50 benefits of strength training
Updated: Sep 25
Most of our Method Health community already enjoy and prioritise being physically active regardless of their busy lives. This is good. As of 2023, a lack of weekly physical activity or exercise is the fourth largest global risk factor for early death, behind smoking, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar (Noncommunicable Disease Surveillance, WHO Monitoring and Reporting + Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases). Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure, such as working, playing, carrying out household chores, travelling, and engaging in recreational pursuits. Many assume these activities are “exercise,” but in terms of health outcomes, they are not. Exercise forms a subset of physical activity that offers a more predictable improvement in health outcomes (Physical activity and exercise guidelines for all Australians | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care). Exercise is defined as a structured, planned, repetitive approach to physical activity with the primary goal to improve or maintain one or more components of physical fitness (Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research). For example, physical activity is walking while exercise is walking while using a map.
Completing both subcategories of exercise, including aerobic and strength exercise is essential for the best chance at a long and healthy life. While the benefits of aerobic training is discussed in this article, strength training is defined in this article as the subcategory of physical activity that is any activity that is structured, planned, repetitive pushing or pulling movements completed against any form of resistance with the goal to improve your strength and/or muscle mass. Strength training is also known as resistance training or weight lifting. Aerobic and strength training produce distinct adaptations that result in divergent health improvements whilst both trigger shared exercise adaptation that promotes better health (Exercise as a Therapeutic Intervention for Chronic Disease Management). Like apples and oranges, its advisable to consume both of each, just like for strength and aerobic training to have complete exercise based health benefits. In this article, we will focus on the 50 benefits of regular strength training.
Statistically, you only need 30-60 minutes of challenging strength training each week for at least three months to improve performance and health benefits for almost all the systems in your body. Challenging means completing 3 to 6 exercises in 1-3 sets of 6-12 difficult repetitions. As the repetitions become more manageable, the weight needs to increase so that progression (positive) is experienced.
When the focus of training is solely to become as strong as possible, such as for a personal goal or to compete in sports like powerlifting or weightlifting, training differs from the parameters described above. Significant strength can be gained by training within the outlined parameters described above, but it is not the most efficient way to get stronger if that is your primary performance goal. Talk to us if you’d like further direction on increasing your strength.
If you do not progress in strength but engage in the activities regularly, this is ‘participating.’ In some cases, participation alone may be sufficient to achieve the benefits described. At Method Health, we support your activities and encourage progression as the best outcome. Outcomes for which progression of strength is known to be essential through direct research are underlined below. This is a living document, and as more information becomes available, the underlined outcomes will be updated.
Exercise or sport-related benefits:
Increase muscle size and strength. Bet you didn’t see that one coming (Mechanisms of mechanical overload-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy).
Enhance sports abilities, including sprinting, jumping, and agility. This does not directly transfer to performance, but it provides an opportunity to achieve a higher performance capacity (The Importance of Muscular Strength: Training Considerations).
Reduces risk of sports-related injuries better than many other forms of exercise (The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries). If you are injured, your sports performance cannot improve.
Strength training through the full range of motion improves flexibility to an equal extent as stretching and provides additional benefits, mostly not provided by stretching, as listed above and below. Stretching is just low-intensity strength training. Strength training is also more protective of injury than stretching training (The Case for Retiring Flexibility as a Major Component of Physical Fitness + Practical recommendations on stretching exercise).
Strength training improves balance, but it is not as good as complex dynamic balance exercises (Specificity of Balance Training in Healthy Individuals + Effects and Dose–Response Relationship of Balance Training + Balance training: A waste of time?).
Increases lifespan. You will likely have a decreased lifespan due to dying of any cause when you do not strength train regularly. Studies have shown a 20-35% lower risk of injury among individuals who participate in strength training. If you participate in strength training, you are likely to live longer than people your age who do not engage in lifting. There is a relationship between grip strength, thigh muscle strength, and the risk of early death (Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases + Resistance Training and Mortality Risk + Associations of Skeletal Muscle Mass and Fat Mass With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and All‐Cause Mortality).
