If you're nearing middle age and thinking your endurance athlete days are decades behind you then you're completely wrong as a new study reveals you can get back to that fitness level and even get the heart healthy you had in your 30s.

A new study reveals the cardiac benefits gain by returning to endurance sports in the 40s can almost be comparable to those young athletic days, those days you bore your children and buds about with stories after a few drinks.

A study of 40 healthy senior men, ages 55 through 70, says "relatively intensive" endurance exercise can offer benefits gained earlier in life. In the study some men hadn't exercised for more than two weeks in their lives, and some had much more active lifestyles including exercise for at least seven hours a week for over five years.

The men either ran or took to the bike and each was assessed on exercise testing, echocardiography at rest and during submaximal exercise, and heart rate analysis.

"Starting at the age of 40 does not seem to impair the cardiac benefits," state the researchers, who do note that benefits will obviously be greater if training is started earlier than the age of 40.

"But it's never too late to change your way of life and get more physically active," states a release on the study. "This will always be beneficial for the heart and well-being. And there's no need for a high level of training for many hours a week. Using the stairs rather than the elevator, or gardening regularly, can also be beneficial."