June 6, 2026, 6:04 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Strength training strengthens muscles, bones, and overall fitness. But its benefits may extend beyond physical performance. A large long-term study examined how regular strength training affects health over the years–and provides interesting insights that it’s not just the amount of training that matters.
How the Study Was Conducted
For the study, researchers from Harvard University analyzed data from a total of 147,374 adults from three major U.S. long-term cohorts.1 This included 31,540 men and 115,834 women. Participants were observed over a period of up to 30 years. The analyzed data comes from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, the Nurses’ Health Study, and the Nurses’ Health Study II.2,3
The study was designed as a so-called prospective cohort study. This means that the scientists observed people over many years without deliberately influencing their behavior. Instead, they regularly documented their lifestyle and health status. Every two years, participants reported how many minutes per week they engaged in strength training and which endurance activities they performed. Additionally, the researchers recorded various endurance activities such as running, cycling, or swimming and calculated so-called MET hours, which describe the energy expenditure of physical activity.
To realistically depict long-term habits, the researchers used not only individual surveys but also calculated averages over many years. They also considered numerous factors that can affect health–including age, smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, body weight, and the extent of endurance training.
During the observation period, a total of 35,798 deaths were recorded. The causes of death were verified and categorized based on reports, medical records, and the U.S. national death registry. This allowed the scientists to examine how different amounts of strength training were associated with the risk of premature death.
90 to 119 Minutes of Strength Training per Week
The analysis showed a clear connection between regular strength training and a lower risk of dying prematurely. However, the principle “the more, the better” did not apply. The best results were observed in participants who consistently did between 90 and 119 minutes of strength training per week. Compared to people who did not engage in strength training, their overall mortality was 13 percent lower.
There was also an advantage in individual causes of death. Participants with this training volume had a 19 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases. The connection was particularly pronounced in neurological diseases: Here, the risk of death was reduced by 27 percent. The researchers point out that this area has been significantly less researched than cardiovascular diseases and therefore deserves special attention.
However, from a volume of about 120 minutes of strength training per week, no further reduction in mortality risk was observed–the positive effects apparently reached a plateau.
Also interesting: How men can train against muscle aging according to a study
For cancer deaths, the picture was somewhat different. Here, even small amounts of strength training were associated with a lower risk. Just 1 to 29 minutes per week were associated with a nine percent risk reduction, and 30 to 59 minutes with a twelve percent reduction. Higher training volumes, however, did not bring any additional statistically significant advantage.
The best results were achieved by people who combined strength and endurance training. This was particularly evident in participants with high endurance activity and an additional 60 to 119 minutes of strength training per week. In this group, the risk of death was up to 45 percent lower than in people who did little endurance sports and no strength training.
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What Does This Mean Specifically?
The study’s results suggest that strength training is much more than a means of building muscle. Regular training was associated with a lower risk of dying prematurely–especially from cardiovascular diseases and neurological disorders. Thus, strength training complements the already well-documented benefits of endurance activities such as running, cycling, or brisk walking.
For practical purposes, one insight is particularly interesting: The greatest benefits were not observed with extremely high training volumes. Just 1.5 to nearly two hours of strength training per week were associated with the best results. Thus, a health benefit seems achievable with a manageable time investment.
At the same time, the study shows that strength training does not replace endurance training. The lowest mortality risks were observed in people who combined both forms of training. This is likely because they have different effects on the body: Endurance training primarily strengthens the heart and circulation, while strength training supports muscle mass, body composition, and metabolism.
The results on neurological diseases are particularly interesting. They suggest that strength training may not only strengthen muscles and bones but also help maintain mental performance in old age.
Overall, the results support current exercise recommendations, which call for both regular endurance and strength training. The combination of both forms of training seems to offer the greatest health benefits.
Study Context and Possible Limitations
The study is one of the largest investigations to date on the relationship between strength training and mortality. Its strengths include the large number of participants, the observation period of up to 30 years, and the regular recording of training habits. This allowed long-term behavior patterns to be examined much more precisely than in many previous studies.
However, it is an observational study. It can show correlations but cannot prove cause-and-effect relationships. Although the researchers considered numerous influencing factors such as age, smoking, diet, and body weight, it cannot be completely ruled out that health benefits are partly explained by other lifestyle habits of the participants.
Additionally, the information on strength training was based on self-reports. Important training characteristics such as intensity, weights used, or number of repetitions were not recorded. The transferability of the results is also limited, as the participants were predominantly white health professionals of middle or older age.
Overall, however, the data provides strong evidence of the health benefits of strength training. Further studies are needed to better understand the exact causes and the impact of different training forms.