Research
Hormonal
Medium-term resistance exercise training (7-23 weeks) significantly reduces fasted insulin and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in adults, whereas short-term and long-term effects are less consistent or non-significant.
If your goal is to improve insulin sensitivity, aim for 7-23 weeks of consistent resistance training (2-3 times per week). This duration window appears optimal for reducing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR scores.
LimitedQualifiesLOW confidence
Medium-term RET elicited reductions in fasted insulin and insulin resistance (−0.59 (−0.97 to –0.21) µU/mL, p=0.002 and −1.22 (−2.29 to –0.15) µU/mL, p=0.02, respectively).
Why this rating
Evidence is rated 'low' or 'very low' due to heterogeneity and risk of bias.
Source
Effects of short-term, medium-term and long-term resistance exercise training on cardiometabolic health outcomes in adults: systematic review with meta-analysis
Ruth Ashton et al. · British Journal of Sports Medicine · 2018
DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098970
Meta-analysis · 173 studiesCited 241×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Medium-term (7-23 weeks) and long-term (≥24 weeks) resistance exercise training significantly reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults, with greater magnitude of benefit observed in older adults and those with elevated cardiometabolic risk.Limited
- Resistance exercise training significantly improves aerobic capacity (VO2max) across short, medium, and long-term durations, with the largest absolute improvement seen in short-term interventions.Limited
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