Skip to main content

Effective Monday, September 29, 2025, Outpatient Physical Therapy patients will be seen at 244 Westchester Avenue, Suite 217, West Harrison, NY 10602

If you have any questions, please call us at 914.681.1116

We appreciate your understanding.

Health library

Back to health library

Why you should be doing resistance exercises

A woman in pushup position watches a laptop screen on her living room floor.

Dec. 15, 2025—You know the saying: "Move it or lose it." Those words certainly apply to staying physically active throughout your life. Decades of research show that aerobic exercise plays a key role in preserving health and mobility. But new research finds that resistance exercise shouldn't take a back seat to aerobic exercise. And, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), less than one-third of us are getting enough of it.

Resistance vs. aerobics: Both offer big benefits

Resistance exercise, also called strength training or weight training, uses weight—your own body weight, machines or other equipment—to increase and maintain muscular strength. The ACSM recommends that adults do it at least two times per week.

Emerging research on resistance exercise suggests it might be as effective as aerobic exercise in improving and maintaining good health—and in some cases, says the ACSM, it may offer even more benefits.

For example, resistance and aerobic exercise together can reduce the risk of cancer and type 2 diabetes, reduce blood pressure and glucose, and improve sleep and mood. But, the ACSM reports, resistance exercise on its own appears to offer benefits such as:

  • Increasing bone density.
  • Improving muscle strength and power.
  • Boosting lean body mass.
  • Enhancing vascular health.

Resistance exercise also may be more effective than aerobic exercise at reducing obesity and the risk of metabolic syndrome.

The best exercise prescription for your health? Incorporating both forms into your workout routine.

How to get started

You don't need to join a gym or buy expensive supplies to do resistance exercise. You can use your own body weight by doing pushups, situps, planks, squats and lunges.

But it may help to get some basic equipment, like dumbbells, kettlebells and resistance bands. With these, you can do biceps curls, triceps extensions, dead lifts and lateral raises.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) advises you to start with lighter weights and focus on doing each exercise correctly. As you gain strength, increase the amount of weight you're lifting.

Try these additional workout tips from the ACS:

  • Warm up gently for 5 to 10 minutes by walking or doing arm circles, leg swings and twists.
  • Choose five to nine exercises. Do the first exercise 8 to 12 times (or reps), rest for a minute or two, then repeat the exercise for 8 to 12 more reps. Rest again, then do a third set of 8 to 12 reps. Repeat this pattern with the next exercise.
  • Cool down for 5 to 10 minutes afterward by walking or doing gentle stretches.
  • Drink lots of water throughout your session.

Learn more about how exercise can help your health—and find the advice you need to get started safely—in our Fitness and Exercise topic center.

Sources

Read more breaking news Related stories
Featured Topics
Quick Links
Providers