thoughts about cardio on primal?

pandafoo

Hi everyone! I'm a newbie to the primal way of eating (2 weeks in), and I know that lifting heavy weights is recommended and chronic cardio is not as favorable. I don't know if I can give up cardio tho - there are just some activities I really like! My hubby and I go 2-3x/week to a local kickboxing gym which we love. We also started Insanity tonight (thought it'd be a nice challenge and help with weight loss), and we've signed up for the Big Sur half-marathon in November (this will be my 5th half-marathon and I enjoy the challenge as well). I'm still planning to lift weights 1-2x a week tho.

So I'd like to learn from your experiences...did you keep cardio in your lifestyle or reduce it by a lot once you started primal? Either way, how did it impact your health, weight loss, and how you felt? Thanks!

Kat

ShannonKirton

Kat, there is no reason for you to give up your cardio. At least I don't see why you should. When I started paleo in July, I still went to all my cardio classes at the gym and did my running, but I did make sure to add lifting to my schedule once I was happy where my body had settled. Once you have not stalled in your loss (if you are aiming to lose) and you feel great, do whatever exercise you enjoy. Once you're moving, I don't see the harm in it. Rock on!!!

nellyett

I've started eating Primal 2 weeks ago as well....LOVE IT!!!

I'm pretty sure that there is a section on marksdailyapple.com or elsewhere online that has a plan or information on eating Primal for endurance athletes. Should be easy to find if you google it.

Akimajuktuq

You don't have to stop cardio. The point is that some people are doing excessive amounts of cardio and damaging their health in the process, all the while thinking they are doing something good for their health. The idea is to do whatever makes you feel good, being sure to include strength building and PLAY, but avoiding being OCD with chronic cardio.

jennaworksout

I have been Paleo since Oct 2012, I did incorporate weight lifting to my routine, I was a total cardio queen lol...I have cut back on it though, not completely, i'd say 60% of what I was doing, before was cardio 5- 6 day s a week for 1 hour or so...now I do 5- 6 days a week, 2 days are just cardio for about an hour, other 4 days 45 - 60 minutes of weights, then 35 min of cardio after. I have to keep my cardio for mental health reasons, stress and anxiety. I would rather just lift now, never thought I would say that, cardio is boring to me now lol

I also do a bit more cardio when I am feeling blaghhhh and chunky . but once I am feeling good again, I do more weights for sure.

Shadowknight137

If you enjoy cardio, why would you stop?

I assumed Mark's advice on avoiding/limiting cardio was for people who use it as a means of weight loss, whereas creating a deficit will do just that (ie, eating Primal foods, eliminating processed ones, etc). By all means do it if you like to.

pattyproulx

As others have said, if you really enjoy it, do it.

Personally, I've always hated jogging and used to try to force myself to do it. Now, after reading more about chronic cardio, I realize it isn't as effective as previously thought so I don't feel bad about not running.

I do remain very active though and play hockey and volleyball a couple of times per week, so in a sense it is cardio, but I see it as more of a hobby that keeps me active.

Edit: I don't really see Insanity and Kickboxing (and my sports) as cardio necessarily. I feel it's more 'sprint' than cardio.

Dragonwolf

If you enjoy cardio, why would you stop?

I assumed Mark's advice on avoiding/limiting cardio was for people who use it as a means of weight loss, whereas creating a deficit will do just that (ie, eating Primal foods, eliminating processed ones, etc). By all means do it if you like to.

To be fair, Mark's sentiments also apply to marathons and their training regimens. He used to be into the marathon stuff before going Primal and learned first hand some of the damage it can do. His thresholds for what qualify as "chronic cardio" are about what most people view as "typical" - longer than an hour, most days of the week.

From his bio (emphasis mine):

I excelled at cross-country and distance track events in high school and at Williams College, where I was a pre-med candidate and received my degree in Biology.

In fact, the running was going so well after college that I decided to forgo medical school for a few years (it’s at 31 years now) and concentrate on a running career. I trained seriously as a marathoner for another five years, racking up well over 100 miles each week in training. The effort culminated in a top 5 finish in the 1980 US National Marathon Championships and a qualifying spot for the 1980 US Olympic Trials. Unfortunately, by then the inhuman amount of training and weekly racing was taking its toll and I found myself constantly sick or injured. (Note to self: too much exercise is not a good thing). In fact, in my last year of competition, as a world class, extremely “fit” athlete, I experienced eight upper respiratory infections! Clearly I was ruining my immune system and my joints doing too much exercise. That’s when I started exploring nutrition and supplementation as a way to enhance my performance and to support my damaged body and bolster my immune system.

The running injuries – osteoarthritis and tendonitis – precluded ever racing at a high level again, but that was just about the time that the new sport of Triathlon was starting to emerge, and I was immediately hooked. While I couldn’t run much anymore, I could certainly cycle and swim to my heart’s content…and I did. I spent a few more years racing triathlons, including finishing 4th place at the Hawaii Ironman, the biggest in the world at the time.

He's got a ton of posts on the topic, here are a few:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chronic-cardio/ - Defines "chronic cardio"
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/carb-concessions-nitric-oxide-and-chronic-cardio/ - Also defines it
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-evidence-continues-to-mount-against-chronic-cardio/ - Outlines some of the really bad effects

There are a ton of others, but most of them link to one another.