[jjeaff]

One thing should be clarified... Everyone is not at their physical best around 25. They may, on average, have the -potential- to be at their physical best around age 25, but excercise and training has a lot to do with it.

35 year old me could beat 25 year old me in almost any physical contest. Because I am in much, much better shape now. I do regular cardio and I train and lift weights. I was chubby and out of shape at 25.

I suspect the same could easily be true for mental prowess.

[tha_nose]

That's true. However, if we look at one's peak, your 25 yr old self had a higher peak than your 35 yr self. If you had exercised as a 25 yr old self and reached your potential, you would be physically better than your 35 yr old self.

It's like driving 25 mph in a porsche vs 50 mph in a SUV. In this instance, the SUV is faster because you chose to go 25 mph in a porsche. You didn't fully explore the full potential of the porsch.

Your physical peak could be at 25, but you also could choose not to exploit it fully.

[ohaideredevs]

That's the "natural potential plateau" question - if we are to believe this theory, then it means that you can reach your absolute maximum potential in 10-15 years.

I am not so sure - I wonder if there are ways, in some fields, to keep getting better well into your 50s. For example, I don't really know of the ability to gain strength decreasing. So it seems like you could lift well into your 50s and end up stronger than a peak 25 year old.

I.e. an elite 25 year old wouldn't drop off in strength.

...I just answered my own question: https://torokhtiy.com/blogs/warm-body-cold-mind/weightliftin...

Seems like 35 is where Olympic weight lifters stop winning medals. There is also this: "Harvard University says the average man loses up to 5 percent of muscle mass every decade, starting at age 30; most men lose about 30 percent of muscle mass as they age."

Well, I guess I am going to have to stick with the guy who posted "older people just stop giving a " to comfort myself about getting old.