Reduced burden or risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The primary reason is that regular strength training reduces blood pressure and the blood lipid LDL cholesterol, both of which have a linear relationship with increasing the risk of heart and brain blood vessel-related conditions, such as strokes and myocardial infarctions (Resistance Exercise Training in Individuals With and Without Cardiovascular Disease Update + Cardiovascular benefits of resistance exercise: It's time to prescribe).
Reduced risk of developing both types of diabetes and assisted management of these conditions. For individuals with Type 2 Diabetes, especially when combined with aerobic training, strength training is a potent adjunctive therapy to improve resting blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity (Comparison between different types of exercise training in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus + Effect of resistance training on HbA1c in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus and the moderating effect of changes in muscular strength). For those with Type 1 Diabetes, strength training improves glycaemic control and, by enhancing the muscle's insulin sensitivity, reduces the amount of insulin needed each month, which is a significant cost saver (Resistance Versus Aerobic Exercise: Acute effects on glycemia in type 1 diabetes + Exercise management in type 1 diabetes + Effect of aerobic and resistance exercise on glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes).
Reduced risk of cancer. There is up to a 35% reduction when combining all types of cancer (Cancer-Specific Mortality Relative to Engagement in Muscle-Strengthening Activities and Lower Extremity Strength + Frontiers | Resistance Exercise Training as a Primary Countermeasure to Age-Related Chronic Disease). Aerobic training alone has sometimes been seen as not having the same protective effect on cancer risk as strength training (Does Strength-Promoting Exercise Confer Unique Health Benefits?). Strength training also enhances the effectiveness of cancer management, reduces side effects, including cancer-related fatigue and pain, and decreases the likelihood of recurrence after remission (The Health Benefits of Resistance Exercise: Beyond Hypertrophy and Big Weights).
Increases independence and quality of life at all ages, especially in older adults, as measured by questionnaires (‘A Lot of People Just Go for Walks, and Don’t Do Anything Else’ + Effects of Resistance Training on Muscle Size and Strength in Very Elderly Adults).
Helps prevent the development of osteoporosis, reduced bone density and bone health-related spine curvature, which are all partially associated with aging but mostly with inactive lifestyle factors (High‐Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial).
Reduced fall-related fracture risk. Walking and many forms of other types of exercise cannot protect against age and lifestyle-related bone fragility and balance reduction. Strength training reduces fall related injury and if you add some high-intensity balance training to your week to reduce fall’s frequency, you will have covered yourself best to protect yourself from being at risk of falls and fall-related injury. Bullet-proofing rather then bubble-wrapping (Progressive Resistance Training for Improving Health-Related Outcomes in People at Risk of Fracture).
Reduces the rate of age-related muscle loss called sarcopenia and hospital visit-related weakness and disability. The risk of pushing through your limits is much smaller than the risk of losing them! (Resistance Exercise Training as a Primary Countermeasure to Age-Related Chronic Disease + Global consensus on optimal exercise recommendations for enhancing healthy longevity in older adults + Mitigating disuse‐induced skeletal muscle atrophy in ageing: Resistance exercise as a critical countermeasure).
Increases age-related reductions in walking speed and endurance (Current Practices in and Barriers to Physiotherapists’ Use of Resistance Exercise with Older Adults in Acute Care). Has also been known since the 1990’s to reduce the perceived need for walking aids/sticks when walking in 90+ year olds (High-intensity strength training in nonagenarians: effects on skeletal muscle).
It can help reduce body fat and systemic adipose-related inflammation associated with aging and unhealthy lifestyle habits. Strength training is the best option for maintaining or increasing muscle mass while losing weight, making weight loss phases easier (The type of training program affects appetite-regulating hormones and body weight in overweight sedentary men + The BEST ways to lose fat ranked according to 92 studies).
Improved joint pain in people with osteoarthritis in any joint without negatively increasing joint changes on imaging (Does Strong Muscle Matter in OA? + Joint Action - David Hunter + Flippin' EVERYTHING you thought you knew about arthritis).
Improved joint pain in people with Rheumatoid Arthritis (What are the core recommendations for rheumatoid arthritis care?).
