31/08/2026
STEADY STATE VS HIIT — DOES CARDIO BURN MUSCLE?
Shredders, there's a lot of noise on social media right now telling women over 50:
“Don't do HIIT.”
“Cardio raises cortisol.”
“Cardio burns muscle.”
“Just lift weights.”
The science is much more balanced than that.
🏋️♀️ STRENGTH IS OUR FOUNDATION
As we age, strength training becomes incredibly important for maintaining muscle, strength, bone health and function.
That's why progressive strength training is a major part of our Shred.
But that doesn't mean cardio suddenly becomes bad for us.
🚶 STEADY-STATE CARDIO
Walking, cycling, swimming, rowing or incline treadmill work builds our aerobic fitness and endurance while increasing energy expenditure without creating huge amounts of fatigue.
During fat loss, that's extremely useful.
⚡ HIIT
HIIT means short periods of harder work followed by recovery.
It does NOT mean flogging yourself until you collapse!
Done correctly, HIIT is an extremely time-efficient way of improving cardiovascular fitness and VO₂ max.
And importantly:
HIIT doesn't automatically burn muscle.
When resistance training, nutrition and recovery are properly managed, research shows cardio and strength training can successfully coexist.
❤️ WHY DON'T WE JUST DO WEIGHTS?
Because we're training the whole body, not just our muscles.
Health guidelines recommend BOTH aerobic exercise and resistance training, including as we get older.
We want:
🏋️ Strength → muscle, strength & bone health
🚶 Steady state → aerobic base & endurance
⚡ HIIT → cardiovascular fitness & conditioning
😴 Recovery → adaptation & performance
The problem isn't cardio.
The problem can be too much training, too little recovery and poor programming.
🏃♀️ WE'RE THINKING LIKE ATHLETES
Athletes don't choose between being strong or being fit.
They develop both.
So particularly through our 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond, I don't simply want us maintaining muscle.
I want us protecting our muscles, bones, heart, lungs, mobility and our ability to perform.
Don't be frightened away from cardio by an Instagram headline.
Lift. Move. Condition. Recover.
WE'RE NOT TRAINING LESS BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING OLDER.
WE'RE TRAINING SMARTER SO WE CAN KEEP BEING ATHLETIC AS WE GET OLDER. 🔥💪
