{"id":133674,"date":"2025-11-11T08:37:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T08:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/133674\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T08:37:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T08:37:18","slug":"why-true-high-intensity-cardio-is-essential-for-women-over-40-and-the-best-workouts-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/133674\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ‘true high-intensity’ cardio is essential for women over 40 \u2013\u00a0and the best workouts to do"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent years, strength training<\/a> has finally gotten the spotlight it deserves. Crucial for maintaining overall longevity<\/a>, experts everywhere are encouraging women \u2013 especially those entering (peri)menopause \u2013 to lift weights. However, while this messaging is incredibly important, it can sometimes mean that cardio, which is also vital for longevity, gets a tad neglected. <\/p>\n

And as is the case with strength training, cardio needs to be adapted for the life stage you\u2019re at, taking into consideration all of the changes your body is experiencing \u2013 which is exactly what exercise physiologist Dr Stacy Sims explores in her recent podcast episode with personal trainer Doug Bopst. <\/p>\n

Speaking on Bopst\u2019s podcast, The Adversity Advantage, Dr Sims explains that while \u2018you can get away with a lot of things\u2019 when training in your 20s and 30s, that starts to change when you reach your forties and beyond.<\/p>\n

What to Read Next<\/p>\n

\u2018If you want to do two F45 classes back to back, go for it,\u2019 she says. \u2018But when you start getting older, you need to be very acutely aware of how to polarise.\u2019<\/p>\n

What Dr Sims means by this is that doing less cardio but at a higher intensity becomes more important. \u2018The bread and butter of what you should be doing as you get older is quality training, not volume,\u2019 she adds. <\/p>\n

Even if you were to train for an ultramarathon<\/a>, says Dr Sims, it would still apply. \u2018It\u2019s not the old school way of running 20 hours a week, it\u2019s let\u2019s look at how we are building strength, how we are doing some top-end work, and then we spend time on our feet every ten to 15 days where we go out for two really long days at a time,\u2019 she explains. \u2018There\u2019s ways of peppering in endurance, but the benchmark is doing that polarised training.\u2019<\/p>\n

What is polarised training?<\/p>\n

So, what actually is polarised training and how can you do it? Well, put simply, polarised training describes an endurance training model where you spend around 80% of your time training at a low, easy intensity and the other 20% training at a high, intense level. <\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

You may also have heard of this model referred to as the \u201880\/20 method\u2019, and while it might sound like an approach only elite athletes take, it\u2019s something that Dr Sims highlights becomes increasingly important for all women as they age.<\/p>\n

Dr Sims says women over 40 should be looking to incorporate \u2018true high-intensity work\u2019 and \u2018sprint interval work\u2019. While both of these training methods are guaranteed to get your heart rate<\/a> up, the former is a type of cardiovascular exercise involving short, intense bursts of physical activity (that could be running<\/a>, cycling<\/a>, swimming<\/a>), followed by brief recovery periods. <\/p>\n

However, sprint interval work typically involves going more \u2018all-out\u2019 during the bursts of activity, but with longer rest periods.<\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

As Dr Sims explains on the podcast, this type of training helps \u2018force the necessary adaptations\u2019, including \u2018better blood glucose control<\/a>, better conversation between the skeletal muscle and the liver so that we don\u2019t store visceral fat\u2019 and better bone and muscle quality \u2013 all of the things that \u2018are so key in being able to live independently as we get older.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, one study<\/a> in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, found that sprint interval training could help menopausal<\/a> women increase lean muscle mass, and another study<\/a> published in the same journal found that sprint interval training significantly improved VO2 max<\/a>, with potentially as few as 2 x all-out 20-second sprints being enough to provide benefits.<\/p>\n

So, if you do one thing this week, sprint, even if it\u2019s only for a few seconds to start with \u2013 you can build it up each time from there.<\/p>\n

Related Stories\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women\u2019s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. \u00a0She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner\u2019s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. \u00a0A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She\u2019s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In recent years, strength training has finally gotten the spotlight it deserves. Crucial for maintaining overall longevity, experts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1134,77850,1107,499,103,61,60,1135,77849],"class_list":{"0":"post-133674","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-content-type-default","9":"tag-contentid-e3334560-3dc9-453e-b19f-d9ade7c0ba06","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-locale-gb","16":"tag-shorttitle-the-best-type-of-cardio-for-women-over-40"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}