The average female gains 35 pounds between ages 25 and 50, and then at age 51, most women experience menopause The childbearing years are over, hot flashes begin and hormone levels change, creating a perfect storm for more weight gain.
Is there any hope against the female battle of the bulge? I believe there’s an answer, and it’s based on years of research I have conducted on post-menopausal women and weight gain.
I have shown that there is a quick and effective exercise method that can help. Other research confirms my findings, so I’d like to share what I’ve learned with women everywhere.
Since many women spend most of their time caring for others, which consumes much of our time, we need a way to lose weight and be healthier and stronger without spending hours at a gym or taking four-mile walks.
First, about my research. I conducted one study that found that post-menopausal women can alter their body mass through short-term interval training, also known as high intensity interval training, or HIIT, versus lower intensity workouts for longer durations.
A 12-week study resulted in significant reductions in abdomen, hips, waist and thigh circumference of women engaged in HIIT for 15 minutes per day—that’s as long as it takes to make your morning coffee! I compared these results with walking for 45 minutes.
Trimming these key areas of the body also reduces one’s risk of diabetes, heart and other chronic diseases.
I also did a 16-week study compared HIIT combined with calorie-restricted diets to walking, using an accelerometer to measure compliance. The HIIT participants significantly reduced their body weight, with additional reductions in waist, abdomen, thigh and biceps measures.
Since HIIT is a short-duration exercise regimen, it can be incorporated easily at work or at home in less time than it takes to drive to a gym. Interestingly, my study also found the HIIT participants stuck to their program more consistently.
As I said, there are other studies, and we should do more with larger sample sizes and different populationsto confirm my hypotheses about HIIT changing body mass, but my work already has proven promising in reducing chronic disease risk in post-menopausal women.
You can tailor your own HIIT workout. HIIT exercises include jumping jacks or sprinting for 30 seconds and then resting, burpees, climbing stairs with intensity. Here is a sample 9-minute HIIT workout.
