(Washington Post) – A new study pinpoints how many minutes per week of strength training might help people avoid death from conditions including heart attacks and Alzheimer’s.

The links were especially strong for cardiovascular disease and neurological conditions. The data showed that people who lifted weights, no matter how infrequently, were less likely to die from heart attacks or Alzheimer’s disease compared with people who did no resistance training.

But the scientists also zeroed in on the “Goldilocks” level of weekly lifting — the number of minutes per week that isn’t too little or too much, but just right — associated with the greatest longevity benefit overall, whether people also exercised aerobically or not. (Read More)