Moderate Strength Training Linked to Longest Lifespan in 30-Year Study

A comprehensive study tracking more than 147,000 adults over three decades has identified that engaging in about 90 to 120 minutes of strength training weekly correlates with the lowest risk of death. The longevity advantage is amplified when this strength training is combined with regular aerobic exercise.

Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the research underscores the importance of muscle-strengthening activities alongside cardiovascular workouts for improving long-term health outcomes.

Muscle Strength and Aging Health Risks

While aerobic exercises such as walking, running, and cycling have been well-documented for reducing risks of heart disease, cancer, and premature mortality, strength training has traditionally received less focus despite its role in preserving muscle mass and mobility. Age-related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia, is linked to frailty, falls, disability, and chronic disease risk, prompting researchers to investigate how resistance training might affect mortality from major illnesses.

The study analyzed data from three extensive health studies—the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1992–2022), the Nurses’ Health Study (2002–2021), and the Nurses’ Health Study II (2003–2021)—encompassing 147,374 participants, including 31,540 men and 115,834 women.

Exercise Habits and Mortality Outcomes

Participants reported their physical activity every two years, with aerobic activities including brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling, tennis, squash, strenuous outdoor work, and stair climbing. Strength training involved weightlifting or bodyweight exercises such as pushups, squats, and lunges.

During the study period, 35,798 participants died. Adjusting for age, lifestyle, and health factors, those performing 90 to 119 minutes of strength training weekly had a 13% reduced risk of death from any cause compared to those who did no strength training. However, benefits plateaued beyond this range, with no further mortality risk reduction observed with additional strength training.

Impact on Specific Causes of Death

The same weekly strength training amount was linked to a 19% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 27% lower risk from neurological diseases. The association between resistance training and cancer mortality was less linear; participants engaging in 1 to 29 minutes of strength training weekly had a 21% lower cancer death risk, while those exercising 30 to 59 minutes weekly had an 18% reduction.

The study did not explore reasons behind this pattern and cautioned against interpreting it as evidence favoring less exercise.

Synergistic Effects of Combining Exercise Types

Although strength training alone offered benefits, the most pronounced mortality reductions occurred when combined with aerobic exercise. Compared to participants performing less than 7.5 MET-hours of aerobic activity per week and no strength training, those doing 1 to 119 minutes of strength training weekly had a 7% to 11% lower mortality risk.

Aerobic exercise alone yielded larger risk reductions, decreasing mortality by 26% to 43% at levels exceeding 7.5 MET-hours weekly. The greatest benefit—up to a 58% lower risk of death—was observed among individuals who regularly engaged in both exercise types, particularly those accumulating 30 to 44 MET-hours of aerobic activity weekly alongside 60 to 119 minutes of strength training.

These results indicate that aerobic and resistance training provide complementary benefits rather than competing effects.

Study Limitations and Conclusions

This observational research identifies associations but cannot establish causality between strength training and mortality risk reduction. It relied on self-reported exercise data, which may contain inaccuracies, and excluded certain resistance exercises like calisthenics and Pilates. Information on workout intensity and session duration was also unavailable.

Despite these limitations, the study’s large sample size and extended follow-up period contribute robust evidence linking long-term strength training habits with lower mortality risk.

The authors conclude that different amounts of resistance training may be needed to optimize benefits across various health outcomes. They emphasize that adding resistance training reduces mortality risk across all aerobic activity levels up to 45 MET-hours per week, supporting current guidelines promoting both exercise types to maximize longevity benefits.