Strength training two to three days a week

Compared with walking, strength training often feels like something for people who go to the gym. Yet Japan’s national guideline recommends it for all adults. Let’s look at what it actually says.

What we know

The Physical Activity and Exercise Guide for Health Promotion 2023, published by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, sets out several targets for adults:

• At least 60 minutes a day of physical activity at walking intensity or higher, roughly equivalent to 8,000 steps a day or more.
• Strength training two to three days a week.
• Avoiding long periods of sitting.

In other words, the guideline treats walking and strength training as separate pillars. Even if you are increasing your steps, strength training is something to plan for on its own.

The guide is an official recommendation that experts drew up from a large body of research. It is not the result of a single experiment. It is best read as a summary of current knowledge, expressed as a practical target.

How to read it

This article relies only on what the guideline states. What we can say is that Japan’s health ministry recommends strength training two to three days a week for adults.

It is just as important to be clear about what we cannot say. In the research we reviewed, we did not find studies linking strength training directly to income or job performance. Surveys in the United States and Germany show that people who exercise tend to earn more, but those studies looked at exercise in general, not strength training in particular. So we cannot claim that strength training improves your career.

Also, “two to three days a week” is a frequency target. It does not set out specific weights or exercises. The right approach depends on your fitness, age and health. If you have back or knee pain, or a condition under treatment, check with your doctor before you begin.

Read the other way, a target of two to three days also means you do not need to train every day. Rest days are built in, which makes it a realistic goal to keep.

This national target is also why UPSHIFT includes the habit “Did strength training.” Stretching was an earlier candidate, but we found almost no research linking it to income or productivity, so we replaced it with strength training. A habit with a clear target also makes your record easier to interpret.

A small step for today

You do not need a gym. Plenty of strength exercises can be done at home.

• Pick your days. Deciding in advance, for example “Tuesday and Friday evenings,” makes it easier to remember.
• Start with one exercise. Squats, or push-ups with your hands against a wall, need no equipment.
• Keep the reps modest. Stop before it gets too hard, while you still feel like doing it again.

On the days you train, log “Did strength training” in the app. Two sessions in a week reaches the lower end of the national target. On other days, “Moved for 5+ minutes” lets you record everyday movement such as walking and standing.

A small promise you can keep matters more than a perfect plan. Start by making this week’s first session happen.

Sources

• [A8] Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan (2024) Physical Activity and Exercise Guide for Health Promotion 2023.