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

Sublog

I lost the vast majority of my weight doing a crap ton of cardio and circuit training....I completely understand the burning desire to get the fat off as soon as possible.

I WISH I knew then what I know now. Control your deficit with your diet. Use cardio sparingly, get on a professionally designed lifting program and lose weight, improve health, all while maintaining or increasing lean body mass so that you look good not only with your clothes on, but with them off as well.

MMarvelous

Well my cardio is staying high as I am training for my first 10k race and I love doing Zumba and Latin dance classes. In addition, I have began working out on the arc trainer 2X a week to do HIIT on it. Some days I do cardio for 90 minutes. I lift 3X a week. This means I work out 7 days a week for 3 weeks out of the month. My cardio is NOT slowing down!

BrianSharpe

You just can't get enough carbs to replenish what you burn after multiple days, and at that point muscle must be broken down to supply glucose for blood sugar to be stable.

My understanding is that muscle gets broken down in protein deficient diets (as protein is not stored by the body) and in extremely low (starvation) calorie diets. Could you provide some back up for this assertion.

Ruger2506

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jenniferg83

Cardio, weight training and eating healthy all combined is amazing. Anyone telling you cardio is bad or even those who are afraid of weight training are all are misinformed. I enjoy a balance of all and love it. As a woman in the gym i see most of the ladies only doing cardio and no weights...makes me sad because the benefits of weight training and how it tones you and makes you stronger is apparently unknown to them. But anyways, like i mentioned...a balance of all 3 things is the way to go Those who prefer one to the other, is fine too. To each their own. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

erickirb

Just a thought, but... are you really telling me I'm not gaining muscle from doing cardio? My sore muscles must have been misinformed.

Yes I am telling you that. Sore muscles does not = gaining muscle. If I ran a marathon a week for a few months my muscles would be sore but I would be losing a large % of lean muscle. You need to overload your muscles to make them grow, this is best achieved on exercises where you can only manage 8-12 reps/set, once you go higher you are working your muscles from an endurance aspect which will not make them grow, and usually leads to them saying bye bye, if you are not getting enough calories and protein.

bcattoes

I've been an MFP member for a year and it's always been poo-pooed by a rather large segment of the members. My thoughts are there are 2 reasons:

I have come to realize that a good number of members come here from bodybuilding.com and/or other body building sites to "teach" us poor heart healthy people how to have awesomely muscley bodies, without which we cannot look good naked.

Some people care more about their abs than their hearts.

You don't get killer abs without lots of cardio and strength training!

I suppose that depends on what you mean by killer abs. Not everyone wants a six pack.

Zangpakto

Well, skinny fat on cardio? I'm sorry, seen any ultra distance runners? Do they have any fat on them? No.. in general they t 3-7% body fat range, whilst most of those on here are sometimes 8-10 TIMES that amount... And those that have reached goals on here? I'd reckon most still fall between 11-15% body fat at LEAST!

So no... running is very good for you.

Besides, those that swear off it? How far have you seriously run? I mean, to be honest here is my schedule for next year, and what I've done this week vs what more I plan this week.

April 11th(?) half marathon, September 25th marathon, April 11th next year 56km run - That is my plans for running this year, NOT including my cycle plans! I mean, I've got around 12 half marathon medals, century and double century cycling medals, 10km run, 5/6km run medals even a time trial I did once!

It's dedication, pure and simple. Muscle burns fat, so people prefer weights because they build more lean mass vs running, so their BMR is increased... Running also increases BMR, but not as quick, but in consider to finish under 5 hours in a marathon, you need to be running roughly 8km/h burning roughly 800c an hour for 5 hours. so in that marathon, you burn roughly 4k calories.

Can you do that in a weight competition? NO. In training this week I've done 31km so far, plan to add a time trial tomorrow, maybe even another 10km over weekend as well..

Yes THAT takes dedication, as it is hard, and the body hurts. You see good results though! As the saying says. Good things come to those who wait! Rushing off for weights purely to increase BMR is stupid... running a quick 30m 5km race I burn 400c, and elevate my BMR for almost half a day as well.

I love running/cycling and triathlons, and swear my life on them. You don't have to, but my god... Don't lie to these people as say long distance cardio training will make you skinny fat! You obviously eat like a stupid PIG after! Piggies...

erickirb

I've been running for almost 2 years, and i am NOT skinny/fat! Lol. That's the weirdest thing iv'e heard. if you eat right and do cardio you will lose fat and keep your muscles.

you will keep some most of your muscle yes, but you would have kept more had you done strength training all along.

erickirb

I've been an MFP member for a year and it's always been poo-pooed by a rather large segment of the members. My thoughts are there are 2 reasons:

I have come to realize that a good number of members come here from bodybuilding.com and/or other body building sites to "teach" us poor heart healthy people how to have awesomely muscley bodies, without which we cannot look good naked.

