Diet and exercise are part of the equation when it comes to good health, so, how do we keep the ageing process at bay?

Exercise can be something that fits very easily into our daily lives — and can be utterly transformative.

Many older people think ‘it’s too late to start’.

In Muir Gray’s “The Antidote To Ageing” he looks at the scientific evidence that shows your age doesn’t have to dictate your physical health. 

Gray says, “I'm 75 years old and I can still cycle the 5km to the station every day. Your age, in numbers, cannot be denied — but it should not be a cause for gloom.”

The effects of the ageing process don't suddenly strike when you hit 50 or 60, but, start as early as 30.

Gray says, at any age you can seize control by reducing your risk of developing disease, becoming fitter, and adopting a positive and optimistic attitude to life — even if you already have a long-term condition.

He says, “I recently attended the 100th birthday party of a friend. The birthday boy gave a wonderful speech saying, that a few months earlier, he’d flown for the first time to Israel, and fulfilled a long-held ambition to swim in the Dead Sea.”

None of us would deny the existence of the ageing process. Gray says there are only two phases in life: growing and developing and ageing – that biological decline we’re powerless to escape. 

Gray calls the difference between the best possible rate of decline and a person's actual rate of decline ‘the fitness gap.’

The good news is, ‘the fitness gap’ can be narrowed at any age by improving your level of fitness, so it might be time to stop working on ‘your excuses’ and start working on ‘your fitness’, but always check with your GP before making big lifestyle changes or adopting a new fitness routine.