Improves tendon strength, improving strength and running tolerance (Optimizing Resistance Training for Sprint and Endurance Athletes), but also reduces the risk of tendon pain occurring or persisting, ironically independent of strength changes (Can we really say getting stronger makes your tendon feel better?).
Decreases the risk of muscle strains (The Adductor Strengthening Programme prevents groin problems + Preventive Effect of Eccentric Training on Acute Hamstring Injuries). Additionally, it may reduce the rate of muscle loss in the affected limb after a local injury when the opposite limb undergoes strength training. This effect is called cross-education (How to Rehabilitate an Immobilised Limb; The Cross-Education Effect).
Assist in the prevention and management of ligament injuries across most joints, such as around the knees, ankles, and shoulders (Barbell Squat Relative Strength as an Identifier for Lower Extremity Injury in Collegiate Athletes + The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries).
Improve self-efficacy, confidence, and daily mood (How Heavy Lifting Lightens Our Lives: Content Analysis of Perceived Outcomes of Masters Weightlifting).
Improved body image (A Systematic Review of the Effects of Resistance Training on Body Image + Maximal Strength Training as a Pathway to Positive Body). This might be through increases in muscle mass, assisting weight loss to achieve the toned or lean body you might be training for or improved skin health (Resistance training rejuvenates aging skin).
Reduced risk of developing or not recovering from depression (Physical activity and depression).
Reduced severity of anxiety (The Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Anxiety).
Increases tolerance to joint surgery (Resistance exercise training to improve post‐operative rehabilitation in knee arthroplasty patients).
Reduces the total hospital time and care needed after many surgical procedures (Skeletal Muscle: A Critical Organ for Survival and Recovery in Critical Illness + Effect of a simple exercise programme on hospitalisation-associated disability in older patients).
Increases immunity. An exercising muscle is an endocrine organ that releases many helpful immune hormones (Debunking the Myth of Exercise-Induced Immune Suppression). We have already mentioned the protective effects of strength training on cancer risk, which is greatly due to the exercise benefits on immune health. Muscle strength is an independent risk factor for COVID‐19 severity in adults 50 years of age or older and lifting can be helpful for COVID-19 risk reduction and recovery (Relationship between physical exercise and COVID-19 + Resistance training and clinical status in patients with postdischarge symptoms after COVID-19).
Decreased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (Lifting cognition: a meta-analysis of effects of resistance exercise on cognition + Resistance training improves cognitive function in older adults with different cognitive status).
Improves sleep quality and helps cure insomnia (A cross-sectional study to examine the association between self-reported sleep and the frequency, duration and intensity of exercise + The effect of resistance exercise on sleep + Could a Habitual Sleep Restriction of One-two Hours Be Detrimental to the Benefits of Resistance Training? + The effects of sleep disruption on metabolism, hunger, and satiety, and the influence of psychosocial stress and exercise).
Improves multiple health markers in new and emerging mothers (2025 Canadian guideline for physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep throughout the first year post partum).
Reduces the onset of exercise-related cramping. Cramping during exercise is primarily caused by fatigue, rather than dehydration or electrolyte imbalance, as previously thought. Emerging evidence suggests that strength training reduces the risk of cramping by increasing a muscle's resistance to fatigue (Strengthening and neuromuscular reeducation of the gluteus maximus in a triathlete with exercise-associated cramping of the hamstrings).
Improved tolerance and quality of life of people with persistent pain conditions (How does exercise help pain with Ben Cormack + Physical Activity as a Central Pillar of Lifestyle Modification in the Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain + Optimizing exposure therapy), such as lower back pain (Does a powerlifting inspired exercise programme better compliment pain education compared to bodyweight exercise for people with chronic low back pain?), and fibromyalgia (A systematic review of the effects of strength training in patients with fibromyalgia). Improvements occur with or without changes in your body's tissue strength. Muscle contraction releases hormones that reduce pain levels (Does exercise increase or decrease pain? Central mechanisms underlying these two phenomena). Strength training regularly can reduce medication and healthcare costs associated with persistent pain (Incremental clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of providing supervised physiotherapy).
Useful in the prevention and management of liver disease, which is the 11th most common cause of death globally (Effect of exercise on hepatic steatosis: Are benefits seen without dietary intervention?).
