Does strength training affect the longevity of women?
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By: Allison Aubrey
Resistance training does more than help us build strong muscles.
A new study finds women who do strength training exercises two to three days a week are more likely to live longer and have a lower risk of death from heart disease, compared to women who do none.
"We were incredibly impressed by the finding," says study author Martha Gulati, who is also the director of preventive cardiology at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles.
Of the 400,000 people included in the study, only 1 in 5 women did regular weight training. But those who did, saw tremendous benefits.
"What surprised us the most was the fact that women who do muscle strengthening had a reduction in their cardiovascular mortality by 30%," Gulati says. "We don't have many things that reduce mortality in that way."
Strength training is also good for bones, joints, mood and metabolic health. And at a time when many women focus on aerobic activity and hesitate to do weight training, the findings add to the evidence that a combination of both types of exercise is powerful medicine. "Both should be prescribed," Gulati says.
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