What is the best exercise for a long, healthy life? | SMARTPHYSIO

If you are looking to live a long, healthy life, bringing weight lifting into your workout may be best according to new research.

The evidence suggests that adding in strength training may help to keep diseases at bay, and prevent falls — particularly relevant for older adults.

Combining strength training with regular cardio may help you live longer, a new study finds.

Weight lifting or other strength training once or twice a week can build muscle and prevent injury.

Doing 150-300 minutes of cardio a week can improve heart health and boost mood.

If you want to live a long, healthy life, a combination of weight lifting and cardio in your workout routine may be best, new research suggests.

Regular aerobic exercise reduces the risk of early death, and so does strength training, but doing both seems to offer additional benefits, according to a study published September 27 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Researchers from the National Cancer Institute looked at data from nearly 100,000 older adults from across the United States, comparing exercise habits and risk of dying from chronic illnesses like cancer and heart disease, as well as other causes, over a decade of follow up.

They found that participants who did 150-300 minutes a week of aerobic exercise were, on average, 32% less likely to die from any cause during the study.

Resistance training, such as weight lifting, was linked to 9% lower mortality rates.

But participants who did both resistance training once or twice a week, as well as cardio, had 41% lower mortality rates. And for people who not only lifted weights, but also did more than 300 minutes a week of cardio, their mortality rates were up to 47% lower than their sedentary peers.

The findings suggest that if you're not active, you should get some exercise, and if you're active but only do cardio, you may want to start lifting weights, too.

The researchers hypothesized that strength training was linked to benefits like more lean muscle mass and strength, which can help stave off diseases and also prevent falls and other injuries.

Whether you're new to exercise or returning after injury, our physiotherapists can build a programme that's right for you. Contact us or book a clinic appointment today.