Unlocking the Secret to a Longer Life Through Strength Training

A groundbreaking study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has revealed that 90 to 120 minutes of strength training per week may be the ideal range for reducing the risk of death. The research, which followed participants for up to 30 years, suggests that this specific amount of strength training can lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and neurological disease.

The study analyzed data collected over three decades from three major studies: the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, the Nurses’ Health Study, and the Nurses’ Health Study II. Together, these studies included 147,374 participants, with 31,540 men and 115,834 women. Every two years, participants reported how much time they spent each week doing strength training and aerobic exercise, with aerobic activities including brisk walking, running, jogging, swimming, cycling, tennis, squash, strenuous outdoor work, and stair climbing.

At the start of the study, participants were an average of 54 years old, with those who reported higher levels of strength training generally being younger, weighing less, following healthier lifestyles, and engaging in more aerobic activity than those who did no strength training. Approximately three-quarters of participants exceeded the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, while nearly half reported doing some form of strength training.

Over the 30-year follow-up period, 35,798 participants died, with researchers finding that higher long-term levels of weekly strength training were associated with a lower risk of death. After accounting for other factors that could affect the results, participants who performed 90-119 minutes of strength training per week had a 13% lower risk of death from any cause, with no additional reduction in risk observed above 120 minutes per week.

The same 90-119 minute range was also associated with a 19% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 27% lower risk of death from neurological disease. Cancer-related benefits appeared at lower amounts of strength training, with participants who performed 1-29 minutes per week having a 21% lower risk of cancer death and those doing 30-59 minutes per week having an 18% lower risk.

The Power of Combining Cardio and Strength Training

Researchers found that combining strength training with aerobic exercise led to even greater benefits, with participants who accumulated 30-44 MET hours of aerobic activity per week and 60-119 minutes of strength training having a 45% lower risk of death. Even greater reductions were observed among participants who performed 45+ MET hours of aerobic activity per week, with the risk of death being 53% to 58% lower regardless of how much strength training they did.

While this study suggests that strength training alone can have significant benefits, the researchers emphasized that this was an observational study, meaning it cannot prove that strength training directly caused the reductions in mortality risk. They also noted several limitations, including the fact that exercise habits were self-reported, which can introduce inaccuracies, and that the analysis did not include certain forms of strength training, such as calisthenics and Pilates.

Despite these limitations, the researchers concluded that the findings suggest that different amounts of resistance training may be needed to optimize benefits across outcomes and that adding resistance training further reduced mortality risk across all levels of aerobic activity up to 45 MET hours/week.