---
title: "Your efficiency didn’t age. Everything else did."
date: 2026-01-04
categories: ["Masters & ageing"]
url: https://www.semiprocycling.com/digest/your-efficiency-didnt-age-everything-else-did
author: Damian Ruse (SEMIPRO Cycling)
---
# Your efficiency didn’t age. Everything else did.

![](https://www.semiprocycling.com/digest/images/162c5b0e31efa612ff2e9a2f.webp)

This 2024 study examined mechanical efficiency in healthy adults across age groups during leg-cycling tests. Contrary to popular belief, **cycling efficiency did not decline with age**. Older cyclists used oxygen and produced work at almost identical efficiency to younger adults.

This challenges the long-held assumption that mid-life cyclists slow down because their muscles become less efficient. The data show that efficiency remains stable, meaning performance drops arise more from **fatigue management, recovery capacity, lifestyle load, and training structure** than from unavoidable age-related degradation.

This is liberating for older riders: the core engine still works. The limiter is usually the environment around it.

- Don’t blame age for declining endurance. Look at recovery habits and life load.
- Efficiency staying stable means gains are still available through volume, durability work, and repeatability training.
- Mid-life cyclists should prioritise sleep, cadence discipline, and progressive load rather than chasing miracle intensity.
- Your potential is far higher than you assume.

Source: [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39088644/)

## On my mind: Still the Same

I used to think ageing meant an automatic slide. You lose a step, lose some power, and eventually settle for “good enough”. But when you coach riders in their 40s, 50s and 60s who keep improving, you realise the body isn’t the one giving up. It’s the story we tell ourselves.

When someone commits to better recovery, cleaner execution, and steady training, their numbers jump in ways that surprise them. They think they’re an exception. They’re not. They’re just finally aligning effort with what their body can still do.

Damian