The Importance of Strength Training and Its Relationship to Long-Term Health

Most individuals, when tasked with envisioning an exercise routine for optimal health, default directly to aerobic exercise — walking, running, hiking, biking, swimming. Resistance training might only enter the conversation when someone has the express goal of gaining muscle mass or increasing strength. What gets missed is that resistance and strength training, like aerobic exercise, plays a vital role in both our healthspan (living better) and our longevity (living longer).

So how does resistance training influence our longevity? It does so by decreasing the risk of mortality across several serious health conditions. In a recent 30-year cohort study conducted by Harvard researchers and published June 2, 2026, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a research team followed the resistance training levels and habits of 147,374 participants. From that study, the team found a significant decrease in mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as a significant decrease in all-cause mortality — our overall risk of death. While the study focused primarily on resistance training, it also examined the combined effect of aerobic exercise, which we will touch on later.

Cardiovascular Disease

The study found that individuals who engaged in 90–119 minutes of resistance training per week had a 19% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. But why does resistance training have this effect on our hearts and arteries? When we engage in resistance training, our muscles release certain signaling proteins that help our bodies balance energy, stimulate fat oxidation, and initiate tissue repair. With each training session, these proteins are at their peak — and while they dissipate within 1–2 hours after exercise, the biological outcomes they set in motion do not. With regular and consistent training, these small changes begin to compound into large-scale systemic improvements: better glucose regulation, improved body composition, and greater arterial flexibility. Over time, these changes collectively lower our cardiovascular disease risk. That is why consistency is the key ingredient here — not any single workout.

Cancer

The cancer finding tells a slightly different story, and it is worth understanding the nuance. The study found an overall 18–21% reduction in total cancer mortality among those who engaged in resistance training. Upon closer inspection of the data, researchers found that this reduction was primarily driven by decreases in colorectal, bladder, and breast cancer mortality. Importantly, the peak benefit for cancer was seen at a lower training threshold than for cardiovascular disease — between 1 and 59 minutes of resistance training per week. This is what researchers call a dose-response relationship: more is not always more. The data suggests that even a modest amount of resistance training may meaningfully lower cancer mortality risk.

All-Cause Mortality — and What It Means for Your Life

The broadest and perhaps most powerful finding was this: individuals who engaged in 90–119 minutes of resistance training per week had a 13% lower risk of all-cause mortality — meaning a lower overall risk of death from any cause. You do not need to have a specific diagnosis to have a stake in that finding. Every one of us does.

And when resistance training was combined with aerobic exercise, the benefit grew considerably. Participants who engaged in 90–119 minutes of resistance training per week alongside 30–45 MET hours per week of aerobic activity — the equivalent of brisk walking for about 11.5 hours per week or cycling for 7.5 hours per week — saw a 45% reduction in all-cause mortality risk. Those who exceeded 45 MET hours per week of aerobic exercise saw up to a 53% reduction regardless of how much resistance training they performed.

What does a 13% or 45% lower risk of death actually look like in a life? It looks like more family dinners. More birthdays. More graduations. More family time. It’s more time spent with the people who you love and who love you.

What You Can Do Starting This Week

You do not need a gym membership or a personal trainer to begin. Consider taking a family walk or hike a few times this week. Enjoy a bike ride together on the weekend. And aim to add two to three sessions of resistance training — bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, or weights — of roughly 30 minutes each. That is enough to reach the thresholds associated with meaningful health benefit in this research. It is not only a powerful investment in your long-term health, but a built-in reason to spend time with the people who matter most to you.  

The Honest Fine Print

The lowest overall risk of all-cause mortality was seen when resistance and aerobic exercise were combined — not from resistance training alone. And while the findings are compelling, it is worth noting that this study primarily followed adults with a median age of 54. How these findings translate to younger populations remains an open question.

What This Means for Future Research

This study opens as many doors as it closes. Researchers and clinicians are now asking: Are there specific dose-responsive exercise prescriptions for particular health conditions? Do specific forms of resistance training — weightlifting, calisthenics, Pilates — produce better outcomes than others? Does the amount of weight lifted or the number of sets performed influence all-cause mortality risk? And critically: how do these findings apply to individuals with limited mobility? Does upper-body resistance training alone confer the same benefit?

While this paper reinforces that exercise — regardless of type — plays a meaningful role in longevity, it also reminds us that much is yet to be understood. What is clear is that the evidence for resistance training as a cornerstone of long-term health has never been stronger.

Source: Zhang et al. (2026). British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/60/12/874

Additional physical activity guidance: World Health Organization Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health. https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/faa83413-d89e-4be9-bb01-b24671aef7ca/content