Named the type of training that will be the key to long-term health

Strength training, whether it’s done with weights, bands, machines or bodyweight, is important for your long-term health, experts say. Also known as resistance training, it increases muscle strength, endurance, and bone density.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, strength training also reduces the risk of falls and fractures as you age, thereby promoting an independent lifestyle. That’s why the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults engage in muscle-strengthening exercise two or more days a week, working all major muscle groups at moderate or greater intensity.

According to a 2017 data analysis published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, nearly 60% of participants said they did not strength train at all, CNN notes.

Resistance training also varies by region, according to an analysis of 2020 National Health Interview Survey data. Specifically, those living in large metropolitan areas and the Western Region of the U.S. Census Bureau were more likely to meet CDC physical activity recommendations than those living in less populated areas and other regions.

This is all unfortunate because strength training is much more important than most people realize, says Dr. Tommy Lundberg, an exercise researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden, and author of “The Physiology of Strength Training,” published in October.

Lundberg shares his thoughts on why we shouldn’t lose sight of this important component of a healthy lifestyle.

Speaking about why strength training is important for good health, Dr. Tommy Lundberg notes: “You improve blood glucose control, especially if you have type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance. You feel better, which is a very important effect because it can reduce your stress levels, and you generally sleep better. As you age, it helps you function better so that you can carry out your daily responsibilities for a longer period of time. It also helps reduce the risk of falls.”

Evidence suggests that strength training may reduce the risk of some chronic diseases, Lundberg continues: “But sometimes we overestimate the impact of exercise and strength training on indicators such as life expectancy and the risk of cardiovascular disease. That’s why I prefer to talk mostly about the short-term effects of strength training, because that’s what you can put your money on.”

“I recommend both aerobic and strength training for all ages,” says Tommy Lundberg, “but it’s fair to say that strength training is most important for people over 65 years of age. This is because of the connection between strength training and improved physical function, fewer falls, and improved balance.

We know that sarcopenia is a loss of muscle strength and function that begins to develop as we age—especially accelerating after age 70 and 80. Strength training is the only means of effectively maintaining or even increasing muscle mass. Today there is no medication available or any diet we can take to get the benefits we can get from strength training.”

There is some evidence to suggest that a significant portion of society today is more sedentary than in the past, Dr. Lundberg said. But life expectancy is also increasing and is estimated to continue to increase in the coming decades. Thus, we will have a growing number of older adults who will need to strengthen their muscles to be able to carry out their daily activities and remain independent, and to reduce the burden on our healthcare system.

Strength training is an integral part of many sports because there are countless sports where you need to jump high, move quickly, or exert a lot of force (such as sprinting or throwing a basketball) that strength training can help with. There is also evidence that it may reduce the risk of injury. “For example, in soccer, which I play, there is good evidence that it reduces the risk of hamstring injury, which is the most common injury in soccer,” Lundberg says.

In response to CNN’s question, “Can you suggest a strength training regimen for the average person?” Lundberg emphasized, “The general recommendation is to do muscle-strengthening exercises twice a week, including all major muscle groups. If you want to use your time efficiently, do one or two sets of each exercise. If you have more time, do three or four. But it is always better to reduce the number of sets in an exercise than to reduce the number of exercises themselves.

The level of effort is also very important. You should train until you feel a slight burn and get close to the point where you can’t do another rep. You don’t have to fail, but do the reps until you feel like, okay, now this is getting pretty hard.”

Speaking about his own weekly routine, Lundberg said: “I don’t have time for long sessions, so I do frequent, very short sessions – often 10-15 minutes of exercise. This could be a 1 km run, it could be three sets of three different exercises, such as jumping, push-ups, squats. You can get good health benefits and even good workout results with short sessions. But you need relatively high intensity, and you really need to do it often, like several times a week.”