We are quite familiar with the advantages of aerobic exercise, both in terms of health and in terms of losing weight. However, when we think of the strength exercise sometimes we tend to think that it only consists of weightlifting to have more muscle. And no, the truth is that it has many other advantages. In fact, according to a study just published in British Journal of Sports Medicinecould help significantly reduce the risk of death from different causes.
Specifically, the study in question, carried out by scientists from the Tohoku University (Japan)concludes that the practice 30 to 60 minutes per week strength exercise can reduce the risk of death by 10% to 20%.
What is not so clear is that the practice of more than one hour a week entails extra exercises. It never hurts; but, at least with the review carried out by these researchers, it cannot be ensured that the benefit continues after those 60 minutes. But that is even good news. It is not necessary to spend 2 hours a day lifting weights in the gym. It is enough to dedicate a little of our time to strength exercises, which can be weights, but also daily tasks such as the use of shovels gardening.
The benefits of strength training
Sometimes, when it comes to exercising, we stick to the obvious and forget delve into each type of practice.
For example, we assume that the cardio It is to lose weight and strength to increase muscle mass and tone. We forget that the abdominals will not flatten if we do not accompany the strength with cardio. And that with cardio alone we will lose weight, yes, but if we accompany it with strength we will do it in a way more efficient. In the end, to build muscle you need energyso that the body mobilizes fat reserves.
But not everything in this life is the kilos. In fact, the main purpose of the exercise should be the Health. With that, everything is rolled.
It has long been suspected that strength training might also be effective in lowering the likelihood of death. For example, in an interview for the Australian media outlet ABCthe doctor Jason Bennie, who leads the research group on the epidemiology of muscle strengthening exercise at the University of Queensland, explained that this type of exercise is very beneficial, both for the heart and for the metabolism. In fact, the WHO recommendations for adults up to age 64 are based on performing strength exercises in all muscle groups at least twice a week. And for older than that age, “a moderate muscle strength training or higher intensity, three or more days a week.
From weights to sit-ups, exercises to improve quality of life
Precisely because the benefits of strength training are already known, what the authors of this new study did was check what was already posted. Thus, they could obtain joint conclusions.
In total they analyzed 16 studiesmost carried out in the United States, although some with a population of Japan, Australia, England and Scotland. In all of them, a follow-up of the state of health and the exercise routines of the initially healthy people, in periods that were up to 25 years in the longest. The shortest, on the other hand, only followed up for two years. Regarding the number of participants, in the smallest they participated 4,000 people and in the largest 480,000. Most were mixed, although there were two that only included men and three that only had women. women.
There was plenty of variety, of course. But what is concluded when analyzing them all together is that performing strength exercises between 30 and 60 minutes a week reduced the risk of premature death up to 20%. This was applicable to any cause, but where more benefits were seen was in the mortality associated with heart disease and stroke, diabetes, lung cancer and some other types of cancer. Although they did not include the bladder, the intestine, the kidney or the pancreas.
An important fact is that the analysis of the reduction in mortality followed a j-shaped curve, in which it cannot be ensured that after 60 minutes the benefit will continue to increase. However, regarding the diabetes a particularly strong benefit was seen compared to other pathologies.
However, the study also took aerobic exercise into account. And it is concluded that both are necessary together. But getting back to strength training, is it just about weightlifting?
The answer is a definit no. In fact, strength training often consists only of mobilizing your own body weight. This includes exercises like sit-ups, push-ups, or squats. To all this, of course, you can add some difficulty with plugins such as elastic bands. And of course, also the weights. However, even in the study it is pointed out that some gardening activities can be taken as strength training to account for those 60 minutes per week.
Study limitations
In a release published by the study authors, they acknowledge that their work has some limitations.
One of the most important is that the evaluation of muscle strengthening activities was subjective. Furthermore, with almost all of the studies conducted in the United States, it is difficult to extrapolate these benefits of resistance exercise to the rest of the world. On the other hand, there were no controlled clinical trials, they were all observational studies. By not controlling for the different variables, the conclusions are not as robust. And finally, “data from only a few studies were pooled for each of the studied results”.
However, despite the limitations, this study is one more reason to give resistance exercise the importance it deserves. It’s not just about showing off muscle in the gym. Our health also depends on this type of physical activity. Let’s not forget it.