Resistance training is great for the heart

A new study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise concludes that lifting weights for less than 1 hour a week may reduce your risk of a heart attack or stroke by between 40 and 70 percent.  The study from Iowa State University analysed the data of 13,000 adults in the Aerobics Center Longitudinal study, the researchers measured 3 health outcomes, firstly, cardiovascular events such as a heart attack or stroke that did not result in death, secondly, cardiovascular events that resulted in death and thirdly all types of death.  The researchers believe resistance exercise reduced the risk for all three health outcomes.

Using the same data the researchers also found that less than 1 hour of weekly resistance exercise (compared with no resistance exercise) was associated with a 29% lower risk of developing metabolic syndrome.  The risk of hypercholesterolemia (high levels of cholesterol in the blood) was 32% lower also with less than 1 hour of resistance exercise.  Both results were independent of aerobic exercise.  These results were published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

NOTE:  Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise is the ACSM’s monthly peer reviewed medical journal and Mayo Clinic Proceedings is a monthly peer reviewed medical journal.