No one can completely stop the clock, but new research shows that exercise is one of the most accessible, affordable, and effective anti-aging strategies.
Key Points:
- ≥150 mins/week of cardio preserves telomeres and slows cell aging.
- Strength training boosts health but has less impact on telomeres.
- Combining cardio & strength offers the best anti-aging benefits.
If you’ve ever dreamed you’ve had a fountain of youth, I’ve got some good news for you.
And no, it doesn’t involve any magical elixir. It’s something you can do right now: exercise.
According to a new research review, exercise is one of the best things you can do to slow cell aging.
In this article, I’ll explain the whats and hows in an easy-to-understand way.
Telomewhat? Telomere & Telomerase 101: A 2-Minute Crash Course
Telomeres and telomerase are two molecular markers linked to slower biological aging.
- Telomeres are protective “shoelace tips” on your DNA.
- Telomerase is an enzyme that protects those tips.
Every time your cells divide, your telomeres get a little bit shorter.
If they get too short, your cells can run into a hard time dividing properly, leading to faster aging, like a countdown clock to old biological age.
Fortunately, your telomeres can get help from a friendly enzyme called telomerase. Its job is to help maintain the length of your telomeres.
High telomerase activity is generally good for slowing down telomere shortening and, in turn, cell aging.
Simple Summary
Short telomeres = rapidly aging cells. Longer telomeres = slowly aging cells.
Of course, it’s much more complex than that, but if you know those two things, you have the gist of it.
Your genetics and diet are two big factors that can affect your telomeres and telomerase activity. More and more research suggests that exercise also has a big impact.
You can’t change your genetics, but you can control your diet and training. And two out of three ain’t bad.
When diet and exercise work together, they often create a powerful 1+1=3 effect on your health.
New Study: Can You Run Away from Aging?
A new systematic review and meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Physiology crunched data from 16 randomized controlled trials with nearly 2,000 people.1
The researchers looked at how exercise influences telomere length and telomerase activity.
They looked at all sorts of exercise:
- Aerobic exercise like running, swimming, or cycling.
- Strength training: barbells, machines, resistance bands, and so on.
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT), meaning bursts of all-out effort alternated with rest.
- A mix of aerobic and resistance training.
They found that regular exercise keeps telomeres long and boosts telomerase activity.
So, while your couch-potato friends might have their telomeres slowly fraying, your workout habits are actively protecting yours.
Simple Summary
Exercise keeps your cellular countdown clock from ticking down too fast.
Cardio vs. Strength Training: What Exercise Is Best for Anti-Aging?
When it comes to keeping the shoelaces of your cells happy, not all exercise is created equal.
- Aerobic exercise was the clear winner for boosting telomerase activity. Getting your heart rate up with brisk walking, running, rowing, cycling, or swimming on the regular is a surefire way to keep your cells happy.
- High-intensity interval training showed promise for maintaining telomere length. However, the researchers were cautious because only one study looked at HIIT specifically = more research is needed.
- Strength training on its own didn’t significantly affect telomere length or telomerase activity in this analysis.
Try the Strength Training Program for Runners free in StrengthLog.
But before you trade your squat rack for a treadmill, the reason the researchers didn’t find much on resistance training might simply be that there are only a few studies, and they all used different training programs.
For example, one study with 4,814 U.S. adults found that just 90 minutes of strength training per week was linked to an average of 3.9 years less biological aging.2 In addition, regular strength training was strongly associated with longer telomeres and slower biological aging.
So, the pooled results (or lack of them) in this meta-analysis don’t mean lifting weights is not good for you, but the evidence isn’t as strong when it comes to your telomeres as it is for cardio.
Strength training offers a number of health benefits, from stronger bones to improved heart health to better sleep to increased mobility and flexibility.
Read more about the benefits of strength training in this article, which lists 20 of the top ones.
It’s also the most important type of exercise for seniors. It allows you to use your body as you get older, which we all inevitably do, telomere lengths notwithstanding.
So, even if it turns out weight training doesn’t do much for your telomeres, you definitely want to keep lifting for healthy aging anyway.
Simple Summary
Cardio is the most effective exercise for slowing down cellular aging, but high-intensity interval training also has potential.
The jury is out on strength training but lifting offers many other benefits for healthy aging.
Women Might Benefit Even More
The study also found a trend suggesting that women might get a slightly bigger telomere-preserving bang for their buck from exercise than men.
That could be through the effects of the hormone estrogen and how it affects the cellular repair process.
The evidence is suggestive, not conclusive; that’s why it’s a “might.”
Learn everything you need to know about strength training for women in our in-depth but easy-to-read guide.
What This Means for You
Let’s cut to the chase. You want to know what to do with all this info.
Here’s a cheat sheet based on the study’s findings.
Get Your Cardio In
Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week (60–75% of your max heart rate).
Incidentally, that’s also how much physical exercise the World Health Organization and the CDC consider the minimum amount for health.
This new study also suggests that you need to keep it up for at least 16 weeks to see the benefits.
Consider HIIT
If you’re short on time and up for a challenge, consider adding in some HIIT sessions.
Sixteen weeks of HIIT training, 60 minutes or more per week at a high intensity (80–90% of your max heart rate), is what the study points to.
Remember, this is based on limited evidence for now, but HIIT is good for your cardiovascular health anyway, so you’re not wasting your sweat.
Mix It Up
Mixing strength and aerobic training is not just a good idea; it’s recommended as a “comprehensive strategy,” according to the study.
You get the proven telomerase-boosting benefits from cardio, plus the myriad other benefits of strength training.
That’s a win-win for your muscles and your cells.
Frequently Asked Questions About Exercise, Aging, and Telomeres
Exercise doesn’t reverse your chronological age, but it can slow biological aging at the cellular level.
This meta-analysis found that you need to exercise at least 16 weeks to have significant effects on telomeres. For best results, make exercise a life-long habit.
This study found that aerobic exercise had the best effect on protecting telomeres. However, strength training maintains muscle mass, bone density, and functional independence as you age, so a combination is your best strategy.
Yes. If you walk fast enough to raise your heart rate, every minute logs to the telomere bank.
Not at all. Telomeres respond to lifestyle changes at any age.
Start preserving your telomeres: get the StrengthLog workout tracker free on iOS & Android.
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Final Rep
By getting your heart pumping and challenging your muscles, you’re doing your body a favor all the way down to your DNA.
When I started training 37 years ago, it was mainly to look better. Now, at 51, healthy aging is becoming more and more important (although looking at least halfway decent is still a big plus).
Long and happy telomeres are not only linked to slower aging but also to lower risk of chronic diseases and better immunity.3
You might not be able to stop the clock, but you can wind it up again, and exercise is like a cellular power-up to stay young and healthy from the inside out.
Last reviewed: 2025-07-14.
References
- Front. Physiol., 26 June 2025. Exercise delays aging: evidence from telomeres and telomerase —a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
- Biology 2024, 13(11), 883. Telomere Length and Biological Aging: The Role of Strength Training in 4814 US Men and Women.
- J Infect Dis. 2015 Mar 31;212(8):1261–1269. Telomere Length as an Indicator of the Robustness of B- and T-Cell Response to Influenza in Older Adults.
