science confirms the exact dosage of strength training

For decades, when we thought about exercise for health, the image that came to mind was that of someone running or pedaling. Cardio exercise was the undisputed king of medical recommendations, but now a growing number of sports and medical professionals are raising their voices to give prominence to strength training as something practically mandatory if you want to reach an advanced age with a good quality of life.

There is still evidence. It is not a gym exaggeration, but in recent years, scientific literature has taken a spectacular turn, demonstrating that lifting weights, using resistance bands or training with our own body weight is not just an aesthetic issue, but the true protective shield against aging and mortality.

The tests. Until recently, we knew that being strong was good for preventing falls in old age, but current data goes much further. Muscle is a living endocrine organ that regulates our metabolism, and exercising it has a direct impact on the main causes of death worldwide.

Without going any further, a review published in 2022 associated muscle-strengthening activities with a lower risk of all-cause mortality, but also with specific drops in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and various types of cancer. That same year, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine put precise numbers on the table by pointing out that any amount of strength training is associated with a 15% reduction in all-cause mortality, a 19% lower cardiovascular risk, and a 14% lower cancer risk.

The most recent. If we go to this same year, a Harvard megastudy has finished closing the debate after following 147,000 adults for 30 years. Their findings are an instruction manual for longevity, discovering that performing between 90 and 119 minutes of strength training per week was associated with a 13% lower risk of all-cause mortality and a dramatic 27% reduction in mortality from neurological diseases.

The quantity. One of the big myths of strength training is believing that to get medical benefits, you have to train like a bodybuilder or lift extreme loads every day. Science shows that the dose-response relationship is not linear, but rather that most of the benefits are concentrated in surprisingly moderate training volumes.

Specifically, the optimal range is found in this study between 30 and 120 minutes a week. That is why going from zero to 45 minutes a week represents a brutal improvement in life expectancy. However, doing 5 hours of weight training per week does not multiply those benefits by five; In fact, the data suggests that a plateau occurs where the additional benefit is minor, and even exaggeratedly high volumes may not be optimal for overall longevity.

The combination. If strength training is incredible on its own, when combined with aerobic exercise, the results skyrocket. Already in 2019, the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology reported that combining both types of training produced an additive effect, reducing general mortality by up to 40%. But the recent Harvard megastudy has raised that figure and points out that people who combine an aerobic routine with their optimal minutes of strength manage to reduce their risk of mortality between 45% and 58%.

Images | Anastase Maragos

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