Training and recovery after 45: what changes and what helps

Why you recover more slowly now

With age, muscle protein is built more slowly after training, sleep often becomes lighter, and hormones such as testosterone and estrogen decline. Years of training also leave a record in joints and tendons. The practical result is that the same session takes longer to bounce back from.

That does not mean training less; it means training smarter. Spacing hard sessions, keeping strength work in the program, getting enough protein spread across the day and protecting sleep usually do more for recovery than any supplement. The CDC recommends that older adults do muscle-strengthening activities at least two days a week, alongside about 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity and some balance work.

Simple tracking helps here too. Noting morning energy, soreness, sleep quality and how your main lifts or sessions feel each week makes it easier to see when you need an easier block rather than more effort.

Heart health for lifelong exercisers

Being fit lowers cardiovascular risk, but it does not erase it. Inherited factors such as a high Lipoprotein(a) are unaffected by lifestyle, and the American Heart Association recommends every adult have it checked at least once. Very high volumes of endurance exercise over many years have been associated with some heart rhythm and coronary findings, and the significance for individuals is still debated.

If you have chest pain, unusual breathlessness, palpitations or fainting with exercise, get an in-person evaluation before training hard again. A good baseline also includes blood pressure, a lipid panel with ApoB and blood sugar markers.

Low testosterone in former athletes

A low testosterone result in a former athlete has several possible explanations. Past anabolic steroid use can suppress natural production for months to years. Chronic under-eating relative to training, heavy training blocks, poor sleep and weight changes after retiring from sport can also lower levels. Guidelines require repeated early-morning tests and an LH level to sort out the cause.

Tell your clinician about any past steroid or performance-drug use. It is not a moral judgment; it changes how your results are interpreted and what treatment makes sense. Testosterone therapy is not a way to recapture your playing-days physique, and it carries its own monitoring needs and fertility effects.

Under-fueling and bone health

Training hard while eating too little, known as low energy availability, can disrupt hormones in both women and men. In women, lost periods during training years are a sign this was happening and can mean lower bone density later. Distance runners, cyclists, dancers and gymnasts may have bones that are less protected than their fitness suggests, since sports with little impact build less bone. Ask your clinician whether a bone density scan makes sense for you, and do not assume supplements alone can fix low bone density.

Do recovery peptides work?

BPC-157 and TB-500 are popular for tendon and joint healing, but the evidence comes almost entirely from animal studies. USADA states that there are no human clinical trials establishing BPC-157's effectiveness. Neither is FDA-approved. In July 2026 an FDA advisory committee narrowly recommended allowing both to be compounded, but that recommendation is not binding and is not an approval. Persistent joint or tendon pain usually deserves an orthopedic or sports medicine evaluation and a rehab plan first.

Anti-doping rules still apply to masters athletes

If you compete in tested events, including many masters and age-group competitions, the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list may apply to you. BPC-157 is prohibited under the category of non-approved substances, and many growth hormone-releasing compounds, testosterone and DHEA are also prohibited. A prescription is not a defense against a violation. If you need a prohibited medication for a genuine medical reason, you would generally need a therapeutic use exemption from the relevant anti-doping organization, which your clinician can help document but cannot grant.