This one should be of interest to all old people who are not as crippled up with arthritis as myself. Doing between 30 and 60 minutes of strength training per week can put off an early death by up to a fifth. That could involve weights, light for most of us, or simply using body weight as in pushups and squats. But, doing gardening is just as good for older people, and probably more practical that just burning up energy pushing air, really. People need a bit more in intensity than just a quiet walk each day with the more enthusiastic dog, but not much more. And see a doctor for a medical check-up before beginning any exercise program. Even then don’t be too keen, but get into things slowly, in cold weather it is easy to pull muscles, so begin any exercise with sensible stretching. I still do some light upper body exercise with plastic dumbbells, being pretty much crippled from the belly button, down.
“A spot of gardening at the weekend is just as good for longevity as doing hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups or squats, research suggests.
Experts found doing between 30 and 60 minutes of strength training per week staves off an early death by up to a fifth.
This could include lifting weights or using our bodyweight and resistance bands.
With the average adult capable of 10 push-ups per minute, that would involve at least 300 per week.
But the researchers also found that heavy gardening that involves digging and shovelling was just as beneficial.
Keeping bones and muscles healthy in our senior years is crucial in preventing a host of illnesses and diseases and can even slow down ageing.
The latest research was done by academics at Tohoku University in Japan, who reviewed more than a dozen international studies.
Results showed doing between 30-60 minutes of muscle-strengthening activity per week lowered the risk of dying by up to 20 per cent.
Such muscle-building activities can include squats, push-ups and sit-ups, as well as digging and shovelling in the garden.
Tohoku University experts say the benefits are even greater when looking specifically at the risk of death from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
However, the authors said there was 'no conclusive evidence' that going beyond an hour of muscle-strengthening activity reduced the risk any further.
But they said combining muscle strengthening and cardio exercise may increase the protective benefit.
Brits are already encouraged to undertake muscle strengthening activity as part of a regular exercise regime.
The NHS recommends people do muscle-strengthening activities two days a week, in addition to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, like brisk walking.
Previous research has indicated muscle strengthening was associated with lower death risk — the team of Japanese experts wanted to find out what the potential 'optimal dose' might be.
In order to do so, the experts reviewed 16 studies on the potential life-extending benefits of muscle strengthening.
All of the academic papers followed adults with no prior major health issues for at least two years.
Most of the studies were from the US, with the remainder from the UK, Australia, and Japan.
The longest study went on for 25 years, and the sample size of the research varied between 4,000 to nearly 480,000 people.
All of the studies also accounted for aerobic or other types of physical activity the participants were doing, as well as muscle strengthening activity.
Analysis of the data showed adults who did at least 30 minutes a week had between a 10-20 per cent lower risk of death over the study time-frame.
However, no risk reduction was found for some specific types of cancer including bowel cancer and kidney cancer, as well as cancer of the bladder or pancreas.
When looking at deaths related to diabetes, muscle strengthening activity up to an hour per week was found to largely reduce the risk of death. But the benefits started to taper off after the 60-minute mark.
The authors also highlighted the benefits were greatest when muscle strengthening was combined with 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise.
This resulted in a death risk reduction of 40 per cent from any cause, 46 per cent for cardiovascular disease, and 28 per cent for cancer.”
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2022/01/19/bjsports-2021-105061
“Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.
Abstract
Objective To quantify the associations between muscle-strengthening activities and the risk of non-communicable diseases and mortality in adults independent of aerobic activities.
Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.
Data sources MEDLINE and Embase were searched from inception to June 2021 and the reference lists of all related articles were reviewed.
Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Prospective cohort studies that examined the association between muscle-strengthening activities and health outcomes in adults aged ≥18 years without severe health conditions.
Results Sixteen studies met the eligibility criteria. Muscle-strengthening activities were associated with a 10–17% lower risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD), total cancer, diabetes and lung cancer. No association was found between muscle-strengthening activities and the risk of some site-specific cancers (colon, kidney, bladder and pancreatic cancers). J-shaped associations with the maximum risk reduction (approximately 10–20%) at approximately 30–60 min/week of muscle-strengthening activities were found for all-cause mortality, CVD and total cancer, whereas an L-shaped association showing a large risk reduction at up to 60 min/week of muscle-strengthening activities was observed for diabetes. Combined muscle-strengthening and aerobic activities (versus none) were associated with a lower risk of all-cause, CVD and total cancer mortality.
Conclusion Muscle-strengthening activities were inversely associated with the risk of all-cause mortality and major non-communicable diseases including CVD, total cancer, diabetes and lung cancer; however, the influence of a higher volume of muscle-strengthening activities on all-cause mortality, CVD and total cancer is unclear when considering the J-shaped applications.”