Great writing you did there Jeff.
I do wonder, you talk about hiit being the best for cardiomyopathy and LVH (if variabels like bp are healthy) induced by aas. Would hiit still be 'safe' if you're on/ use supraphysiologic levels of hormones? Am I thinking too bro that the combination would induce growth from the heart? Or does it not work that way?
It's a fair point. There's a direct, androgen-receptor mediated effect of AAS on cardiomyocyte growth. So in principal, the high-intensity exertion of the heart could induce growth of the myocardium in AAS (ab)users but not those with physiological androgen levels. That is even if blood pressure is normal.
There's no studies looking at the interaction of androgen levels and HIIT safety. And in the absence of scientific evidence, it's OK to rely on common-sense broscience reasoning.
Here's my broscience take on it: The reason HIIT in hypertensive patients leads to maladaptations is due to pressure overload. The heart muscle has to contract against a higher resistance in the presence of hypertension. If you do low intensity cardio, you get all the health benefits of cardio while not overexerting the heart. But if you make the heart beat very fast against that high resistance, this is gonna cause a lot of damage and thereby impulse for growth.
But if there is no hypertension, then the exertion for the heart from HIIT is more like cardio than it is resistance exercise: Your heart is beating fast, but against a low resistance. So even if there's very high activation of the heart's androgen receptors, the underlying stimulus is not strong enough to lead to significant hypertrophy. Much like you're not getting huge legs by taking a shit ton of gear and just riding the bicycle.
But again, that's just speculation. What I
can say with high confidence is the following:
1) If you are on TRT or natural, and your blood pressure is in range, HIIT is superior, hands down.
2) If you are blasting AAS and have uncontrolled hypertension, then HIIT will fuck up your heart.
3) If you blast AAS but keep your blood pressure down, then probably, HIIT is safe and superior to moderate intensity cardio. But if you want to be on the safe side, stick to moderate intensity cardio, so something like 60 to 70% of maximum heart rate for 30 min.
4) Low intensity cardio is trash. It will help with things like weight loss, has positive metabolic effects, and does help a little bit with cardiorespiratory fitness. But it won't do nearly as much in terms of heart health as more intense, shorter duration exercise.