HoldsUp

FoundMyFitness · 2025-02-05 · Rhonda Patrick (host), Brady Holmer

How to Train According to the Experts

86 research-tied claims examined: 2 contradicted 5 overstated 6 context 70 supported 3 unverified

5

Overstated

0:12:50Rhonda Patrick (host)overstatedmoderate

A 2018 study published in JAMA found that individuals in the highest cardiorespiratory fitness group had a 5-year increased life expectancy compared to those in the lowest cardiorespiratory fitness group.

"One I've talked about and I've talked about often as well was a published study in JAMA medical journal in 2018 where I think it was like participants that were involved in some they were previous veterans and um so they were sort of looked at according to their cardiorespiratory fitness. And the people that were in the highest group had a 5-year increased life expectancy compared to people in the lowest cardiorespiratory fitness group" (said at 0:12:50)

The referenced 2018 study published in JAMA Network Open (Mandsager et al.) investigated cardiorespiratory fitness and long-term all-cause mortality in 122,007 patients undergoing exercise treadmill testing at a tertiary medical center (not a veterans cohort). The study reported hazard ratios for mortality rather than life expectancy gains, finding that patients in the lowest fitness group had a roughly 5-fold higher risk of death compared to elite performers (adjusted hazard ratio 5.04), and elite performers had an 80% lower risk of death compared to the lowest group (adjusted hazard ratio 0.20). The study did not measure or report a 5-year increase in life expectancy.

  • partial: Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing … (JAMA network open 2018) · cited 499x in the literature
    "Risk-adjusted all-cause mortality was inversely proportional to cardiorespiratory fitness and was lowest in elite performers (elite vs low: adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.20; 95% CI, 0.16-0.24; P < .001; elite vs high: adjusted HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.63-0.95; P = .02). The increase in all-cause mortality associated with reduced cardiorespiratory fitness (low vs elite: adjusted HR, 5.04; 95% CI, 4.10-6.20; P < .001; below average vs above average: adjusted HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.34-1.49; P < .001) was comparable to or greater than traditional clinical risk factors..." (abstract, results, passage verified)
    pubmedfull study (doi)
0:19:44Rhonda Patrick (host)overstatedmoderate

A meta-analysis found that approximately 40% of individuals performing 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise did not experience improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness unless vigorous exercise or high-intensity interval training was added.

"he was talking about a meta-analysis that had looked at a variety of different studies where people were meeting the requirements for moderate-intensity exercise, so they were doing about 150 minutes a week of what is called moderate-intensity exercise, so they're probably doing, you know, something more like a zone 2 where they're or maybe even a little bit less than that, but you know, something like 60 to 80% their their max heart rate, and about 40% of those individuals didn't see improvements in their cardiorespiratory fitness unless some high-intensity interval training or some more vigorous exercise was sort of added to the equation." (said at 0:19:44)

The speaker misattributes the findings of a specific randomized trial to a meta-analysis and misstates the intervention required to overcome non-response. Montero and Lundby (2017) tested 78 healthy adults performing 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 sessions (60 min each) per week of moderate-intensity endurance training for 6 weeks. In the 2-session (120 min/week) and 3-session (180 min/week) groups, non-response rates were 40% and 29%, respectively. However, non-response was completely eliminated simply by increasing the total volume of exercise (adding two 60-minute moderate endurance sessions per week), not by requiring high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or vigorous exercise.

1:17:20Rhonda Patrick (host)overstatedmoderate

When exercise volume is equated, high-intensity interval training yields greater improvements in glucose regulation than continuous low- to moderate-intensity training.

"But if you're again comparing the volume of exercise being the same and comparing sort of a continuous lower- to moderate-intensity exercise with high-intensity interval training or a more vigorous type of exercise, you're going to have more improvements in glucose regulation with the higher-intensity exercise." (said at 1:17:20)

While high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can acutely improve postprandial glucose clearance and acute glucose tolerance more than an energy-matched bout of continuous moderate-intensity exercise (MICT), systematic reviews and meta-analyses of long-term exercise interventions demonstrate that HIIT and MICT yield largely comparable improvements in long-term glycemic control markers (such as HbA1c, fasting glucose, and HOMA-IR). Some meta-analyses show subtle advantages of HIIT for fasting blood glucose in specific populations, whereas others show MICT to be slightly superior for long-term HbA1c reduction. Therefore, stating broadly that HIIT yields greater improvements in glucose regulation when exercise volume is equated overstates the evidence.

1:41:15Brady Holmeroverstatedmoderate

Performing exercise snacks 4 to 5 times per day several times per week improves VO2 max, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and HbA1c in untrained individuals.

"there are multiple studies by Dr. Gibala and colleagues showing people improve their VO2 max just by doing these exercise snacks four to five times per day for a few times per week. They can improve cardiometabolic health, so they can improve their blood pressure, reduce their fasting blood glucose, improve their HbA1c." (said at 1:41:15)

Studies by Dr. Martin Gibala's group and subsequent meta-analyses confirm that 'exercise snacks' (brief, isolated bouts of vigorous physical activity such as sprint cycling or stair climbing performed multiple times per day across several days per week) significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness (peak oxygen uptake/VO2 max) and time-trial performance in untrained individuals. However, the claim that exercise snacks reliably improve resting blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and HbA1c is overstated. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized trials have found no statistically significant improvements in blood pressure or general cardiometabolic profiles from exercise snacks, though some acute trials in individuals with type 2 diabetes report modest improvements in acute postprandial glucose variability.

2:33:26Brady Holmeroverstatedlow

Post-exercise sauna use can improve VO2 max.

"Not only, you know, the studies show that you can improve your VO2 max, you know, additionally by using the sauna" (said at 2:33:26)

While isolated small trials have reported modest improvements in VO2 max following several weeks of post-exercise sauna bathing (e.g., a 2021 study of 20 runners reporting an increase of 0.27 L/min), comprehensive systematic reviews and meta-analyses show that the evidence is weak, inconsistent, and highly preliminary. A 2025 meta-analysis found only small and uncertain effects on VO2 max with low to very low certainty of evidence across available trials, and a 2025 systematic review noted that chronic post-exercise heat interventions generally showed no clear effect on VO2 max.

Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.