Why has cardio become a swear word on MFP all of a sudden?

astrampe

I can't help to notice that cardio has been getting a seriously bad rep lately....

I get the idea that strengh/resistance whatever you want to call it is a vital part of losing weight and staying healthy, but there are more and more threads where people get told that 2 days of cardio per week is too much????

What about the health benefits of regular cardio vs just "heavy lifting"?

I know what works for me (cardio 4+ times a week from 30 mins to 1.5 hour on long runs, and lifting (though i doubt that some cousins of the Incredible Hulk on here would call it heavy! ) 3 times a week....
it gives me an all round program, burns calories, sustain lean muscle and makes me happy - oh, and got my bp down from borderline hypertention (139/89 to 117/70) and my body fat % down from 49.6 to 29%, so why the dislike of it?

Any ideas on why cardio is bad all of a sudden? :flowerforyou:

astrampe

Anyone?

ekicinsk

I've noticed that people here, as much as they pretend not to sometimes, fall victim to the diet/fitness fads. Less cardio must be a new one. I do cardio almost every day and lift every other or so (or do circuits that combine them). The heart is a muscle too, right? I'd almost rather have a wussy body figure and a healthy heart from cardio that vice versa.

But I don't know why all the cardio hate.

amycool

I love cardio, I like getting out of breath and sweaty and I like getting my heart beat up and going red, makes me feel good.

I've seen a few posts saying bad stuff about cardio, I don't get it either.

RLeighP

I think it's the whole "if you only do cardio you will be skinny fat" or whatever. I know that a good balance of cardio and strength training is important, but goodness. To each their own, if someone wants to do cardio every day, at least they're moving!

fatboypup

cardio is KING!

Loko_Ino

I do mainly strength training but still do cardio. I have not really noticed people admonishing cardio on the site...I think tons of folks are highlighting weight training because so many did not realize that lifting can also help lose weight. You need a good combo of weight training, cardio, and diet to make real changes and keep them.

reneeramirez4christ

I haven't seen those posts but I have noticed more and more people giving advice that just isn't healthy. Cardio is wonderful for the heart and keeping people healthy. Yes people should take a break from hard core cardio at least once a week, but a good 30 minutes of cardio a day is excellent.

chelekaz

I love my cardio and will never give it up. I will do strength 1 - 2x per week but I'm all about cardio!

mick_02

I love cardio. I feel so much better after a long run then I ever do lifting. I know that gaining muscle is important to maintaining a healthy weight but cardio is awesome

Syreeta6

I was just waiting on the weather to change :blushing:

zmzmzm19

I look forward to my cardio...........it's what's helping me shed these #"s!! I also do some weight training too, a good balance is a good thing.

mickipedia

Cardio leads to "skinny fat" and some people seem to have issues with the whole "skinny fat" look and think that every muscle should be worked hard and defined.. Yea sure I do strength training but I do not wanna get "ripped"

I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

SinkTheBismarck

Although my focus is strength training (4-5 times a week) I still do at least 30 min cardio every day. It is VERY important for burning fat. No matter how much you lift, if you still got too much fat in your body the results won't be as good or noticeable, and you'll have higher chances of getting hurt. I believe there must be a combination of both if you want best results.

JamesThiel

I bike and walk everyday....it's what I do !


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GoldspursX3

Not with me.

I was in the best shape of my life when I could run 6 minute miles and could squat 300 lbs. I run 5 times a week minimum and I do stronglifts 5X5 for my strength training.

BlueInkDot

It's not that cardio is bad - cardio is great! You need cardio to burn calories. The reason why strength training is being promoted is because usually (women, mostly) are unfamiliar with the concept of strength training and how it can help them. If you do ONLY cardio all the time, and don't SUPPLEMENT your workouts with strength training, you're missing out on some serious benefits.

I personally try to promote strength training as a great tool for people who want to get healthy, and encourage people not to shy away from it. But that certainly doesn't mean cardio is bad! Cardio is just what everyone seems to already be used to and familiar with, so it isn't addressed in conversation as much.

Hope this helps!

PeachKitty

Doctors recommend at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise a day, to the point of "getting warm and slightly out of breath."

