In a lot of ways, I feel bad for people who decided they hated unnecessary physical exertion during PE lessons and have given it a studied miss ever since. But in one important way, I don’t: if you avoid picking up a barbell or lacing up a pair of running shoes until hitting middle age, you could roll into your late 40s faster and stronger than you have ever been. Whereas – and don’t feel too sorry for me, because I’m going to start showing off in a minute – at 44, the best way to describe my gym regime is probably “managed decline”.
Let’s get the showing-off out of the way first. In my 30s – I didn’t actually start going to the gym myself until I was 29 – I could do a squat with double my own bodyweight on my back, and run 5km in a shade over 21 minutes. I could pull a small van and do a no-handed (AKA aerial) cartwheel. I could, and I’m not exaggerating, hoist a Vauxhall Astra hatchback off the ground 11 times in 90 seconds. I did just that in a competition.
