After the January rush of motivation, most people simply give up on their new-year-new-me fitness goals. But those that persist and stick with it are likely to see some noticeable results.

Take running, for instance. When someone who’s unfit or overweight starts running and keeps up with it for a little time, they may see some quick results. But after a few months, most people start to hit a plateau — both in performance, and in physical improvement. In fact, a new study suggests that running doesn’t help you lose a lot of weight long term. However, it does keep you healthy and prevents you from gaining fat long-term.

“Our data clearly shows that lifelong running exercise, be it long-distance or repeated short-distance sprinting, maintains lower fat mass levels than a typical physically active lifestyle and also more than participating in competitive strength sports.” says Dr. Simon Walker, a Docent in Exercise Physiology from the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences.  

The researcher added that this is excellent motivation for himself as a runner.

“Absolutely this result motivates me to continue running. I’d certainly be happy with a fat percentage of 16–18% when I’m in my 70s and 80s”, continues Dr. Walker. 

The best of both worlds

The study involved 109 participants aged 20-39, 147 participants competitive male athletes aged 70-89, as well as 147 healthy age-matched controls. The athletes were separated by their focus (on strength, sprint, and long-distance running). Researchers assessed the body composition of all participants (fat mass, muscle mass, etc).

The study made several important findings. For starters, individuals participating in lifelong resistance training maintained their muscle mass much better than those participating sprinting. In addition, the older strength trainers had a similar amount of muscle mass as their young counterparts. Also, people who engaged in lifelong running had less fat than other participants.

So, if you want to get the best of both worlds, you need to get involved in both worlds. Essentially, in order to maintain a higher muscle mass and a lower fat mass, the best approach is doing both strength and resistance training.

“In terms of enhancing body composition through both heightened muscle mass and maintenance of a non-health affecting fat mass, it seems that a combined approach is recommendable.”

“We know that both tissues, fat and muscle, influence overall health and function opposingly. Therefore, the best strategy would be to optimize both.”  

A balanced approach

However, there are limits to what exercise alone can achieve. All older athlete groups showed higher average fat mass than the young groups, suggesting that you need more than just exercise to keep fat under control.

Nevertheless, this research shows just how much physical activity matters in remaining healthy as one ages.

“The key is perhaps to prevent a rise in fat mass or loss in muscle mass in the first place and maintain exercise throughout the lifespan. Thus, lifelong engagement in regular exercise does help to maintain a healthy body composition. That is no myth.” 

There are some limitations to the study. For starters, it’s a pretty small sample size. All the study participants were also all males, although Walker says he expects the findings to carry over to everyone just as well.

“While we studied males only, I see no reason why our results would not be applicable for females too, especially considering the effects of menopause and other age-related effects.” 

Plenty of different studies have highlighted the beneficial effect of endurance and strength training. Different types of exercise help in different ways, but the overarching theme is clear: a balanced approach to physical activity is crucial for long-term health and fitness. Incorporating a mix of endurance and strength training can help individuals achieve a healthier body composition, improve cardiovascular health, and maintain mobility as they age.

The study was published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.