How Much Do You Need To Train To Improve Longevity?
Is it safe to say that a majority of people believe that resistance training is an important activity for health and longevity? I think so, and if not yet, it's moving in the right direction. This is leading to more individuals looking to start their fitness journeys. There is one hurdle that I seem to hear often that holds individuals back from starting and/or staying consistent.
That hurdle is time.
With the busy world we live in, time is a fleeting commodity in most people's lives. This problem begs the question then, how much do I need to resistance train in order to prioritize health and add years to my life?
I bet if you asked most people “how much do you need to train to reap the benefits?” The typical answer would probably be 2-3 times per week for 1 hour to 1.5 hours each session.
This means the average gym goer would be looking at a minimum of 2 hours per week here. For a busy professional, full time mom or student, that might be a lot to ask. This might lead to a lot of inconsistency in going to the gym or simply just not starting at all. I mean, why start if you can not even meet the minimal requirements to get the minimum gains right?
Well here is some good news…
You do not have to commit as much time as you think to reap the rewards of training for longevity.
A Meta Analysis by Momma et al. in 2022 was published with the purpose of understanding the dose-response relationship for resistance training and mortality..
***Side note…. I am going to be real thin with the details of this paper with the purpose of keeping this post short, if you want more details you can go check out the actual paper in the references below the post.***
The paper extracted the relevant data from seven studies that met the inclusion criteria. Some of the results of the statical tests they conducted suggested that
~30-60 min of resistance training per week was associated with the largest risk reduction for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease. After 60 min per week, the risk reduction plateaus. The analysis also suggests that after a certain point, risk reduction decreases.
Aerobic (cardio) and resistance training done in conjunction has the largest association with risk reduction for mortality & disease risk.
Okay, so what?
To be clear, what we are talking about here is longevity. If you want a better chance of living longer, then all you really need is 30-60 min of DEDICATED and FOCUSED resistance training per week (More on this later). Is 30 mins going to make you a shredded athletic machine? No, probably not, but at the very least when life gets busy we can take relief in knowing that we can maintain our health in as little as 30 min per week of resistance training. Manage to throw in a little cardio work in there, all the better.
But what should that 30-60 min per week look like? It definitely should not be half assed and random. It should be structured, targeted and loaded. It has to be full body, hitting all major joints, pushing/pulling and loaded sufficiently.
I hate to do it to you but I am going to leave you hanging right here. Next blog post I will follow this up with recommendations and sample programs to get you up, moving and on your way to a healthier life.