Can too much cardio kill your metabolism?

Elf_Princess1210

I met up with an old friend today who used to be a cardio bunny/group ex'er like me. She since started training to be in fitness competitions and it's teeny tiny/very low body fat. She said that too much cardio can kill your metabolism and that that is probably why I can't lose any weight. I teach 10 strength/cardio classes a week. I never heard of this before. Has anyone else? It sucks because unless I give up my classes/job, I'm stuck where I am.

Too much of anything isn't good. I tend to lose too quickly if I overdo the cardio.

monty619

well no... too much cardio will make your body in better shape so the more you do cardio the less calories you burn... you either have to increase the duration or intensity of the cardio, or make it so your body cannot get used to chronic cardio.. my suggestion would either to either do sprints (HIIT) because its very hard for the body to get used to running full speed, or take a week or two off of cardio (lower calories as well) and literally get out of shape and the next time you do cardio it will have an increased caloric burn.

for these reasons cardio is the least important to me when creating an aesthetic looking physique.. diet would be first, resistance training second, proper recovery third, and cardio last in terms of importance.. the cardio i add in once i have lost a good amount of weight from just cutting down on food and put the cardio in once i hit some sort of plateau... if you are the kind of person who LOVES cardiovascular exercise then keep doing it.. but if ur not, just know its not needed to get the body you want

xSophia19

well they do say not to do the same kind of workout every day as your metabolism will slow down.. soo mixing excercise up - do alternative days of cardio and strength training and the weight will come off .. thats what i got told anyway! it might work for some, it might now he he

ninerbuff

I met up with an old friend today who used to be a cardio bunny/group ex'er like me. She since started training to be in fitness competitions and it's teeny tiny/very low body fat. She said that too much cardio can kill your metabolism and that that is probably why I can't lose any weight. I teach 10 strength/cardio classes a week. I never heard of this before. Has anyone else? It sucks because unless I give up my classes/job, I'm stuck where I am.

Yes. Because too much cardio can burn lean muscle, if you're not nutritionally balanced, which lowers your metabolic rate.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

autumnk921

Bump...

ninerbuff

which I understand, but my problem is it's my job. I'm a stay at home mom, and teaching group ex is how I help contribute monetarily so it's not like I'm just putting my foot down to be stubborn. I stop the classes, I stop the income.

Then be an "instructor". You DON'T have to do the class. Show the movement and "walk" the class. That's what an instructor should do. If you're making the class your workout, then how are instructing if someone has bad form? Are you physically walking over and making corrections? Or are you cueing them?
I instruct kickboxing and walk the class. My own workout, I do on my own.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ATOLLIT

It does not kill your metabolism. Exercising encourages your body to use its fuels more efficiently, so the more cardiovascular fitness you have, the less calories you will burn with the same amount of exercise. Not equivalent to slowing down metabolism.

DaveC29

I run 30-40 Miles a week and I'm still losing 2-3 pounds per week...

Eating well, always exceed my protein by a little, giving my body plenty of carbs to burn and staying well hydrated.

Cardio does train your body to run more efficeintly, but a lot of that is to deal with the increased oxygen demand and removal of lactate from your muscles over long distances. Like anything else, you want to keep your body guessing so it cannot get really efficient at one thing- lifting the same weight in the same routine over and over will also show slowed results.

Mix your cardio up... I do 2 long runs each week (slow pace, looking for endurance, feel like I can run all day slow), 1 Easy runs (comfortable pace, not breathing too heavy), and 3 tempo runs (interval for 3-5 min x 5 reps, or ladders- run fast for 400,800,1200,1600 and back down with a 400 meter rest in between)

This builds strength, speed, endurance and makes the body efficient.

ironanimal

I met up with an old friend today who used to be a cardio bunny/group ex'er like me. She since started training to be in fitness competitions and it's teeny tiny/very low body fat. She said that too much cardio can kill your metabolism and that that is probably why I can't lose any weight. I teach 10 strength/cardio classes a week. I never heard of this before. Has anyone else? It sucks because unless I give up my classes/job, I'm stuck where I am.

Yes. Because too much cardio can burn lean muscle, if you're not nutritionally balanced, which lowers your metabolic rate.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This + extreme stress on the nervous system.

tinattinat

which I understand, but my problem is it's my job. I'm a stay at home mom, and teaching group ex is how I help contribute monetarily so it's not like I'm just putting my foot down to be stubborn. I stop the classes, I stop the income.

Then be an "instructor". You DON'T have to do the class. Show the movement and "walk" the class. That's what an instructor should do. If you're making the class your workout, then how are instructing if someone has bad form? Are you physically walking over and making corrections? Or are you cueing them?
I instruct kickboxing and walk the class. My own workout, I do on my own.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm pretty sure with Body Pump ( les mills programs) she CAN'T "walk" the class. She HAS to DO the workout. She could use less weight on her bar, but more than likely, participants will notice and probably not be as motivated to "load up" their own......
I teach Group Power (which is basically the same as Body Pump. I actually do weights on my own at least once a week and/or go to a boot camp class. My body is so used to Power classes, I just don't get the same benefit anymore. I have to do other stuff.

danifo0811

My step brother and wife are bodybuilders at the national level. When they are doing the weight loss part of the muscle building they do almost no cardio. They say they can lose 30 lbs with just weights and see the same people at the gym on the treadmill everyday losing no weight.

