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Looking swole might not be so good for longevity after all.

That is, excessive weightlifting may shorten your life, according to a biohacking pioneer with a longtime speciality in longevity.

While regular, moderate-intensity weightlifting – around 30-60 minutes per week – is very good for the body, producing significant risk reductions for mortality across the spectrum (according to a systematic review and meta-analysis from the March to April 2023 edition of Missouri Medicine), more than 130 minutes per week, or a mere two-hour sesh, is where things get tricky for the most committed lifters.

The latter could be doing you more harm than good, bringing your life expectancy back to the same levels as if you’d been adopting a sedentary lifestyle the entire time, per DMARGE.

Despite all the ‘bro-science’ that you’ve heard, it seems you’d be better off with less ‘gainz‘.

AKA, ‘more is better’ for moderate-intensity exercises like walking, but very large volumes of strenuous exercise – including lifting heavy weights – may not be the ideal means of optimising longevity.

 

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Some dedicated gym rats got straight to the point, calling this news “garbage”, while other quoted studies that seemed to suggest weightlifting is a boon for longevity.

Weightlifting is still good for you in moderation, no one is denying that, but it is perhaps important to think about the volume at which you lift, bro.

[source:dmarge]