Any exercise is good exercise, as long as you keep it in moderation.

mariposa224

I think it's the whole "if you only do cardio you will be skinny fat" or whatever. I know that a good balance of cardio and strength training is important, but goodness. To each their own, if someone wants to do cardio every day, at least they're moving!

^^^^This!

Ladyiianae

I do cardio 5 x's a week and TRY and do some strength 3 x's a week (though my schedule has been tough these last couple weeks)

BrianSharpe

I'm another runner - 4 times per week with my long run on Sundays, I also row, bike, swim and do weights.

I suspect that one reason cardio may get a bad rap has to do with all of the misinformation floating around out there about the "fat burning zone", as if it's some kind of magic bullet - it certainly seems like there are lots of personal trainers that don't understand it well.

Personally I think being able to run 20km is a far more useful skill than being able to bench press or deadlift some extraordinary amount of weight, we'll survive the zombie apocalypse.:laugh:

We just need to unabashedly speak up for ourselves!

invisibubble

I haven't yet come across anyone bashing cardio - and that people are doing so surprises me. The health benefits to cardio are there for everyone to see, surely? Both cardio and lifting are excellent froms of exercise.

Edited because I cannot brain today for I have the dumb.

mammothdoll

It does seem to be a new fad. And it's incredibly silly. Cardio is a lot of fun, it is good for you, and it's very useful in real-life situations.

toasterlisa

I live in a climate where I can walk outdoors all year round. I've had some here scoff at my "cardio" but it's working for me.

I like to walk, so I absolutely don't think twice about lacing up my sneakers and heading out of the house first thing every morning. Depending on my work schedule, some days that even means at 5:15am.

I also do weight bearing exercises at home like squats, crunches, plank and stuff like that while watching tv.

Best wishes to all on your health and wellness journey.

scriehl

Cardio is still good in my book. Cycling and running are my favs and weight training.

chevy88grl

I've noticed this lately too and I'll be honest.. it irritates me. Yes, weight training is important in this journey. But, not everyone can lift heavy (I'm recovering from injuries that prevent me from doing free weights.. so, any "weight training" I'm doing right now is strictly on the machines). I've had a cardiologist tell me that cardio is what is keeping me from seeing a lot of issues in my family history and to keep doing it.

So, I'll be honest.. I don't honestly care what the MFP "experts" claim. Nor do I care about an article or blah blah blah that says cardio isn't good for me. *I* know cardio is good for me and I'm going to keep doing it -- every *gasp* time I go to the gym! Yes, I am working on the machines with weights too, but cardio is not a bad thing.

And I think people do others a serious disservice by telling them not to do it. I am where I am in this journey because of cardio.

amycool

I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

This is definitely something I've seen on the posts about cardio "skinny fat" I don't even know what that is, is it just a body that doesn't have muscles all over it?

DaveRCF

I think it is probably a function of the fact that cardio is a bit easier to grasp whereas strength training is a bit more complex and there are more variations. I have always been a cardio junkie but know that a combination of strength and cardio is the best way to achieve good health so I have dialled back the cardio to 1-2X per week and strength 3X per week. Note that there ARE aerobic benefits to strength training, albeit much reduced from straight cardio.

I don't sense any anti-cardio sentiment on MFP though.

insatiable_need

I think it's the whole "if you only do cardio you will be skinny fat" or whatever. I know that a good balance of cardio and strength training is important, but goodness. To each their own, if someone wants to do cardio every day, at least they're moving!

I agree with this. I think people are concerned about being skinny fat. I currently only do cardio and it's dropped my body fat 7%. Should I add in some strength training to get it lower? Probably, but cardio is and will always be my favorite way to exercise and be healthy.

astrampe

Thanks!! I lost 60lbs doing LOTS of running and interval stuff like Jillian Michaels...Just started "heavy" lifting, but could not help to notice that some people diss cardio completely....
i got the idea too that it's a new fad to just do strengh and dismiss the benefits of cardio...

athensguy

Cardio leads to "skinny fat" and some people seem to have issues with the whole "skinny fat" look and think that every muscle should be worked hard and defined.. Yea sure I do strength training but I do not wanna get "ripped"

I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

I only run, and I have a Z score of -2.7 from Dexa using NHANES data. That means I'm about 2.7 standard deviations below the mean body fat in NHANES data.