Regular Weightlifting Can Lower Your Risk Of Death
Academics at the US's National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, examined data on almost 100,000 adults taking part in a US screening study.
The participants, who had an average age of 71, gave information on their weightlifting activity and any other exercise they took part in.
Some 23% reported any weightlifting activity and 16% regularly reported weightlifting at least one to six times per week.
Researchers deemed almost a third (32%) to be "sufficiently active" by researchers, " with 24% meeting aerobic activity guidelines and 8% exceeding them.
During a follow-up period of 9.6 years, 28,477 of the participants died.
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found adults who reported any weightlifting had a 9% lower "all-cause mortality risk".
A similar observation was found for heart disease deaths, but no link was found between weight-lifting and cancer deaths.
Those who took part in "regular" weightlifting were found to have a 14% lower risk of death, while those who met the aerobic activity levels had a 32% lower risk of death.
Adults who reported meeting the aerobic activity guidelines and weightlifting at least once or twice a week were found to have a 41 to 47% lower risk of death during the study period.
In 2006, 104,002 of the participants were also asked if they had exercised with weights in the previous year, and if so, how frequently--anywhere from once a month to several times a week. They were also quizzed on moderate and intense intensity physical activity frequency and duration throughout the previous year.
Moderate intensity was defined as "exercise that produced a light sweat or raised your breathing and heart rate to moderately high levels," while severe activity was defined as "activity that produced a heavy perspiration or elevated your breathing and heart rate to very high levels."
Based on total weekly minutes of MVPA, four activity groups were formed: (1) inactive, 0 minutes; (2) insufficient aerobic MVPA, 1-149 minutes; (3) sufficient, 150+ minutes of moderate, or equivalently vigorous, activity; and (4) highly active, 301 or more minutes of moderate, or equivalently vigorous, activity.
The final study contained the responses of 99,713 people, 28,477 of whom died over an average of 912 years of monitoring. Their average age at the start of the monitoring period was 71, and their average body mass index (BMI) was 27.8 kg/m2, indicating that they were overweight.
Almost one-quarter (23%) of respondents reported some weightlifting activity, and 16% stated they exercised with weights one to six times per week. Nearly one-third (32%) were aerobically active enough, meeting (24%) or above (8%) MVPA requirements. Weight training and aerobic MVPA were both related to a lower risk of death from any cause, as well as cardiovascular disease, but not cancer.
Working out with weights was related to a 9-22% lower risk of death in the absence of MVPA, depending on the amount: for example, using weights once or twice a week was connected with a 14% lower risk. Similarly, among those who did not exercise with weights, aerobic MVPA was linked to a 24-34% decreased risk of death from any cause, compared to those who reported neither MVPA nor weight training.
However, those who reported doing both types of physical activity had the lowest risk of dying. For example, those who stated they met the recommended weekly amounts of MVPA and exercised with weights once or twice a week had a 41-47% lower risk of death than those who were physically sedentary.
Educational achievement, smoking, BMI, race, and ethnicity had no effect on the observed relationships, but gender did: the associations were higher in women. This is an observational study, thus it cannot establish a cause, and it relies on personal recall and data from a single moment in time. There were no specific details on training intensity, training load, volume (sets and repetitions), or how long participants had been exercising with weights, which could have influenced the findings.
The study only employed weights, although the researchers include calisthenics (push-ups and squats), Pilates, and plyometric activities (tuck jumps and burpees) as other types of muscle-strengthening exercises. Weight training can help you lose weight: total lean mass is independently connected with a lower risk of death, according to the researchers as an explanation for their findings. And, if done in a gym, it might be quite sociable--yet another aspect linked to living a longer, better life.
"Our finding that individuals who participated in both types of exercise tended to have the lowest mortality risk provides strong support for current recommendations to engage in both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises," they write. They conclude, "Older adults would certainly benefit from adding weightlifting activities to their physical activity programs."
Weightlifting is not just about building muscle—it's about changing your body for the better.
It's a step in the process of becoming healthier and stronger, which we all know is one of the best ways to feel better!
Weightlifting is one of the most important parts of your fitness plan. It's a great way to build strength, get stronger, and lose weight. It is also great for your muscles and bones. It helps them grow stronger and more stable so that you can do other types of exercise that are harder on your body.
Weightlifting is an important part of fitness, but only if you do it right.
Here's what you need to know:
- Lifting weights will make you stronger. But if you lift with bad form, your muscles won't get the full benefit of the exercise.
- Lifting weights helps build muscle and burn fat. But again, if you lift with bad form, this can be counterproductive.
In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that regular weightlifters had a lower risk of death than non-weightlifters.
The researchers looked at 3,000 middle-aged men who were part of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, and then followed them for about 20 years. They found that those who did regular weightlifting had a 25% lower risk of death during that time frame than those who didn't!
Weightlifting is good for you. Regular weightlifting can lower your risk of death and heart disease, according to a study by the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. The study found that people who participated in regular weightlifting had a 39% lower risk of death from any cause compared to non-weightlifters, and a 46% lower risk of dying from heart disease.
The study also found that regular weightlifters had significantly lower levels of inflammation than non-weightlifters. Inflammation is linked with many diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
"We wanted to investigate whether weight training would have an impact on mortality," said Dr. Eevi Sarinne, lead author of the study. "Our findings suggest that these types of workouts may help prevent cardiovascular diseases."
0 Comments