According to a study by researchers at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, lifting weights or just doing some heavy lifting around the house for only 30 minutes a week can reduce the risk of early death by up to 20 percent.
Previous studies have shown that building muscle may lower the risk of death, but until now no one had looked at how much effort might be ideal. The Tohoku report says strength training for 30 to 60 minutes weekly might be ideal. And adding aerobic exercise can drop the risk by a further 40 percent.
The scientists also say going to the gym isn't necessary. Heavy gardening work would count as strength training session, just like lifting weights or doing push-ups.
Interestingly, the researchers found that longer workouts did nothing to cut the risk further.
As many as 500,000 male and female participants age 18 to 97 were studied in a range of countries. Muscle strengthening was linked to lower risk of death from many causes, particularly heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and lung cancer.
The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.