Strength training includes muscle-strengthening activity, resistance exercise and gym-based training, but those measures are not interchangeable. The statistics below distinguish federal guideline adherence from reported participation, describe U.S. populations and measurement periods, and identify where results are estimates or self-reported surveys.
Key Strength Training Statistics
The following figures summarize the most useful measures across participation, equipment, facilities and age groups:
- In 2020, 35.2% of U.S. men aged 18 and older met the federal muscle-strengthening guideline of at least two sessions per week.
- In 2020, 26.9% of U.S. women aged 18 and older met the federal muscle-strengthening guideline.
- In a 2009 U.S. HealthStyles sample, 31.7% of adults reported muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days per week.
- In the same 2009 sample, 6.0% reported strength training at least two days weekly while covering all seven major muscle groups.
- In 2020, 44.5% of U.S. men aged 18–44 met the muscle-strengthening guideline.
- In 2020, 17.2% of U.S. women aged 65 and older met the muscle-strengthening guideline.
- In combined 2022 and 2024 data, 55.3% of U.S. women aged 18–44 reported no muscle-strengthening activity.
- In combined 2022 and 2024 data, 41.2% of U.S. women aged 18–44 with graduate education reported sufficient muscle-strengthening activity.
- In 2009, 69.0% of U.S. participants who strength-trained at least twice weekly reported home as a training location.
- In 2009, 58.3% of U.S. participants who strength-trained at least twice weekly reported handheld or free weights.
- In 2024, 77 million people were members of U.S. fitness facilities, according to an HFA consumer-report estimate.
- In 2024, 32.1% of U.S. fitness-facility members trained with dumbbells or free weights.
- In 2024, 22.6% of U.S. fitness-facility members worked with a personal trainer.
- In 2022, 13.9% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older met both federal aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines.
- In 2022, 6.2% of U.S. community-dwelling adults aged 85 and older met both federal guidelines.
- In combined 2022 and 2024 data, 33.4% of U.S. women aged 18–44 with a bachelor’s degree met both aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines.
Contents
- Key Strength Training Statistics
- Strength Training Participation and Guideline Adherence
- Strength Training Trends by Age, Sex, Race and Education
- Equipment, Locations and Weekly Frequency
- Gym Membership, Equipment Use and Coaching
- Older Adults and Strength Training Outcomes
- Women and Youth Participation Patterns
Strength Training Participation and Guideline Adherence
The federal muscle-strengthening guideline is frequency-based: adults meet it by performing qualifying activity on at least two days per week. That outcome is different from measuring intensity, exercise selection or whether all major muscle groups were trained.
| Population and period | Reported result | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. men age 18+, 2020 | 35.2% | Met muscle-strengthening guideline |
| U.S. women age 18+, 2020 | 26.9% | Met muscle-strengthening guideline |
| U.S. adults, 2009 HealthStyles | 31.7% | Strengthened muscles at least two days weekly |
| U.S. adults, 2009 HealthStyles | 6.0% | Trained at least twice weekly and covered seven major muscle groups |
Source: CDC QuickStats, National Health Interview Survey, 2020 and Muscle-Strengthening Activities and Participation Among Adults in the United States.
The 2009 HealthStyles study also found that 5.5% met both the muscle-strengthening and aerobic 2008 guideline standards, while 0.3% met the muscle-strengthening standard but not the aerobic standard. These are self-reported measures using 2008 definitions, and the study did not assess intensity, which may overestimate guideline-level activity.
The 2018 HHS evidence review provides program guidance rather than population prevalence. It says one set of 8–12 repetitions is effective for increasing muscular strength and identifies 60%–80% of one-repetition maximum as a progressive high-intensity range that can preserve or increase skeletal muscle mass, strength and power.
Source: 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report.
Strength Training Trends by Age, Sex, Race and Education
CDC data show a consistent age gradient in the share meeting the muscle-strengthening guideline. In 2020, adherence among U.S. men fell from 44.5% at ages 18–44 to 29.9% at ages 45–64 and 22.0% at age 65 or older; among women, it fell from 34.1% to 23.8% and 17.2%, respectively.
| Group | 18–44 | 45–64 | 65+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. men, 2020 | 44.5% | 29.9% | 22.0% |
| U.S. women, 2020 | 34.1% | 23.8% | 17.2% |
Source: CDC QuickStats, National Health Interview Survey, 2020. Percentages are self-reported leisure-time activity estimates.
For U.S. women aged 18–44, combined 2022 and 2024 CDC data show major differences by education and race or ethnicity:
- Sufficient activity, defined as at least two sessions weekly, was reported by 41.2% of women with graduate education and 18.3% of women with less than a high-school education.
- Sufficient activity was reported by 33.1% of non-Hispanic White women and 26.4% of non-Hispanic Asian women.
- Among women aged 18–44, 50.5% of those aged 18–24 reported no muscle-strengthening activity.
Source: Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age — United States, 2022 and 2024. The figures are combined cross-sectional NHIS estimates and self-reported leisure-time activity.
