'Sports to give up at 45', supporters, those who say playing heavy sports is still healthy

The article 'Sports you should give up at age 45' posted on Tuoi Tre Online has received many comments and discussions from readers.

Some people over 45 are still strong enough to play high-intensity sports - Photo: HS

Harvard Health Publishing offers advice on exercise after age 45, the age considered to be on the other side of middle age.

Along with many other reputable foreign health news sources, Tuoi Tre Online has compiled information with the article "Sports you should give up at age 45". This article immediately received a lot of debate from readers.

Specifically, high-intensity sports such as jogging, competitive sports (basketball, soccer, martial arts), heavy weightlifting, and tennis are recommended to be abandoned by people over 45 years old.

Instead, low-impact, gentle sports that maintain continuous movement, such as swimming, brisk walking, table tennis, yoga, cycling... are encouraged.

Age 45 and up must measure your strength

According to reader Tra Hoa, "sports must be considered according to your own strength. Even if you are a little older but exercise regularly and take good care of your health, you can still play many sports. Just don't try to compete too hard."

Meanwhile, reader Xuan Hung admitted: "After the age of 50, I gave up volleyball and switched to table tennis and cycling. When you're old, you shouldn't exert yourself like when you were young."

Reader with email pdie****@gmail.com asked: "I am 70 years old, every afternoon I cycle for about 30 to 40 minutes, is that reasonable?".

Or according to reader Nguyen Van Huong: "I'm 53 years old but I can still jump and hit a volleyball. It must be bad, right?"

According to reader Han Duong, cycling is very reasonable for the elderly, but they should avoid afternoon rush hour when there are many motorbikes emitting smoke, causing air pollution.

"At that time, cycling for exercise was reasonable but became unreasonable because of breathing polluted air... I think cycling early in the morning is the most reasonable," this reader advised.

Sharing about the above questions, reader Nguyen Nhat Dang wrote: "Ask your body, don't follow the trend. You have to determine that sports to train your health is different from competition. If you compete, you should choose people with the same level as you. Because when competing, few people will lose, even if they are weaker than them, and injuries also come from there."

"Walking every day for about 30-45 minutes is reasonable and good for middle-aged health," reader Kforhai advised. A reader with the email address than****@gmail.com said: "I am 46 years old, running about 6-8km every day."

"I'm 55 years old, I do 50 push-ups every morning. I should probably quit," said reader Minh.

From personal experience, a reader named Bichngocnguyen shared: "Every day I spend 1 hour in the early morning walking, it's very healthy". According to a reader named Luong TT, "in short, I still exercise but at a low and light intensity".

60 - 70 years old, playing heavy sports every day and still feel healthy?

Contrary to the above opinions, many readers expressed disagreement with the advice to give up their favorite sports.

"My 54-year-old grandfather still takes me to the soccer field every day to play with his teammates. One day, a young guy kicked him so hard that he broke his leg for 7 months. But he was still passionate, recovered and continued playing. I really admire him," said a reader named Bao.

According to reader Mr Pipi: "Playing sports requires you to measure your strength. My uncle is U65 and plays soccer very well. His tendons and bones are strong. Actually, age is just a number. What's important is eating, drinking, living, and combining mental and physical activity."

Reader Thanh said he is 46 years old, can still run 100km and participate in the famous Ironman 70.3 triathlon...

"I am over 50 years old this year, and I still regularly go to the gym every day. But instead of doing heavy exercises, I switch to light exercises, just enough for my strength, so that I can still maintain my health to work from morning to night. Even though sometimes the hours are stressful, I still try to maintain my exercise," said reader Quang Khai.

He also shared: "I see many people over 60 still exercise regularly like me and they are very healthy. There are 2 guys in the gym who had cancer, thanks to regular exercise they overcame it after surgery.

I think the important thing is the way of practicing, the dosage, the health of each person... not the sport. Of course, the sports in the article are suitable for the majority."

Agreeing, a reader with the account luan****@gmail.com wrote: "Regular exercise should not be reduced or increased to live a long life. The gym where I work out, the older guys look as young as 30-40 years old, because they exercise regularly."

These conflicting views are understandable, as the Harvard Health Publishing article also acknowledges that each person's body, as well as their training history from childhood to adulthood, is different.

There are many athletes in their 50s, 60s, even 70s who can still play marathons, soccer, martial arts, etc. well.

However, this is not the majority. Most athletes feel their bodies gradually weaken and become more susceptible to injury when they reach the age of 40-45.

Therefore, from a health perspective, it is understandable that foreign doctors and medical experts advise people to stop doing high-intensity sports in middle age to reduce risks.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-mon-the-thao-nen-tu-bo-o-tuoi-45-nguoi-ung-ho-nguoi-noi-choi-the-thao-nang-ma-van-khoe-20250523191042845.htm