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Really mfp, really?

amandaeve
amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
Is Too Much Exercise as Bad as Not Enough? What do you all think of this article recently published in the mfp blog?
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/much-exercise-bad-not-enough/

Personally, I see it as another mainstream media attempt at making sure everyone in the world thinks they are doing life wrong. I get so sick of premature research pushed by media as gospel. After reading for a little while, you get skeptical of all research as it becomes so full of contradictions and qualifiers. But perhaps I only feel defensive because I regularly exercise 900 minutes a week. What do you think?
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Replies

  • amandaeve
    amandaeve Posts: 723 Member
    Good to know, I never really read the blog before. Don't think I'm going to start.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,355 Member
    edited January 2018
    .
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited January 2018
    jbruced wrote: »
    I read the linked article and recalled something about this issue that I had read last year. The article I read last year was about ultra endurance athletes especially the runners doing over 100 miles at a time. Cardiac remodeling as the heart adapts to the work load creates problems with the electrical system of the heart leading to poor heart function. There is also the problem of fibrosis as mentioned in the OP's linked article again resulting in poor heart function. Runners may recall Jim Fixx who died of cardiac problems. It was my thinking at the time that he suffered from arrhythmias although at that time we didn't know as much as we do now about cardiac remodeling. Again the stuff I read last year was about hardcore ultra endurance athletes--people really pushing the extremes.

    Yes, thickening of the heart walls causes issues of signals passing between chambers, but it's rare for natural athletes to experience this, but steroid users have been known to have such issues, recently pro bodybuilder Dallas Mccarver died at the age of 26 of a massive heart attack and his heart was almost 3x the weight it should have been. He was over 300lbs on stage and this alone was really not healthy.

    If you read up on Jim Fixx's family background you'll see that he probably prolonged his life through running as well.

    As for the ultra guys, I'm not sure I've seen any evidence of them having heart issues, do you have any information on increased risk or mortality? I'm curious because I've also wondered if that's even a healthy thing to think about let alone do! ;)
  • PikaJoyJoy
    PikaJoyJoy Posts: 280 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    I won’t comment on 900 minutes of exercise per week without more context to frame it. As far as the MFP blog, I’m not sure how much control they have over the content, whether it’s pushed to them from other sources or what, but it’s often as full of woo as a Dr. Oz show. I don’t even bother reading it after some of the clickbait garbage I’ve seen in it.

    ^This sums up everything I think about the MFP blog.