This Is The "Best" Exercise For Metabolic Health — But It's Not The Same For Everyone
Most of us have wondered at some point whether we should be doing more cardio, or maybe picking up heavier weights, or getting back into yoga, or trying that new HIIT class that everyone's been talking about. While we are firm believers that the "best" exercise is the one you love and will do consistently, it's also important to understand certain exercises may lead to better benefits as it relates to metabolic health.
And what are those exercises? Well, a new network meta-analysis1 suggests the answer isn't one-size-fits-all.
Researchers compared 10 different exercise styles across 10 metabolic health markers and found that each modality has its own strengths depending on what you're trying to improve.
Rather than crowning a single winner, the study makes a case for matching your workout to your specific goal.
About the study
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of conditions including fairly common health concerns including: central obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels that together raise the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Exercise is widely recognized as one of the most effective tools for managing it, but until now, there hasn't been a comprehensive comparison of which type works best for which marker.
The analysis pulled together 53 randomized controlled trials involving 2,948 participants.
Researchers looked at how 10 exercise types affected 10 metabolic markers, including BMI, waist circumference, body fat percentage, cholesterol levels (total, HDL, and LDL), triglycerides, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and fasting blood glucose.
The exercise modalities ranged from aerobic training and resistance training to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, and traditional Chinese exercise (TCE) practices like Tai Chi and Qigong.
Different workouts ranked best for different markers
Here's how the rankings broke down by metabolic marker:
- BMI and waist circumference: Combined aerobic and resistance training (AT+RT) ranked highest for both, with the strongest probability of reducing BMI and trimming waist size compared to other modalities.
- Body fat percentage: High-volume HIIT (HV-HIIT) came out on top for reducing overall body fat.
- Total cholesterol and triglycerides: Low-volume HIIT (LV-HIIT) ranked first for both, outperforming even its higher-volume counterpart.
- LDL cholesterol: AT+RT again ranked highest, followed closely by resistance training alone.
- HDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure: Traditional Chinese exercise ranked highest for both, raising HDL and lowering systolic blood pressure more effectively than any other modality tested.
- Diastolic blood pressure: LV-HIIT ranked first.
- Fasting blood glucose: AT+RT ranked highest for blood sugar control, though the researchers flagged significant inconsistency across the evidence network for this marker; the global inconsistency test was statistically significant, subgroup analyses could not identify the source, and the authors describe these results as exploratory, so interpret with caution.
One important caveat: the certainty of evidence was very low for the vast majority of comparisons across all ten outcomes. In several cases, more than 90% of comparisons fell into the very low certainty category.
The authors note this is largely unavoidable in exercise trials, where blinding participants isn't feasible, but it does mean these rankings are promising rather than definitive. Larger, well-designed trials are still needed.
RELATED READ: Pair Creatine With This For Even More Metabolic Benefits
How to put this into practice
The findings don't mean you need to rethink your entire routine. Think of them as a guide for prioritizing based on your primary goal:
- Working on multiple markers at once: AT+RT is your best bet. Research on combining cardio and strength continues to show broad cardiometabolic benefits, and this study reinforces that; it ranked highest for BMI, waist circumference, LDL, and blood sugar.
- Body fat is your primary focus: Consider adding HV-HIIT sessions to your week.
- Cholesterol or blood pressure is the priority: LV-HIIT showed the strongest results for total cholesterol, triglycerides, and diastolic blood pressure. For systolic blood pressure and HDL, TCE practices like Tai Chi or Qigong ranked highest and may be worth exploring if you prefer lower-impact movement.
The takeaway
No single workout is best for every metabolic marker.
This research offers a practical framework for choosing the exercise style most suited to your primary health goal, and if you're managing multiple markers, combining aerobic and resistance training remains the most well-rounded starting point.
