I exercise 5-7 days per week, for about 1-2 hours per day.

Weights and cardio, interleaved.

It’s good for now, I feel/look better, but really it’s for the future.

After each workout I feel like I am making a deposit in my saving account (e.g. ideas like hormesis and antifragility and to a less degree post-traumatic growth).

I’m building strength, excess capacity, that will help me over the decades to come, as long as I stick with it.

These deposits will buy me 1) more and 2) heather years at the tail end of things.

My wife on the hand, thinks I am wearing things out. That I am loosing capacity, using it up. Especially when it comes to things like running.

By not running, she believes she is saving the capacity for later use (I’m putting words in her mouth now).

I doubt there are good answer in the literature, anything on human health and nutrition is a mess.

It’ll probably say something like “exercise makes you live longer/healthier, too little and too much is not good”.

Useless.

Here’s grok3:

Exercise, especially strength training and cardio, does build “excess capacity” in a way that’s analogous to savings. At the micro level, when you work out, you stress your muscles, bones, and cardiovascular system. This triggers adaptation: muscle fibers repair and grow stronger, bones increase in density, and your heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood….

And:

For example, people with higher muscle mass in their 30s and 40s tend to have better mobility and lower frailty rates in their 70s and 80s. This aligns with your idea of staying active and healthy as you age….

And:

Now, your wife’s concern about “wearing things out” isn’t baseless either. At the macro level, joints—like knees or hips—rely on cartilage, which doesn’t regenerate much after damage. High-impact or repetitive exercise, especially if done with poor form or without recovery, can accelerate wear and tear, leading to osteoarthritis….

And of course:

The key here is balance…

Yuck.

Gpt4o generally agrees.

The heart is a muscle. When exercised, it becomes more efficient, lowering resting heart rate and improving circulation. Aerobic fitness is strongly correlated with longer lifespan and lower risk of chronic diseases…

And:

Exercise reduces inflammation, improves insulin sensitivity, and enhances mitochondrial function, all of which counteract aging…

And:

Joints & Cartilage: Repetitive high-impact activities (e.g., long-distance running without proper recovery) can contribute to joint wear, particularly if there’s poor movement mechanics, pre-existing issues, or inadequate recovery…

Finally:

If you train intelligently—with variation, rest, and injury prevention in mind—you’re building a biological savings account, not spending down a limited resource. Your wife’s concern isn’t completely unfounded, but in the vast majority of cases, movement is medicine.

Nod.

And running specifically?

Myth: Running destroys joints.

Reality: Studies show runners have lower rates of knee osteoarthritis than sedentary people. Running helps maintain joint health—unless done excessively or with poor form.

Nice!

And:

Running 20–40 minutes, 3–4 times per week, seems to maximize longevity benefits. More than ~50 miles per week may have diminishing returns.

And:

Practically, 1-3 runs weekly is sustainable and stacks benefits without much risk. If you’re mixing in rest days (say, running Monday, Wednesday, Friday), your body has time to repair.

Sweet.

LLMs are on my side this morning :)

I won’t tell her.