In a new study, the team found that lifting weights for less than an hour a week may help reduce the risks for heart attack or stroke.
People who can do this for a long time can cut their risks by 40 to 70%. But a longer time in the gym does not seem to provide more benefits.
The study was done by a team from Iowa State University.
In the study, the team analyzed data of nearly 13,000 adults in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study.
They found that resistance exercise reduced the risks for heart attack and stroke and any type of death.
This means that people don’t have to meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic physical activity to lower the disease risk; weight training alone is enough.
In another study of the team, they found that resistance exercise could help reduce the risk of diabetes and high cholesterol.
Less than an hour of weekly resistance exercise was linked with a 29% lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
The team suggests that unlike aerobic activity, resistance exercise is not as easy to incorporate into a daily routine.
To do the exercise more easily, a gym membership may be beneficial.
Not only does it offer more options for resistance exercise, but also it may motivate to exercise more.
The researchers also suggest that people will still benefit from other resistance exercises or any muscle-strengthening activities.
The lead author of the study is DC (Duck-Chul) Lee, associate professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University.
The findings are published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
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