November is Movember, the month long campaign that puts men's health on the calendar (Movember Foundation, n.d.). The campaign covers mental health and common men's cancers. This post leaves screening to your doctor. It's about where strength training fits the same season. That includes muscle you can keep and the heart and blood pressure markers the research tracks. Mood shows up too, where the evidence is real but modest.
A coach in a studio can set the loads and watch how you move. They can also help you keep the sessions on the calendar. That's the setup we run in Concord and Vaughan.
Please read first. This post is general information, not medical advice. It doesn't diagnose or treat any condition. If you have chest pain, unexplained shortness of breath, a known heart condition, or another medical issue, talk to your doctor before you start a new training plan. If something hurts sharply during an exercise, stop and get medical care.
Muscle you can measure, and a simple weekly target
Muscle and strength track with real health outcomes. In the large PURE study, lower grip strength tracked with higher risk of death and of cardiovascular death. After adjustment, each 5 kg drop in grip strength went with a hazard ratio of 1.16 for death from any cause (95% CI 1.13 to 1.20) and 1.17 for cardiovascular death (1.11 to 1.24) (Leong et al., 2015). Grip is a rough proxy for overall strength, not a diagnosis. The point is that stronger people in that study tended to do better on those outcomes.
Canada's 24 Hour Movement Guidelines ask for muscle strengthening activities that work the major muscle groups at least twice a week, on top of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, n.d.; Ross et al., 2020). The American Heart Association's 2023 update on resistance training says the same twice a week idea is still underused. In US survey data the statement cites, fewer than one third of people report doing those two days (Paluch et al., 2024).
Two coached sessions a week in the studio can cover that muscle strengthening target. A coach picks the movements and sets the effort. They change the plan when a joint feels off.
What large reviews found on long term risk
A 2022 systematic review of cohort studies linked any muscle strengthening with lower risk of several major outcomes, independent of aerobic activity: about 10 to 17% lower for death from any cause, cardiovascular disease, total cancer, diabetes and lung cancer (Momma et al., 2022). The authors also saw a pattern that dips then rises for death, cardiovascular disease and total cancer, with the biggest drop around 30 to 60 minutes a week. More wasn't clearly better past that range.
Muscle strengthening and lower risk
From a 2022 review of cohort studies. Bars show how much lower the risk looked for people who did any muscle strengthening, compared with people who did none. Pick a view.
Source: Momma H, et al. Br J Sports Med 2022;56(13):755-763. Read the study. Relative risk under 1.00 means lower risk. These are observational links, not proof that lifting caused the difference. The authors rated the certainty of most of these findings as very low. A separate dose analysis pointed to about 30 to 60 minutes a week as the range with the biggest drop.
Treat those percentages as associations. The people who lift may differ in other ways the studies can't fully remove, and Momma et al. rated the certainty of most of those findings as very low. A separate 2022 meta analysis of resistance training and mortality reported a 15% lower risk of death from any cause for any resistance training versus none (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.93), with a peak reduction of about 27% near 60 minutes a week (Shailendra et al., 2022). The cardiovascular mortality result in that paper touched 1.00 at the upper end of the interval (RR 0.81, 0.66 to 1.00), so that one is less settled.
Blood pressure and heart health markers
Strength training also moves blood pressure and other heart markers. A review of 93 blood pressure trials found that dynamic resistance training, the usual free weight and machine work, lowered resting systolic pressure by about 1.8 mm Hg and diastolic by about 3.2 mm Hg on average (Cornelissen and Smart, 2013). Endurance training also lowered both. Combined training lowered diastolic pressure but didn't show a clear systolic drop in that pool. Isometric work had larger average drops, but those numbers came from only five trial groups.
Blood pressure change by training type
Average change in resting blood pressure after at least 4 weeks of training, from a review of 93 trials. Negative means lower. Pick systolic or diastolic.
Source: Cornelissen VA, Smart NA. J Am Heart Assoc 2013;2(1):e004473. Read the study. Dynamic resistance is the usual free weight and machine lifting most people mean by strength training. Combined training did not lower systolic pressure in this pool. Isometric work had the biggest average drop, but it came from only 5 trial groups, so treat that with care.
The American Heart Association's 2023 scientific statement says resistance training, alone or with aerobic work, has favourable effects on cardiovascular risk factors in people with and without cardiovascular disease, and that it's a reasonable approach when it's programmed carefully (Paluch et al., 2024). That's about risk markers. It isn't a promise that lifting alone prevents heart attacks or strokes. Canada's guidelines still want the aerobic minutes too (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, n.d.; Ross et al., 2020). If you already have high blood pressure or heart disease, get medical clearance first, then let a coach set the session.
Mood, without turning this into a depression post
Resistance training also shows up in depression research. A 2018 meta analysis of 33 randomized trials (1,877 people) found a moderate average reduction in depressive symptoms with resistance exercise (Hedges' g 0.66, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.83). That 0.66 is a standardized effect size, not a percent drop. The number needed to treat was 4. Trials that blinded allocation or assessment showed a smaller effect (0.56), which is the fairer number to remember (Gordon et al., 2018). The trials were mixed sex, so this isn't a men-only finding.
