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I ruffled some feathers on social media again. 

But I can't help myself. 

We need to have more nuanced conversations about health and wellness.

Cookie cutter, all-or-nothing statements just make people feel like they're not doing it "right" or not doing enough.

And while polarizing, extreme points of view are great for the algorithm, they're not great when you're relying on social media for health information.

Here's what went down... 

Dr. Stacy Sims - who we love btw - posted that there is too much fear-mongering around HIIT and cortisol.

And that women need to do HIIT.

We disagree.

Not because we don't believe in  the benefits of HIIT (we do... otherwise, why would we offer it live and on-demand twice a week?!)...

But because we know the impact of all types of exercise and that there is no one-size fits all training program.

Her posts lately aren't taking into account someone's schedule, mental health, hormone status, goals, sleep, recovery ability, and stress levels, for starters. 

What she is promoting is under the assumption that people are fueling  appropriately with food, recovering well, including plenty of sleep, prioritizing load-bearing exercise like lifting weights, and managing overall stress.

However, we know that this is simply not the reality for many people!

We've seen HIIT do way more harm than good when women in particular are maxed out on stress or when HIIT takes priority over lifting weights.

So, I said something about it: 

The response we received was overwhelming.

Women felt seen and heard by us.

They felt validated and actually supported.

One woman responded: 

"I feel like this is speaking to me. I’m doing an insane work up right now because my blood pressure is through the roof, I do cardio 4x a week…but we know my cortisol has always been elevated and it’s rising as I’m supposed to be winding down for bed (per Dutch test results)...

Working on sleep, but I’m a mom of two young boys, perimenopausal and work full time, 2 days out of the house and the 3 I’m home, I’m also an activity driver! I just don’t know how to make it all work!"

Does this sound like a woman who needs to prioritize HIIT?

We say a resounding, no.

It's probably not the season of life to add one more stressful thing to her plate, especially considering the high cortisol at night and perimenopausal symptoms.

She didn't share anything about strength training, so assuming she is not lifting weights, HIIT may not be needed just yet in her unique situation.

Our focus for her would be stress management, walking, and lifting weights three times a week to help bring blood pressure down and regulate cortisol.

Someone else said: 

"Also I sleep terribly if I do intense cardio, my friend is the same! So basically my terrible sleep for my entire 40’s can probably be attributed to intense cardio! Even if I walk too much I find it affects my sleep. 15,000 steps is my happy place. Anything in the 20’s and my sleep is terrible."

Another woman said:

And yet another woman said: 

"I went years on barely any sleep, living off of caffeine in the morning, and doing intense fasted workouts that completely wrecked my adrenals and I know played a part in my recent hypothyroid diagnosis. While all the fear mongering telling women not to lift heavy or do more intense workouts is bullshit, there’s a right and wrong way to do it."

^^This comment really hit home for me personally. 

I luckily didn't develop a thyroid issue but I did develop stress-induced pre-diabetes from years of over-doing it in every area of my life.

We responded with: 

"So many of the women we work with are training like hard core athletes but don’t have the resources and time to recover like athletes. 

If you can’t recover and fuel properly, it’s a hormonal disaster for most women over 40 / in perimenopause."

While we agree partially with Dr. Sims that some social media posts are painting only the negative impact of cortisol and blaming "hormones" as the reason for everything not working...

We disagree that all women need HIIT with zero context or individual assessment.  

Yes, women can benefit from high intensity interval training AND certain things need to be in place consistently to facilitate that type of stressor on the body. 

Both can be true statements.

This is the kind of nuance we're talking about. 

These are the conversations that need to be had.

And that's exactly why we're hosting a FREE master class on August 20th:

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: 

• The 3 main body types and 4 body shapes
• How to identify your true body type + shape
• How this impacts your nutrition and exercise strategies, daily lifestyle habits, etc.
• How to get clear on your primary goal + reasonable expectations for achieving it
• Body weight vs. body composition
• Ranges of body fat for both men & women
• What steps you need to take to achieve your goal based on your body type and lifestyle
• How to work with us if you want more support, including how to save $500 on Awaken Your Nutrition (1:1 or group)

We cannot wait to share this master class with you! 

We're going super in-depth, so you don't want to miss this!

In fact, it's so valuable that we can't promise it will be free forever. 

RSVP to join live and you'll have 24 hours to watch the replay.

Shannon Morse and Lisa Kirby | Co-Founders of The Green Door Life

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