Many people who exercise regularly focus exclusively on cardio.
In the past, I was one of those people. For more than a decade, I worked out just about every day, but my workout always consisted of a 30-minute run in the morning.
This daily run produced terrific mental and physical benefits, and I assumed it was all I needed to maintain my health.
I thought lifting weights was only for gym rats and muscle heads obsessed with vanity.
I was mistaken.
Now, don’t get me wrong — aerobic exercise is incredibly important for health and longevity, benefiting everything from your cardiovascular system to your immune function to your brain power.
But cardio alone is not sufficient for optimal health.
A recent study involving nearly half a million US adults investigated the link between physical activity and mortality. The study looked at both aerobic activity and strength training to determine the association between exercise and lifespan.
After 9 years of follow up, the study determined that the greatest survival benefits were seen in people who engaged in both aerobic exercise and strength training.
This large study reinforces the importance of following the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which calls for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity or at least 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity each week (or an equivalent combination of both). Additionally, the guidelines recommend adults engage in muscle strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity on 2 days or more each week.
This study found that following these guidelines of combined aerobic exercise and strength training was associated with 40% lower all-cause mortality.
That is compared to a 29% risk reduction for people who only followed the aerobic exercise guidelines and an 11% lower risk of dying among those who only did strength training.
Aerobic exercise is great but adding strength training is even better.
Strength training was found to be especially protective against cardiovascular disease, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory tract diseases.
However, among the 479,856 US adults included in the study, only 15.9% (76,384) fully met the guidelines of combined aerobic and muscle strengthening activities. That means there is a huge opportunity for most Americans to reduce their risk of dying simply by exercising a bit more.
We’re talking about an average of only 30 minutes per day. That’s only 3% of your waking hours.
Most people know how to get in some aerobic exercise, with activities such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming.
But strength training can be a bit more mysterious. The reality is you don’t need to go to a gym or lift heavy weights to work out your muscles.
Simple bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, burpees, squats, sit-ups, and planks can be just as effective for strength training.
You don’t need a gym membership or expensive equipment, although I have found an adjustable set of home dumbbells to be a great investment, especially during these recent stay-at-home months.
My aerobic workouts these days include a rotation of running, walking, rowing, tennis, squash, and yoga. My strength training consists of one home weightlifting session and one bodyweight workout per week. In addition to the long-term health benefits, I find strength training improves my mood and confidence on a daily basis.
…
Overall, a great formula to maximize health and longevity is to exercise 6 days per week. Do aerobic exercise on 4 of those days, for just 30 minutes per day at a moderate intensity. Do strength training on your other 2 days, lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises.
It doesn’t take much exercise to drastically reduce your chances of dying, including all the chronic diseases that precede it.
Combining aerobic exercise with strength training will help to prolong your life and make it more enjoyable along the way.
Andrew Merle is a Certified Nutritionist who writes about simple, evidence-based health tips that will improve your life. Subscribe to his email list at andrewmerle.com.