How much resistance training should the average person do to improve their health? • Stronger by Science

When it comes to lifting for hypertrophy, we often talk about optimal training volumes. Typically, that conversation centers around doing high volumes of resistance training for maximum muscle growth. But what about health? How much resistance training should the average person do to improve their health?

​A new meta-analysis by Momma et al​ helps answer that question. This review analyzed prospective observational studies that followed participants for at least two years. To be included, each study needed to examine resistance training in relation to outcomes like all-cause mortality and disease risk, and evaluate these effects either as a standalone intervention or alongside aerobic training.

Seven studies met these criteria. The authors performed meta-analyses to estimate whether people who engage in resistance training had lower risk of all-cause mortality and chronic disease. The authors also performed meta-regressions to see how training volume (quantified in minutes spent working out per week) affected these outcomes. Finally, they compared resistance training alone, aerobic training alone, and combined resistance plus aerobic training.

People who engaged in resistance training had lower rates of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes than those who did not. On average, these benefits translated to a 12–17% reduction in risk, and every study in the meta-analysis pointed in the same direction. This can give us a large degree of confidence that lifting weights is health promoting, in a vacuum.

The meta-regression revealed that the largest reductions in risk occurred with approximately 30 to 60 minutes of resistance training per week. For all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, more than around 60 minutes of lifting per week was not associated with additional benefits. In some cases, risk even appeared to increase.

There was one exception though – diabetes. Risk continuously decreased with additional resistance training, though benefits were diminishing.

The researchers also found that combining resistance and aerobic training appeared to provide better outcomes than either training method on its own.

These findings may come as a bit of a shock. In fact, you may even be asking questions about the replicability of these results.

These findings were echoed by another meta-analysis on the same topic by ​Shailendra et al​. In fact, the results were even more striking: the maximum health benefit of lifting was obtained at just 60 minutes per week, with additional volume reducing the benefit.

However, t’s important to remember that these were observational studies. That means they can show associations, but not causation. Observational studies are subject to confounding: for example, people who train a lot might be exercising more as a result of a recent concerning diagnosis.

It’s also important to note that these meta-analyses looked mostly at older participants, and that results might well differ in younger subjects.

It’s too early to say for sure whether lifting too much is actually detrimental to your health compared to just spending an hour or two in the gym per week. After all, fewer people spend that much time in the gym, reducing our certainty in estimating their health outcomes.

That being said, this is great news for people seeking to get healthier: it appears most, if not all, of the health benefits of lifting can be obtained with just one to two hours a week. Even just 30 to 60 minutes goes a long way.

For optimal health benefits, you probably want to combine this with some other form of activity, aerobic or anaerobic. ​Walking​ is great, and associated with its own health benefits, but more ​intense forms of cardio work​, too.