This Is How Much Exercise May Actually Help Your Heart After Menopause
You finally find a workout routine that fits your life, then wonder if you should be doing more. After menopause, it's easy to assume that more exercise automatically means better heart health. But a recent 51-trial review1 suggests the answer may be more nuanced.
The researchers focused on triglycerides, a type of fat that circulates in your blood.
Your body needs some triglycerides for energy, but consistently high levels are associated with a higher risk of heart disease. The review looked at how much exercise postmenopausal women actually need to improve these levels.
About the review
Researchers analyzed 51 randomized controlled trials involving 2,046 postmenopausal women.
They compared aerobic exercise, resistance training, combined cardio and strength training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT, which alternates short bursts of hard effort with recovery).
They looked at which types of exercise lowered triglycerides and whether doing more exercise led to greater improvements.
After menopause, declining estrogen levels can affect cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which can contribute to cardiovascular risk.
RELATED READ: Is This The Best Supplement For Energy?
The benefits got smaller with more exercise
Aerobic exercise, combined training, and HIIT lowered triglyceride levels compared with not exercising. Resistance training alone did not show a clear effect on triglycerides in this review.
But adding more exercise didn't keep producing the same degree of improvement.
Triglyceride reductions increased with exercise volume up to a point, then became smaller as weekly exercise continued to increase.
The researchers identified tentative ranges where the greatest benefits appeared to occur. For HIIT, that was about 20 to 25 minutes per week. For aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or cycling, it was about 2.5 to 3 hours per week. For combined cardio and strength training, it was roughly 2.5 to 4 hours per week.
These aren't firm prescriptions. The researchers described the findings as "hypothesis-generating," meaning the pattern needs further study.
The evidence supporting the specific exercise ranges was also low to moderate certainty, and the HIIT finding was based on only three trials.
What this means for your workouts
You don't need to turn your exercise schedule into a math problem. Instead, use the findings as a general guide while keeping the bigger picture of health in mind.
- Choose cardio you enjoy: Brisk walking, cycling, and other aerobic activities were linked to lower triglycerides in the review.
- Mix cardio and strength:Combined training also showed benefits, so you don't have to choose one type of exercise over the other.
- Keep HIIT short: The review found benefits with around 20 to 25 minutes of HIIT per week, although this finding needs more research.
- Keep strength training: Resistance exercise didn't clearly lower triglycerides on its own, but it supports muscle, bone, and physical function, which become increasingly important with age.
- Don't chase more for the sake of more: The findings suggest that adding more weekly exercise may produce smaller additional changes in triglycerides once you reach a certain amount.
The takeaway
Your weekly workout doesn't have to get bigger and bigger to support your heart. A mix of cardio, strength, or a little HIIT can go a long way, and more isn't necessarily more effective for triglycerides.
