when did boycotting cardio become the cool thing to do?

That_car_is_full_of_balloons

ive noticed in social media outlets more and more people are bragging about not doing cardio

example: http://statigr.am/p/426009128144813040_144762381

what kind of message does this send?

where is the humble explanation for this? its always some guy or girl posing with a "cardio is for wussies" message attached
you couldnt pay me to look like that guy and that is no offense to him. im sure he works hard and i could be inspired by that.
i dont understand the narrow minded view that we should all lift and get big muscles and skip cardio because weak people do it and you dont want to look weak do you? if youre a girl, you should be ripped and have a six pack. if youre a guy, you should look like an NFL linebacker. when did this become the standard? so i am wasting my time doing cardio even though i really enjoy it and ive experienced benefits from it? i am a hamster in a wheel now? im not a spartan of the gym? personally i would get more satisfaction completing the tour de france than deadlifting 1,001 lbs. but why is social media holding that against me now? im not athletic? im not alpha male?

id really like serious discussion about this because literally everyday i see these anti cardio messages on instagram, twitter, facebook from men and women alike.

just bothers me :frown: that really amazing looking, hard working people (because thats how i see them) would want the general public to fall into THEIR mold

cwolfman13

Everyone should lift or otherwise do some sort of resistance training as well as cardio...most people I know who are at all into fitness do both because they understand that having an all around good level of fitness requires both.

Also, I highly doubt you'd look like that in a million years...so I wouldn't worry about lifting heavy things and putting them down. Even with decent genetics and being a dude, that would take you a loooonnnnnggggg time and some serious dedication to the weight room.

Just go get your fitness on...lift heavy things and put them down and do some cardio for your heart.

phjorg1

because cardio does not work your type ii muscles. weights do.

pastryari

Everyone should lift or otherwise do some sort of resistance training as well as cardio...most people I know who are at all into fitness do both because they understand that having an all around good level of fitness requires both.

^ This.

The cardio bashing on this site has gotten a bit ridiculous, IMO.

I also don't judge others by what exercises they choose to do. Unless it's washing the dishes, cooking, or vacuuming. Sorry, but that ain't exercise.

GetSoda

I think people are more rejecting the hamsterwheels that are ellipticals and treadmills.

BenchPressingCats

I think it's a response to many people who push cardio onto those who want to git fit/lost weight (for women especially). It's trying to show that there are other ways to get fit, but it is minimizing the importance of cardio at the same time. Akin to the "Real women have curves" bullsh!t.

funforsports

I agree, I lift but that doesn't mean everyone should or that there are no benefits to cardio. There are great benefits to cardio even for the people who lift. I am not really a fan of the negative ads at all, everyone has different goals and everyone enjoys different things. Keep doing what you are doing if that is what you enjoy.

Timshel_

Everyone should lift or otherwise do some sort of resistance training as well as cardio...most people I know who are at all into fitness do both because they understand that having an all around good level of fitness requires both.

Yup.

Achrya

Straight Cardio is boring. I still do it though. I'd like to boycott it but that seems counter productive

_noob_

For the same effort lifting weights/resistance training does WAY more positives for your physique than anything but a good diet. Also lifting shares some of the same overall health benefits of cardio.

From a physique standpoint cardio is equal to or sometimes worse than just not eating those calories you burned.

pinkraynedropjacki

I'm 100% FOR cardio. If it wasn't for cardio I'd still be fat. I lost ALL my weight doing nothing but cardio & I have great fitness because of it. Even the PT I saw once was impressed. It took me 7 months to lose all my weight, become so damn fit I can do it all on 4 hours sleep & still be great every single day.

jofjltncb6

In...

...for where this thread is going...

...because I predict it will be going places.

jwdieter

Football player vs soccer player. Just depends what you're going for.

