One of our beta members finished her first week and sent us the best question. She already works out a lot. She noticed 432 was hitting parts of her body her usual routine doesn’t, especially her pelvic floor and core. So she asked: are three workouts a week the right amount for women our age? Or is this meant to go on top of what we’re already doing?
Honestly? Both. 432 can swing both ways. And a lot of you have been wondering the same thing, so let’s get into it.
Why What You Do Matters More Now
Estrogen is a supercharged hormone that works all over your body. As it fluctuates and declines, five important systems shift, and they’re the five you can train to protect (more on that here). The catch: each one needs something different.
- Bones respond to heavy load and impact (LIFTMOR).
- Your brain gets a boost from hard effort, plus balance and coordination work (Frontiers review, Scientific Reports).
- Your heart responds to fitness, and short bursts of vigorous effort count for a lot (UK Biobank).
- Your pelvic floor needs breath-led core work that trains the two together (International Urogynecology Journal).
- Your metabolism runs on muscle, which clears about 80% of the sugar from every meal (Comprehensive Physiology).
So the question isn’t really “how much.” It’s “am I covering all of it?” Most single routines, even great ones, don’t.
If 432 Is All You’re Doing
You’re in good hands. Every week of 432 is built to cover all five systems: heavy strength days, sprints and power work, balance and pattern work, and dedicated pelvic floor and core work. It’s a thoughtful mix designed for what your body needs as your hormones change.
Here’s the honest part. Three 30-minute workouts is 90 minutes a week. The guidelines ask for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mix (WHO guidelines). Vigorous minutes count roughly double, and 432 has plenty of them. So add daily walks, the stairs, a weekend hike. Every move counts.
And those numbers are targets, not cliffs. The biggest health gains come from going from nothing to something, and benefits start well below the official line (Dr. Mary Claire Haver). So no, you’re not wasting your time if you’re not there yet.
If You’re Stacking It With Your Own Routine
Love your runs, your lifting, your Pilates? Keep them. 432 stacks in nicely and fills the gaps most routines miss:
- Heavy load, low reps. The bone-building kind, not endless medium sets.
- Sprints and short all-out efforts. Hard bursts raise BDNF, a protein that helps your brain grow and adapt, more than steady work does (J Appl Physiol).
- Power. How fast you can produce force. It declines faster than strength with age, and losing it raises your risk of falls (fall-prevention review). Most routines never train it. In postmenopausal women with low bone mass, jump power predicted balance better than strength or muscle size did (Osteoporosis International).
- Balance, agility and pattern work. Your brain and your fall risk both care about this. In one 12-week trial, hands-on balance training even raised BDNF, the protein that helps your brain grow and adapt (J Clin Med).
- Pelvic floor and core, together. Some ab moves on their own can actually push your pelvic organs down. Engaging your pelvic floor at the same time reduces that, in a study of postpartum women (study).
It’s Not Just More. It’s Smarter.
Love running? Adding a few short sprints might do more for your heart and brain than another long steady run. Think up to 30 seconds all-out, then 2 to 3 minutes to recover, once or twice a week (Dr. Stacy Sims via Huberman Lab).
Love lifting? You’ll start to see the value of going heavier with fewer reps, building up your load over time, and actually recovering.
Because here’s the thing nobody tells you: exercise is a stressor. A good one, but your body still has to recover from it. Pile training on without enough recovery, and that good stress stops working for you. More isn’t always better. Better is better.
So, Is 3 Actually Enough?
Yes, and here’s why it’s three. Three sessions is how we fit all five systems into every single week while leaving your body room to recover. It’s not because anything less is worthless. Something always beats nothing.
How to Fit It All Together
A few ways your week could look:
- 432 only: your three 432 workouts on non-consecutive days, plus a daily walk.
- The runner: three 432 workouts, with one of your steady runs swapped for 432’s sprint day. Keep your long run on a day away from the hardest 432 session.
- The lifter: keep two of your own lifting days, use 432 for power, sprints, balance and pelvic floor, and protect at least one true rest day.
One rule for everyone: don’t put your hardest 432 day back to back with your own hardest session. Give your body room to adapt.
Bonus: You’ll Know Why
The best part? 432 doesn’t just give you workouts. Every session tells you why it matters for this body. So if your current routine ever stops working for you, you’ll know how to shift and adapt.
Everyone treats the symptoms. Nobody trains the systems. We do.
Stay strong with us.