That's about symptom scores in research settings. It isn't a claim that lifting treats depression in men, or that it replaces therapy or medication. For the fuller depression evidence, including how exercise compared with therapy and medication in a 2026 Cochrane review, read our posts on exercise for depression and the mental health benefits of regular exercise. Movember's mental health message still matters. This post just keeps the focus on supervised strength work.
What a Movember training week can look like here
You don't need a special Movember program. You need sessions you will keep.
Build a strength week you can keep
The Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines call for muscle strengthening at least twice a week. Slide how many coached sessions you can book, then check the boxes that match your week.
Guideline: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines (official title shortened). Read the guideline. The American Heart Association notes that fewer than one third of people in the US report doing the recommended 2 days a week of resistance training (Paluch et al., 2024). Book a class at innerg.ca/book-your-class.
- Get medical care first if you have heart symptoms or a known condition. Chest pain or a recent cardiac event means you talk to your doctor before you load a barbell. The same goes for unexplained fainting.
- Book two strength days you can actually make. Morning and early evening both work. We are open weekdays 5:45 AM to 8 PM and weekends 8:30 AM to 4 PM, with parking on site.
- Tell the coach what feels off. Old shoulder, cranky knee, long gap since you lifted. They will adjust on the spot.
- Cover the major muscle groups across the week. That means legs and back, plus chest, shoulders, arms and core. That matches the guideline language.
- Add conditioning if you want, not instead of lifting. Short conditioning pieces sit beside strength work in our classes. They aren't a substitute for the strength sets.
- Keep protein and sleep in the mix. If nutrition support would help, see our nutrition coaching in Vaughan.
Come lift in the studio with a coach in Vaughan
Start with our small group classes. Classes are capped at 16 people, so a coach can see how you move. The studio is at 11-411 Confederation Pkwy, 2nd floor, Vaughan.
If you want more attention on your plan, look at personal training in Vaughan. We also offer one on one training focused on balance and strength.
Try the $30 seven day trial (+ HST). Join by day 5 and your $30 is credited toward your membership. Call (289) 536-8066 or email g-squad@innerg.ca.
References
- Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. (n.d.). Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults 18-64 (official title shortened). https://csepguidelines.ca/guidelines/adults-18-64/
- Cornelissen, V. A., & Smart, N. A. (2013). Exercise training for blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Heart Association, 2(1), e004473. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.112.004473 | PubMed
- Gordon, B. R., McDowell, C. P., Hallgren, M., Meyer, J. D., Lyons, M., & Herring, M. P. (2018). Association of efficacy of resistance exercise training with depressive symptoms: meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis of randomized clinical trials. JAMA Psychiatry, 75(6), 566-576. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.0572 | PubMed | PMC
- Leong, D. P., Teo, K. K., Rangarajan, S., Lopez-Jaramillo, P., Avezum, A., Orlandini, A., Seron, P., Ahmed, S. H., Rosengren, A., Kelishadi, R., Rahman, O., Swaminathan, S., Iqbal, R., Gupta, R., Lear, S. A., Oguz, A., Yusoff, K., Zatonska, K., Chifamba, J., ... Yusuf, S. (2015). Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. The Lancet, 386(9990), 266-273. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62000-6 | PubMed
- Momma, H., Kawakami, R., Honda, T., & Sawada, S. S. (2022). Muscle-strengthening activities are associated with lower risk and mortality in major non-communicable diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56(13), 755-763. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-105061 | PubMed | PMC
- Movember Foundation. (n.d.). Movember Canada (campaign home; used only for what Movember is and that it runs in November). https://ca.movember.com/
- Paluch, A. E., Boyer, W. R., Franklin, B. A., Laddu, D., Lobelo, F., Lee, D. C., McDermott, M. M., Swift, D. L., Webel, A. R., & Lane, A. (2024). Resistance exercise training in individuals with and without cardiovascular disease: 2023 update: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 149(3), e217-e231. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001189 | PubMed | PMC
- Ross, R., Chaput, J. P., Giangregorio, L. M., Janssen, I., Saunders, T. J., Kho, M. E., Poitras, V. J., Tomasone, J. R., El-Kotob, R., McLaughlin, E. C., Duggan, M., Carrier, J., Carson, V., Chastin, S. F., Latimer-Cheung, A. E., Chulak-Bozzer, T., Faulkner, G., Flood, S. M., Gazendam, M. K., ... Tremblay, M. S. (2020). Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 18-64 years and Adults aged 65 years or older: an integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep (official title shortened). Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 45(10 Suppl. 2), S57-S102. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2020-0467 | PubMed
- Shailendra, P., Baldock, K. L., Li, L. S. K., Bennie, J. A., & Boyle, T. (2022). Resistance training and mortality risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 63(2), 277-285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2022.03.020 | PubMed