Resistance training works - and it may be easier than you think
News briefs
- Reviewed by Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
Regularly doing both aerobic and strengthening exercises is one of the best ways to stay healthy. With so many options for building strength, you might wonder which to choose. A research overview used to create new guidelines for resistance training (which builds strength) determined that what matters most is to work out regularly. The authors of the overview, published in the April 2026 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, synthesized data from 137 reviews of studies involving a total of over 30,000 healthy adults. Compared with no exercise, even modest amounts of resistance training significantly improved muscle strength, muscle size, power, endurance, and general physical function.
You don't have to join a gym. Home workouts with resistance bands, body-weight movements, and other routines were just as effective as using gym equipment. The authors also found that you don't have to work your muscles to the point of complete fatigue.
The guidelines recommend that healthy adults should perform resistance training with as much effort as possible at least twice weekly, engaging all major muscle groups.
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About the Author
Lynne Christensen, Staff Writer
About the Reviewer
Robert H. Shmerling, MD, Senior Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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