Episode 88

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Published on:

1st Sep 2025

73:: The controversial HIIT & SIT conversation (& why both are ESSENTIAL parts of our exercise routines as women!)

What if your workout routine was like a handbag? We all have different styles — from totes to clutches to backpacks — but the essentials inside are usually the same. The same goes for exercise. No matter if you love yoga, running, Pilates, or strength training, there are a few non-negotiable “essentials” every woman should have in her exercise handbag for muscle health, fat loss, longevity, and overall fitness.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the first must-have: HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and SIT (Sprint Interval Training). We’ll cover:

  • What HIIT and SIT really are (and how they differ)
  • Why sprint training is especially important for women’s muscle health and bone density
  • What about cortisol and high-intensity workouts? We chat about that, too!
  • How HIIT & SIT boost metabolism, VO₂ max, and brain health
  • Practical ways to add HIIT or sprint training into your week — at the gym, outside, or at home

Whether you’re training for longevity, looking to build lean muscle, or just want to protect your health as you age, this episode will help you understand why short bursts of intensity are a non-negotiable in your exercise handbag.

Perfect for: women’s fitness, exercise for longevity, HIIT workouts, sprint training, metabolic health, and women who want smarter workouts (not just longer ones).

Tune in, take notes, and get ready to upgrade your fitness handbag with the tools that actually move the needle for women’s health.

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00:00- 00:50 Intro

00:51- 01:05 Introduction to the Exercise Handbag Concept

01:06- 02:50 Understanding Different Exercise Styles

02:51- 04:11 The Essentials of Every Exercise Handbag

04:12- 09:11 High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Sprint Interval Training (SIT)

09:12- 09:40 Thorne

09:41- 16:30 Scientific Benefits of HIIT and SIT for Women

16:31- 20:44 Incorporating HIIT and SIT into Your Routine

20:45- 21:23 Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser

Transcript
Speaker:

Today's topic is a bit controversial,

but it is an absolute essential

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in our exercise routines as women.

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So let's dive in.

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Welcome back to Wellness.

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Fix is the pod.

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I'm your host, Dr.

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Kelsey Vic, a board certified

orthopedic doctor, physical therapy,

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and a pelvic floor physical therapist.

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And throughout the month of September,

we are going to be diving into a new

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series, one that just came to me out

of nowhere, honestly, after thinking

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about how judgmental the women's health

and exercise and fitness community can

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be in general, where if you are not.

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Team strength training or Team

Pilates or team yoga, you're wrong.

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And that's not the case.

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We all have different styles that we

enjoy, and there's a way that we can

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meet all of the foundations to help

us build healthy bodies and reach

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our goals when it comes to health

and wellness, no matter the style of

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workout or fitness that we like to do.

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So that inspired me to come up with this

concept called the exercise handbag, and

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it might seem a little bit out there, but

we all have purses and handbags, right?

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We all have certain styles that we might

like, whether it's a backpack, whether

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it's a tote, whether it's more of a

clutch or a cross body, or a shoulder bag.

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But despite the different

styles, we all typically have.

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Some of the same

components in each handbag.

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We oftentimes have some

sort of lip moisturizer.

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We have sunglasses or glasses.

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We've got our driver's license, our

wallets, we have our cell phone, maybe

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a charger, so no matter the handbag,

no matter the style of handbag that

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you prefer, a lot of the time the

essentials and the foundations that

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are inside of those handbags are

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similar across all of us,

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the same can totally be said

about our exercise routines.

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You might like Pilates, I might like

strength training and running, but we

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can incorporate some of the foundations

that should be a part of every girl's

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exercise routine in this exercise.

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Handbag, no matter the style

that we enjoy or that we find

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ourselves gravitating towards.

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So to sum it all up, we all have a

different style of exercise handbag that

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we might prefer, but the foundations

Of what we carry in that bag, stay

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the same or should stay the same.

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If our goals revolve around toning,

building muscle, losing fat, improving

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metabolism, energy, sleep, and especially

if our goals revolve around longevity.

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So that's where the exercise handbag

series fits in, and that's what we going

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over throughout the month of September.

