05/25/2026
Research shows you get the best bang for your buck doing interval training.
Give it a try for at least 24 minutes & see how your body feels 💪🏽💜
strength training is having its moment, and I am super glad about it. but lifting is only part of the physical activity prescription, especially after 40.
a 2023 randomized trial divided 45 postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, low HDL, larger waist) into three groups for eight weeks. one did high intensity interval training, three minutes hard, three minutes easy, repeating. one did resistance training. one kept their routine. both training groups improved. but in the HIIT group, systolic blood pressure, HbA1c, and fasting blood sugar dropped significantly. the resistance training group built more muscle and got stronger.
these are not competing protocols. they are different whys. short hard intervals influence the heart, the blood vessels, and the way we handle sugar. strength training improves muscle mass and bone density. we need both, and what surprised the researchers was how fast the heart and metabolism numbers moved. eight weeks.
action: add one short cardio interval session this week. three minutes at a pace where talking is not really possible, three minutes easy, four rounds. twenty-four minutes start to finish.
reference: Kazemi et al. Lipids in Health and Disease (2023)
