A large analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine followed 147,374 US health care workers for up to three decades.
People who did 90 to 119 minutes of strength training a week had a 27% lower risk of dying from a neurological disease such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.
The same weekly amount was linked to a 19% lower risk of cardiovascular death and a 13% lower risk of dying from any cause.
The researchers documented 35,798 deaths across the follow-up period.
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What counts as the sweet spot
Ninety to 120 minutes translates to two 45 minute sessions, or three 30 minute sessions, spread across a normal week.
Going beyond 120 minutes did not add extra benefit for the biggest mortality reductions.
The team pooled data from three long-running Harvard cohorts, including the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and both Nurses' Health Studies.
Adding cardio amplified the effect
Combining strength work with aerobic exercise strengthened the link further.
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Participants who did both at high volumes had roughly a 45% lower risk of dying during the study period.
That echoes earlier research suggesting that doing both cardio and weights may cut your death risk by nearly half.
Strength training in the study meant weights or bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, squats and lunges.
Calisthenics and Pilates were excluded from the strength category.
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What the study can and cannot show
This is an observational study. It shows an association between how much strength training people did and how likely they were to die during follow-up, not proof that lifting alone caused the difference.
The participants were largely white health care professionals, so the findings may not translate cleanly to every group.
Exercise data was self-reported and did not capture session length or intensity in detail.
Harvard Health, reviewing the findings, points beginners toward simple body-weight moves such as squats, push-ups or step-ups on a low stair, before adding resistance bands or light dumbbells.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.