Issue 15: Should You Skip Resistance Training?

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Welcome to Weekly.health’s 15th issue. Every week, we explore cutting-edge research, actionable advice, and science-backed nutrition insights to help you live longer and healthier.

Our aim is to help you live another 10 healthy years and cut your risk of age-related disease.

🗒️ In This Issue:

• 🔬 Longevity Spotlight: Soy and fish oil may improve memory

• 📚 Books We’re Reading Right Now

• 📈 Research Digest: What’s new in nutrition science

• 🏋️‍♀️ Should You Skip Resistance Training?

• 🛍️ Things You Might Like

• ❤️ Support Weekly.health: Help us keep the research flowing

• 📘 Glossary of Terms: Definitions for technical terms in this issue

🔬 Longevity Spotlight: Soy and fish oil may improve memory

Fermented soy may improve memory as we age:
In a 12-week triple-blind RCT (61 enrolled; 47 completers), two daily packets of fermented soy (36.3 mg isoflavones) modestly improved memory overall, and in women ≥70 it boosted memory by 8.47% and global cognition by 2.86% vs placebo. Consider adding a daily fermented-soy serving (e.g., tempeh, natto, miso), especially if you’re 70+. It’s a small, low-effort tweak with brain benefits. (source)

Omega-3 from fish oil improved memory test scores in over 40s:
A review of 14 trials (over 26,000 adults aged 40+) found that taking omega-3s (like DHA and EPA from fish oil, 200–2000 mg daily) gave a small but real improvement in memory test scores. No “perfect dose” was found, but adding omega-3s through fish or supplements could be a simple way to support brain health as you age. (source)

📚 Books We’re Reading Right Now

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📈 Research Digest: What’s New in Nutrition Science

Here’s the best of recent nutrition research:

🥗 5:2 “reset days” beat small daily cuts to keep weight off
Maintaining weight loss is tough, but structure matters. In a 78-week study, people who already lost ~17 kg either did the 5:2 plan - two very low-calorie “reset days” a week (~825 kcal/day) - or replaced one meal daily (~200 kcal saved). Both cut similar weekly calories, but the 5:2 group regained nearly 5 kg less. Clear reset days may be easier to stick to than small daily cuts, helping keep more weight off long term. (source)

❤️ Heart-healthy habits improve biomarkers and metabolic risk in children
Helping kids eat heart-healthy works best when the whole family joins in. These “family-based programmes” mean parents and children learning together - spending time cooking, planning meals, and building active routines as a team (around 26+ hours over 3–12 months). Research shows this approach improves kids’ cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar, and even cut later metabolic risk by 41%.

Focus on simple steps: keep saturated fat under 7% of daily calories, use more healthy fats (like olive oil and nuts), add soluble fibre (beans, oats, fruit), limit sugary foods, and aim for an hour of daily movement. Small changes, done together, make the biggest difference. (source)

🥛 Vitamin D-fortified foods protect bones
A review of 14 studies found that regularly eating vitamin D-fortified foods (like milk, cereals, and oils) boosts vitamin D levels, strengthens bone density, and lowers fracture risk. Results varied depending on age, dosage, and food type, but the overall message is clear: fortification works. If you’re not getting much sun or live in a region with widespread deficiency, adding fortified foods to your diet can help safeguard long-term bone health. (source)

🏋️‍♀️ Should you skip resistance training?

Building muscle isn’t just for bodybuilders. Maintaining and increasing muscle mass and strength is a proven strategy for preserving independence, preventing chronic diseases and enhancing quality of life.

Some suggest that we should slow down as we age and avoid exercising so much, so as to avoid putting strain on our bodies, but evidence suggests that by avoiding resistance exercise, we increase our risk of frailty.

After the age of 30-40, adults lose 3-8 % of muscle mass per decade and this rate accelerates after age 60 (a phenomenon called sarcopenia). (source)

Muscle weakness predicts more than frailty: a cohort study of older US adults showed that people with low muscle strength were over twice as likely to die during follow‑up compared with those with normal strength, even when muscle mass was normal. (source)

Below we outline a few reasons why you shouldn’t skip resistance training, even if you don’t want to build muscle.

