Strength training can reduce the risk of death by 41%
Adding strength training (muscle strengthening exercises) to aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of death.
A research team at the University of Iowa in the United States analyzed and followed a survey of around 150,000 middle-aged and elderly men and women. The study found that aerobic exercise reduced the risk of death from any cause by 32%, and that strength training, such as weight lifting, was associated with a 9% lower risk of death. Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, running, swimming and cycling.
The research team analyzed data from questionnaires completed by 154,897 men and women aged 55 to 74 in the 1993 screening tests for prostate cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer (colorectal cancer). , and ovarian cancer at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The researchers could not find out what type of weight lifting a significant percentage of the participants did later and how many times a week. This was supported by the team with a follow-up survey in 2006 and followed the participants for 10 years. The analysis also focused on the risk of death among participants who performed weight lifting, a strength training exercise, in the past 12 months. The results showed that those who did strength training in the last year had a 41% reduction in all causes of death.
Jessica Gozelitz, assistant professor of health and human physiology at the University of Iowa, lead author of the study, said, “It is very suggestive that the risk of death is lowest in people who do aerobic exercise and strength training together. ” According to the guidelines for physical activity in the United States, 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week or 75 minutes of intense exercise per week should be distributed evenly per week. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if you can talk while exercising but can’t sing, it’s moderate intensity exercise, and if you can’t speak a few words before breathing, it’s vigorous exercise -intense. Experts recommend doing moderate and vigorous intensity exercise on a regular basis. It is recommended to do strength training at least twice a week.
Christopher Cooper, a physiologist at the University of California School of Medicine, said, “When you do muscle strengthening exercises, you need to give your muscles enough time to recover.” Weight lifting can significantly reduce the risk of death in older people by significantly reducing the risk of falls or injuries. That is why experts emphasize that the various muscles of the body, such as legs, thighs, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms, should be moved whenever possible.
Apart from lifting weights, there are many good strength exercises. As strength exercises suitable for older people, exercises that can be done without equipment such as push-ups, squats, sit-ups, pull-ups and planks are considered. The squat is a lower body exercise where you sit and stand until your thighs are level with your knees. The plank is a bare-hand exercise that appears to be a combination of the ‘deep stretch’ and ‘side to side’ poses. Planks can be just as effective as lifting weights, especially if done correctly and regularly, and can be done at home or in the park without having to use the gym.
The results of this study (Independent and joint associations of weight lifting and aerobic activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial) are published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. presented by the British health media ‘Medical News Today’.