Used to effectively treat the effects of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, MS, and stroke, as well as reducing the risk of neurological disease development (Exercise training guidelines for multiple sclerosis, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease).
Improve the tolerance of daily activities for those affected by spinal cord injuries (Strength training as a non-pharmacological alternative to improve body composition, and quality of life in people with spinal cord injury).
Strengthening the upper limb and our breathing muscles is critical to improving breathing function in lung conditions such as COPD and asthma (Pulmonary Rehabilitation).
Improve physical and mental tolerance to stressful work, whether physical or sedentary (office work) (Physical Activity Solutions to Decrease Occupational Stress + Leisure-time physical activity and risk of depression + Trained men show lower cortisol, heart rate and psychological responses to psychosocial stress compared with untrained men - PubMed + Do You NEED To Fix Your Posture? (Probably Not)).
Reduces the severity and frequency of the common types of headaches such as migraines, whiplash injury, or tension-related stress (What is the efficacy of aerobic exercise versus strength training in migraines? + Exercise, headache, and factors associated with headache in chronic whiplash).
Improve tolerance for maintaining prolonged positions such as sitting or standing (Specific versus Non-Specific Exercises for Chronic Neck or Shoulder Pain).
Improved quality of life and increase lifespan for people with Down syndrome (The effects of resistance training on health-related physical fitness of people with down syndrome).
Evidence suggests that regular supervised strength training improves the executive functioning, attention, and social behaviour of those with Autism (The role of physical education and exercise for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the effects on socialization, communication, behavior, fitness, and quality of life + Exercise is a Life-Changer for those with autism).
Useful in the prevention and management of kidney disease, which affects over 5% of all Australians over the age of 75 (Exercise training in chronic kidney disease + Resistance Training for Persons With Chronic Kidney Disease).
Improves gut health-related conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (Physical activity for irritable bowel syndrome), and diverticulitis (Physical activity decreases diverticular complications), by reducing mental stress, enhancing digestive function, constipation, and alleviating bloating (Regulation of the gut microbiota by diet and exercise: Improvements in cognition and emotion + Physical activity and constipation).
Helpful for reducing the severity of menstrual cramps (Exercise for dysmenorrhoea).
Assist in the management of polycystic ovary syndrome (Exercise, or exercise and diet for the management of polycystic ovary syndrome).
Assist in the management and risk reduction of endometriosis (Recreational physical activity and endometrioma risk).
Improves appetite due to aging or medical procedures to prevent unwanted muscle loss (Myokines in Appetite Control and Energy Balance).
Reduces burn injury-related muscle loss (Rehabilitative Exercise Training for Burn Injury).
Improved tolerance to heat stress and assisted yearly acclimatisation to our hot Aussie weather affected by climate change (Benefits of heat re-acclimation in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics + Regular physical activity across the lifespan to build resilience against rising global temperatures).
Improves the health of those with hypermobility, including those with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome or other hereditary connective tissue conditions that affect developmental coordination (Are People With Joint Hypermobility Syndrome Slow to Strengthen? + Rationale and Feasibility of Resistance Training in hEDS/HSD).
When we examine strength levels in younger and older adults, we observe a strong relationship between strength and the risk of all-cause mortality. Those who were weaker were at a significantly higher risk of premature death (Link).
Whether you come to Method Health for health or performance benefits, participation in strength training is a must. Strength training expands your “health span” and slows down physiological aging. Sorry, strength training does not affect chronological age, but its many benefits help you live longer. Gyms are often great social environments to meet new people with a shared interest in getting stronger and healthier, so find a gym buddy if you need help staying accountable with weekly strength training. You can always speak to one of our staff or physiotherapy team if you wish to start evidence-based strength training, get past a plateau in strength, or need help getting past perceived barriers to lift weights like age, pain, perceived benefit, or knowledge. Invest in your health as, just like saving money, it’s never too late to start strength training. Let us know if we missed any, as we are sure this list is not exhaustive. Everyone you know should be strength training. Pass this blog on to those you feel will benefit from starting or knowing more. Let us know what benefit of strength training you want to hear more about in future posts.
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