The short answer is: Never.
A longer answer would be: When your excuses overpower your motivation.
According to a recent study by the National Institutes of Health, formerly sedentary individuals who first began exercising between 40 and 61 years of age reduced their risk of death from all causes by 35%. The odds of cancer and heart disease also declined among those who began exercising vs those who did not.
The results of the 315,000 person study add to ample existing evidence that becoming active later in life can provide substantial health benefits. On the other hand people who were active during adolescence but not later in life gained little benefit compared to people who were never active. People who stopped exercising in their 20s and 30s but picked the habit up again later seemed to benefit just as much as people who maintained activity across their lifespan.
So there is the answer. It is never too late unless you are too lazy.
Absolutely! In the early 80s I was reading studies by Wayne Wescott at the South Shore Y (Boston) who was doing weight training folks in their 90s who were gaining muscle mass -- awlas a good thing!
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