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 data from recent years link strength training to lower mortality too, and the effect seems to add to that of 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, though this part rests on only four studies. 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 included 10 studies of adults from the general population (not all of them reported every outcome), 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". The comparison was between some lifting and none, not between high and low volumes.

One hour a week came out best

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. This rests on only four studies, and the authors themselves say more research is needed on higher volumes.

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.

Linked to more benefit 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 2019 analysis disagrees with the 2022 one, and it is honest to say so out loud: 15% versus 21% partly reflects different comparison groups (no strength training vs. no exercise at all), and the cancer results differ. Nobody knows the exact number. So far only the direction is reliable.

The practical conclusion: in the 2019 analysis, weights plus aerobic activity were linked to more benefit than weights alone. Walking is the easiest way to get the aerobic part. How much 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 often differ from others in other ways too: sleep, smoking, income and 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 mostly asked about strength training in general, not about specific 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?

There is no known cutoff. The grip strength data covered adults up to 85, but that is a measurement of strength, not a training study. For older people, starting with low load and stable technique matters more than adding weight quickly. If you have a health condition, check with your doctor first.

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 coached 600+ people through fat loss. 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.