She has over 9 years of experience writing about fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, translating medical research and expert insights into practical advice readers can trust. Tavishi Dogra is a Deputy Chief Content Producer, Health & Wellness, at Hindustan Times.
Career journey and experience Tavishi began her health journalism journey in 2017, and has since reported for RSTV, Financial Express, Jagran, HT Media Labs and Zee. The muscle you build now is muscle you’re borrowing against for the next 30 years. So if you only have time for one thing this week, and you’re over 30, make it strength training. We shall not be liable for any claim under applicable laws, including but not limited to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, with respect to the products.
She joined Hindustan Times to simplify wellness subjects by cutting through jargon. “I get asked this all the time, and the honest answer is it depends on your decade. Cardio and strength both still matter throughout. What changes is what your body actually needs most, and that shifts every ten years or so, whether you’re paying attention or not,” Fitness expert Sumit Dubey, Founder of Sumit Dubey Fitness (SDF), tells Health Shots . Somewhere in your 40s, things start changing under the hood. Muscle loss accelerates if you’re not actively working against it, and this is often when people first notice fat settling around the middle, even though nothing else has changed. This is where strength training earns its keep. Two or three sessions a week built around the big compound lifts— squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows— will do more for your metabolism and your joints than piling on extra cardio. Your heart still needs cardio, don’t get me wrong, but at this stage it’s the supporting act, not the main event. By your 50s, the conversation changes again, and bone density steps in. Strength training stops being about how you look and starts being about staying upright, protecting you from osteoporosis and falls, and slowing the slow slide toward losing your independence that sneaks up on people in their seventies. “My advice for this decade: don’t ease off strength work; if anything, lean into it harder. Cardio’s still non-negotiable, too; lifting weights doesn’t let your heart off the hook, but shift some of it to lower-impact options. Walking, cycling, swimming. Here’s the thread running through all three decades: strength training becomes more important, not less, as you age. It’s actually backward. As you get older, you’re most at risk of losing muscle and bone, and they don’t come back easily once they’re gone. Just don’t skip cardio entirely; your heart is still keeping score. (Disclaimer: At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up to date with the latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has an affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. The products listed in this article are in no particular order of priority. The brand provided them to HT Shop Now for testing and evaluation. Our opinions remain independent and based on our personal experience with the items. Please patch test the products before use.)
Because you can lift hard and bounce back without much drama, this is actually the best window to build a strength base,. Because the cultural instinct is to associate lifting with your twenties and cardio with getting older, that surprises people,.
“I’d still keep cardio in the mix; two or three sessions a week is plenty, but strength training should be the backbone”, says the expert. Your joints will thank you,” says the fitness expert.
Subject expertise With 9+ years tracking India’s health conversations, Tavishi knows the gap between clinical advice and daily life. When all else fails, I speak to the expert who sees 50 patients a day, not the one with the most followers. She knows fads from fundamentals and curates science-backed, expert-recommended solutions. In fitness, she breaks down bodyweight training, recovery, and posture fixes for desk-bound readers. In nutrition, she translates guidelines into affordable, desi meal tweaks. In mental well-being, she focuses on stigma-free, actionable tools — all backed by research, expert input, and lived context. Education and professional background Tavishi holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and began her career reporting on public affairs for broadcast. Editorial Philosophy I write with one single goal: To simplify health in a world full of noise by finding what’s actually doable, safe, and evidence-based for my readers. I test claims against research and user experiences. In your 30s, you’re mostly still coasting on momentum. Your metabolism holds steady, your joints forgive you when you push a little too hard, and you bounce back from a tough session fast.
From decoding health trends and interviewing doctors to testing fitness routines herself, Tavishi always approaches content with one filter: “Will this help someone make a better decision today? Those early years in policy and TV shaped how she writes today: fast, factual, and human-first.
