Many thanks for all you do! I have two questions for you. I am a trained male, 5’7", 200 lbs, 36.5 - 37 inch waist, 490 squat, 355 bench, 225 press, 500 deadlift. I also have a family history of heart disease - all men on paternal side have had heart complications as they’ve aged. I train four days a week using an upper/lower split, but currently don’t do any kind of conditioning aside from trying to walk each day for at least 15 mins.
I know your general waist recommendation cut off is 40 inches. As a shorter male with some heart issues in the family, would you have me cut down a few inches in the waist before gaining again? I’m losing weight currently and trying to figure out how low to go. As far as cardio, I definitely can walk up four flights of stairs with groceries without breathing super hard (8 METs). Would you suggest that I engage in some form of conditioning in addition to more walking?
Our waist cut-off for most populations is 37", which sounds like you’re at presently. The 8 met cutoff has also changed as there appears to be a dose-dependent relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and all-cause mortality as well as specific diseases like a number of different cancers, ASCVD, etc.
We’d recommend you incorporate some conditioning regardless of whether you need to lose weight or not. Our cardio recommendations from the beginner prescription would be a good place to start with the goal being to meet or exceed the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which are also discussed in that document.
If you were me and wanted to train to get stronger, for health, and to look reasonably good, what would you use as your upper and lower waist limits? 37 inches for upper limit, or something lower?
More cardiorespiratory fitness = more health benefits, yes.
This jibes with what is known about exercise volume in general, e.g. more volume= greater improvements in strength, muscle mass, conditioning, and health metrics.
Jordan, just wanted to follow up on this. I’ve been averaging 8-10,000 steps per day, train four days per week, and have added 1 30 min LISS and 1 HIIT session for the last few months. I know you’ve said here and in other places that more cardio volume = more health benefits. If that is correct, would you add more conditioning to my program? I care primarily about strength - I do cardio for the health benefits. For example, would adding a third conditioning day yield greater health benefits?
