Here’s When We Hit Our Physical and Mental Peaks

When are we our fastest, strongest and most creative?

Elite swimmers peak in their early 20s, powerlifters peak at 35 and equestrians later still, on average. Creativity peaks either very early in our careers or later, depending on how we think. Our ability to quickly absorb facts reaches its zenith in our late teens, while our vocabulary skills crest in our sixth decade.

Economists, sports scientists and psychologists have analysed Olympic performances and chess matches, as well as thousands of online quizzes to determine the average age when people peak mentally and physically. They are trying to understand how our brain and bodies work and if there are lessons on strengthening each.

The good news is that while we may have peaked in one endeavour, we are likely getting better in another.

“At every age, you are getting better at some things and worse at others,” says Joshua Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College, who researches how various cognitive functions change with age.

People reach their various physical peaks at different times for different reasons, according to the studies. Fast-twitch muscle fibres help with speed and power—think sprinting—and are more prevalent in our muscles when we are young. Slow-twitch muscle fibres, which are those related to endurance, are more prevalent in muscles when we are older.

Physical attributes can play a role, too. Women have less muscle to lose, and peak at younger ages than men in muscle-intense sports like swimming.

The science on physical peaks

Rafal Chomik, an Australian economist at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, led a study of peak physical performances among Olympic and professional athletes looking at how well different age groups perform in different sports.

For sports like sprinting, which requires speed, power and maximum oxygen consumption, athletes tend to peak in their mid-20s. In endurance sports, such as marathons, the peak is typically reached by 40. In tactical low-impact sports, like sailing and equestrian competition, athletes compete at elite levels in their 50s.

This is consistent with findings on cognitive capacity, says Chomik, noting that young people are better at tasks requiring raw processing power while older people excel at strategy.

Another finding from the athlete study: Peak performance ages for elite athletes are increasing. For example, the average age of the top 100 men and women in tennis is four to six years older, respectively, than it was in the 1980s. Athletes are competing longer, due in part to advances in training, equipment and sports science.

Steffen Peters, an equestrian who lives in San Diego, has competed in five Olympic Games and won bronze medals in 1996 and in 2016. But he says he had his best year in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. At the age of 56, he was part of the silver-medal-winning U.S. Dressage Team.

“In my younger age, I had more energy,” says Peters. “But I think at an older age I have extra wisdom that goes pretty far.” Peters plans to compete in 2024 and 2028.

Reaching mental peaks

Mental peaks come at different ages, too. Most people associate creativity with youth, but it depends on the type of creativity, says Bruce Weinberg, a professor of economics at Ohio State University.

“Innovation tends to follow two distinct patterns,” says Weinberg, who co-wrote a study looking at the age when 31 Nobel Prize winners in economics published their most significant research, defined as the one with the most citations. One pattern of thinking is conceptual and the other is experimental.

Economists who challenge conventional wisdom and think more abstractly published their single most significant work at the age of 25. They would be considered conceptual thinkers. Economists who tend to refine their work based on accumulated knowledge and experience wrote their most significant paper in their mid-50s. They would be considered experimental thinkers.

Those same two innovation patterns emerged in studies of writers and artists, says Weinberg. Pablo Picasso, considered a conceptual artist, painted some of his most important works in his mid 20s. Robert Frost, a more experimental innovator, wrote for years before his first book of poetry was published around the age of 40.

Another study of peak mental performance involved the game of chess. Chess is considered a good proxy for “performance in a cognitively demanding task,” says Uwe Sunde, an economics professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

He and fellow researchers analysed 24,000 professional chess matches to track the performance of top players. The researchers compared an individual’s recorded moves with the best moves suggested by a modern chess computer, to see how a player’s performance changed over the years and when they peaked.

Individual performance rose sharply until the early 20s and peaked around the age of 35, says Sunde.

Not all thinking skills peak at the same time or the same age, says Hartshorne, of Boston College. Processing speed—the ability to think quickly and recall information like names—peaks around 18, based on data from standardised IQ and internet-based tests. Crystallised intelligence—the accumulation of facts and knowledge—peaks later. Vocabulary skills peak about 65.

In another study he led, using results of online grammar quizzes, he found that grammar and language-learning skills continue to build for about 30 years. For a native language, the 30-year learning period starts roughly around birth. For a second language, it starts whenever someone starts learning that language.

“Move to Paris and start speaking French at the age of 30 and you can expect continued improvement until you reach around 60,” he says. “Learning goes on longer than we might expect.”

From Scotch whisky and luxury retreats to fashion collaborations and world-class hospitality, Ross Blainey has spent years shaping high-end experiences around one idea: modern luxury is no longer just about what you own.

