---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We start to decline as humans and…"
description: "\"We start to decline as humans and, particularly, as athletes right around 25 years old. If you're real lucky, you might push that to 27 or 28.\" — Chael..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/chael-sonnen-3003_decline_we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-partic_2588303.jpg"
---

#  We start to decline as humans and, particularly, as…

![“We start to decline as humans and, particularly, as athletes right around 25 years old. If you're real lucky, you might push that to 27 or 28.” quote by Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/chael-sonnen-3003_decline_we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-partic_2588303.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/chael-sonnen-3003_decline_we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-partic_2588303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/chael-sonnen-3003_decline_we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-partic_2588303.jpg)

> “We start to decline as humans and, particularly, as athletes right around 25 years old. If you're real lucky, you might push that to 27 or 28.”

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human physical performance peaks in early twenties and declines thereafter, with slight variations possible through luck or training.

**In simple terms:** Athletes get older, performance drops.

Key Takeaway

Plan training to mitigate age decline.

Themes

aging performance training

Mood

realistic motivational

Type

advice reflective

When to use this quote

- sports career
- fitness planning
- training adjustments
- career longevity

Key Concepts

physiology peak performance

Questions to Reflect On

- How can athletes extend peak performance?
- What training strategies help after 25?

A Different Perspective

Genetics and lifestyle also affect decline; not solely age.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/)

## Related quotes

> [There is at least one point in the history of any company when you have to change dramatically to rise to the next level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grove/there-is-at-least-one-point-in-the-history-of-any-company-when-you/)

[Andy Grove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grove/)

> [As soon as you hear a fighter say, "I'm working smarter, not harder," you always want to bet against that guy. That mentality does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/as-soon-as-you-hear-a-fighter-say-i-m-working-smarter-not-harder-you/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/a-decline-in-the-national-housing-price-level-would-need-to-be/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [In all our academies we attempt far too much. ... In earlier times lectures were delivered upon chemistry and botany as branches of medicine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-all-our-academies-we-attempt-far-too-much-in-earlier-times/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [In the 1970s, British food was beginning to get good, whereas in France it was just starting its long, sad decline. My most memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/in-the-1970s-british-food-was-beginning-to-get-good-whereas-in-france/)

[Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/)

> [Prominent exploration experts have recently predicted that total world production of liquid oil will peak by about the end of this decade-or a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amory-lovins/prominent-exploration-experts-have-recently-predicted-that-total/)

[Amory Lovins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amory-lovins/)

> [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/)

[Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/)

> [To my way of thinking, the American family started to decline when parents began to communicate with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-my-way-of-thinking-the-american-family-started-to-decline-when/)

[Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/)

> [I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-the-rise-of-quantitative-econometrics-and-a-highly/)

[Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/)

> [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/)

[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

> [In my humble opinion, the PC as we have known it is in a continuous decline and being relegated to a utility device for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-ruiz/in-my-humble-opinion-the-pc-as-we-have-known-it-is-in-a-continuous/)

[Hector Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-ruiz/)

> [The challenge is either to build an economy that is sustainable or to stay with our unsustainable economy until it declines. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/the-challenge-is-either-to-build-an-economy-that-is-sustainable-or-to/)

[Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/)

> [Low levels of vitamin D in the population as a whole suggest that most people need to take a vitamin D supplement. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/low-levels-of-vitamin-d-in-the-population-as-a-whole-suggest-that/)

[Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/)

> [When a man imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-martin/when-a-man-imagines-even-after-years-of-striving-that-he-has-attained/)

Theodore Martin

> [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/)

[Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/)

