Authors of a new meta-analysis titled “Resistance Training and Mortality Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis”, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, provide us with the most current state of the science with regards to the health protective benefits of strength training.
The four key takeaways from this important paper include:
Take Away #1: All-Cause Mortality
Strength training, by itself, reduces the risk of all-cause mortality.
Cardio, by itself, reduces the risk of all-cause mortality.
Engaging in both strength training and cardio provides even greater protection from all-cause mortality.
Take Away #2: Cardiovascular disease mortality
Strength training, by itself, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Cardio, by itself, reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Engaging in both strength training and cardio provides even greater protection from cardiovascular disease mortality.
Take Away #3: Cancer
Strength training, by itself, reduces the risk of cancer mortality.
Cardio, by itself, does NOT reduce the risk of cancer mortality.
Engaging in both strength training and cardio provides even greater protection from cancer mortality than strength training alone (a very interesting outcome).
Take Away #4: Frequency
Performing more than 60 minutes of strength training per week didn’t provide any additional health protective benefit.
The authors conclude: “This systematic review and meta-analysis provides the strongest evidence to date that resistance training is associated with reduced risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer-specific mortality.”