30–60 minutes of strength training per week
Original: eternity4719 · source details
Original author: eternity4719 · Chinese source: · English adaptation: parveen0029. Translation and grade notes ↗
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Cost and benefit at a glance
- Check the cost Cost ↓
- Doing bodyweight squats and push-ups costs nothing. Aim for 1–2 sessions per week, each lasting 20–30 minutes. The real challenge is fitting this into your week…
- Then the source benefit Benefit ↓
- When multiple observational studies are pooled together (without subgroup analysis), individuals who perform strength training show a 10%–17% reduction in mortality risk relative t…
In plain terms
People who engage in 30–60 minutes of strength training each week have a 10–20% lower risk of dying during that period compared to those who don’t train at all. Training beyond this amount won’t bring any extra benefit. Combining strength training with aerobic exercise yields the best results.
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Enlarge illustrationOriginal illustration with Chinese lettering; the English dialogue is below. Humour is a reading aid, not evidence.
English dialogue
- I take health seriously!
- What does your average day look like?
Cost: what it takes
Doing bodyweight squats and push-ups costs nothing. Aim for 1–2 sessions per week, each lasting 20–30 minutes. The real challenge is fitting this into your weekly schedule.
Benefit: what the source reports
When multiple observational studies are pooled together (without subgroup analysis), individuals who perform strength training show a 10%–17% reduction in mortality risk relative to non‑trainers. This benefit peaks at roughly 30–60 minutes of weekly training, delivering a 10%–20% risk drop; more training does not further improve outcomes. Those who also do aerobic exercise enjoy an even lower mortality risk than those who do neither type of exercise.
Conditions, limits and disagreements
These studies rely on follow‑up tracking, with participants self‑reporting their activity levels. The evidence supporting the notion that “excessive training can be detrimental” is quite weak, so there’s no need to cap training volume for that reason. For older adults, strength training also helps prevent falls and preserve muscle mass; those benefits are discussed in Section 1.
Original references
Original bibliographic titles and links are preserved; some titles are in Chinese.
Momma H 等 (2022). Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061
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