Some people care more about their abs than their hearts.

You don't get killer abs without lots of cardio and strength training!

I suppose that depends on what you mean by killer abs. Not everyone wants a six pack.

I know people with 6 packs that do very little cardio. All it takes is a caloric deficit (which can be done by diet alone, or combining diet and exercise. There is the saying "abs are made in the kitchen" for a reason.

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.

I totally agree! I love getting all sweaty and feel great after a good run. I do weights every now and then, but focus mainly on cardio 3-4 times a week and that is what has helped me lose all my weight... 40 pounds so far!!

Wow! Well done :-)

heybales

Yes THAT takes dedication, as it is hard, and the body hurts. You see good results though! As the saying says. Good things come to those who wait! Rushing off for weights purely to increase BMR is stupid... running a quick 30m 5km race I burn 400c, and elevate my BMR for almost half a day as well.

I love running/cycling and triathlons, and swear my life on them. You don't have to, but my god... Don't lie to these people as say long distance cardio training will make you skinny fat! You obviously eat like a stupid PIG after! Piggies...

And another emphasis to this.

Those that are off trying to increase their metabolism, are probably undereating enough that it can't happen anyway.

JoolieW68

Just a thought, but... are you really telling me I'm not gaining muscle from doing cardio? My sore muscles must have been misinformed.

Yes, you are gaining muscle. My muscular legs from tons of cardio attest to that.

LenaMena87

What is skinny fat?

flutestmelody

I love cardio, actually I do quite a bit of cardio and someone would have to work awfully hard to convince me to stop. I do incorporate strength into both my cardio sessions and out side of my cardio sessions. The strength really helps me to tone and target muscles that I am working on. However, cardio, getting my heart rate up, that's what has helped me with most of my weight loss success so far.

Acg67

Well, skinny fat on cardio? I'm sorry, seen any ultra distance runners? Do they have any fat on them? No.. in general they t 3-7% body fat range, whilst most of those on here are sometimes 8-10 TIMES that amount... And those that have reached goals on here? I'd reckon most still fall between 11-15% body fat at LEAST!

Strong logic there, how many ultra distance runners started off with abnormally high levels of bodyfat?


It's dedication, pure and simple. Muscle burns fat, so people prefer weights because they build more lean mass vs running, so their BMR is increased... Running also increases BMR, but not as quick, but in consider to finish under 5 hours in a marathon, you need to be running roughly 8km/h burning roughly 800c an hour for 5 hours.

so in that marathon, you burn roughly 4k calories.

Can you do that in a weight competition? NO. In training this week I've done 31km so far, plan to add a time trial tomorrow, maybe even another 10km over weekend as well..

Who cares, why would anyone need to burn 4k cals in a day?

heybales

What is skinny fat?

Skinny weight wise, but still high percentage of fat.

When your diet/exercise combo burns off too much muscle along with the fat.

erickirb

Just a thought, but... are you really telling me I'm not gaining muscle from doing cardio? My sore muscles must have been misinformed.

Yes, you are gaining muscle. My muscular legs from tons of cardio attest to that.

they make look more muscular but doing cardio alone will not build the legs up.

p_barron

I've seen this too! I think it's crazy! But there seems to be an opposite opinion on here for everyone. I think if you start a post saying that the sky is blue you'll get replies with links telling you that it is not. I'm not lifting weights. I don't have time or money too. But I'm fat and can work cardio into taking care of my kiddos so that is what I'm going to do. Cardio is good. It burns calories. It builds muscles, and if it doesn't can someone tell me how if I push my cardio harder my muscles are sore, they have got to be doing something. I can lift heavier things around the house than I could 3 months ago. It may be slower than weight lifting but this whole process is going to take awhile anyway.

^^This I cannot afford to go to the gym and I do have a few workouts such as JM30DS and My EA Active2 set that incorporate strength training but other than that I am fine doing cardio. I walk and my calves hurt so i know i am doing something right. I plan on getting down to a healthy weight before I really start focusing on strength training. Plus, a fifteen minute run is something I can fit in between school and being a mom.

andreanicole686

Cardio isn't bad. You just should add in strength as well. There is plenty of evidence that says you should do cardio at least 3-5 times a week about 30-45 minutes and I will continue to do that. Each persons body is different do whats best for you. I've lost 9 pounds so far due to manily cardio and eating right. I am just now adding in weights. EVERY BODY is different.