Shahar Madjar, MD, Journal columnist

At the gym, I see people pulling and pushing. They are lifting dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells. They do push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. I look at them with admiration as they look the part, as if they came out of Men’s Health magazine, or have just left the set of an action movie.

Others seem to be out of their comfort zone. They grunt aloud and sweat profusely. They seem to suffer under the burden of the weights they attempt to lift. My heart goes out to this latter group of individuals (with a sense of self-pity, I count myself among them). They seem to strive to no avail, and I begin to worry: Is all of this pulling and pushing — also known as resistance training — even a good thing for the human body, or is the misery completely redundant, perhaps even harmful?

In an attempt to answer this question, I searched and found an excellent overview of systematic scientific research written by Rasha El-Kotov from the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo, Canada.

In total, El-Kotov and her colleagues carefully selected, analyzed, and summarized eleven systematic reviews of 364 individual studies that included 382,627 participants, age 18 or older.

Here are some of the findings:

Mortality: Resistance training was associated with a 21% lower risk of all-cause mortality (death from any cause). It was enough to perform 1-2 weekly sessions of resistance training to reap the benefit of reduced all-cause mortality. Going to the gym more often didn’t result in an additional improvement in this particular measure of all-cause mortality.

Heart disease and hypertension: Resistance training was associated with a lower incidence of heart disease and hypertension. In one study, for example, that included 44,452 participants, men who engaged in resistance training had a 23% lesser chance of suffering a heart attack or dying of coronary heart disease.

Physical functioning: As expected, resistance training does result in improved muscle strength and physical performance. For example, one of the reviews showed that in older adults (with an age range of 68-92 years), six weeks of resistance training resulted in improved muscle strength (exercisers were able to lift weights that were 12.8 kg heavier than those who didn’t exercise). In the same review, six weeks of resistance training was also associated with better functional performance (exercisers were able to perform more “chair stands.” In other words, they were able to get up from the sitting to the standing position more easily).

Quality of life: When doctors and researchers discuss health-related quality of life, they usually refer to physical functioning, vitality, and pain. They assess these domains using a questionnaire specifically designed to examine these aspects of daily life. Perhaps surprisingly, El-Kotov and her colleagues weren’t able to demonstrate any statistically significant advantage for resistance training in these domains. Differently stated: there is no evidence that resistance training improves quality of life.

Adverse events: Resistance training is relatively safe. Most of the reports indicated a low incidence of muscle strain, bruising, and joint pain. Only a few participants experienced more severe side effects: shortness of breath, fainting, inguinal hernia that required surgical repair, and fractures of the hip and clavicle.

What can one conclude from El-Kotov’s overview of systematic reviews? The authors write: “Overall, resistance training improved health outcomes in adults and the benefits outweighed the harms.”

For those of you interested in participating in resistance training, the next question may be, Where do I find the time, in my busy schedule, to take part in such an activity? In my next article, I will provide scientific evidence indicating that resistance training doesn’t need to take over your entire schedule. I will report on the findings in an article by Vegard M. Iversen which had an intriguing headline, No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review.

And some last words of caution: If you decide to embark on a program of resistance training, consult your doctor first.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Shahar Madjar, MD, MBA, is a urologist and an author. He practices in Michigan, at Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital in Manistique, and in Baraga County Memorial Hospital in L’Anse. Find his books on Amazon or contact him at smadjar@yahoo.com.