## More by Chael Sonnen

> [I don't walk around looking into cameras and telling people I'm the best fighter in the world just to hear myself talk. I say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-don-t-walk-around-looking-into-cameras-and-telling-people-i-m-the/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [My phone rings, they call me up and say, 'Chael, your testosterone level is too high.' I say, 'Well, how high was it?' They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/my-phone-rings-they-call-me-up-and-say-chael-your-testosterone-level/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [I'm a God-fearing man, go to church every Sunday, and have since I was a boy. But if I ever found out that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-m-a-god-fearing-man-go-to-church-every-sunday-and-have-since-i-was/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [Because of both hipster culture and Facebook culture, the human race is starting to resemble a school of hairy piranhas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/because-of-both-hipster-culture-and-facebook-culture-the-human-race/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [I didn't get to go to school functions growing up. I didn't get to go to dances. I was never invited to a party…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-didn-t-get-to-go-to-school-functions-growing-up-i-didn-t-get-to-go/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [I go to practice every day. I really don't have a training camp. In the boxing world, and that's where that came from, almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-go-to-practice-every-day-i-really-don-t-have-a-training-camp-in-the/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [I had dreams in 2000 of being an Olympian for boxing. I never talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-had-dreams-in-2000-of-being-an-olympian-for-boxing-i-never-talk/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [Every time you have a huge fight in wrestling, in boxing, in MMA, both guys are sure they're going to win. They really believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/every-time-you-have-a-huge-fight-in-wrestling-in-boxing-in-mma-both/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [There's a camaraderie that comes with this sport, but fighting Anderson Silva is a lot like eating Chinese food: twenty minutes after I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/there-s-a-camaraderie-that-comes-with-this-sport-but-fighting/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [I was in Las Vegas when the Nogueira brothers first touched down in America. There was a bus, this is a true story. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-was-in-las-vegas-when-the-nogueira-brothers-first-touched-down-in/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [One element of wrestling that I know what I grew up with we put a lot of emphasis towards was the takedown. But, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/one-element-of-wrestling-that-i-know-what-i-grew-up-with-we-put-a-lot/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [I go to practice each and every day, but my intensity is not the same. If I get tired, I'll go sit down. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-go-to-practice-each-and-every-day-but-my-intensity-is-not-the-same/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [If I was mentoring a young fighter, I'd tell him to spend more time on boxing. That doesn't mean I would ignore kickboxing -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/if-i-was-mentoring-a-young-fighter-i-d-tell-him-to-spend-more-time-on/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [Somebody is going to win &amp; somebody is not, and that's fine... But we will never refuse to participate because we're scared to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/somebody-is-going-to-win-somebody-is-not-and-that-s-fine-but-we-will/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

> [I want to make the UFC money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/i-want-to-make-the-ufc-money/)

[Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

[Explore all 142 Chael Sonnen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/)

## More Decline quotes

> [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/)

[Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/)

> [When a man imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-martin/when-a-man-imagines-even-after-years-of-striving-that-he-has-attained/)

Theodore Martin

> [Low levels of vitamin D in the population as a whole suggest that most people need to take a vitamin D supplement. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/low-levels-of-vitamin-d-in-the-population-as-a-whole-suggest-that/)

[Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/)

> [The challenge is either to build an economy that is sustainable or to stay with our unsustainable economy until it declines. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/the-challenge-is-either-to-build-an-economy-that-is-sustainable-or-to/)

[Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/)

> [In my humble opinion, the PC as we have known it is in a continuous decline and being relegated to a utility device for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-ruiz/in-my-humble-opinion-the-pc-as-we-have-known-it-is-in-a-continuous/)

[Hector Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-ruiz/)

> [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/)

[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

> [I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-the-rise-of-quantitative-econometrics-and-a-highly/)

[Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/)

> [To my way of thinking, the American family started to decline when parents began to communicate with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-my-way-of-thinking-the-american-family-started-to-decline-when/)

[Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/)

> [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/)

[Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/)

> [Prominent exploration experts have recently predicted that total world production of liquid oil will peak by about the end of this decade-or a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amory-lovins/prominent-exploration-experts-have-recently-predicted-that-total/)

[Amory Lovins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amory-lovins/)

> [In the 1970s, British food was beginning to get good, whereas in France it was just starting its long, sad decline. My most memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/in-the-1970s-british-food-was-beginning-to-get-good-whereas-in-france/)

[Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/)

> [In all our academies we attempt far too much. ... In earlier times lectures were delivered upon chemistry and botany as branches of medicine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/in-all-our-academies-we-attempt-far-too-much-in-earlier-times/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/a-decline-in-the-national-housing-price-level-would-need-to-be/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [“A civilization, when the moment has come for crowds to acquire a high hand over it, is at the mercy of too many chances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-le-bon/a-civilization-when-the-moment-has-come-for-crowds-to-acquire-a-high/)

[Gustave Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-le-bon/)

> [Obviously it's true that as you go up the ranks, the number of women starts to decline. Whether that's because of 'self-deselection' or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-lake/obviously-it-s-true-that-as-you-go-up-the-ranks-the-number-of-women/)

[Marianne Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-lake/)

[Browse all 851 Decline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We start to decline as humans and, particularly, as athletes right around 25 years old. If you're real lucky, you might push that to 27 or 28.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Chael Sonnen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-particularly-as-athletes-right/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Decline"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-particularly-as-athletes-right/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/chael-sonnen-3003_decline_we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-partic_2588303.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/chael-sonnen-3003_decline_we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-partic_2588303.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/chael-sonnen-3003_decline_we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-partic_2588303.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We start to decline as humans and, particularly, as athletes right around 25 years old. If you're real…” — Chael Sonnen",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Chael Sonnen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We start to decline as humans...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-particularly-as-athletes-right/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/we-start-to-decline-as-humans-and-particularly-as-athletes-right/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
