We all know that exercise is good for us mentally, physically, and emotionally. It's one of the reasons we trainers love our jobs and why you dynamic team members love coming in to the studio! It has so many health benefits, one of which is living longer.
Earlier this year, The British Journal of Sports Medicine published a study* outlining some of the 'best practices'' for exercise and where we should focus on time. Researchers found that either aerobic or strength training was associated with a lower risk of dying, but regularly doing both (1-3 hours a week of aerobic and 1-2 hours weekly of strenght) was associated with an even lower mortality risk!
With all adjustments for other factors (age, gender, income, education, pre-existing conditions, etc), researchers found 1 hour of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity a week had a 15% lower moratity risk, and becomes 27% lower for those who did 3 hours a week!
Add in 1-2 hours a week of strength training, and mortality risk becomes 40% lower than those with a sedentary lifestyle! This is roughy the difference between an individual who smokes a pack-a-day versus a non-smoker.
As with a lot of research, it's really challenging to gather all the facts and data about longevity and exericise as there aren't any studies that can go long enough with a large enough sample, but this research and similar is proof that you're all on the right track by keeping up with your movement, strength, and aerobic activity levels! Catch you in the studio soon!
*Coleman CJ, McDonough DJ, Pope ZC, et alDose–response association of aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity with mortality: a national cohort study of 416 420 US adultsBritish Journal of Sports Medicine Published Online First: 11 August 2022. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-105519