Imagine a treatment that slashes your risk of dying from cancer, heart disease and diabetes — one that also fortifies your immune system, strengthens your body and even extends your lifespan. Now imagine that this treatment is free, accessible to nearly everyone and is not decades away from being developed. 

This isn’t some yet-to-be-invented treatment. We already have it, and it’s called muscle.

We’ve always been told that aerobic exercise like jogging or cycling are the cornerstone of health, whereas lifting weights is mainly reserved for athletes and bodybuilders, only meant for building brute strength and good looks. But resistance training goes far beyond aesthetics — it’s the key to vitality. Science has proven that muscle mass is one of the strongest predictors of longevity and survivability against nearly any disease. 

So why aren’t we talking about it more?

Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence, resistance training is hardly considered an option for disease prevention and longevity. If you went to the doctor for your cancer treatment and they prescribed you a gym membership, you would probably think they’d lost their mind. But the truth is, muscle isn’t just for supporting our bones so that we can move — it’s the key to warding off disease, accelerating recovery and living a longer, better life. 

One powerful example of this is how muscle helps regulate blood sugar and protects against Type 2 diabetes. Glucose is your body’s main source of energy, and your muscles are where most of it goes after you eat. For people with Type 2 diabetes, muscle cells become resistant to insulin, causing glucose to build up in the bloodstream. But resistance training can counteract this — muscle contraction itself stimulates glucose uptake independent of insulin. Simply put: more muscle means better blood sugar control. 

The benefits of muscle extend far beyond metabolic health: resistance training plays a critical role in cancer prevention and survivability. Engaging in resistance training before a cancer diagnosis gives individuals a critical “head start.” The more muscle you build early on, the more your body can afford to lose before essential bodily functions (metabolism, mobility and immune response) are compromised. This matters especially for patients undergoing chemotherapy, which accelerates muscle loss. 

Even after a cancer diagnosis, resistance training is crucial. Cancer cachexia — a syndrome of extreme muscle wasting — affects up to 80% of cancer patients and contributes to over 25% of cancer-related deaths. There’s currently no FDA-approved pharmacological treatment for it. 

This is where resistance training becomes especially valuable. During muscle contraction, muscles release proteins called myokines that modulate the immune system throughout the body. One particularly promising myokine, irisin — most effectively stimulated by resistance training — may induce cancer cell death, reduce the spread of malignant cells and make tumors more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs. Resistance training has also been shown to decrease myostatin, a protein that inhibits muscle growth and is often elevated in cachexia, and increase inhibitors of myostatin. Together, these adaptations not only promote muscle preservation and growth but may also counteract the muscle-wasting effects of cancer. Given its potential impact, incorporating resistance training into cancer care isn’t just helpful — it’s essential. 

And the benefits don’t stop there. Resistance training reduces major cardiovascular disease risk factors, increases bone mineral density, prevents progression of Alzheimer’s disease, reverses aging factors, enhances mental health and lowers risk of all-cause mortality. 

So, what are we waiting for?

I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t have the time to work out.” As college students juggling classes, jobs, internships and social lives, finding an hour for the gym can feel impossible. And let’s be honest, the gym is intimidating. Not knowing what you’re doing, worrying that everyone’s judging you — those nerves are real. For women especially, there’s the additional barrier: the societal discomfort with strong, muscular women that makes the weight room feel even more unwelcoming. 

Trust me, I’ve been there, standing at my door debating if I have the confidence today to step into an overcrowded gym. But after two and a half years of weightlifting, I can tell you: the hardest part is showing up. Once you’re done, there’s this undeniable feeling of accomplishment that stays with you. And beyond the physical changes, I’ve noticed something deeper — paired with better nutrition, I’m genuinely happier, less fatigued and more present in my daily life than I ever was before I picked up a barbell.

Dedicating time for exercise isn’t always easy. But the reality is, if you don’t make time for your health now, you’ll be forced to make time for illness later. Chronic diseases demand so much more, physically and emotionally and especially in terms of time. When your health is compromised and you’re thinking back to what you could have done to prevent this from happening, you’ll have wished you took action sooner. 

We have the evidence. We have the tools. And we don’t need a prescription. Resistance training isn’t just about looking strong, it’s about staying alive. It’s time we stop treating muscle as a frivolous luxury and start recognizing it as the powerful medicine it truly is.

Sophia Sachs is a fourth-year cell and molecular biology major. They can be reached at [email protected].

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