Increasing Your Strength Can Help You Live Longer
The word fitness means different things to different people. Discussions about fitness often fail to reach a useful conclusion because everyone is using the word in their own way. The philosopher, and keen walker, Ludwig Wittgenstein observed that many arguments arise because people use the same words to mean different things.
Here is the definition of fitness in the Live Longer Better glossary:
Fitness is the capacity to respond to a challenge; it can be measured by two variables, the maximum level of performance and the speed with which a person recovers from activity (or resilience, another term). These are the same characteristics used to assess the effect of the ageing process, which is why ageing and fitness have been confused until recently.
We also find it helpful to think about fitness using our 4S checklist: Skill, Suppleness, Stamina and Strength.
Discussions about exercise usually focus on two main types of training: aerobic training and resistance training, which improve stamina and strength, respectively. Traditionally, much less attention has been given to improving skill and suppleness, but that is changing. The growing focus on preventing falls has highlighted the importance of improving balance, co-ordination and skill, with Angela Rippon's Let's Dance! campaign helping to lead the way. Suppleness is also receiving more attention thanks to the increasing availability of yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates classes.
However, the two main foundations of physical fitness remain aerobic exercise for stamina and resistance exercise for strength. Aerobic exercise raises your heart rate and breathing, even if only slightly. This could include brisk walking, wheeling, swimming, cycling, dancing or any activity that is appropriate for your abilities. Resistance exercise strengthens muscles and can be adapted for almost everyone, whether using your own body weight, weights, or resistance bands.
For decades, aerobic exercise has been recognised as reducing the risk of heart and blood vessel disease, including stroke, and increasing healthy life expectancy. Resistance training has often been viewed simply as a way to build muscle and increase strength. However, an important new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that strengthening exercise also contributes to a longer life. The study found that resistance training was associated with a reduction in mortality risk across all levels of aerobic physical activity and showed that strength training and aerobic exercise complement one another rather than compete. It can also increase healthy life expectancy by delaying, and in some cases preventing, frailty and disability.
Importantly, you do not have to be able to run, walk long distances or go to the gym to benefit. People living with mobility limitations, long term conditions or disability can still improve their strength through exercises that are appropriate for their own circumstances. Whether standing or seated, at home, in a community class or with the support of a fitness professional, almost everyone can become stronger. What matters is doing what you can, safely and regularly, and gradually building strength over time.
The Oxford Longevity Project's principle is simple: increasing your strength is one of the most effective ways to increase your healthspan.
Reference:
Zhang Y, Lee DH, Rezende LFM, Ma Y, Giovannucci E. Long-term resistance training with all-cause and cause-specific mortality: assessing dose-response and joint associations with aerobic physical activity. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2026;60(12):874-883. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/60/12/874