Muscle Strength Linked to Longer Life in Women, New Study Finds

Getting stronger could help you live longer. That is the key finding of a large new study focused on women aged 63 to 99, which found that muscular strength is an independent and powerful predictor of how long a woman lives, regardless of how much she walks or exercises.

The research, published in JAMA Network Open in February 2026, is the largest study to date examining the link between muscle strength and longevity in older women.

Michael J. LaMonte, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo, studied the physical performance of 5,472 women aged 63 to 99, with an average age of approximately 79. Participants were followed for eight years. At the study's end, there were 1,964 deaths recorded, giving researchers a large dataset to explore the relationship between muscle strength and longevity.

The results "were a bit of a surprise," said LaMonte. Strength turned out to be a key and singular contributor to longer lives, reducing the risk of early death by a third or more, even when researchers accounted for aerobic fitness, health, age, and exercise habits.

The finding held even among women who did not meet standard exercise guidelines. Even among women who did not meet the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, those with higher muscular strength had significantly lower mortality.

In effect, if two women had similar fitness and exercise habits, which in this study was mostly walking, the woman whose muscles were stronger would typically live longer.

How to Test Muscle Strength at Home

The tests used in the study were simple and practical. Researchers tested hand grip strength and chair stand performance. Grip strength was assessed using a dynamometer measuring the dominant hand's force. Chair stand performance was measured by timing how quickly participants could stand up from a seated position five times without assistance, a standard test of lower-body strength and function. The physical performance tests were followed by seven days of accelerometer wear to record information about movement frequency and intensity.

Women with stronger grip strength and better performance on the chair stand test had a lower risk of death compared with women with weaker strength. In general, the stronger the muscles, the lower the mortality risk.

Why Muscle Strength Matters for Healthy Aging in Women

Researchers say the findings point to a gap in how strength has been treated in public health messaging, particularly for older women.

"If you don't have enough muscle strength to get up, it is going to be hard to do aerobic activities, such as walking, which is the most commonly reported recreational activity in U.S. adults ages 65 and older," LaMonte said. "Muscular strength, in many ways, enables one to move their body from one point to another, particularly when moving against gravity. Healthy aging probably is best pursued through adequate amounts of both aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activities. When we no longer can get out of the chair and move around, we are in trouble."

Brad Schoenfeld, an exercise scientist at CUNY Lehman College and expert in resistance training, said the study convincingly underscores that "having sufficient strength, in itself, is an independent factor in health and longevity."

Strength training and endurance exercise have distinct physiological effects, prompting differing changes to muscles and cells. Together, these effects probably offer the best chance of prolonged health and greater longevity, LaMonte said. His advice: "Do both."

Strength Training Tips for Older Women

The good news is that building muscle does not require expensive equipment or a gym membership. Options include conventional free weights and dumbbells, weight machines, or bodyweight exercises such as modified push-ups, wall presses, and knee bends. LaMonte noted that even using soup cans or books as resistance provides stimulus to skeletal muscles and could work for individuals for whom other options are not feasible.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that individuals over the age of 60 supplement regular aerobic exercise with at least two days of muscle-strengthening exercises per week.

Older adults beginning a new strength routine should consult a healthcare provider or physical therapist first, according to LaMonte.

Because women aged 80 and older are the fastest-growing age group in the United States, LaMonte noted that the importance of monitoring and maintaining muscular strength will have major public health implications in the coming decades.

The study was a collaboration between researchers at the University at Buffalo, the National Cancer Institute, University of California San Diego, Texas A&M University, Brown University, Stanford University, and Fred Hutch Cancer Center.