STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: If you were thinking about a New Year's resolution to get in shape, we have some science. The science suggests that putting your muscles to work has huge benefits for your health. We're talking here about resistance training with weights or elastic bands, or even your own body weight. NPR health correspondent Will Stone has been reporting on the research for a new Life Kit newsletter series and joins us now. Hi there, Will.
WILL STONE, BYLINE: Hey, Steve.
INSKEEP: I assume you're all bulked up now, is that correct?
STONE: Oh, big time.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) I'm just going to trust you on that. I can't see you.
STONE: (Laughter).
INSKEEP: But let's talk this through because people talk about running or getting their steps in. Should you think about building strength the same way?
STONE: Definitely. There's a real push right now to get this message out that resistance training - or you can call it strength training - is important for basically everyone, not just the gym-goers who are trying to have those bulging biceps. And the evidence here is powerful, whether you're talking about cardiovascular health or your metabolism - for example, how your body handles blood sugar - or for other areas like bone health, the immune system, your brain. There's now even strong data on how it helps with anxiety and depression. Arguably the biggest one, though, is longevity and aging. As we get older, we naturally lose muscle. But strength training can help guard against this. Take a listen to what Brad Schoenfeld told me. He's an exercise scientist at Lehman College in the Bronx.
BRAD SCHOENFELD: We have really good evidence that people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s who've never lifted before see robust gains within eight- to 10-week trainings.
STONE: So the idea that you may be too old to lift is maybe one misperception that researchers like Schoenfeld are trying to correct.
INSKEEP: I like hearing that you're not too old to lift and also the idea that you're not too old to start.
STONE: Yes.
INSKEEP: Are there other false assumptions that people might want to guard against?
STONE: One that surprised me is that you do not need to pack on the weights, lift very heavy to get results. There's now a lot of evidence that people can do more repetitions, or reps, of an exercise using what feels like lighter weights to them. Or they can choose to do heavier weights and not that many reps. Either way, they will see improvements in how much muscle they build that are comparable. Now, if you want to impress someone with your massive bench press in the gym, Steve, you do need to practice those heavy lifts. But aside from that, most of us who just want to get a bit stronger, we have a lot of freedom to do what works. The only catch here is it needs to feel hard at the end, that you're really struggling to squeeze out those final reps.
INSKEEP: Oh, that's a good rule. And what if you don't feel you have the time to build up to that, really?
STONE: Yeah, another consistent message in my reporting is that you do not need to work your way through every machine in the gym, spending hours and hours. You can aim for what exercise scientists are calling a minimum dose. I spoke to Stuart Phillips, who's a researcher at McMaster University in Canada, about this. He likes to use this image of a wet towel when describing the return on investment from strength training.
STUART PHILLIPS: You get the cloth, and you twist it, and a ton of water comes out in the first twist. That's the first set. And then the second twist, less comes out. And then, you know, obviously, you can keep twisting the cloth. And you do get some water. And that's what the people who are in the gym four, five and six, and even seven days a week, that's what they're doing.
STONE: So if you're not chasing every drop, you can really aim for about 45 minutes to an hour and a half total every week. And if you're brand-new to this, there's research supporting the goal of once a week, a handful of exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once. If you do just one set of each, that's enough for those first three months.
INSKEEP: Will Stone, thank you so much.
STONE: Thanks, Steve.
INSKEEP: If you're ready to get stronger this new year, sign up for Life Kit's special newsletter at npr.org/stronger.
(SOUNDBITE OF DUA LIPA SONG, "TRAINING SESSION") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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