Polarized training
Most sessions easy, a few genuinely hard, almost nothing in the middle
Endurance coaches noticed decades ago that the athletes who improve most spend roughly 80 percent of their sessions at a conversational effort and the rest at or above threshold, with little time in the moderate zone that feels productive and is not. Applied outside sport, it usually means keeping most walking, riding or swimming easy and adding one or two short interval sessions a week. The appeal is that the hard part is brief. The discipline is in keeping the easy part actually easy, which is where most people come unstuck.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Stacy SimsRecommends
Exercise physiologist · Women Are Not Small Men
Brisk walking will not do it: that is her reading of the evidence for women in the menopause transition. She wants the hard end of the week to be genuinely hard, with short sprint-level efforts driving the blood vessel and cardiac changes she says steady cardio does not deliver.
Source: Dr Stacy Sims: Why Menopausal Women Need Polarized Training
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under fitness, longevity or energy.
- Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Resistance training
Lifting weights 2-4 times a week to build and hold muscle
On record from 43 of 62 tracked people: 37 do it, 4 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Zone 2 cardio
Easy aerobic work you can hold a conversation through, 3+ hours a week
On record from 12 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 5 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Cycling
Steady riding, outdoors or on a stationary bike, as daily low-intensity cardio
On record from 9 of 62 tracked people: 9 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
High-intensity interval training
Short all-out efforts with full recovery in between, a few times a week
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Daily cardio
Around half an hour of aerobic work most days, at any pace you can sustain
On record from 4 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Protein-forward eating
Roughly 1g of protein per pound of target bodyweight, spread across meals
On record from 21 of 62 tracked people: 15 do it, 5 recommend it, 1 has discussed it
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