Mixed
Eight months of moderate-intensity exercise produces a 10-year legacy effect on metabolic health markers (blood pressure, fasting insulin, waist circumference), whereas vigorous-intensity exercise produces a legacy effect on cardiorespiratory fitness (peak VO2).
If your goal is better metabolic health (blood pressure, insulin sensitivity), prioritize moderate-intensity exercise (40-55% max effort). If your goal is maintaining aerobic fitness (VO2 max), prioritize vigorous-intensity exercise (65-80% max effort). You don't need to maintain the exact same volume or intensity you trained with initially to retain benefits; the initial adaptation creates a 'legacy' that persists for years, though recent activity levels also play a role.
Ten years after completing STRRIDE, there were a number of group-specific health and fitness legacy effects... Those who participated in moderate intensity exercise experienced the greatest 10-year reduction in fasting insulin... Compared to all other groups, the moderate intensity subjects had greater reductions in mean arterial pressure... Conversely, both vigorous intensity groups experienced only a 4.7% decrement in cardiorespiratory fitness... As compared to controls, all three exercise groups experienced smaller increases in waist circumference.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with 10-year follow-up, high retention rate (83%), but potential confounding by self-reported post-intervention activity.
Source
Ten-Year Legacy Effects of Three Eight-Month Exercise Training Programs on Cardiometabolic Health Parameters
Johanna L. Johnson et al. · Frontiers in Physiology · 2019
DOI 10.3389/fphys.2019.00452
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