Overview
- A pooled analysis of three long US cohorts published June 2 found that about 90–120 minutes per week of strength or resistance training was associated with a roughly 13% lower risk of death from any cause.
- The study linked 90–120 minutes weekly to a 19% lower risk of cardiovascular death and a 27% lower risk of death from neurological disease, while reduced cancer mortality appeared only at lower weekly strength amounts.
- Benefits rose sharply for people who also did a lot of aerobic exercise, with the lowest death rates seen in groups reporting high aerobic volumes plus regular strength work and risk reductions reported up to roughly 53–58%.
- The analysis used repeated self-reported activity data from 147,374 participants over about 30 years, so it cannot prove cause and effect and has limits such as excluded exercise types, no direct measures of session intensity, and possible reporting bias.
- The findings support current public-health guidance to pair muscle-strengthening activity with aerobic targets, suggest two short strength sessions a week may be practical for many older adults, and could help reduce frailty and pressure on health services if adopted widely.