The Big Cardio Vs Strength Debate: What Women Over 60 Really Need When It Comes to Exercise
“Ignore the cardio machines and only do strength training.” “Only use a weighted vest for bone health.” “Walking is enough.” “Be careful when doing strength training because you have fragile bones.”
Are you now more or less confused about exercising during the midlife transition? Well, I don’t blame you. I would be too.
What you are about to read next is going to hopefully clear the fog and misconception and enormous confusion about strength and endurance training for women after 60.
Why Exercise Matters
Let me start you off with a few statistics to highlight the importance of exercise.
In the United States, cardiovascular disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. About one in two women over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis. In 2022, 13.9% of Americans age 65 and older met both the aerobic guideline and the muscle-strengthening guideline in their free time. That was 16.8% at ages 65 to 74, 12.3% at 75 to 84, and 6.2% at 85 and older.
These are numbers that need to be taken seriously and you might imagine now: there is no one or the other, no magic pill and no shortcut.
Women over 60 need both strength and endurance training to protect heart, bones, muscle and with it: metabolism.
My name is Patricia Siegel, Sports Scientist, Personal Trainer and author of forthcoming Johns Hopkins book ‘THE MENOPAUSE STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE TRAINING BLUEPRINT’, Spring 2028.
My goal is to clear the confusion on exercise for women in midlife with a clear blueprint and structure that is needed.
Let’s break down how you can structure strength and endurance training for the most benefit.
Endurance Training
This is the part that protects your heart from cardiovascular disease and burns most of your calories DURING the exercise. It can be broken into various intensity levels often measured by heart rate or perceived effort. The two main levels women over 60 should focus on are Zone 2 and Interval Training.
Zone 2 is defined as low intensity endurance training in which your body uses mostly fat as fuel and also has been labeled “conversational pace” effort. During the exercise you would be able to speak a few sentences but won’t be able to sing. It sits at a heart rate of about 60-70% of your max heart rate. To make it easier for you if you are newer to structured endurance training, the “talk test” is your best measurement. If you are unable to speak a few sentences, slow down – if you are able to sing, you have to pick up the pace a little bit.
Walking is a great entry point but know that walking alone at the same pace after 4-6 weeks won’t be enough anymore. You will need to pick up the pace, choose different and more challenging terrain or change your endurance modality to a slow jog for example. Our bodies are fascinating in the way they adapt, at any age.
Engage in Zone 2 training twice a week for about 35-45 minutes minimum.
The next pillar is interval training. Interval training triggers VO2 max adaptation, the maximum intake of oxygen during harder efforts. It is directly linked to longevity and can be structured in various ways. During interval training you will engage in a hard effort followed by a recovery period, repeated throughout a few sets.
You can be creative with it. What I like for beginners is a hard effort of about 30 seconds with an easy effort for about a minute, repeated 4-5 times. This can be progressed to longer intervals and shorter recovery time. Start here and practice it for a maximum of 1-2 times per week, not more.
Strength Training
Muscles and bones react to an ever-changing input/load by increasing in size. Women over 60 lose muscle mass due to the loss of estrogen, and it is imperative to stop the decline and maintain and gain muscle mass to protect bones and metabolism and simply be functional in life. An insurance policy.
The most straightforward principle when it comes to muscle is progressive overload. In a nutshell, it means setting progressive changes within your training routine which can mean more sets, more reps, heavier weight or a change in tempo of how you move the weight.
Aim for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps, feeling you will have “two more reps” in the tank. Choose a weight that is challenging enough to achieve that. Aim for 3 days of strength training split into either two upper body and one lower body or 3 full body sessions.
Bones need an additional stimulus to adapt. Progressive Strength training helps bone density, but impact training needs to be added for the full benefit. This can be heel drops, skips, hops, jumps (if done safely). You can add these to your strength training days and not as a separate session.
Here Is an Example Week
Monday: Lower Body Strength
Tuesday: Zone 2
Wednesday: Upper Body
Thursday: Intervals
Friday: Zone 2
Saturday: Upper Body Strength
Sunday: Rest
I hope this clears a little bit of the confusion when it comes to exercising in midlife.
Let’s Hear from You:
What takes up most of your week right now? Are you able to structure a week like that or does something get in the way?
Tags Fitness Over 60
Thank you for this! It’s perfect. I do chest, 4 exercises, 4 sets, 10-15 reps or 8 reps if it’s heavier. Next day, back and the next shoulders. I ride a bike 4 days a week 45 minutes and do an at home spin class (intervals) 25 minutes 2 or 3x a week. I’m going to try to do the spin longer as you suggested. Thanks again!
Thank you so much, Anna! Your routine sounds fantastic, and that’s a great mix of strength and cardio. One suggestion: add a lower-body day with squats, lunges, deadlifts or step-ups. Legs and hips hold some of our biggest muscles, and training them is one of the best things we can do for bone density, balance and staying strong for the long run. Enjoy those longer spin sessions! Patricia
Thank you Patricia! What I’ve found over the years is that a good spin/cycle class does the leg work for you. So I could skip the squats and lunges and get even better results. Spin really works your core so I don’t have to do crunches anymore either. It also really tones & strengthens legs when you spin “like pulled taffy” and there is nothing better for the glutes! 20-40 minutes of leg and ab work all in one cardio!
I love how much you enjoy spin, Anna, and it’s fantastic for your heart, your endurance and your leg stamina! The one thing it can’t fully do is load your bones and muscles the way heavier lower-body work does. Squats, lunges and step-ups with some weight send that signal, and after menopause it matters a lot for bone density and balance. Keep the spin and add even one short lower-body session a week. Your legs will thank you for both. Patricia
You don’t give any examples. For instance, my walk to town is one hour long, uphill on the way, downhill coming home. The uphill and down are steep, but only last about half the walk. If I carried arm weights, would that work for an upper body strength training? I also once in awhile ride my bike, but the hill is too steep, so I push it up and that’s about 15 minutes of the whole walk. I get winded enough to have to stop at least once. I also do yoga, but not enough to call it strength training. Can you add some examples?
Hi Susie, thank you for such a great question! Your walk is excellent cardio, and pushing your bike up that steep hill until you need a break is basically interval training, so keep it. I wouldn’t add hand weights to the walk, though. They’re too light to build real strength and can strain your shoulders and change your stride. Upper-body strength comes from short, focused sessions instead. Two days a week, try 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 of wall or countertop push-ups, band rows, sit-to-stands from a chair, and carrying a heavy bag of groceries in each hand for 30 to 60 seconds. When the last few reps feel easy, it’s time to go a little heavier. Patricia
Thank you! sit-to-stands from a chair seems pretty light, my balance is awesome thanks to yoga, but maybe if I held a bag of groceries, lol? I like the wall push ups. I like push ups in general because you can really feel them working, ha ha! Thank you for this!
Skip the Yoga (demonic) and get some weights and do pilates.
Thanks Dr. Anne, but I love yoga, and I hate pilates.
Susie, if you love yoga, keep doing it! The best movement is the one you’ll keep doing, and yoga is wonderful for mobility and balance. Pair it with a couple of short strength sessions and you’ve got a great mix. Patricia
Ha, I love that, Susie! Holding a bag of groceries is a great way to make sit-to-stands harder. You can also slow them down: take 3 seconds to lower. And keep those push-ups going. When wall push-ups feel easy, move to a countertop, then a sturdy chair. Patricia