BeachIron

Just realized from below who this poster is. I have no desire to support this type of person in any way.

poohpoohpeapod

Agreed! and ig I hear "I like lifting heavy stuff and I am a girl" Ok do what you want, but get a new line.

aelunyu

ive noticed in social media outlets more and more people are bragging about not doing cardio

example: http://statigr.am/p/426009128144813040_144762381

what kind of message does this send? i think elitist, egotistical, ignorant

where is the humble explanation for this? its always some guy or girl posing with a "cardio is for wussies" message attached
you couldnt pay me to look like that guy and that is no offense to him. im sure he works hard and i could be inspired by that.
i dont understand the narrow minded view that we should all lift and get big muscles and skip cardio because weak people do it and you dont want to look weak do you?
if youre a girl, you should be ripped and have a six pack. if youre a guy, you should look like an NFL linebacker. when did this become the standard?
so i am wasting my time doing cardio even though i really enjoy it and ive experienced benefits from it? i am a hamster in a wheel now? im not a spartan of the gym?
personally i would get more satisfaction completing the tour de france than deadlifting 1,001 lbs
but why is social media holding that against me now? im not athletic? im not alpha male?

id really like serious discussion about this because literally everyday i see these anti cardio messages on instagram, twitter, facebook from men and women alike.
just bothers me :frown: that really amazing looking, hard working people (because thats how i see them) would want the general public to fall into THEIR mold

I agree, it's narrow minded. I think alot of it comes from people who achieve impressive physiques without doing any cardio. This is possible of course, though I would think not exactly optimal. You're being bombarded by aesthetic meat-heads who probably dont know they're doing cardio even though they are. I mean...once I had a guy sweating through his hoodie, heaving for breath, in an all out intense weight lifting session tell me he doesn't do cardio. It looked to me like he was doing plenty of cardio....his heart rate was probably 150+ during that entire hour in the gym. So people are confused...if you are sweating through your hoodie gasping for breath, you're doing cardio.

The other thing about cardio is the fact that the fitness community has really placed high emphasis on muscle size in the past decade or so. Somehow bulky is the new black. To obtain said bulk, cardio works negatively, though to bring out the definition of that hard earned muscles, it is somewhat indispensable. Paradox, I know. The benefits of holding a healthy amount of muscle are great. Better passive metabolism, more lean matter to perform better, jump higher, run faster, lift, climb, etc....so perhaps those rubbing your nose in the no-cardio message are just surprised that this was even possible. The converse of that, of course is looking too bulky without the function that healthy, strong muscle should provide. I understand that having 21 inch arms is somehow a badge of honor, but so is being able to run 26.3 miles in under 2 hours. Both of these trophies are irrelevant in a world where food is given to us, and we don't need to fight, hunt, search or catch it. I suppose they are our modern day displays of some primal need to be strong.

Cardio suffers GREATLY from the law of diminishing returns. The more cardio you do, the more you have to do to see progress, especially in the arena of weight loss. Since it is usually taken upon in a low intensity matter, and tends to be very very carb dependent over long sessions, it's not a preferred way to be "toned" or "lean". Evidence to this is shown by the plethora of "skinny-fat" marathon runners or long distance swimmers that somehow look more anorexic, always holding a layer of subcutaneous water under their skin, with little or no muscle development, and require huge amounts of carbing up to keep to their training...at least if they're looking to beat times over distance (which I assume is any runner's goal?). No one has time to do 10 miles a day..and inevitably, if you're dead seat on doing cardio to achieve weight loss, you'll be doing more and more of it.

I guess the best way to think about this is...we should care about all aspects of performance,and try to get that to match with an "ideal" way we want to look. To me, that's the pinnacle of health and beauty.

I'm open to serious discussion. And I don't like falling into molds myself.

victoriannsays

I lift, and do very little cardio (1-2x wkly) and I think I should be doing more for health reasons.

On this site I see lots of people "cardio bashing" to mostly females who post on here "i'm running for an hour a day 7 days a week and I really just wanna get TONED why am I not getting results HELP ME?!"

almc170

I dunno. I lift, do some cardio, and throw in a bit of yoga for good measure. I've pretty much tailored my routine to suit my goals and interests, and don't pay much attention to what's cool at the moment (except maybe Prancercise. That's some happenin' *kitten*.).

BinaryPulsar

I get tons of exercise. I am a dancer, I do yoga, I lift weights, I walk pretty much everywhere, I play with my kids, I do some HIIT. I've been an active exerciser for my whole life. After a while, steady state cardio can be kind of boring to me. I don't run because I need some rests from doing things that place repetitive stress on my knees because I am a long time dancer. I don't bother doing cardio for cardio sake because cardio is already a built in part of my life. When I go to the gym, I am there for weights. But, that doesn't mean I judge or care what anyone else does. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about what other people do or say about cardio.

jennifershoo

I don't think people are bashing cardio itself. It's the lack of weight training that's an issue. If you just run marathons all the time without any sort of weight/resistance training, then you slowly lose your lean mass. Muscles are important.

