Research
Energy balance
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.
Incorporate resistance training into your routine to boost your aerobic capacity (VO2max). You will see improvements regardless of whether you train for 6 weeks or 6 months, with the biggest initial gains in the first 6 weeks.
LimitedSupportsLOW confidence
There was an improvement in VO2max with RET... in short-term studies (mean difference 2.07 (95% CI 0.75 to 3.39) mL/kg/min, p=0.002)... In medium-term studies... there was a significant improvement... (mean difference 1.07 (95% CI 0.38 to 1.76) mL/kg/min, p=0.002)... In long-term studies... there was a significant improvement... (mean difference 1.22 (95% CI 0.44 to 2.0) mL/kg/min, p=0.002).
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
- 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.Limited
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