We all know we should exercise more. But which kind of exercise? For how long? How hard?
If you feel overwhelmed by conflicting advice about the “right” way to train, you’re not alone. The good news is that the world’s leading sports medicine organisation has just released new, landmark guidelines and the message is clear and encouraging!
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) published its new Position Stand on resistance training in March 2026 — the first major update in 17 years. Based on 137 systematic reviews involving more than 30,000 participants, it’s the most comprehensive evidence-based guidance on strength training ever produced.
The central message is wonderfully simple: any resistance training is better than none.
What do the new guidelines actually say?
For a long time resistance training advice has been wrapped up in rules, numbers and strict prescriptions: Three sets of ten at 70% of your one rep max (1RM). Rest exactly 90 seconds. Vary your periodisation. For some it made going to the gym feel more like a science experiment.
The new ACSM Position Stand cuts through all of that though. Rather than issuing a rigid set of rules, it synthesises the latest research and draws a refreshingly practical conclusion: the most meaningful gains come from moving away from doing no resistance training to doing some resistance training. What that looks like is up to you.
One of the most important shifts in the 2026 Position Stand is what it says about what doesn’t matter as much as we once thought. And that’s a long list.
Training to complete muscular failure? Not necessary. Specific time under tension? Minimal independent impact. Nor does it make a significant difference which periodisation model you follow, so long as you’re progressively overloading your muscles over time.
What does matter is showing up.
Stuart M. Phillips, PhD, distinguished professor at McMaster University and lead author of the Position Stand, put it plainly: “The best resistance training program is the one you’ll actually stick with.”
This is a significant and liberating shift.
For years, the fitness industry has been awash with the idea that there is a perfect programme out there, and that deviation from it means wasted effort. The evidence now tells us otherwise.
Personal goals, enjoyment and long-term adherence matter most. If you love lifting barbells, great. If you prefer resistance bands at home, equally great. If bodyweight exercises are what works for your schedule, those work too.
The guidelines do however have some recommendations specifically if your goals are building strength, hypertrophy (gaining muscle size) or power:
- For strength – Using heavier loads, such as training at or above around 80% of your 1 rep max consistently, produces the best results.
- That means a weight heavy enough that you could only squeeze another 2 repetitions if you really had to (you should feel pretty tired at the end!)
- For building hypertrophy – It’s less about how heavy you lift and more about the total amount of training you do (they recommend aiming for about 10 sets per muscle group)
- For power – Using moderate loads combined with fast, deliberate movement are most effective.
You don’t need a gym
One of the most welcome findings in the new guidelines is the clear recognition that meaningful results don’t require a gym membership or a room full of expensive equipment. Elastic bands, bodyweight exercises and home-based routines all produce measurable improvements in strength, muscle size and functional performance.
This is particularly important for older adults, people with limited mobility, those with busy schedules, or anyone who has felt that strength training simply isn’t accessible to them. The evidence says otherwise. You can get strong at home. You can get strong with very little equipment. The key is that you do it consistently.
What does this mean for you in practice?
Performed regularly — ideally two to three times per week — and targeting all major muscle groups, strength training has been shown to:
- Increase muscle mass and strength
- Improve functional ability and physical performance
- Support healthy body composition
- Help prevent chronic diseases including osteoporosis, heart disease and type 2 diabetes
- Improve energy levels, sleep quality and mood
- Support independence as we age
The 2026 ACSM guidelines don’t change what strength training can do for us. They just make it clearer that the path to these benefits is far more flexible than previously thought.
You don’t need the perfect programme. You need a programme — one you enjoy, that challenges you progressively over time, and that you can sustain for the long term.
The bottom line
For 17 years, the science has been building. Now, with 137 systematic reviews and over 30,000 participants behind it, the evidence has never been clearer. Resistance training — in whatever form you choose — is one of the most powerful things you can do for your health.
The best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is now.
So whether it’s a barbell in the gym, a set of resistance bands in your living room, or a bodyweight circuit in your garden (or our free Beginner or Intermediate Strength Training programmes) — find something you enjoy, train your major muscle groups at least twice a week, and keep showing up, and Keep Strong!
References
- Currier, B.S., D’Souza, A.C., Fiatarone Singh, M.A., Lowisz, C., Rawson, E.S., Schoenfeld, B.J., Smith-Ryan, A.E., Steen, J.P., Thomas, G.A., Triplett, N.T., Washington, T.A., Werner, T.J. & Phillips, S.M. (2026). American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand: Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 58(4), 851–872. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000003897
- McMaster University (2026). Consistency over perfection, new resistance-training guidelines say. EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1119943
- Currier, B., McLeod, J.C., Banfield, L., Beyene, J., Welton, N., D’Souza, A.C. & Phillips, S.M. (2023). Resistance training prescription for muscle strength and hypertrophy in healthy adults: A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(18), 1211–1220.
