Too much cardio?

Picola1984

I've been told by a Personal Trainer, not at my gym, that burning too many calories doesn't always coincide with weight loss. Here is the exact thing that was discussed via Facebook, my original question was regarding weight loss pills (bad I know) but he asked me about my routine

Andrew Scoffham im asking you how you work out, from start to finish..

Nicola Irwin sorry, i thought you meant how do i log the details. I do an hour on a machine which I vary each time. Either treadmill running, elliptical at high resistance but moderate pace and same on crossramp. Then I swap to another machine for about 20 mins, then another like the bike for 10 then sit ups etc for 10 mins

Andrew Scoffham thats where your going wrong. to much cardio. your training like an andurance athelete, your body will simply burn calories. you need to transform your body into a calories burning machine. i wont go into too much detail but. put simple there are different eneergy systems you need to tap into to, or not in this case... you either want to look like an endurance runner no fat no muscle.. or a sprinter (diff energy system) short bursts of HI cardio. they are Muscley toned look good... there metabolism will be much higher due to the muscle.

hope you get that only scratched the surface but long story cut short. how i base my pt sessions are; 10 min warm up, 20-40 mins of High intensity so fast passed weight training, body weight / resistance machines /free wweights anything... look on youtube. and then finish on 10-20mins MAX of high intensity interval training..
Short Fast Hard simple.. look better

Nicola Irwin But I want to burn calories, I want to loose weight to the point of no body fat. So I guess I want the endurance runner, I don't want to look like a fat muscly man. I want the impossible size 0 look. God I hate the media. I'll have a look into that though, thank you


Andrew Scoffham no seriously too much cardio is extremely common in the industry people hit walls all the time with it.. you cant loose that much fat and SUSTAIN it without muscle and a high metabolism, all that endurance stuff eats your muscle and does the opposite. x x

END

My idea was to go as fast and hard as possible at the gym in order to burn as many calories as possible....anyone else have opinions on this?

bunchesonothing

I really wish the whole thing about endurance athletes having no muscle would just die already.

Picola1984

I have no idea there even was a 'thing'

Elzecat

from what I've been reading about and hearing from some people in the fitness industry, hard fast and "brief" is the way to go--basically high intensity interval training...HIIT. Not sure if that is what he's referring to...

kappy_hollowell

You definitely need to do some kind of resistance training. You won't bulk up, but you will tone and sculpt, and your metabolism will shoot through the roof.

Yes, sometimes longer less intense cardio is more for endurance. Sure, do it 3 days aweek, but on the other days, try for a really high intensity shorter workout. This is the reason TurboFire works so well for most. The cardio is high intensity and most are 30-60 minutes long, but every other day, your doing a HIIT workout (high intensity interval training) for 15-25 minutes along with resistance on that day. i'm not talking about huge muscles; I'm talking about just toning up and it will decrease your fat.

I hope that helps some.

Picola1984

Yeah when I'm back home I'm going to ask the trainers at my gym for a clearer view. Just interested to see from a broader spectrum on here first

Buckeyt

I really wish the whole thing about endurance athletes having no muscle would just die already.

Yeah, those Kenyans that win every major marathon are just loaded with muscle.

bunchesonothing

I have incredibly strong thighs, calves and core. I am working on my upperbody.

A good endurance athlete will throw in weight training to make them a more balanced athlete.

Anyone who is looking to improve, will start doing speed workouts which will start helping out with their musculature(ever see a wimpy looking sprinter.) My thighs actually got bigger (muscle) when I started throwing speed workouts in the mix. I gained weight doing speedwork over time.

We eat a lot of carbs, but someone who knows what they are doing will get a decent amount of protein.

In the answer to your question... you need to vary your workouts to enhance the effects on your body. And a good endurance athlete will too.

barbiex3

umm endurance athletes have muscle. probably way more than the average person. What is wrong with the PT hahah. I train the exact way you are describing and weight is literally MELTING off of me... This is a month ago and now...
I have lost FAT weight and got more toned.







you can lose FAT from doing what he told you to not do...

schaney24

I doubt my trainer would say anything like too much cardio. You do need the muscle to burn the calories, but she recommends on days that I do cardio and don't train that I get the most out of my workout. She says get your heart rate high, and keep it high. Yes that is endurance, not fat loss but she says running burns more calories than anything and thus leads to the most rapid weight loss. She puts me on step-mill & tread mill for 15 min/ 45 min increments. Yes, I can do more just not less. I try to burn 1000 calories a day and only eat my 1200; it's working!

bunchesonothing

I really wish the whole thing about endurance athletes having no muscle would just die already.

Yeah, those Kenyans that win every major marathon are just loaded with muscle.

Yes, because Kenyans are the only marathon runners out there. I can show you pics of other runners that have a low body fat but have muscle. They do not look like body builders, but that does not mean they have no muscle.

Delicate

Everyone is loaded with muscle, its how we move in the first place.

Go back to your trainers, but you could just do weights/resistance training to build up your muscle, if you dont want to venture into the weights room, go to a resistance class such as body pump.

I do hours of cardio quite regularly and mix it with resistance training, listen to your body, feed it properly and rest when you feel like resting.

barbiex3

I really wish the whole thing about endurance athletes having no muscle would just die already.

Yeah, those Kenyans that win every major marathon are just loaded with muscle.

Yes, because Kenyans are the only marathon runners out there. I can show you pics of other runners that have a low body fat but have muscle. They do not look like body builders, but that does not mean they have no muscle.

I wonder who has more muscle...







the first picture is an olympic marathon runner-- she looks pretty muscular to me....