It is about access, connection and moments money alone cannot buy.

As Citizen Kanebridge continues to grow as one of Australia’s most sought-after private members’ clubs, Blainey, the club’s new Head of Membership, says the future lies in creating experiences members cannot find anywhere else.

“The ultimate memorable experiences are the money can’t buy moments,” Blainey said.

“The things that you can’t just put together anytime or any place. They make up something that is greater than the sum of its parts.”

On June 4, Blainey will bring that philosophy to life when he hosts an exclusive whisky evening for Citizen Kanebridge members at Sydney’s Royal Automobile Club of Australia.

Titled A Journey Through Whisky, the intimate event will see Blainey guide members through a curated selection of rare and unreleased whiskies drawn from his personal archive, alongside stories gathered across years working at the highest levels of the Scotch whisky world.

The evening will also include reflections on Blainey’s induction as a Keeper of the Quaich at Blair Castle in Scotland last year, one of the whisky industry’s rarest global honours.

A career built around experience

Before joining Citizen Kanebridge, Blainey built a career spanning luxury hospitality, Scotch whisky, premium lifestyle brands and experiential events.

But he says one industry above all others shaped the way he thinks about people and community: Scotch whisky.

“At its core, at its heart and throughout its whole history, Scotch has been about sharing, enjoyment, telling stories, meeting people and generally having a good time,” he said.

“Whisky can be that shared moment of laughter, and it can also be a shared moment of just slowing down, taking stock and contemplating. These are so key to building community.”

Blainey’s deep involvement in the whisky world culminated in 2025 when he was inducted as a Keeper of the Quaich at Blair Castle, a recognition is reserved for a select group of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to Scotch whisky internationally.

“I was inducted last year, 2025, an incredible honour,” he said.

“There were a couple of teary-eyed moments as I stood in Blair Castle, on historic ground, realising that this was a moment I would remember forever.”

The next chapter for Citizen Kanebridge

Looking ahead, Blainey says Citizen Kanebridge will continue to focus on highly curated experiences, exclusive access, and bringing together like-minded members from Australia’s property, finance, and investment sectors.

“Our baseline of Car of the Year is already one of the most impressive events on the social calendar of Australia,” he said.

“My job is to find a way of raising the bar, taking things to the absolute top level for access, experiences and events.”

Blainey said the long-term goal was not simply to create another networking group or luxury club, but to build a community centred around meaningful relationships and unforgettable experiences.

“We provide the access, the money can’t buy memories, and we will be making those happen regularly,” he said.

“If we start with how amazing Car of the Year is and the only way is up, we are going to have some mind-blowing moments for our members.”

Hospitality at its absolute best

Another major influence on Blainey’s thinking came through his connection with world-famous New York restaurant Eleven Madison Park, once named the best restaurant in the world.

He says two concepts from the restaurant’s owners still shape the way he approaches luxury experiences today: “enlightened hospitality” and “unreasonable hospitality”.

“Enlightened hospitality is a way of doing business that looks at not just the product of what you serve, but how it makes people feel,” Blainey said.

“Unreasonable hospitality is more about striving for the absolute best all the time. If you’re going to do something, do it to an unreasonable level that blows everything else out of the water.”

It is a philosophy, he says, which aligns closely with where Citizen Kanebridge is heading next.

“That’s what we’re doing here with CK, taking members’ experiences to another level,” he said.

Fashion, whisky and creative collaborations

Blainey’s career has also included working with Glenfiddich as a Creative Collaborations Lead, where his role centred on bringing luxury experiences and partnerships to life through designers, chefs, artists and bartenders.

Among the projects were runway collaborations with leading Australian fashion designers, with pieces from the partnerships now housed inside Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum.

“My job was to find a creative way of bringing the brand to life,” he said.

“How do we make something that none of us could make on our own? Searching for the things that will resonate with people.”

What luxury consumers want now

Beyond whisky and events, Blainey also played a key role in building Blackbird Byron, the boutique Byron Bay hinterland retreat later recognised in Tatler’s Top 101 Hotels list.

The property, known for its dramatic views, minimalist architecture, and secluded atmosphere, helped shape his understanding of how luxury consumers are changing.

“I think I learned that people looking for luxury in hotels want memorable moments, considered design and the ability to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life,” he said.

“To feel at home without being at home is important.”

More broadly, he believes today’s luxury consumers are increasingly driven by authenticity and emotional connection.

“For luxury consumers overall, I think it comes down to craft, story and connection,” he said.

“The product itself has to be impeccable, the story behind it builds your reason for looking at it, and then you need to make a genuine connection with people.”

Interested in becoming a member of Citizen Kanebridge? You can contact Ross here.