Energy balance

Sedentary, overweight or obese postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure experience a graded, statistically significant increase in cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) when engaging in physical activity doses of 4, 8, or 12 kcal/kg/week, with higher doses yielding proportionally greater fitness gains compared to a non-exercise control.

If you are a sedentary, overweight postmenopausal woman with high blood pressure, you do not need to start with the standard 30-minute daily exercise recommendation to see benefits. You can start with half that dose (expending ~4 kcal/kg/week) and still see significant improvements in your cardiorespiratory fitness. If you can handle more, increasing the dose to 8 or 12 kcal/kg/week will yield even greater fitness gains in a predictable, graded manner.