DavPul

I honestly don't care what anybody else thinks about what I'm doing with my time or my body. Post whatever article you like, put up whatever poster you want, say whatever comment you wish. Don't bother me none.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

Everyone should lift or otherwise do some sort of resistance training as well as cardio...most people I know who are at all into fitness do both because they understand that having an all around good level of fitness requires both.

Also, I highly doubt you'd look like that in a million years...so I wouldn't worry about lifting heavy things and putting them down. Even with decent genetics and being a dude, that would take you a loooonnnnnggggg time and some serious dedication to the weight room.

Just go get your fitness on...lift heavy things and put them down and do some cardio for your heart.

This.

But to clarify, OP probably isn't going to pick things up and put them down because weightlifters are bulky.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1009044-why-are-there-so-many-bulky-weightlifters

BeachIron

Everyone should lift or otherwise do some sort of resistance training as well as cardio...most people I know who are at all into fitness do both because they understand that having an all around good level of fitness requires both.

Also, I highly doubt you'd look like that in a million years...so I wouldn't worry about lifting heavy things and putting them down. Even with decent genetics and being a dude, that would take you a loooonnnnnggggg time and some serious dedication to the weight room.

Just go get your fitness on...lift heavy things and put them down and do some cardio for your heart.

This.

But to clarify, OP probably isn't going to pick things up and put them down because weightlifters are bulky.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1009044-why-are-there-so-many-bulky-weightlifters

Ah, yes. The it's okay for me to bash your goals but it's not okay for you to bash mine types.

grantdumas7

Everyone should lift or otherwise do some sort of resistance training as well as cardio...most people I know who are at all into fitness do both because they understand that having an all around good level of fitness requires both.

Also, I highly doubt you'd look like that in a million years...so I wouldn't worry about lifting heavy things and putting them down. Even with decent genetics and being a dude, that would take you a loooonnnnnggggg time and some serious dedication to the weight room.

Just go get your fitness on...lift heavy things and put them down and do some cardio for your heart.

This.

But to clarify, OP probably isn't going to pick things up and put them down because weightlifters are bulky.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1009044-why-are-there-so-many-bulky-weightlifters

OP will not respond at all.

lauraleighsm

I find it all a bit confusing. The allure of being svelte and buff without having to do some crazy cardio is attractive to me. However, I've spent the past year greatly increasing my stamina and endurance through running. If I stop my running and focus solely on weight training then I feel like I'll have to look of being strong, but without that awesome feeling of completing a run.

I think there's a happy medium. I haven't found it, but I think it's there.

djkronyx

Everything in moderation...and that includes cardio. People are not bashing cardio per se, but they do bash the notion that one needs 1.5 - 2 hrs a day of cardio to achieve a certain "look" or level of physical fitness. The point many are trying to make is that resistance training is also important and just as important as cardio. Neither should be done in excess, nor should one exist without the other, IMO.

Every athlete thinks they play the greatest sport. Marathoners think running is the best sport, quarterbacks think football is the greatest sport, and power lifters think weightlifting is the greatest sport. Don't let a few skewed opinions get you down. If you ENJOY doing what you do and you know it works for your body, then DO IT and don't change a thing.

sarahkatara

I honestly don't care what anybody else thinks about what I'm doing with my time or my body. Post whatever article you like, put up whatever poster you want, say whatever comment you wish. Don't bother me none.

As a die-hard Gone With The Wind fan, I must point out that Rhett Butler actually said, "Frankly, i don't give a damn". People have added in the "my dear" over time for dramatic effect.

Zangpakto

Well to me...

None of you can run likely as fast as me nor as long distance as me, I can surf 8-12ft waves without issue, do as many pullups and chin ups as feel same with pushups and situps...

Do I really need weights? Not for what I do I do not...

You guys do the heavy stuff, let us surfers and ultra distance runners take on the actual challenges in life

PikaKnight

Well to me...

None of you can run likely as fast as me nor as long distance as me, I can surf 8-12ft waves without issue, do as many pullups and chin ups as feel same with pushups and situps...

Do I really need weights? Not for what I do I do not...

You guys do the heavy stuff, let us surfers and ultra distance runners take on the actual challenges in life

Wow. Assuming much are we? Who knew we had some sort of athletic legend in our midst.


ETA: There are pro surfers that lift btw. Your welcome

strawberrytoast

PikaKnight

My opinion on the subject is that it's best to have both. I'm focused more on lifting then cardio, but that's because I like it more.