Strength training and longevity: one hour a week

Say "exercise for health" and you probably picture running, cycling or a brisk walk. Weights get linked to looks more than to how long you will live. But the data from recent years show that strength training belongs in the same category as cardio. And what is more interesting for many people: a lot of the benefit can be collected in one hour a week.

Short answer: In a 2022 meta-analysis, the biggest drop in risk of death, 27%, was seen at around 60 minutes of strength training a week, and higher amounts gave a smaller advantage. Any amount of lifting was linked to a 15% lower risk of death from all causes. This is observational data. It shows a link, and it is no proof of cause.

What the data show about lifting and mortality

The clearest answer came from a 2022 meta-analysis (Shailendra et al., Am J Prev Med, PMID 35599175). The authors pooled 10 studies of adults from the general population, so no patients with a specific diagnosis. They compared people who do some form of strength training with people who do none.

Result: any amount of lifting was linked to a 15% lower risk of death from all causes. For cardiovascular deaths it was 19% lower (the confidence interval sat right at the edge of significance, so take that number with a grain of salt), and for cancer deaths 14% lower.

Look at the word "any". This was not about competition-level volumes. The difference between zero and something was the biggest jump.

One hour a week came out best, and more did not add to it

Four of those studies made it possible to calculate how the benefit changes with training volume. The relationship came out non-linear: the benefit rose up to a point and then got smaller.

The maximum, a 27% lower risk, was seen at around 60 minutes of strength training a week. At higher volumes the advantage was smaller.

I take this as good news for people who picture five workouts a week and so never start. One hour a week is two times 30 minutes or three times 20. You can fit that even in a bad period.

At the same time, this is no argument against training more often. If you want to build muscle or strength, you need more work, and mortality data say nothing about that. They are two different questions.

It works better with cardio than alone

The second big meta-analysis (Saeidifard et al., Eur J Prev Cardiol 2019, PMID 31104484) collected 11 studies and 370,256 people followed for a mean of just under nine years.

Strength training alone was linked to a 21% lower all-cause mortality. Strength training combined with aerobic activity was linked to a 40% lower one. That is roughly double.

For cardiovascular mortality the effect of lifting alone was only borderline, and for cancer mortality the authors found no significant link. Here this study disagrees with the earlier one, and it is honest to say so out loud: 15% versus 21%, and different results for cancer, mean that nobody knows the exact number. So far only the direction is reliable.

The practical conclusion is the same in both. Weights and walking add up. How much walking makes sense is in how many steps a day.

What the numbers do not say

Everything above is observational data. Scientists followed large groups of people and looked for links. They did not split people by lottery into a group that lifts and a group that does not. People who go to the gym also differ from others in other ways: they sleep more, smoke less, have a different income and a different access to doctors. Statisticians try to adjust for that. It cannot be done perfectly.

So the correct sentence is "strength training is linked to lower mortality". The sentence "strength training will add X years to your life" goes too far. The difference between the two is the whole difference between correlation and cause.

A third study you often see on this topic is read the same way (López-Bueno et al., Ageing Res Rev 2022, PMID 36332759). It summarises 48 cohorts and over 3.1 million people aged 35 to 85. It shows that lower handgrip strength is linked to higher mortality, roughly in a straight line for all-cause mortality in the range of 26 to 50 kg. Grip strength is a measurement, though, and no training took place in that study. It works as a marker of how the body is doing overall.

How to build your hour

Sixty minutes a week sounds like little until you split it into exercises. This is the version I give to people who are starting:

• Two workouts of 30 minutes. Full body. With two workouts a week you want to hit each muscle twice, and splitting by body part does not fit.
• Four to five exercises per workout. Something for the legs (squat, lunge, leg press), a pull (cable row, pull-down), a push (push-up, shoulder press or bench press), and one exercise for the core.
• Two to three sets per exercise, 6 to 12 reps. The last two reps should feel heavy. You do not have to go to complete failure.
• Write it down. Weight, reps, how it went. Without a log, after a few weeks you do not know if you are progressing or just showing up.
• Add slowly. When you reach the top of the rep range in all sets, add weight next time.

If you have had surgery, have heart problems or back pain that limits you, talk to your doctor or physiotherapist before you start. The goal is that the first month is not also the last.

If you are dieting at the same time, building muscle in a calorie deficit is a different job with its own rules. For what changes with age, see fat loss after 40 and fat loss after 50.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to go to a gym, or is training at home enough?

The studies counted strength training in general, whatever the equipment. At home with your body weight and bands you can do decent work, mainly at the beginning. The limit comes later, when you need to add load. Then dumbbells, a kettlebell or a gym become useful.

Is one hour a week enough for building muscle?

For maintenance and for a start, yes. For maximum growth, probably not. Mortality data and muscle growth data answer different questions. If your goal is shape and strength, sooner or later you will want three workouts a week and more sets.

What age is too late to start?

None. The grip strength studies included people up to 85, and the link with strength was visible there too. For older people, starting with low load and stable technique matters more than adding weight quickly.

Sources, so you can check:

1) Shailendra P, et al. Resistance training and mortality risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2022;63(2):277-285. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2022.03.020 | PMID: 35599175

2) Saeidifard F, et al. The association of resistance training with mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2019;26(15):1647-1665. DOI: 10.1177/2047487319850718 | PMID: 31104484

3) López-Bueno R, et al. Thresholds of handgrip strength for all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality: a systematic review with dose-response meta-analysis. Ageing Res Rev. 2022;82:101778. DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2022.101778 | PMID: 36332759

Martin Barna

Online nutrition and fitness coach. Since 2013 I have helped 600+ people lose fat and keep the result. Science, not crash diets.

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This article is for information only. It is not medical advice. If you have a health condition, talk to your doctor.