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So we'll cover just different pillars of

the essentials that should be in each of

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our exercise handbags, and then we'll dive

into how to add that essential into your

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routine, no matter the style of exercise

or the style of movement that you like.

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My goal is to also decrease judgment

with this series because there are

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so many black and white things in

the fitness realm where it's If

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you're not doing this, you're wrong.

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If you're only doing this, you're wrong.

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There's so much fear surrounding

what exercise is right for my

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body, and I get asked all the time

about what style is right for me?

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How do I know what exercises

are right for my body?

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So my hope is that this series helps to

clear the air a little bit, give yourself

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a little bit of grace no matter what.

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Style of exercise you enjoy and realize

that you can include some of these

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essentials in your routine, in your

exercise handbag, no matter if you prefer

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Pilates or running or swimming, or bar or

cycling or dance, or any form of movement.

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So the first foundation we'll talk

about is definitely one of the

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most controversial, which is why

I wanted to start out with it.

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And it's also an email that I got from a

women's health researcher and scientist.

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Recently that really inspired

this series, it's Dr.

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Stacey Sims, and I've mentioned her on

the podcast a few times, but she is really

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one of the researchers at the forefront

of researching women's health specifically

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throughout the lifespan compared to men,

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because a lot of the time the

typical exercise recommendations

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are based on the male body and

how we understand the human body.

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A lot of the time goes back to research

that has been done on men, and so

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she's at the forefront of researching

it for a woman's body, which is why

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I was so intrigued when her email

hit my inbox and she just explained

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this concept in such a wonderful way.

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That it inspired this entire series,

and we are definitely going to start

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out talking about one of the most

controversial pillars, one of the

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most controversial essentials to have

in your exercise handbag as a woman.

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And I'm sure you've already guessed it

by now, based on the title, but we'll

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talk about high intensity interval

training and sprint interval training.

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So hit and sit both similar where we're

exercising at almost maximal level with a

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little bit of a rest break, but a lot of

the time hit and sits get a bad reputation

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because of elevation of our cortisol.

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So we'll dive into all of that too.

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Let's start off with

some simple definitions.

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So high intensity interval training is

hi and sprint interval training is sit

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so hi involves short bursts of activity,

typically 45 seconds to a few minutes

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at 85 to 90% of your heart rate max, or

85 to 90% effort, followed by usually

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a one-to-one work to recovery ratio.

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So if you like, if you do the exercise

for a minute, you're also recovering

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for a minute, but that can vary.

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But that's just a general rule of thumb.

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And as a side note, a way to calculate

that max heart rate, if you really wanna

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be a little bit more objective with it.

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A simple calculation is

two 20 minus your age.

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So 220, if you're 20 years old, minus

20 is gonna be 200 beats per minute.

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That's gonna be a hundred

percent of your max heart rate.

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And then you just take 85 to 90% of that

and there's going to be some fluctuations.

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But that's a good estimation if

you do wanna get a little bit more

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objective with those measurements.

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So for sprint interval training,

it's a shorter duration at a

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hundred percent max effort.

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So again, if you're 20 years old, 200

beats per minute is where you're going

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to shoot for that heart rate range.

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But basically max effort for 20 to 30

seconds, followed by a longer recovery,

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like two to four minutes in between.

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So why do high intensity interval

training and sprint interval

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training get a bad reputation?

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I think it comes down to cortisol.

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There's been a big push around cortisol.

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I guess propaganda and we've done an

entire series deep diving into cortisol

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and why it's a misunderstood, mean girl.

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So I'll leave that link below

to all of those episodes.

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I think we did three

or four where we truly.

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Dove into why you should not be scared

of cortisol, why cortisol is actually

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present within our bodies, what we want

to get out of cortisol elevation, how

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we can help control our cortisol, how we

can make sure we're not in a chronically

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elevated state with our cortisol, so

we cover all the science behind it.

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I'll leave that link below, but

I think that's why high intensity

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interval training and sprint interval

training get a bad reputation.

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Cortisol's.

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Truly that misunderstood, mean girl.

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We need it within our bodies,

especially to build muscle.

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We also need it in order to

have energy throughout the day.

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We need it to exercise.

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We want it to elevate during exercise,

which I think is why hit and sit have

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this sort of negative connotation.

