Most people accept that a 70 year old should not train exactly like a 20 year old.
That idea sounds modern.
A popular post says it goes back to a Byzantine physician named Aetius of Amida.
The post claims Aetius wrote detailed exercise instructions matched to a person’s age.
The man and his book are real. The specific age by age exercise plan is much harder to confirm.
Who Aetius of Amida Was
Aetius was born in Amida, a city that is now Diyarbakır in Turkey.
He studied in Alexandria, one of the great centers of medical learning in the ancient world.
His exact birth and death years are not known.
Historian Petros Bouras-Vallianatos places him in the first half of the sixth century.
He held a court title, comes obsequii, during the reign of the emperor Justinian.
Some writers call him a court physician, but reference sources treat that as a guess rather than a proven fact.
The Sixteen Books on Medicine
His main work is usually called the Sixteen Books on Medicine, or the Tetrabiblos.
The Tetrabiblos name comes from later editors, who grouped the books into four sets of four.
The books cover pharmacology, dietetics, surgery, eye care, dentistry, poisons, gynecology, and more.
Much of the text is a collection of excerpts from earlier writers, especially Galen and Oribasius.
That was not seen as a flaw at the time.
Renaissance doctors valued the work highly, and its translator Janus Cornarius called Aetius the best of medical writers.
For centuries, collections like this were how busy doctors got access to older Greek learning in one place.
One more detail matters for this story.
Only the first eight of the sixteen books have a modern critical edition, so much of the text is hard to check.
Did He Really Write Exercise Plans by Age?
We could not confirm this claim.
The reference sources we checked describe dietetics and general health topics in his work.
None of them describe a section that sets out different exercise routines for young and old people.
That does not mean no such passage exists. It means we could not find one we could read and verify.
The idea itself fits the Greek medical tradition he drew from.
Physicians in that tradition often tailored regimen, meaning diet, rest, and activity, to the individual patient.
So the fair summary is this: Aetius preserved a medical tradition that valued tailored regimen, but the exact age based exercise plan is not something we could verify.
Your age changes the details of a good plan. It does not change the need to move.
Why Old Advice Needs a Warning Label
Byzantine medicine rested on the theory of the four humors, which modern science has rejected.
Its reasons for recommending or avoiding an activity were often built on that theory.
The same collections also included charms and remedies that no doctor would use today.
So even where old texts give specific exercise advice, the methods should not be copied as written.
The useful part is the general principle, not the ancient prescription.
Modern research has since done the work those old writers could not do, testing what actually helps people at each stage of life.
What Modern Guidelines Say About Age
Today, age based exercise advice rests on large bodies of research.
The World Health Organization’s 2020 guidelines, summarized by Fiona Bull and colleagues, split advice by age group.
Children and teens should average at least 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity, mostly aerobic.
Adults should get 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate activity, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity.
Adults should also do muscle strengthening work on two or more days a week.
Older adults get the same targets, plus one addition.
They should do varied, multicomponent activity that stresses balance and strength on three or more days a week.
Strength Training Keeps Mattering With Age
Many older adults are told to take it easy. The research points the other way for strength.
In 2019, the National Strength and Conditioning Association published a position statement led by Maren Fragala.
It called resistance training a powerful intervention against the loss of muscle strength and mass with age.
The authors linked that loss to problems with mobility, independence, chronic disease management, and quality of life.
If you are in midlife, our strength plan for your 40s shows how to set up the basics.
For heavier lifting later on, see our guide to deadlifting after 50.
How to Match Exercise to Your Age Today
- Children and teens: build variety. Running, jumping, climbing, and sports cover a lot of ground.
- Young adults: build a base. Mix aerobic work with two or more strength days each week.
- Midlife: protect muscle. Keep lifting, and add weight slowly as your form improves.
- Older adults: add balance. Pair strength work with balance drills a few days a week.
- Any age: start where you are. Your health and history matter as much as the number on your birthday.
Common Mistakes
- Using age as an excuse to stop. Guidelines add to the plan for older adults. They do not remove strength work.
- Copying a young athlete’s program. Recovery needs often change as you get older.
- Ignoring balance. It is easy to skip, and it matters more with each decade.
- Trusting ancient recipes. Old texts are history, not a training manual.
Who Should Be Careful
People with heart disease, diabetes, joint problems, or recent surgery should get medical advice before starting a new program.
Anyone who has fallen recently should ask about a supervised balance program.
Stop and seek care if you have chest pain, dizziness, or unusual shortness of breath during exercise.
The Bottom Line
Aetius of Amida was a real sixth century writer who gathered a huge amount of Greek medical knowledge.
The claim that he wrote detailed, age matched exercise instructions could not be confirmed.
The broader idea, that exercise should fit the person, is now backed by modern guidelines.
Keep the principle, and leave the ancient methods in the history books.
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References
- Bouras-Vallianatos, P. (2019). Galen in late antique medical handbooks. In P. Bouras-Vallianatos & B. Zipser (Eds.), Brill’s companion to the reception of Galen. Brill. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK540285/
- Bull, F. C., Al-Ansari, S. S., Biddle, S., Borodulin, K., Buman, M. P., Cardon, G., et al. (2020). World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(24), 1451 to 1462. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-102955
- Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. (n.d.). Aëtius, of Amida (502 to 575). Vaulted Treasures. University of Virginia. https://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/treasures/aetius-of-amida-502-575/index.html
- Fragala, M. S., Cadore, E. L., Dorgo, S., Izquierdo, M., Kraemer, W. J., Peterson, M. D., & Ryan, E. D. (2019). Resistance training for older adults: Position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 33(8), 2019 to 2052. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003230
- Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Aëtius of Amida. In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 16, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C3%ABtius_of_Amida
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. If you have an injury, ongoing pain, or a medical condition, talk to a doctor or physical therapist before you change how you train or eat.