Azdak

The term "too much cardio" is thrown around with no common reference as to what that means. Often, the "anti cardio" people will use extreme examples (i.e. Kenyan marathon runners) and generalize that to "don't do more than 30 minutes of cardio".

Your OP was too rambly for me to read it all in detail and I think your program goals/strategy are kind of unfocused right now.

However, taking out all the nonsense and the wildly overstated assertions about muscle increasing metabolism, the fact is that a balanced program that includes endurance cardio, tempo cardio, higher intensity interval cardio and resistance training is still the best overall plan for most people to use exercise to reach their goals.

bunchesonothing

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Kara+Goucher/Shalane+Flanagan

Nope, these chicks have no muscle.

http://nolimitsever.blogspot.com/2010/11/ryan-halls-new-coach-is-god.html

Neither does he.

TK421NotAtPost

Wow, a lot of mythical stuff being passed along by that "personal trainer".

While it is true that doing a lot of cardio combined with a large caloric deficit will lead to bad things, it is ridiculous to make the wholesale assertion that too much cardio is undesireable. First off, what is too much cardio? How can something like that be stated without knowing what a person's exact goals are?

Second, sprinters are buff not because they do sprint intervals. They are buff because they squat, and then squat some more and then they squat yet some more. Oh yeah, and they also inject magic potion into their bodies which makes them huge. (Note: Not talking about endurance athletes)

Increase metabolism by getting more muscular? LOL, ok...whatever. Until one SIGNIFICANTLY increases their VO2 max, any gains in metabolism through this method will be negligible. :laugh: I wish this myth would die already..

If you want to look good naked, just do a good combination of cardio work (both steady state and high intensity intervals) as well as resistance training. Get plenty of protein and focus on a reasonable daily caloric deficit.

ttrotter1960

Actually he is correct. Your body will adjust to what ever it thinks normal is. If you are hitting the cardio like a long distance enduarnace runner then your body is going to attempt to become as lean as possible. Yes, it will burn all the fat away and it will also breakdown the heavy skeletal muscle because a long distance runner doesn't need to be strong. They need a strong set of lungs and a good heart. Excess muscle is just heavy and in the way. Once the excess skeletal muscle is gone your body is literally just burning calories. If you EVER stop exercising you will blowup into a ball of flab VERY quickly because there will be no muscle to moderate your metabolism.

It is a far better idea to mix your cardio with weight resistance. Skeletal muscle burns fat throughout the day. The more muscular you are the more calories you burn even at rest. Obviously, women don't want to look like men and thankfully you won't - that is a wive's tale. It takes testosterone to look the way we do and you don't have enough of it make a difference. Yes, there are some bulky women running around but they are focusing on looking like that and probably taking things they shouldn't be as well. A normal weight resistance routine will only make the average woman look better, firmer and more athletic.

Mix your cardio with an equal portion of weight resistance and I promise you will not regret it.

TK421NotAtPost

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Kara+Goucher/Shalane+Flanagan

Nope, these chicks have no muscle.

http://nolimitsever.blogspot.com/2010/11/ryan-halls-new-coach-is-god.html

Neither does he.

Good stuff bunchesnothing. Those are some amazing physiques!

There was a lot of eye-candy over the weekend while watching the US Track and Field event at U of Oregon. Never seen so many fine-looking female six packs running on the track....

TK421NotAtPost

Here's an idea for that personal trainer... Pole vault your way to a hot body!! :laugh:

bluefox9er

I really wish the whole thing about endurance athletes having no muscle would just die already.

amen to that. i use to play college football (varsity) and everyone automatically assumes that I am supposed to have zero fat on my body.

bluefox9er

from what I've been reading about and hearing from some people in the fitness industry, hard fast and "brief" is the way to go--basically high intensity interval training...HIIT. Not sure if that is what he's referring to...

I have zero trust in ''personal trainers'' or the gym etc, all they want is for you to buy into their BS extra cost training sessions. Whats wrong with honest hard work and eating right? The mfp community has given me infinitely more sound advice about nutrition and exercise than any ''free'' personal training consultation and a million times more motivation.

LauraMarie37

I have zero trust in ''personal trainers'' or the gym etc, all they want is for you to buy into their BS extra cost training sessions. Whats wrong with honest hard work and eating right? The mfp community has given me infinitely more sound advice about nutrition and exercise than any ''free'' personal training consultation and a million times more motivation.

Amen to that!

I agree with people - "too much" cardio for who? What are your goals? If it's just to be a skinny size zero, as you said in your OP (and honestly, chasing goals set by the media doesn't really lead to long term personal fulfillment or emotional stability...), then throw in some weight training, and try different things for like two weeks at a time to see what your body reacts to best.

I like to think healthy, strong, and able to set new physical challenges and overcome them are really better goals than a number on the scale or a dress size, though.

Picola1984

I will add that I'm now training for a half marathon, 13 miles. So I have started running outside more. My first shot at it I managed 10 miles over 1 hour 36 minutes. i was amazed by the calorie burn compared to the same time in the gym.

I just worry my calves are going to get even bigger, as they are already quite muscly.

So I will be spending less time in the gym itself and more outdoors

lily4u2

I think in his gibberishy ay he was trying to say "muscle burns fat". Cardio helps also, and it helps get rid of those extra flabby bits and shows the muscle lying beneath. 3 days of resistance training is the best for building LEAN (not big and bulky) muscle, and the cardio will help with endurance and shedding extra fat. Naturally, this wont happen if you are not fuelling your body with the right fuel.................nutrients.............