Source: Fox News
Summary
A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that doing a moderate amount of resistance training, around 90-119 minutes per week, may lower the risk of death from any cause, cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and neurological disease. The study followed over 147,000 U.S. adults for up to 30 years and found that those who stuck to this interval of training per week had a 13% lower risk of all-cause death. The study also found that doing both higher aerobic activity and moderate to high resistance training had the lowest overall death risk.
Our Reading
The advice sounds familiar. Resistance training has been touted as a key component of a healthy lifestyle, and now a new study confirms its benefits. The study’s findings suggest that doing a moderate amount of resistance training can lower the risk of death, but more is not necessarily better. In fact, doing over 120 minutes of resistance training per week did not appear to add extra benefit to the overall death risk. This echoes previous research that has shown that moderate exercise is often more effective than extreme exercise. The study’s authors noted that engaging in “sufficient aerobic or resistance training alone is linked to lower mortality, with a stronger effect from aerobic activity.” As one fitness expert noted, “Strength training should be the basis of what you do.” The study’s findings are a reminder that consistency and moderation are key when it comes to exercise.
The recommendation enters another phase. As the study’s authors noted, the findings show only an association between resistance training and lower death risk, not a direct cause. This highlights the need for further research to fully understand the relationship between exercise and mortality. In the meantime, the study’s findings provide a useful reminder of the importance of incorporating resistance training into our exercise routines.
Author: Evan Null
