Editor’s Note: Subscribe to the CNN Fitness, But Better Newsletter series. Our seven-part expert-backed guide will help you simplify a healthy routine.

CNN
–

Aerobic activities and weight training have health benefits on their own, but combining them can have even greater effects on disease prevention and early death.

People who lifted weights once or twice a week as well as the recommended amount of aerobic activity had a 41 percent lower risk of early death. Research It was published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The research team based their findings on self-reports and health data from nearly 100,000 men and women who participated in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, which began in 1998 and followed participants through 2016. Participants answered questionnaires in 2006. About their exercise in the past year, and the authors of this latest study found that these participants either got cancer or died in 2016.

Seniors who did weight training without aerobic activity had a 22% lower risk of dying prematurely from any cause. A 14% lower risk, and the more weight a person lifts, the more the benefit increases.

Those who did aerobic exercise reduced their risk by 34 percent compared to participants who did no weight training or aerobic exercise. But the lowest risk — 41% to 47% — was among those who met the recommended weekly aerobic activity (see below for guidelines) and lifted weights once or twice a week, compared with those who were inactive. The authors did not find a lower risk of dying from cancer.

Participants’ education, smoking status, body mass index, race and ethnicity did not affect the findings, but sex did – the associations were more significant among women, the researchers found.

“The findings in this study are predictable, but it is important that the authors present the expected results as data for the elderly,” said Haruki Moma, a professor in the Department of Sports and Exercise at Tohoku University of Medicine and Science in Japan. via email. The mother did not participate in the study.

“This is one of the most important points in this study,” Mom added. “Previous studies in the elderly are limited.”

The findings support the mutual benefits of muscle-strengthening activities combined with aerobic activity in weight training, at doses consistent with current exercise guidelines, the authors said.

of World Health Organization It recommends that seniors (65 and older) get at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week. Aerobic activities include walking, dancing, running or jogging, cycling and swimming.

According to the guidelines, muscle strengthening exercises should be done at least twice a week. These help prevent falls and related injuries, as well as bone health and decline in strength.

Weight training exercises You can do 30 to 60 minutes of deadlifts, dumbbell overhead presses, and dumbbell lateral raises, which use your back and shoulder muscles to lift simple dumbbells to keep your arms and body in a T shape.

Important note: If you feel pain during exercise, stop immediately. Consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program.

The authors did not have information about specific weight training or aerobic exercises performed by the participants.

“The authors said there was no data on training intensity, training load, volume (sets and repetitions),” said Mom. via email. “So the exact prescription for regular muscle-strengthening exercise to prevent death is unclear. However, this limitation is not limited to this study. Epidemiological studies of muscle-strengthening exercise are subject to this limitation.

But the researchers had some ideas about how exercise might help prevent disease or early death.

Weight training improves body composition or muscle mass, which has been previously linked Greater protection from premature death from any cause and cardiovascular disease.

Having more lean muscle and less body fat can help with balance, posture and cholesterol control, Dr. Nika Goldberg told CNN in March. Goldberg, medical director of Atria New York City and clinical associate professor of medicine at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, was not involved in the study.

“We know that obese individuals are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, glucose intolerance and some cancers, so it’s important to improve that[health]profile,” Goldberg said. “People who participate in regular activity … are also more likely to have a healthy attitude and other healthy lifestyle habits.”

The added benefit of combining both practices may be because they work together to improve health, Dr. William Roberts, a professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Minnesota, told CNN in March. A balanced practice closely mimics the lifestyle of our ancestors, he added.

In addition, muscle helps the functions of the endocrine and paracrine systems, the authors – responsible Hormones And Cell communication, respectively. Weight training can also be done in social settings, the researchers added, adding that having social interactions is associated with living longer.

The authors note that there may be measurement error related to participants’ recall of their exercise habits, and the study may not apply to individuals of color and younger individuals, as most participants were non-Hispanic white and averaged 71 years of age.

Future studies that are more diverse, longer, and more focused are important to understanding the relationship between these practices and the risk of early death, the authors said.

But now seniors who exercise need to incorporate exercise into their daily lives, Mom said.

“Some exercise is better than none,” Mom said. “As seniors’ fitness levels and chronic conditions vary from individual to individual, please be as physically active as your ability and condition allows.”