Reduce your biological age by eight years as scientists recommend the best exercise to do three times a week

LIFTING weights can make your body years younger, says a new study.

US scientists found that three one-hour strength training sessions a week could shave up to eight years off your biological age.

1

Chronological age is simply how long you've been alive, while biological age reflects the health of your cells - essentially, how fast your body is wearing out.

While weightlifting has long been praised for improving bone and muscle health, this study of 4,800 participants revealed those who hit the weights had a lower biological age.

The NHS recommends that adults should be active every day and undertake 150 minutes of moderately intense activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week.

It also suggests strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups, including the legs, back and abdomen, at least two days a week.

Read more on weight lifting

LIFT THIS

Don’t be scared of weights - here’s 6 ways to get toned muscles whatever your age

WEIGHT A SEC

Weightlifting for just 3 SECONDS a day is enough to build muscle, study finds

The study, published in the journal Biology, suggested strength training helped participants maintain longer telomeres - the protective caps on your DNA that naturally shrink with age.

Longer telomeres are tied to better health and longer life, and weightlifting seems to slow the ageing process at the cellular level

Larry Tucker, a professor in exercise sciences at Brigham Young University in the US, conducted the study and said the work shows a strong correlation, but cannot prove that weightlifting causes longer telomeres.

"Correlation does not mean causation. We can’t say that the lifting caused biological age to decrease," he told .

Most read in Health

PILL AWARE

Nurse blamed aching muscles on work - but it was clot triggered by common drug

SPOT SIGNS

Man, 34, with incurable bowel cancer shares 2 symptoms he shouldn’t have ignored

DRUG ALERT

Warning as paracetamol found to raise risk of life-threatening conditions

ORGASM GAP

Scientists discover the secret of the female orgasm - and reveal how to climax

"All kinds of strength exercises were counted and all types of exercise seem to be associated with longer telomeres."

People in the study who lifted weights most often had telomeres that contained about 225 more pieces of DNA than those who did not lift weights.

"The findings showed that for every ten minutes spent on strength training per week, telomeres were 6.7 base pairs longer, on average," the study states.

"Therefore, 90 minutes per week of strength training was predictive of telomeres that were 60.3 base pairs longer, on average.

"Because each year of chronological age was associated with telomeres that were 15.47 base pairs shorter in this national sample, 90 minutes per week of strength training was associated with 3.9 years less biological ageing, on average.

"This interpretation suggests that an hour of strength training three times per week (180 total minutes) was associated with 7.8 years less biological ageing."

The scientists say weight training may be good for a person’s health and life expectancy because it tackles obesity, but it also reverses muscle loss, increases metabolism, and boosts cardiovascular health.

"By reducing the effects of chronic disease and metabolic risk factors, resistance training appears to slow the biological ageing process and reduce cell senescence, which is evidenced by longer telomeres," Professor Tucker writes.

The 10 things you can do everyday to live longer – and they only take a few minutes

WHEN it comes to ageing well, making big changes like overhauling your diet and quitting smoking might seem like the only way to achieve that.

But small tweaks that only take a matter of minutes each day can be very effective too.

Global fitness expert from the women's fitness programme Curves told Sun Health that we tend to underestimate the effect of small, daily habits on our health as we've been conditioned to believe "that improving our well-being demands too much time and effort".

Instead, we should all be embracing what the fitness expert called 'micro habits'.

These are easy and quick actions that can contribute to a longer and healthier life if you make a point of sticking to them, she claimed.

Best of all, they'll take just minutes out of your day.

From taking a power nap to calling a friend, Joanna shared 10 habits that you can do in under 10 minutes that can help you live longer.

1. Taking a power nap

2. Have a digital detox

3. Prep healthy snacks

4. Journal away your stress

5. Call a friend

6. Take a brisk walk

7. Stay hydrated

8. Meditate for your mood

9. Stretch daily

10. Lift some weights

For a deeper delve into each tip, read more here.