Resistance training improves quality of life and mental health

A 2023 meta‑analysis of 21 studies involving adults ≥60 years found that resistance training improved physical functioning, mental health, social functioning and overall quality of life and reduced bodily pain.

It also reduced depressive symptoms significantly, and increased upper‑ and lower‑limb strength by 15.3 kg and 48.5 kg respectively. (source)

Reduced risk of chronic diseases and longer life

Evidence from large prospective cohort studies suggests that muscle‑strengthening activities reduce the risk of chronic diseases. A meta‑analysis of seven cohort studies found that adults performing muscle‑strengthening activities had a 15 % lower risk of all‑cause mortality and a 17 % lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. (source)

Metabolic health and insulin sensitivity

Resistance training improves glucose metabolism and can help prevent or manage type 2 diabetes. A meta‑analysis of twelve randomised trials in older adults found that resistance exercise reduced insulin resistance (HOMA‑IR and HbA1c), with moderate‑ to high‑intensity and longer‑duration programmes yielding the greatest improvements. (source)

Benefits for women

Many women skip resistance training over worries about “bulking up”. In reality, women have much lower testosterone than men (≈0-1.7 nmol/L vs 7.7-29.4 nmol/L), so developing a body-builder physique is unlikely without sustained high training volumes and a calorie surplus.

The sheer volume of effort required to notably build a “muscly” physique means that the majority of women avoiding resistance training are doing so unnecessarily, and most would experience the benefits of resistance training long before they start to gain the “bulky” look.

Resistance training provides critical benefits for women:

• Protection against osteoporosis: Postmenopausal women lose bone mass rapidly; combined aerobic and resistance training improves spinal and hip bone health. (source)

• Improved metabolic health: Similar to men, women experience better insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control with resistance. (source)

• Enhanced mental wellbeing: Resistance training reduces depression and improves quality of life. Given that women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression, this is important. (source)

• Weight management without “bulking up”: Resistance training increases lean mass and resting metabolic rate, making it easier to control body weight. Building muscle is also associated with improvements in body image/body confidence, suggesting that women often don’t dislike their new look despite expectations. (source)

Recommendations for getting started

1. Perform resistance training at least twice per week. For maximum benefits, aim for 2–3 sessions per week, covering all major muscle groups. Even one session is better than none.

2. Choose multi‑joint exercises (e.g., squats, lunges, push‑ups, rows) using free weights, machines or body weight. Progressive overload - gradually increasing weight or resistance - is essential for adaptation.

3. Intensity: Start with moderate intensity (60 % of one‑repetition maximum (1RM)) for 1-2 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Progress to 70-80 % of 1RM and 2-4 sets as tolerated. Older adults benefit from high‑intensity (>80 % 1RM) training for bone and muscle; however, beginners should build up gradually.

4. Rest and recovery: Allow 48 hours between sessions for each muscle group. Ensure proper warm‑up and cool‑down to reduce injury risk.

5. Combine with aerobic activity: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate‑intensity aerobic activity weekly. Combined resistance and aerobic training produced the greatest reductions in mortality and CVD. (source)

6. Functional exercises for falls prevention: Incorporate balance and coordination exercises (e.g., single‑leg stands, tandem walking, tai chi) to reduce fall risk. These complement muscle‑strengthening activities.

7. Adequate protein intake: Older adults need higher protein (1.6-2.4 g/kg body weight/day) to maximise muscle synthesis. Younger adults can start lower (1.2-2.2 g/kg body weight/day). Spread intake across meals and include high‑quality sources (fish, poultry, dairy, beans). Combining protein with resistance training enhances muscle gains.

8. Take a creatine supplement: Creatine has been associated with increased lean mass by ~1.2 kg more than training alone and improved sit‑to‑stand performance, indicating better functional ability as we age. (source)

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🛍️ Things You Might Like

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🙏 Thanks for Reading!

That’s the end of this issue of Weekly.health.

This newsletter is written by a small, independent team, led by James — who’s been following nutrition science for nearly 20 years and is now working towards a formal, industry-recognised qualification.

We’re based in England, so if you’re over the pond, you might notice a few strange spellings.

Our goal is to make cutting-edge, evidence-based nutrition advice simple, useful, and genuinely applicable to everyday life.

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📖 Glossary of Terms in This Issue (Alphabetical Order)

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