One hour a week of strength training lowers risk of death by up to 20 per cent, study finds - five exercises you can start at home right now to extend your life

New study is the first to quantify how much muscle work is needed to extend life. Combine strength training with aerobic conditioning for even greater benefits

A Hong Kong trainer describes five strength training exercises you can do in a small space, with no equipment needed, to build muscles on the front and back

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A woman performs a muscle- strengthening glute bridge exercise. An hour a week of such strength training can lower your risk of death by 20 per cent, a study shows. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:15am, 6 Apr 2022Updated: 8:14am, 6 Apr 2022

Doing 30 to 60 minutes of muscle strengthening exercise a week could help lower your risk of death by up to 20 per cent, a study shows.

The research, conducted at Tokyo University in Japan, also shows a link between strength training and lower risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

The findings, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found no evidence that more than an hour a week reduces the risk further.

Previous research indicated that muscle strengthening activity was associated with a lower risk of death, but it was not known what the optimal “dose” might be.

The lead author of the muscle strengthening study, Haruki Momma.

To learn more, the researchers analysed 16 studies carried out in the United States, UK Australia and Japan, that monitored subjects for up to a maximum of 25 years.

The number of participants in each study varied from fewer than 4,000 to almost 480,000, and ranged in age from 18 to 97. All the studies considered aerobic or other types of physical activity as well as muscle strengthening activities.