Is HIIT bad for women in menopause?

The problem is rarely intensity itself. It's how most women do it. Nikkiey says that during menopause, as estrogen drops, muscle becomes harder to hold onto, fat shifts toward the belly, and cortisol rises. Long cardio sessions, and interval workouts that run too long or happen too often, keep cortisol chronically elevated. In her words, that means more belly fat, not less, and more exhaustion with nothing to show for it. That's why, in her 25-minute dumbbell workout, she says high intensity cardio often backfires for women over 40 and finishes with incline walking instead.

For the rest of her cardio, she uses low-impact incline walking after lifting: 10 minutes at an 8 to 12% incline and around 2.5 to 3 miles per hour, extended to 15 to 30 minutes only if it feels good. She calls it one of the safest, most effective ways to burn fat after lifting, especially in menopause.

On Ep. 114, holistic health coach Jessica Suchan adds a similar caution for women who still have a cycle: no more than two HIIT sessions a week, each under 20 to 30 minutes, balanced with strength training and restorative movement like walking and yoga, because more than that is a stress on the body. If you've been grinding through long, punishing workouts and seeing nothing, that's not a willpower problem. It's the plan.