 years is having a DEXA scan for bone density for osteopenia or osteoporosis. I've been chugging along with rowing and strength training for years and in good shape and without warning in Feb at age 76 I suffered a wedge fracture of my T12 vertebrae. Not only are the pain and back spasms intensely painful but the healing times are long and a massive setback to my training. You need to have your bone mineralisation checked! And if you have one or the other there are medicines which help stop the demineralisation
Issue is oesteoarthritis and length of time from request to operation being counted in years..literally stealing years off my life.
Use it or lose it, it's really that simple.
So true!! 75! You nailed it!
This is why I put the floors in my house on the ceiling.
Forward thinker.
Did he say "70% of 70 year old's can't get off the floor"?
Can you give TRT to 75+ years to boost strenght, muscle size etc?
I wish this check list of training for longevity was available. I heard the stairs, walking, but I know there are others Peter mentions such as function to get off the floor, carrying bags etc
My father is 80, he has been active all his life and continues to have an incredible strenghth, 10 years ago he started to study Spanish from the scretch and now he speaks it easily, so the secret is to keep moving, but easy said I am struggling with fatigue and beeing in my 50ies, female see my muscle mass declining….
“They were sent into outer space“ Hahaha
I’m grateful for these videos as a 59 year old – they are keeping me motivated to keep my exercise routines going
There is some conflict. I love to lie in bed but I want to live forever.
WOW I am 62 and jump rope, and still do dips and pull ups. THX, I never thought jumping rope had so many benefits.
@Dr Artta: Yep, aged 75 and very concerned about both cardio and muscle decline. I have both problems. Doing walking but not fast. And starting dead weights but light ones. Maybe rubber bands too. Any suggested workouts for weaker men to include weekly frequencies? Thanks
I’m 78 with a 60+ year history of physical activity (weigh lifting, running, kayaking), and I still try to do them regularly. My problem does not involve being inspired to do more, but rather it’s how to figure what amount is beneficial without being too much. Most mornings I feel like Mike Tyson used me as a sparring partner the day before. I like exercise, I regard it as play, but I would love to feel a lot less fatigue. Is there a reliable formula for days off without feeling guilty about it?
Is the full list of centenarian decathlon activities available somewhere?
For me, it's been the loss of activity because autoimmune diseases made me feel so chronically fatigue and losses of my Dad then Mom in 2018 put me in a deep rut. Since Dec 2023 I'm trying to catch up by strength training, working out six days a week. Now, I recognize I was slowly doing myself harm. Hope at 58, after many yrs of inactivity, it's not too late. Already finished PT for knees, neck and back. MRIs look good, blood work great, so the battle is fibromyalgia but I'm tougher. I got this!
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