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However, with high intensity interval

training and sprint interval training,

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what we expect and what we want with

our bodies is a momentary spike in

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cortisol, a momentary cortisol elevation.

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During that exercise followed by

our bodies being able to return

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to baseline, we do not want

sustained cortisol elevation, but.

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If we do the appropriate things

surrounding high intensity interval

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training and surrounding sprint interval

training, including a proper cool

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down, proper breath work, we should

be able to help control that cortisol

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elevation that naturally happens,

and we want to happen with exercise.

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So if you're concerned about your

cortisol levels with high intensity

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interval training or with sprint

interval training, I highly recommend

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a cool down, especially breath work

focused breath work allows us to cue

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into that parasympathetic rest digest

nervous system, which helps our cortisol

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return back to baseline after exercise.

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Over time, high intensity interval

training and sprint interval training

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have also actually been shown

to lower that baseline level of

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cortisol, so not within one session.

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We expect a spike within

each exercise session,

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But over time, the more we incorporate

HIIT and sit into our routines, the.

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Better.

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Our body adapts and it's actually

beneficial to our cortisol long term.

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So why are high intensity interval

training and sprint interval training

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so important to have as part of

our essentials and our exercise

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handbags, especially as women?

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A lot of it comes down to our skeletal

muscle and our mitochondrial density.

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As women, we naturally have

more type one skeletal muscle

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tissue fibers compared to men.

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And these type one fibers are built

more for low load long duration work.

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So think long runs your type

one skeletal muscle fibers.

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Are the ones that help with your

postural muscles and standing

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up without falling over?

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with our posture.

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You're having to hold a

position, low load, low weight

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for a long period of time.

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So these are where those type one

skeletal muscle fibers come into play.

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Men on the other hand have more

type two A and type two X fibers,

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which are known for these fast

explosive power-based movements.

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So think sprinting, jumping, those

like really quick bouts of effort.

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Those are what those type two skeletal

muscle fibers are utilized for.

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and the ones that men have

proportionally more of compared to women.

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So as we all age, men and women,

our skeletal muscle fibers start

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to shift to have more type one

muscle fibers compared to type two.

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And it's really important that

as we age, we try and maintain

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those type two skeletal muscle

fibers because they help us with.

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Catching ourselves.

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If we're about to fall standing up out

of a chair, which, you don't necessarily

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think of those as power-based activities

now, but we need that quick reaction time

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in order to help ourselves if we start

to trip over a rug or in order to get

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out of a chair, especially as we age.

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So as women, we also have a higher

mitochondrial density than men,

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meaning we are naturally shifted

to be able to handle more endurance

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based exercises better than men.

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Because we naturally have more

type one skeletal muscle fibers

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and we have a higher mitochondrial

density, we need to work.

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What we're not as good

at, if that makes sense.

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So structurally and physiologically,

we have a predisposition towards more

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of those endurance based activities, so

we really need to work on the opposite.

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So that high intense.

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That sprint intensity training in order

to help maintain and increase some

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of those type two fibers, and then

also maintain those fibers as we age

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in addition to working more of that

anaerobic system within our bodies

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that doesn't necessarily need oxygen

in order to power certain movements,

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since we do have such a high capacity

for using oxygen for our movements with

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that increased mitochondrial density,

I know that's a ton of science, but

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basically we are shifted more towards

those endurance based exercises.

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we're gonna be better at those

in general across the board

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compared to our male counterparts.

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And this is not saying you put

our top marathon runner against

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the men's top marathon runner.

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That's not what I'm saying.

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I'm saying as a massive generalization

when comparing biological sex, men have.

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More type two fibers compared to

women are typically built more

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for those power explosive based

movements where women are shifted

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more towards those type one fibers,

those more endurance based exercises.

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So since we are shifted that way, we

wanna be able to train the opposite,

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not only for the health of our

bodies currently, but also long term.

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So it boils down to if we

don't use it, we lose it.

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And when we don't have it as

much as a guy does, we definitely

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wanna train that system even more.

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So sprinting itself also helps a wide

variety of our systems, so it helps

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our bones, of course, our muscle

tissue, our joints, our nervous

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system, our mental health, our mood.

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It covers a wide range of.

