For older male athletes, doing a lot of hard but not extreme exercise—like fast running or cycling—seems to be linked to less calcium buildup in heart arteries over time, compared to doing super intense workouts.

31

Pro

0

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

31

Community contributions welcome

31

Exercise Volume Versus Intensity and the Progression of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Middle-Aged and Older Athletes: Findings From the MARC-2 Study

Cohort Study

Human

2023 Mar 28

The study found that middle-aged and older male athletes who did a lot of intense but not extreme exercise had slower buildup of artery calcium over 6 years — exactly what the claim says. Doing even more than that, though, made it worse.

Contradicting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Exercise Volume Versus Intensity and the Progression of Coronary Atherosclerosis in Middle-Aged and Older Athletes: Findings From the MARC-2 Study

Score: 31

DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061173

Similar Assertions

For older male athletes, doing hard but not extreme workouts (like steady running or cycling) seems to be linked to less calcium buildup in heart arteries over time, compared to doing ultra-intense workouts.

31

0

98%

For older male athletes who work out really hard—like sprinting or intense cycling—doing more of this super intense exercise over time seems to be linked to more calcium building up in their heart arteries, which could be a sign of plaque growth.

31

0

95%

For older male athletes who exercise a lot, doing very hard workouts (like sprinting or intense cycling) seems to be linked to more calcium buildup in the heart arteries over time, while moderate hard workouts might not have the same effect.

31

0

95%

Doing very hard exercise — like sprinting or intense cycling — is linked to more calcium buildup and plaque in the heart arteries, even if the total amount of exercise is the same as someone who exercises less intensely.

46

0

86%

Even if super-active athletes have more plaque, the amount of calcium in each spot, how big it is, and where it’s located doesn’t get worse the more they’ve exercised.

46

0

84%