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At the molecular level, more strength training makes you years younger
Every 90 minutes you spend on strength training each week makes the DNA in your cells 4 years younger, according to a telomere study published in Biology.
Study
The research on which this web article is based comes from Larry Tucker. Tucker, a professor of exercise science at Brigham Young University, previously published research in which daily use of multivitamins or frequent consumption of nuts turns back the molecular clock in human cells by 10 and 2 years, respectively.
Tucker based these estimates on measurements of the length of telomeres in human DNA. The further the aging process has progressed, the shorter these telomeres become.
You can read more about telomeres here.
In 2024, Tucker published a study in which he analyzed data from 4,814 Americans aged 20-69, collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 1999-2002. They had donated blood samples, among other things, which allowed Tucker to determine the length of telomeres in the DNA of their blood cells.
Almost 7 percent of the study participants regularly trained with weights and resistance machines in a gym or fitness center.
Results
After Tucker had removed the effects of other factors as best he could, he found that the participants who did strength training had longer telomeres. The more minutes the participants did strength training each week, the longer their telomeres were.
Conclusion
Tucker was able to calculate that for every 10 minutes that the study participants did strength training each week, their telomeres increased by 6.7 base pairs. This suggests that participants who did strength training for an hour and a half each week were 4 years younger at the molecular level than participants who did not strength train.
Source:
Biology (Basel). 2024 Oct 30;13(11):883.
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Coffee is healthy, but not caffeine 15.07.2017
Physical exercise delays molecular aging by ten years 25.12.2008
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