30 years of a study found strength training as a prevention for heart attacks and strokes
Suspense Crime, Digital Desk : It seems there has been an increasing rise in cases of heart attack and stroke prompting questions about the best preventive measures. A study now suggests that strength training can cut the risk of both.
How can strength training lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke?
According to an nearly 30-year-old study that was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, doing 90 to 120 minutes of strength training per week significantly reduces death rate. In essence, it means that a healthier life is achieved with strength training according to this study.
This study even goes on to claim that addition of aerobic exercise to your lifestyle boosts health. According to a Harvard study, adding strength training to your regular routine can lower heart disease by 19% and brain related diseases by 27%.
Additionally, this rate of illness is further decreased when both aerobic and strength training is performed every week. It is a fact that aerobics prolongs the appearance of aging, regardless of how old you are. However, the point of concern here is that exercises involving muscle strengthening also lead to the prevention of mortality.
1 lakh+ women were involved in the study
This 30-year-long study on over 147,374 people included 31,540 men and 115,834 women. Every two years, a questionnaire was distributed to all participants. All the people who were participating in the study performed aerobic and strength training every week for 30 years. Aerobic exercise consists of brisk walking, running, jogging, swimming, cycling, playing tennis, squash, etc., while strength training include weight lifting, press-ups, squats, lunges, and other exercises that involve lifting weights or resistance.
The average age of the people in the study was 54. Most importantly, all of the people who did strength training had a younger look as compared to their actual age, healthy weight and life.
During this 30 year period of study, 3-4% of people were doing 150 minutes+ of strength training per week, and 46% did some amount of it. Whereas, 35,798 people died over 30 years. According to the study, if you do 90-119 minutes of strength training per week, your risk of death decreases by 13%. If you did over 120 minutes of strength training then there was no additional health benefit.
Which other diseases can be prevented with strength training?
Doing 90-119 minutes of strength training can decrease deaths from heart disease by around 19% and neurological diseases by 27%. Also, incorporating 1-29 minutes of strength training into your life daily, could prevent cancer by 21% and 30-59 minutes weekly can reduce risk of cancer by 18%.
