How many minutes of exercise do you need per week? Study reveals surprising answer

Key Points:

• A large long-term study of over 147,000 participants found that 90 to 120 minutes of resistance training per week is optimal for reducing all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, and neurological disease mortality, with no additional benefits beyond 120 minutes.
• Strength training combined with aerobic exercise showed a synergistic effect, with participants doing 60 to 119 minutes of strength training plus high levels of aerobic activity experiencing a 45% lower risk of death compared to sedentary individuals.
• The study highlighted a significant 27% reduction in neurological disease mortality linked to strength training and noted some complex findings regarding cancer mortality, where lower volumes of strength training were associated with reduced risk.
• Limitations include reliance on self-reported data, lack of intensity and exercise detail, and a participant pool mainly consisting of older U.S. healthcare professionals, which may affect generalizability.
• Practical advice from the study suggests that two to three short strength-training sessions per week, focusing on compound exercises and combined with regular aerobic activity, can provide meaningful long-term health benefits without requiring extensive gym time.