Should You Prioritise Sprints Over Steady Cardio? Training For Midlife Women

Sims frames sprint intervals as the 'bread and butter' for health outcomes like cognition and body composition, while acknowledging that many women love low-intensity steady-state (LISS) for its social and psychological benefits. She proposes a hybrid model: do the hard, less enjoyable sprint work during the week for physiological benefits, and save the enjoyable, social endurance activities for weekends. This prevents burnout and maintains the joy of movement. For women in midlife who feel they've lost their speed or enjoyment in endurance sports, she advises reducing the frequency and duration of those sessions, focusing on quality over quantity, which can help them reconnect with the sport.

Sims explains that the old model of training according to menstrual phases (e.g., go hard in the low-hormone phase, be cautious in the luteal phase) is limited because many women don't know when they ovulate, and some may have anovulatory cycles. Instead, she recommends a personalized approach: track daily how you feel, note patterns of feeling flat or energetic, and then adjust training accordingly. For example, if you consistently feel flat around a certain time, move your high-intensity session to a day when you typically feel better. This way, you still get the training stimulus without the struggle. She emphasizes that this method is empowering and aligns with the latest applied sport science.

Sims acknowledges that low-intensity work is enjoyable and serves as a social outlet and stress reliever, which she calls 'soul food.' However, she argues that for the core goals of maximizing cognition, preventing cognitive decline, and improving metabolic health and body composition, sprint interval training must be included. She suggests a balanced approach: prioritize quality sprint sessions during the week, and reserve longer, low-intensity activities for weekends as soul food. This way, women can still enjoy their social rides or runs without sacrificing the physiological benefits of high-intensity work. She also addresses the common experience of midlife women who used to do endurance sports but now feel slow and disenchanted; her advice is to pull back on volume and frequency, focus on quality, and they can rediscover their love for the sport.

Sims explains that while molecularly, low estrogen and progesterone phases are ideal for hard training and recovery, the timing of ovulation is unpredictable for many women. Even those who bleed may not ovulate, and symptoms can vary widely. Some women feel awful midcycle, others feel bad the week before their period. Therefore, the applied sport science approach now is to have women track their own feelings and energy levels throughout the cycle. This self-awareness allows them to schedule high-intensity sessions on days they feel good, and move sessions if they feel flat, ensuring they still get the training benefit without fighting their body. This method empowers women to work with their hormone fluctuations rather than against them.