Stronger body, healthier heart?

Spending as little as half an hour each week on strength building exercises is linked to a lower risk of premature death from heart disease.

If you’re in the habit of doing a 20- to 30-minute brisk walk or other moderate exercise most days of the week, that’s fantastic. But a lot of people neglect the recommendation in the federal Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to do muscle-strengthening exercises at least two days a week. While the guidelines don’t suggest a specific amount of time to spend on this effort, evidence from a new study suggests that 30 to 60 minutes per week is a good goal.

Published Feb. 28, 2022, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the study pooled data from 16 earlier studies to explore how different types of exercise might affect longevity and the risk of dying from heart disease or other health conditions. Compared with people who did no strength training, those who did a half-hour to one full hour of muscle-building exercises per week had a 10% to 17% reduction in the risk of early death, the researchers found.