Training · RESEARCH EXPLAINED
Does strength training add anything if you already do cardio? A large 2026 study offers useful context, though not a precise prescription.
What researchers looked at
The study pooled three long-running U.S. cohorts: the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and Nurses’ Health Studies I and II. Together they included 147,374 adults, followed for up to 30 years. Participants reported strength training and aerobic activity at baseline and every two years. [1]
What they found
Compared with no resistance training, 90–119 minutes per week was associated with a 13% lower rate of death from any cause after adjustment for other factors, including aerobic activity. The same range was associated with 19% lower cardiovascular mortality and 27% lower neurological-disease mortality. No additional reduction in all-cause mortality was observed above 120 minutes per week. [1]
Combining activities also mattered. People reporting 30 to less than 45 MET-hours of aerobic activity and 60–119 minutes of strength training weekly had 45% lower mortality than those reporting little aerobic activity and no strength training. MET-hours combine activity duration and intensity. At the highest aerobic-activity level, mortality was similarly low across strength-training categories. [1]
These are relative differences between groups, not a personal prediction. A 13% lower relative rate does not mean a 13-percentage-point reduction in an individual’s risk.
What the finding does not mean
This was observational research. It cannot establish that lifting caused the lower mortality, and statistical adjustment cannot remove every difference between people. Activity was self-reported. The findings also do not show that training beyond two hours is harmful or that everyone should aim for the same weekly total.
The takeaway
WHO guidance includes both aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening activity. [2] This study adds long-term context for including both. Start from what you can manage and build gradually rather than treating a study’s lowest-risk category as a prescription.
Sources & further reading
- Zhang et al. (2026). Long-term resistance training with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: assessing dose-response and joint associations with aerobic physical activity. Prospective cohort study, British Journal of Sports Medicine. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2025-110503.
- WHO. Physical activity. Public-health guidance.
Educational information for adults, not personalized medical, nutrition, or training advice. Prepared with AI assistance; qualified subject-matter review pending. Xtinction Nutrition sells supplements. Cited organizations and researchers do not endorse this publication or our products. These studies do not test the finished PWX-1 formula.
