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Physical fitness tests, which we were forced to do endlessly during our school days. Grip strength, side steps, sit-ups, the shuttle run. Many of you probably thought, “I never want to do that again.”
However, as adults, even if we measure blood pressure or blood sugar levels during health checkups, we rarely measure “how many sit-ups you can do” or “how many meters you can jump.” Today on X, “physical fitness test” was trending, and there were posts with sentiments like “It seems like it would be miserable to do it as an adult,” “I can handle anything but the shuttle run,” and “I only want to measure my grip strength.”
So this time, I will investigate how much human physical strength actually declines when going from your 20s to your 30s.
Conclusion: The body does not decline the moment you turn 30
“My physical strength dropped all at once when I hit my 30s.”
I hear that often.
However, if you look at the Physical Fitness and Athletic Ability Survey by the Japan Sports Agency, it is more complex.
In the latest Reiwa 6 survey, many abilities such as running and jumping peak at a young age and then decline with age. On the other hand, grip strength is the exception; it continues to grow gradually even after passing adolescence for both men and women, reaching its peak in the 30s to 40s.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
In other words, your 30s is not the “age when all physical strength begins to decline.”
Even if explosive power and endurance begin to decline compared to when you were younger, some muscle strength is still at a high level.
Physical strength does not have a single expiration date; the peak differs for each ability.
The ability that declines most clearly is “the ability to catch your breath”
Cardiorespiratory endurance is where the effects of age are relatively easy to see.
A representative indicator is VO₂max (maximal oxygen uptake). It represents how much oxygen the body can take in and utilize during exercise, and is one of the primary indicators for looking at endurance.
In a longitudinal study from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, peak VO₂ in healthy adults declined even in their 20s and 30s, and the pace was approximately 3-6% over 10 years. Furthermore, the rate of decline accelerated as people got older, exceeding 20% per decade after the age of 70.PubMed
If we assume the cardiorespiratory capacity of someone in their 20s is 100, it is easy to imagine it being around 94-97 in their 30s.
“Wait, that’s only a few percent.”
You might think that.
Certainly, if you only look at the transition from your 20s to your 30s, the changes due to aging are not dramatic.
And yet, why do we feel like our physical strength has “dropped significantly” once we hit our 30s?
The real culprit might be a combination of “age + lifestyle.”
Try to remember when you were 20.
Commuting to school. Climbing stairs. Having P.E. class. Going to a part-time job. Hanging out with friends. Walking to the station.
You were using your body without even thinking about it.
In your 30s, it’s 8 hours of desk work. Commuting by car. Lunch near the office. Collapsing on the sofa when you get home.
Exercise, which was built into your life as a student, turns into something you have to “go out of your way to make time for” once you become a working adult.
The Japan Sports Agency’s 2024 survey also shows a correlation between sports participation and total scores on the New Physical Fitness Test among adults, confirming that those who exercise and play sports tend to have higher physical fitness ratings.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
In other words, it’s not that you “can’t move anymore because you turned 30,” but rather the influence of having shifted to a sedentary lifestyle by the time you turned 30 is also mixed in.
If you blame only age, you overlook this part.
When it comes to grip strength alone, people in their 30s can sometimes be stronger.
This is the interesting part about physical fitness testing.
The Japan Sports Agency states that while most measurement items decline after their peak, grip strength peaks in both men and women in their 30s and 40s.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Even in past surveys, the peak for grip strength was confirmed to be 30–34 for men and 40–44 for women.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
In short, if you arm-wrestled your high school self, there is a very real possibility that your 30-something self would win.
On the other hand, if you made them do a shuttle run, it would be a different story.
This is the trap of the word “physical fitness.”
Muscular strength, endurance, explosive power, flexibility, and agility are all separate abilities, yet we lump them all together and call it “I’ve lost my physical strength lately.”
“Getting out of breath on the stairs” doesn’t necessarily mean “aging.”
When you hit your 30s and get out of breath just from climbing the stairs,
“I’m getting old.”
I feel like saying that.
However, if the decline in cardiorespiratory capacity that occurs naturally over 10 years is only a few percent, it does not explain why stairs that were easy in your 20s suddenly become difficult from your 30th birthday. PubMed
I gained weight.
I stopped walking.
I became sleep-deprived.
My exercise habits disappeared.
I started smoking.
These conditions must also be considered.
Of course, if you have severe shortness of breath, chest pain, or heart palpitations, you should not assume it is just a lack of exercise, but it is also too early to give up and say, “It can’t be helped because I’m in my 30s.”
In fact, there may still be room for improvement.
It is not too late to start exercising in your 30s
“I’m not young anymore, so what’s the point of training now…”
This is also a bit of a wasteful way of thinking.
What the Japan Sports Agency’s data shows is that physical ability changes with age. At the same time, there is a difference in physical strength between those who have exercise habits and those who do not. MEXT
Aging itself cannot be stopped.
But physical strength in your 30s is not determined solely by “age.”
There is hope if you think about these separately.
You don’t need to go back to being 20.
You just need to make your 40-year-old self more capable of moving than you are now.
I want you to try an “adult physical fitness test” just once.
You don’t need to start running 10km every day from today.
What I recommend is simply turning your current status into numbers just once.
For example, record your grip strength, sit-ups, and seated forward bend within a range you can do safely and without strain. The Japan Sports Agency’s New Physical Fitness Test also includes measurement items for ages 20-64.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Then, six months later, measure again under the same conditions.
Surprisingly, many people step on the scale every day but only look at “how many kilograms” their body weighs.
What you really want to know might not be the weight of your body, but what you can do with that body.
Physical fitness tests in your student days were events where you were graded.
Now that you are an adult, the meaning has changed.
There is no need to compete with anyone.
The person you should compare yourself to is your future self in six months.
Aging cannot be stopped. But it is still too early in your 30s to decide that “this is as good as it gets because of my age.”
*This article provides general health information. Physical fitness varies by individual due to age, gender, physique, medical conditions, and exercise history. If you experience chest pain, severe shortness of breath, or fainting during exercise, do not force yourself to perform a fitness test and consult a medical institution.
Thank you for reading to the end. Which of the “shuttle run,” “grip strength,” or “sit-ups” would be the scariest fitness test to do now? Let me know in the comments. Likes and follows are also encouraging.🐧
#PhysicalFitnessTest
#Exercise
#Health
#30s
#MedicalTrivia
