Can Resistance Training Boost Longevity?
Science shows that regular strength training—whether it be weight lifting or other forms of resistance work—can boost mental health, stave off disease and increase bone and muscle mass, all of which adds up to a longer, healthier life. But how much strength training you need to achieve those benefits is less clear.
Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that most adults do at least two sessions of “muscle strengthening activity” per week, as well as 150 minutes of cardio, to see health benefits such as a lower risk of death.
More recent research builds on those recommendations: last week a studyfound that people who performed between 90 and 119 minutes of resistance training each week had a 13 percent lower death rate from any cause than people who did none. In other words, people who worked regularly over time to strengthen their muscles tended to live longer, the study found.
Excerpted from Scientific American
