"Paper in a Minute" – Resistance Training Reshapes the Gut Microbiome in a Longitudinal 8-Week Intervention in Sedentary Adults

More Than Muscles: Resistance Training Can Influence Our Gut Microbiome

Lifting weights at the gym offers more benefits than previously known: resistance training not only grows our muscles – it can also influence our gut microbiome.

In an eight-week study with 150 previously physically inactive adults, Sven Nahnsen and Daniel Straub from the Quantitative Biology Center (QBiC) at the University of Tübingen discovered interesting evidence of the effects of resistance training on a part of the body we don't normally associate with pull-ups and the like: the gut microbiome.

The 30 study participants who achieved the greatest strength gains also showed changes in certain bacterial species – particularly those linked to metabolic health. However, changes in the gut flora were not equally pronounced across all participants. The study therefore suggests that significant physiological adaptations driven by changes in physical activity – rather than mere movement itself – play a decisive role in shaping our gut microbiome.

Resistance training and a healthier gut microbiome thus correlate: exercise not only acts on our muscles, but changes us from the inside out.

Publication: Straub D, Englert T, Beller A, Stadelmaier J, Stahl M, Kilian J, Borzym J, Rotermund C, Akbuğa-Schön T, Krakau S, Czemmel S, Weiler S, Pettenkofer M, Pettenkofer J, Maser U, Dammeier S, Nieß AM, Enderle MD, Nahnsen S. (2026) Resistance Training Reshapes the Gut Microbiome in a Longitudinal 8-Week Intervention in Sedentary Adults. Sports Med Open 12(1):21. doi: 10.1186/s40798-026-00990-6.

Go to Publikation

About Paper in a Minute

The Paper in a Minute series regularly presents outstanding publications from CMFI researchers. The authors summarize their most important findings in a compact, one-minute format, making current research results quickly and easily accessible. Interested researchers can thus immediately assess whether the work presented is relevant to their own research before reading the publication.