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Benefits within our system.

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So it's not just that we

wanna train the opposite.

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It also provides a lot of benefits

in a short period of time compared

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to those endurance-based exercises.

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So high intensity interval training

and sprint interval training improve

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our VO two maxes, which is one

of the prime measurements for how

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well our body is able to utilize

the oxygen that is in our system.

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It's also overall a prime measurement

of how healthy our heart is.

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High intensity interval training

and sprint interval training also

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helped to increase our stroke

volume, which basically means it

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helps create a more efficient heart.

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I mentioned the other day when talking

about my own training that my heart rate

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is decreasing, with purposeful training,

I've gotten my heart rate to lower, but

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how am I able to pump the same amount

of oxygen that my body needs with a

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lower beats per minute that comes down

to stroke volume so my heart is better

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able to pump more blood out with each

beat, which is why it has a lower heart

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rate, because it can get the same cardiac

output at a lower heart rate compared

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to previously when there was a little

bit of a higher heart rate and less.

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Blood pumped out per beat

compared to right now.

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So it all comes down to stroke volume

and how much blood is actually pumped

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out per each beat of the heart.

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Hit and sit.

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Also help improve our overall metabolism

and our ability to utilize blood glucose.

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They help at recruiting.

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Of course, those often forgotten

fast twitch fibers that as we age,

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we especially don't train as much.

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It helps us protect against falls as we

age and helps protect our lean muscle mass

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and our bone mineral density, which again,

super duper important as women because we

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are at an increased risk for osteopenia,

osteoporosis, and sarcopenia, which are

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basically the terms used for weaker and

fragile bones and a loss of muscle mass.

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HIIT and sit also help improve

our brain, so it improves our

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overall executive functioning and

our ability to carry out a plan.

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It improves our mood and

mental health overall.

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It protects against Alzheimer's,

which I found this interesting in

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my research, but HIIT specifically

increases BDNF, which is brain derived

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neurotropic factors that support mood,

neuroplasticity, and overall health.

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So super cool that something

that affects our musculoskeletal

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system and our cardiovascular

system in such a short period of

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time also helps our brain health.

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It also improves working memory and

attention even after just one session.

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So if you have a super hard day at

work, it might be worth it to do a

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session of hit or sprint interval

training before in order to help your

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focus throughout the rest of the day.

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It also improves symptoms

of anxiety and depression.

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and it helps preserve certain brain

structures like the hippocampus that start

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to lose some of their volume as we age.

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So I know that was a long list of how

hit and sit help our bodies, but I hope

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it just goes to show how important it

is and really how time efficient it is.

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20 to 30 seconds of work, or two

minutes of work, or 45 seconds of

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work with a little bit of rest,

like it's very quick very time

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efficient for all of those benefits.

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So hopefully that's even more

motivating to add it to your routine

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and add it to your exercise handbag

because of how time efficient it is.

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So how should you add it to your week

for high intensity interval training?

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Again, it's about two minutes

of work at 85 to 90% of your max

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heart rate, or 85 to 90% effort

followed by two minutes of recovery.

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And you can repeat that about

five times as a typical session

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for sprint interval training.

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Now we're talking more . 30 seconds

of all out, a hundred percent effort,

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a hundred percent max heart rate,

followed by three to four minutes

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of rest, repeated about five times.

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So some of the keys to sprint interval

training and hit interval training.

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Make sure you warm up

as a physical therapist.

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I know this is so annoying to hear,

but warmups are super important

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for both high intensity interval

training and sprint interval training.

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We're asking our muscles, our joints, our

tendons, our ligaments to all respond to

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a relatively quick high velocity movement

within a very short period of time.

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There's hardly any sort of

like buildup time, right?

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Especially our muscles there.

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Expected to be contracting super

quickly at max intensity, so it's really

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important to incorporate a warmup,

especially to protect against injury.

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And then of course the cool down

because people are so concerned

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about cortisol elevation.

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A great thing to help combat.

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This is proper breath work and a proper

cool down to help cue that nervous

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system into that parasympathetic rest,

digest, muscle recovery state cortisol

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lowering state so that you can get

the benefits of HIIT without this

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sustained chronic cortisol elevation.

