Exercise helps you stay fit and healthy, but could it actually turn back the clock? Researchers have discovered a simple workout that, when done just three times a week, could take up to 8 years off your body.
The weights you lift at the gym might be lifting years off your biological age too, suggests a recent study published in the journal Biology. The large-scale study involving nearly 4,900 men and women in the U.S. uncovered a fascinating connection between regular strength training and telomeres—the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes. Since telomeres naturally shorten with age, their length serves as a key marker of biological aging.
The researchers observed that every ten minutes of strength training per week was linked to slightly longer telomeres. Doing 90 minutes of this exercise weekly was linked to telomeres lengths that indicated 3.9 fewer years of biological aging. With three one-hour sessions a week (180 minutes total), the reduction in biological aging increased to nearly 8 years.
"The findings showed that adults who strength trained regularly had significantly longer telomeres and therefore less biological aging than adults who did not strength train, even after taking into account many factors, including their age, sex, race, income, household size, smoking, body size, and participation in physical activities other than strength training," the researchers wrote.
Current guidelines suggest that adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, including muscle-strengthening exercises on at least two days.
So how does strength training help reduce aging? Researchers believe it works by lowering the risk of diseases while slowing the aging process at the cellular level.
"As strength training mitigates some of the damage caused by such chronic diseases, reversing muscle loss, raising resting metabolic rate, promoting fat loss, and improving cardiovascular health, it is logical that strength training may limit disease and slow the aging of cells," the researchers explain.
Strength training is already a popular choice among fitness enthusiasts for building stronger muscles and bones while burning calories. It is also associated with a reduced risk of back pain, obesity, and heart disease, as well as improved blood sugar control, better flexibility, and enhanced mood and mental well-being.
