Going from sedentary lifestyle to workout schedule comparable to ‘smoking versus not smoking’

Regular physical activity has many known health benefits, one of which is that it could help you live longer. But what is still being determined are the types and duration of exercise that offer the most protection.

In a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers found that while either doing aerobic exercise or strength training was associated with a lower risk of dying during the study period, doing both regularly: one to three hours a week week of aerobic exercise and one or two weekly strength training sessions was associated with an even lower mortality risk.

Switching from a sedentary lifestyle to an exercise program is comparable to “smoking versus not smoking,” said Carver Coleman, a data scientist and one of the study’s authors.

The paper is the latest evidence of a trend showing the importance of strength training on longevity and overall health. “The study is exciting because it supports having a combination of aerobic and strength training,” said Dr. Kenneth Koncilja, a gerontologist at the Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the study. “That’s definitely something I talk about with my patients all the time.”

Cardio plus strength training

For the study, the researchers used data from the National Health Interview Survey, which followed 416,420 American adults recruited between 1997 and 2014. The participants completed questionnaires detailing the types of physical activity they had been doing, including specifying how much moderate or vigorous exercise, along with how many muscle-strengthening exercise sessions they did in a week.

After adjusting for factors such as age, gender, income, education, marital status, and whether they had chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, the researchers found that people who got an hour of moderate to vigorous activity a week had a 15 percent lower risk of mortality. Mortality risk was 27 percent lower for those who worked three hours a week.

But those who also participated in one or two strength-training sessions per week had an even lower mortality risk — 40 percent lower than those who did no exercise at all. This was about the difference between a non-smoker and someone with a half-pack-a-day habit.

Link between strength training and longevity

Experts say it’s been difficult to study longevity and strength training because so few people do it regularly. Even in the recent study, only 24 percent of participants did regular strength training (compared to 63 percent who said they did aerobics). “Even with huge cohorts like the ones we had here, the numbers are still relatively small,” said Arden Pope, an economist at Brigham Young University and one of the paper’s authors.

However, the research is starting to catch up. In a recent meta-analysis, published in February, also in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers were able to quantify the effect of strength training on longevity outside of aerobic activity.

They found that the greatest reduction was associated with 30 to 60 minutes of strength training per week, with a 10 to 20 percent reduction in the risk of mortality, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, as Haruki Momma, a sports scientist at Tohoku University and one of the study’s authors, points out, more research is needed to find the optimal amount of strength training.

regular strength training

Although more research is needed, experts generally agree that regular strength training can have important benefits for healthy aging, including maintaining a high quality of life.

“You will function at a much higher level for longer if you have good muscle strength,” said Dr. Bruce Moseley, an orthopedic surgeon at Baylor College of Medicine.

Muscular strength is necessary for a number of daily activities, such as getting up from a chair, opening a jar of pickles, carrying groceries home, or working in the garden. However, “we progressively lose muscle mass as we age,” said Monica Ciolino, a physical therapist at Washington University in St. Louis.

This loss of muscle mass usually begins in your 30s and progresses with age. However, “we can absolutely defend against negative effects” with regular strength training, Ciolino said. And it’s never too late to start. Research shows that even septuagenarians with mobility problems can benefit from a regular strength training program.

Moseley suggests aiming for a consistent strength training schedule and smoothing it out to avoid overuse injuries. “Keep it light and easy at first,” he said. “Once your body starts to adjust, you can start to increase.”

If you’re still unsure about certain exercises, she recommends seeking expert advice through an exercise class or consulting with a personal trainer. The important thing, he said, is to start and make it a habit. Not only can this help you live longer, it will also improve your quality of life.

“When I ask people, ‘what does successful aging mean to you?’ people say they want to be independent, they want to maintain their function and quality of life, they want to do the things they want to do,” Koncilja said. “It’s not necessarily just living as long as possible.” – This article originally appeared on the New York Times