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And remember, hit and sit incorporated

over a longer time as part of

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your exercise routine really does

help to lower that baseline level

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of cortisol within your body.

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And then as far as times per

week, about two to four times

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per week on non-consecutive days.

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So make sure to give your body time

to rest and recover from that sprint

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interval training or that Hein interval

training in between your sessions.

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Now let's add a little bit of

flare because I know not everyone

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is like me and loves hill sprints.

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That's how I've been incorporating it.

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But I know some of you guys enjoy Pilates.

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Some of you guys enjoy

bar or sculpt classes.

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So here are some ways that you can

incorporate high intensity interval

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training or sprint interval training

into your routine, no matter the

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style of exercise that you prefer.

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So I mentioned I love hill sprints.

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You can also do an interval run

or swimming intervals, cycling

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intervals, and I usually combine

this because it is a shorter workout

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with an upper body strength day.

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If you enjoy the gym, you could do a

rower, a treadmill, a skier, something

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to basically do max effort on some

of the cardio equipment for a short

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period of time, followed by recovery,

whether that's a walk around the

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gym, whether that's just a slower

pace on the bike or on the treadmill.

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If you're an at home workout, or you

can definitely jog outside, but as far

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as inside goes, you can do squat jumps,

high knees, jump lunges, jumping jacks,

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burpees, all of those sort of body weight,

higher intensity movements at home.

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If you like sculpt classes at the

end of the class, try adding in a

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few short bursts of jumps or of those

same cardio exercises, jump lunches or

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You can also do squat jumps,

something to basically get that

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effort at 85 to a hundred percent

depending on if you're trying to

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target more of that high intensity

interval training or sprint interval.

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And then for my Pilates girls, the

reformer's great because you can

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do those jumps on the jump board.

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That's a great way to incorporate

high intensity interval training

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or sprint interval training.

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And if you can do that possibly

before a session or after a

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session, that would be great.

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That is one way to get your Pilates

based workout, but also get that

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high intensity interval training

and sprint interval training in.

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That should be an essential

component of your exercise hand bag.

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So I guess that's like a what's in my bag?

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Exercise handbag edition.

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The first thing, maybe this will be

the sunglasses or the headphones or

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the cell phone that we all have in our

handbags, but high intensity interval

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training, sprint interval training.

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Definitely something to not

be scared of as a woman.

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Definitely something that is super

important no matter your age.

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Very good for us, especially as we

start pushing that perimenopause,

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menopause, postmenopausal age.

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So it does not matter

the age that you are.

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It's so beneficial for us as

women throughout the lifespan.

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And should definitely be an essential

part of your own exercise hand bag.

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So I hope you enjoyed this episode.

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I hope you've learned a lot and

are hopefully a little bit less

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:

scared of interval training or

understand it a little bit more

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:

and how it helps our bodies.

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:

From a deeper perspective,

physiologically, musculoskeletal,

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neurologically, all of the benefits

that come from high intensity interval

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:

training and sprint interval training.

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And then of course, ways that

you can incorporate it into your

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routine, no matter the style of

exercise handbag that you prefer.

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:

So I hope you enjoy this episode.

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I'll see you guys again on the

next episode of Illness Piy,

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:

the pod where we'll cover.

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:

Probably the most forgotten part of

the exercise handbag so I'm excited

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:

to dive in and I'll see you then.

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About the Podcast

wellness big sis:: the pod
wellness big sis:: the pod, by elää wellness, includes wellness girl chats by founder, kelsy vick, a board-certified orthopedic doctor of physical therapy. join us as we learn about our bodies, movement, and all aspects of physical, spiritual, psychological, and environmental wellness, creating a sisterhood of empowered wellness big sisters... without the clothes-stealing ;)
@wellnessbigsispod
@dr.kelsyvickdpt

About your host

Profile picture for Kelsy Vick

Kelsy Vick

Dr. Kelsy is a Board-Certified Orthopedic Doctor of Physical Therapy, a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, and the Founder of elää wellness, a global wellness education and action agency for women. As the host of wellness big sis:: the pod, she hopes to share science-backed education for young women in a fun and simplified way. Join us!

elaa-wellness.com
@elaa_wellness
@dr.kelsyvickdpt