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

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  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    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

    Thank you. I am what people on MFP call "skinny fat", and you know what? So what? I do my light cardio and light lifting (I do what fits my busy lifestyle and exercises tastes), and no one will ever mistake me for a buff girl. So what?! I'm happy in my skin...

    We're not on here to please anybody but ourselves...

    You make it seem like you're either skinny fat or "buff" There's a huge area in between.
  • Phrak
    Phrak Posts: 353 Member
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    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

    Thank you. I am what people on MFP call "skinny fat", and you know what? So what? I do my light cardio and light lifting (I do what fits my busy lifestyle and exercises tastes), and no one will ever mistake me for a buff girl. So what?! I'm happy in my skin...

    We're not on here to please anybody but ourselves...

    You make it seem like you're either skinny fat or "buff" There's a huge area in between.

    People only like black and white, everyone excludes the middle.
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
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    I think as long as you do some of both it's good. And I don't think that completely cutting out cardio is coming into fad but I think that people are liking doing HIIT or intervals even more than they used to. I couldn't agree more, I love HIIT! It's faster and more effective. I don't hve time for long workouts :)
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    Both have their benefits. Even bodybuilders do cardio.
  • mznisaelaine
    mznisaelaine Posts: 2,262 Member
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    <---- Pro cardio + strength training
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I haven't heard to much of the bashing of cardio. But i have heard the importance of strength training. I personally try to get into 3-4 cardio days and then 2 days of weights. i like body pump classes which focuses on one muscle group, with low weights and high reps... I feel like jello at the end :)

    I think it is important to be well rounded not just in food but also in exercise... less chance of burning out ;)

    FYI: body pump is more cardio then strength training. If you are able to do more than 15 or so reps you are working different muscle fibers and this class would be more cardio based then strength training based (much like 30 Day Shred)
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
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    I didn't read all the responses, but I will say sometimes people finds what works for them and think its in everyone's best interst to shove it down their throats, too and tell them they are wrong for doing cardio. I don't agree (for myself) that cardio is wrong or bad.


    ETA: I do cardio and weights
  • NancyNiles
    NancyNiles Posts: 145 Member
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    I do both. Half my workouts are cardio to get my heart rate up, then lift, and cool down with some laid back cardio (treadmill, bike, etc). The other half of the time I do the circuit where I get a mix of both together. I do the circuit when I only have a half hour or so. If I have time to kill, I'll do the first one because it allows me time to rest between sets.

    I'm still new here, but I haven't really seen any cardio bashing. Just a lot of people talking about the difference lifting has made. I don't think lifting is a "fad" as one person said. I was doing circuit training 20 years ago! The importance of lifting isn't news. Lean muscle burns more calories at rest than fatty tissue. For every three pounds of lean muscle you add, you burn an extra 120 calories per day.

    Also, this site is touted as a calorie counter and weight loss tracker program. So the people here are not just athletes, runner, lifters, etc. The membership here is a lot of overweight dieters as well. I think you'll find that lifting is highly recommended for obese people who have trouble with a lot of cardio and really need the extra fat burn. As well as older people who are losing muscle mass as they age.
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
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    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!:tongue: ) 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:

    Hulk no like cardio girl,grrrrr
  • mamoojack
    mamoojack Posts: 22 Member
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    What is "skinny fat"??? Must have missed this one!!
  • Phrak
    Phrak Posts: 353 Member
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    What is "skinny fat"??? Must have missed this one!!

    Thin appearance, but high BF levels due to lack of muscle development.
  • minadeathclutch
    minadeathclutch Posts: 375 Member
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    people are lazy. and they think HEY IF I LIFT WEIGHTS THE MUSCLES WILL BURN OFF MY FAT WHILE I SIT ON MY *kitten*.

    which is way freakin wrong... lazy lazy lazy lazy.
  • jenniebean1680
    jenniebean1680 Posts: 351 Member
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    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

    Thank you. I am what people on MFP call "skinny fat", and you know what? So what? I do my light cardio and light lifting (I do what fits my busy lifestyle and exercises tastes), and no one will ever mistake me for a buff girl. So what?! I'm happy in my skin...

    We're not on here to please anybody but ourselves...

    You make it seem like you're either skinny fat or "buff" There's a huge area in between.

    People only like black and white, everyone excludes the middle.

    ...which is why I like to take the middle road and do BOTH cardio and weights. I love the natural high I get from cardio (helps fight the depression I occasionally get), and I love being strong and having muscles. They both serve a purpose and make me happy.
  • jenniebean1680
    jenniebean1680 Posts: 351 Member
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    people are lazy. and they think HEY IF I LIFT WEIGHTS THE MUSCLES WILL BURN OFF MY FAT WHILE I SIT ON MY *kitten*.

    which is way freakin wrong... lazy lazy lazy lazy.


    ....wait for it....
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
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    I actually burn more doing weight lifting. I also run a 5k in 27:07 and the mile in 7:10. What is your point? Why would I be lazy? I spend 2 hours a day in the gym during weekdays and 3-4 hours on the weekend working out and I wear a HRM which shows my calories burned is more in weightlifting than cardio. Sound like you're lazy looking for the easy button. I do a half hour of fat burning cardio per workout during the week with a 1.5 hour of cardio on the weekend. You assume to know too much.....
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    people are lazy. and they think HEY IF I LIFT WEIGHTS THE MUSCLES WILL BURN OFF MY FAT WHILE I SIT ON MY *kitten*.

    which is way freakin wrong... lazy lazy lazy lazy.

    That's right, they can sit on the couch and lose that fat, as long as they have a caloric deficit. No need for any exercise to lose 0.5 to 2lbs/week, just cut 250 to 1000 cals off of your maintenance calories.
  • Phrak
    Phrak Posts: 353 Member
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    people are lazy. and they think HEY IF I LIFT WEIGHTS THE MUSCLES WILL BURN OFF MY FAT WHILE I SIT ON MY *kitten*.

    which is way freakin wrong... lazy lazy lazy lazy.

    That's right, they can sit on the couch and lose that fat, as long as they have a caloric deficit. No need for any exercise to lose 0.5 to 2lbs/week, just cut 250 to 1000 cals off of your maintenance calories.

    Nah man you must do 5-6 1hr sessions of running a week on top of weight lifting. Forget about taxing your CNS to the point of no return, and having your recovery go down the ****ter.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    people are lazy. and they think HEY IF I LIFT WEIGHTS THE MUSCLES WILL BURN OFF MY FAT WHILE I SIT ON MY *kitten*.

    which is way freakin wrong... lazy lazy lazy lazy.

    head-over-heals.gif
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    people are lazy. and they think HEY IF I LIFT WEIGHTS THE MUSCLES WILL BURN OFF MY FAT WHILE I SIT ON MY *kitten*.

    which is way freakin wrong... lazy lazy lazy lazy.

    I don't do cardio at all because I just don't enjoy it.

    I am not lazy, I train very hard at relatively high volume.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    people are lazy. and they think HEY IF I LIFT WEIGHTS THE MUSCLES WILL BURN OFF MY FAT WHILE I SIT ON MY *kitten*.

    which is way freakin wrong... lazy lazy lazy lazy.
    Spoken like someone who's been too lazy to lift a weight. :drinker:

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