Equipment, Locations and Weekly Frequency
Among U.S. adults who strength-trained at least twice weekly in 2009, reported frequency and equipment use showed that strength training was not limited to commercial gyms.
| Reported feature | Share of participants | Period and population |
|---|---|---|
| Two to three training days weekly | 51.1% | U.S. participants, 2009 |
| Four to five training days weekly | 36.7% | U.S. participants, 2009 |
| Six to seven training days weekly | 12.2% | U.S. participants, 2009 |
| Home as a location | 69.0% | U.S. participants, 2009 |
| For-profit fitness center as a location | 23.1% | U.S. participants, 2009 |
Source: Muscle-Strengthening Activities and Participation Among Adults in the United States. Equipment and location responses were not mutually exclusive.
The most commonly reported equipment or methods were handheld or free weights at 58.3%, calisthenics at 54.6%, weight machines at 40.1% and resistance bands at 24.2%. Among people training six to seven days weekly, 81.3% reported home as a location and 21.0% reported outdoors; that subgroup was small and responses could overlap.
Muscle-group selection also varied. Arms were used by 85.4% of twice-weekly-or-more participants in a usual week, followed by abdomen exercises at 75.3% and leg exercises at 72.7%; shoulder exercises were reported by 72.1% of men and 49.6% of women.
Gym Membership, Equipment Use and Coaching
HFA’s 2024 rolling 12-month consumer survey provides a current view of fitness-facility reach, but it does not measure adult strength-training prevalence or prove a causal trend. Its population includes people aged six and older and uses report-specific definitions for members and customers.
| HFA measure | 2024 result | Definition or comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness-facility members | 77 million | U.S. estimate |
| Total customers | Nearly 96 million | Broader customer categories |
| Membership growth | 5.6% | Year over year |
| Membership penetration | 24.9% | U.S. population age 6+ |
| Customer penetration | 31.0% | U.S. population age 6+ |
Source: HFA, How 77 Million Fitness Members Work Out.
Among U.S. fitness-facility members in 2024, 32.1% trained with dumbbells or free weights, while 26.6% used resistance machines. Machine use was 31.4% in 2021, although cross-year comparability depends on survey design and neither figure is equivalent to meeting the federal guideline.
Coaching was also common in the HFA measure: 22.6% of members worked with a personal trainer and 32.3% participated in small-group training in 2024. The average member completed 21 personal-training sessions in 2024, compared with 28 in 2019; women’s personal-training participation increased 15.9% to 7.3 million participants in 2024.
Older Adults and Strength Training Outcomes
The 2022 National Health Interview Survey measured the combined outcome of meeting both aerobic and muscle-strengthening federal guidelines among U.S. community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older. It excludes institutionalized populations and relies on self-reported leisure-time activity.
| Older-adult group, 2022 | Met both guidelines |
|---|---|
| All adults age 65+ | 13.9% |
| Age 65–74 | 16.8% |
| Age 75–84 | 12.3% |
| Age 85+ | 6.2% |
| Men age 65+ | 16.9% |
| Women age 65+ | 11.5% |
The same report found that 15.2% of non-Hispanic White adults, 10.2% of non-Hispanic Black adults and 10.3% of Hispanic adults aged 65 and older met both guidelines. The combined outcome should not be read as a strength-only prevalence measure.
Education and income were also associated with different reported rates. Among adults aged 65 and older, 25.6% with a bachelor’s degree or higher met both guidelines, compared with 4.5% of those with less than a high-school diploma or GED; among those below 100% of the federal poverty level, the share was 6.4%.
Women and Youth Participation Patterns
The CDC’s combined 2022 and 2024 data for women aged 18–44 separate muscle-strengthening activity from the combined aerobic-and-strength outcome. That distinction matters: 55.3% reported no muscle-strengthening activity, 13.6% insufficient activity and 31.1% sufficient activity, while 47.2% met neither guideline.
| U.S. women age 18–44, 2022 and 2024 combined | Share |
|---|---|
| Both aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines | 25.1% |
| Muscle-strengthening guideline but not aerobic | 6.1% |
| Aerobic guideline only | 21.7% |
| Neither guideline | 47.2% |
Source: Leisure-Time Physical Activity Among Women of Reproductive Age — United States, 2022 and 2024. These are self-reported, mutually exclusive guideline combinations.
Education differences appear in the combined outcome as well. Among women aged 18–44, 33.4% with a bachelor’s degree met both guidelines, compared with 17.1% with a high-school diploma or equivalent and 13.2% with less than high-school education; the graduate-education figure was 34.0%.
Race and age differences were also reported: 27.6% of non-Hispanic White women met both guidelines, versus 20.4% of non-Hispanic Asian women, 21.4% of non-Hispanic Black women and 23.4% of Hispanic women. Within the 18–44 range, 27.8% of women aged 18–24 met both guidelines, compared with 22.7% of women aged 40–44.