Their main criticism of it is it makes you hungrier and you have to fuel it properly which can impair the weight loss/muscle maintenance+growth they are aiming for.

monty619

My step brother and wife are bodybuilders at the national level. When they are doing the weight loss part of the muscle building they do almost no cardio. They say they can lose 30 lbs with just weights and see the same people at the gym on the treadmill everyday losing no weight.

Their main criticism of it is it makes you hungrier and you have to fuel it properly which can impair the weight loss/muscle maintenance+growth they are aiming for.

100% accurate

sirabe

This is good stuff. Thanks

ninerbuff

which I understand, but my problem is it's my job. I'm a stay at home mom, and teaching group ex is how I help contribute monetarily so it's not like I'm just putting my foot down to be stubborn. I stop the classes, I stop the income.

Then be an "instructor". You DON'T have to do the class. Show the movement and "walk" the class. That's what an instructor should do. If you're making the class your workout, then how are instructing if someone has bad form? Are you physically walking over and making corrections? Or are you cueing them?
I instruct kickboxing and walk the class. My own workout, I do on my own.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm pretty sure with Body Pump ( les mills programs) she CAN'T "walk" the class. She HAS to DO the workout. She could use less weight on her bar, but more than likely, participants will notice and probably not be as motivated to "load up" their own......
I teach Group Power (which is basically the same as Body Pump. I actually do weights on my own at least once a week and/or go to a boot camp class. My body is so used to Power classes, I just don't get the same benefit anymore. I have to do other stuff.

So you show a squat and have to do all the reps with the class? The classes are based on repetitions so showing the movement then walking the class shouldn't be an issue. It's not like step where you have to cue like every 8 beats or so.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

graysmom2005

which I understand, but my problem is it's my job. I'm a stay at home mom, and teaching group ex is how I help contribute monetarily so it's not like I'm just putting my foot down to be stubborn. I stop the classes, I stop the income.

Then be an "instructor". You DON'T have to do the class. Show the movement and "walk" the class. That's what an instructor should do. If you're making the class your workout, then how are instructing if someone has bad form? Are you physically walking over and making corrections? Or are you cueing them?
I instruct kickboxing and walk the class. My own workout, I do on my own.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I'm pretty sure with Body Pump ( les mills programs) she CAN'T "walk" the class. She HAS to DO the workout. She could use less weight on her bar, but more than likely, participants will notice and probably not be as motivated to "load up" their own......
I teach Group Power (which is basically the same as Body Pump. I actually do weights on my own at least once a week and/or go to a boot camp class. My body is so used to Power classes, I just don't get the same benefit anymore. I have to do other stuff.

So you show a squat and have to do all the reps with the class? The classes are based on repetitions so showing the movement then walking the class shouldn't be an issue. It's not like step where you have to cue like every 8 beats or so.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Incorrect. She's actually right. Except for spin all the classes I teach are Les Mills. This means they are choreographed to the music and I'm expected to be up front teaching the whole time. If I break off for even a second the whole class falls apart...even squats in Pump are done at different tempos to the music. I'm basically the conductor. I do lighten my weights to help fatigue, but we are expected to use "role model weight". Combat, CXWORX, and Sh'bam same thing. All choreographed.

ninerbuff

Incorrect. She's actually right. Except for spin all the classes I teach are Les Mills. This means they are choreographed to the music and I'm expected to be up front teaching the whole time. If I break off for even a second the whole class falls apart...even squats in Pump are done at different tempos to the music. I'm basically the conductor. I do lighten my weights to help fatigue, but we are expected to use "role model weight". Combat, CXWORX, and Sh'bam same thing. All choreographed.

Probably why I never bought into the system when offered to teach it.:smokin: Guess your choices are continue with what you're doing, or cut back on a few classes.
I instruct k-box 7days a week, but only one class (cardio kickbox) relies on me spending a little more time on choreography (which is solely my own). The other classes I just have to demonstrate, then I get to walk the class and correct form and motivate.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

suziecue66

I met up with an old friend today who used to be a cardio bunny/group ex'er like me. She since started training to be in fitness competitions and it's teeny tiny/very low body fat. She said that too much cardio can kill your metabolism and that that is probably why I can't lose any weight. I teach 10 strength/cardio classes a week. I never heard of this before. Has anyone else? It sucks because unless I give up my classes/job, I'm stuck where I am.

So you're not at goal weight? Thought you were from ticker.

Royaltvii

It can, It can over load the central nervous system...All i can say is eat back your calories add some different excerrcises like weight training and see where that takes you.

ednabnana

I have few friends that compete. They aren't very fond of cardio. They said that you burned as much calories, or more doing resistance training. I see them at the gym almost every day & their cardio is treadmill walking or the stairmaster. These people are RIPPED.

pinkita

My step brother and wife are bodybuilders at the national level. When they are doing the weight loss part of the muscle building they do almost no cardio. They say they can lose 30 lbs with just weights and see the same people at the gym on the treadmill everyday losing no weight.

Their main criticism of it is it makes you hungrier and you have to fuel it properly which can impair the weight loss/muscle maintenance+growth they are aiming for.

OMG can they adopt me? :laugh: I really need help... sigh