Based on all of the findings listed below, it has become clear that a combination of appropriately dosed strength training with unlimited moderate activity provides the greatest benefit.
Strength training should be an add-on, as we get far greater benefits simply from walking, or any other moderate exercise. Benefits of moderate exercise, loosely defined as exercising to the point where you're slightly winded but can still carry on a conversation, cannot be overdone. There’s no point at which moderate exercise starts becoming negative.
A systematic review and meta-analysis in the March-April 2023 issue of Missouri Medicine concluded that, above 60 minutes per week, strength training begins to backfire. Above 130 minutes per week, your life expectancy becomes the same as if you were sedentary
A systematic review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2022 also found the same association between strength training and all-cause mortality, with a maximum risk reduction (10 % to 20%) being observed at a dose of 30 to 60 minutes per week. After 60 minutes, the benefits started to diminish, and above 140 minutes per week, it was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality
A 2022 systematic review published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found a nonlinear relationship between resistance training and all-cause mortality. A maximum risk reduction of 27% was observed at around 60 minutes per week of resistance training. Beyond that, the reduction in mortality risk diminished
A systematic review published in 2019, which found that, compared with no exercise, resistance training was associated with 21% lower all-cause mortality. When combined with aerobic exercise, it lowered all-cause mortality by 40%.
Sources and References
Missouri Medicine March-April 2023; 120(2): 155–162
British Journal of Sports Medicine 2022; 0: 1-10
American Journal of Preventive Medicine August 2022; 63(2): 277-285
Curr Cardiol Rep November 2023; 25(11):1573-1580
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