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physical activity guidelines For older adults, emphasize at least two days of strength training and two and a half hours of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity each week. However, many people underestimate strength building, relying on the heart-beating effects of aerobic exercise.
That could be wrong, new research finds. Adults over the age of 65 who did strength training aside from two to six times a week, apart from aerobic exercise, lived longer than those who did less than twice a week, study authors Nutrition, Physical Bryant Weber, Ph.D., an epidemiologist in the Department of Activities and Nutrition. Obesity in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We found that each type of physical activity was independently associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in older adults,” Weber said in an email.
“People who met only strength guidelines had a 10% lower risk of death (compared with meeting neither guideline), and those who met only aerobic guidelines had a 24% lower risk of death, compared with both. Those who met the guidelines had a 30% lower risk of death,” he said.
According to the published study, the results applied to all age groups, even the oldest. Journal Monday JAMA Network Open.
The study found that people over the age of 85 who met both aerobic exercise and strength-building guidelines had a 28% lower risk of dying from any cause than those over the age of 85 who did not meet either guideline. rice field.
“This finding suggests that aerobic and strength-building physical activity is of lifelong value,” said Webber.
This study focused on leisure and other physical activities collected by surveys. National Health Interview Survey, an ongoing survey on American health conducted by the CDC. We then compared information on strength training and aerobic exercise by age group with the 8-year mean mortality.
The study controlled for demographic and marital status, BMI, smoking or alcohol history, presence of asthma, cancer, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart disease, hypertension, and stroke.
Looking at resistance training data alone, adults who did 2 to 3 or 4 to 6 strength training sessions per week had a lower risk of dying from any cause than adults who did less than 2 resistance training sessions per week. I understand.
Doing more is not beneficial – studies found between 7 and 28 sessions weekly strength training did not provide additional protection.
You don’t have to go to the gym to strengthen your muscles. the CDC saidYou can lift weights at home, use resistance bands, use your own body weight to resist (for example, push-ups or sit-ups), or dig a hole or use a shovel in your garden. “Even lifting a can of food can be considered a muscle-strengthening activity,” Webber said.
The goal is to work all the major muscle groups in your body: abdomen, arms, back, chest, hips, legs and shoulders.
Looking at aerobic exercise data alone, we found that people who exercised between 10 and 300 minutes per week had a lower risk of death from all causes than those who exercised less than 10 minutes per week. .
Cardio exercises include walking, biking, hiking, raking leaves, pushing lawn mowers, and exercising in water.
