Treatments and supplements · Resistance / strength training

Does lifting weights help me age better?

What we can tell you today: how thoroughly this has been studied.

Thoroughly studied

8 studies, of which 6 bring together the results of several trials in people. This is as strong as evidence gets.

5 Repeated evidence 6 studies

3 Small study in people 2 studies

This says how thoroughly something has been studied — not whether it works for you. What each study actually found is in the study itself, and in the plain-language write-ups we are adding.

Appears under: Living longer in good health · Sleep, energy and the brain · Weight loss and GLP-1 · Menopause and hormones

The studies

5 Repeated evidence Resistance training effectiveness on body composition and body weight outcomes in individuals with overweight and obesity across the lifespan: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
2022 · Obesity reviews : an official journal of the Internatio · 4,184 participants
5 Repeated evidence Chronic Effects of Static Stretching Exercises on Muscle Strength and Power in Healthy Individuals Across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review with Multi-level Meta-analysis.
2023 · Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)
5 Repeated evidence The impact of aerobic and resistance training intensity on markers of neuroplasticity in health and disease.
2022 · Ageing research reviews
5 Repeated evidence Energy deficiency impairs resistance training gains in lean mass but not strength: A meta-analysis and meta-regression.
2021 · Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports
5 Repeated evidence Effect of resistance training on muscle strength and rate of force development in healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
2019 · Experimental gerontology
5 Repeated evidence Resistance training for postmenopausal women: systematic review and meta-analysis.
2022 · Menopause (New York, N.Y.) · 452 participants
3 Small study in people Efficacy of time restricted eating and resistance training on body composition and mood profiles among young adults with overweight/obesity: a randomized controlled trial.
2025 · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutritio
3 Small study in people Cognitive gains and cortical thickness changes after 12 weeks of resistance training in older adults with low and high risk of mild cognitive impairment: Findings from a randomized controlled trial.
2025 · Brain research bulletin