More Than 2 Hours of Cardio Bad for You?

semira6

So I spoke to a 'fitness consultant" at Planet Fitness today and she told me that I should never do more than 2 hours of cardio. That 2 hours should be my max and I should never go past it. However, several things she said about heart rate and muscle groups made me think she didn't really know what she was talking about.

What do you guys think? Should I never do more than 2 hours of cardio? I've been "cooling down" every hour to give my body time to to recuperate and I don't feel tired after even 4 or 5 hours of cardio. I just don't see why 2 hours should be the cut off.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

lizziebeth1028

Unless your training for a marathon or the Olympics, 2 hours of cardio is excessive and not necessary to be physically fit.

lizziebeth1028

I go with the "more than 30 minutes but less than 60 rule" for cardio. And in general never spend more than an hour working out....if you can't get it done in that amount of time you're probably not working efficiently. Anything longer than 60 minutes starts to cut into other aspects of my life. I LOVE to workout but..... I also have a life with family and friends.

link380

I would listen to the fitness cousultant - they have had the training.

iLoveMyPitbull1225

excessive, not "bad".

neverstray

Actually, I firmly believe that more than 1 hour is a waste of time and energy, unless you have a point to it, like you are training for something, like a marathon or something. But, for just being fit? No. It is counter-productive. There is so much information out there about this, that I'm not going to go into it. just google it.

The science behind physiology is so interesting, that when you look down deep into, you'll understand why they say that. Other things start happening after about 45 minutes of constant activity that start to turn from fat burning weight loss into something else that probably is not what you are trying to accomplish.

DopeItUp

Lots of extended cardio sessions can eat lean body mass so it depends if you're concerned about that or not. Personally if I could do hours and hours of cardio I'd try to up the intensity to shorten the workout. You can get just as good, if not better workout in a shorter time with a higher intensity. Crap, my longest workout is maybe an hour and I'm spent, but I'm doing a very tough workout at the same time.

You said 4-5 hours per day, what are you actually doing during that time? I would think that would have to take its toll on the body eventually. Especially if you're not having rest days between.

scottb81

Its not bad for you but if you are not feeling tired after 5 hours of it then your intensity is way to low unless you are training for an ultramarathon.

You will get a better training effect by running harder for a shorter length of time most of the time and saving the really long efforts for once a week. Even then, the intensity ought to be hard enough that you are pretty tired after a few hours.

jturnerx

excessive, not "bad".

This. And it depends on context too. I train for ultras and 2 hours qualifies as a short run. There's no need for doing that much just for general health but if it's something you enjoy it's your life and your time.

Quite frankly some of the stuff I've heard come out of the mouths of "fitness consultants" makes me think they got their certification from a cereal box.

lizziebeth1028

If I worked out for 4 to 5 hours a day my life would pretty much be eating (to support all those calorie burns), sleeping and working out. I wouldn't be able to fit anything else in there...my job alone is an 11 hour a day.

Work type of cardio are you doing for 4 - 5 hours?

sherise1214

I am not a specialist, and if you have the time and energy to workout for many hours than it should be fine. You mentioned that you cooled down between. If you do one thing and then do something else fine. The body needs variation and long periods on one thing may result in muscle fatigue and injuries. I think the trainer was trying to say after one hour the benefits decrease due to body adjustments. Similarly you must go to 30 minutes to get in a certain fat burning cardio groove- a better term is used btw. However, if you work out an hour on some cardio, and rest then do another hour sometime else, and then another hour somewhere else can be healthy. For instance if you have a job of a construction working or a day laborer they are working hard for more than 2 hours. But i think people are saying straight one exercise for 4-5 hours could be harmful, but also doesn't benefit as much as working harder and smarter not necessarily longer. But i have worked out over 2 hours. i may have done my fitness class in the morning, did some cardio an hour and did zumba wii. I did not over train just cause I went over 2 hours. My husband loves to play basketball, and him and my boys do excess 2 hours every time they go. Its just not necessary to lose weight.

NoxDineen

Why are you doing hours and hours of cardio? Are you doing any strength training as well, otherwise it seems to me you'll just end up partially cannibalizing your lean muscle.

2 hours a day seems like a really inefficient way to work out/lose weight unless you're training for a specific endurance sport/event.

DopeItUp

On the bright side, eating 4000-5000+ calories a day must be nice

rininger85

On the bright side, eating 4000-5000+ calories a day must be nice

until you realize that it costs a lot of money to eat that much food!

lizziebeth1028

On the bright side, eating 4000-5000+ calories a day must be nice

lol I know right!! I would literally being an eating machine with that much cardio!

ninerbuff

Depends on what you're striving for. If it's for endurance training for a say a marathon or half marathon, then probably not, but if just for general fitness, it's over kill. Not to mention that you will probably lose lean muscle tissue at a higher rate than compared with just some moderate cardio.

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

GaryRussell123456

"Unless you're training for a marathon". So it's ok in this case, but if you are not then it's counter productive. How does your body know the difference?

vim_n_vigor

"Unless you're training for a marathon". So it's ok in this case, but if you are not then it's counter productive. How does your body know the difference?

If you are training for an event that takes more than 2 hours to complete, you NEED more than 2 hours of training a day to complete it. It isn't a matter of your body knowing the difference.

scottb81

Even top level marathoners don't generally train for more than 2 hours a day and that is normally broken into 2 sessions. Once a week they may train longer.

lizziebeth1028

"Unless you're training for a marathon". So it's ok in this case, but if you are not then it's counter productive. How does your body know the difference?

Not sure your point or what you're asking. But yes people do train for specific events that require lengthy time spent at the gym or running. But as an average person, just looking for general fitness 4 or 5 hours are not necessary.

How long do you work out?
How much is too much?
How would you address the OP's question?
Do you have some constructive advice for her?

GaryRussell123456

"Unless you're training for a marathon". So it's ok in this case, but if you are not then it's counter productive. How does your body know the difference?

If you are training for an event that takes more than 2 hours to complete, you NEED more than 2 hours of training a day to complete it. It isn't a matter of your body knowing the difference.

Yes, but because you NEED it it's suddenly not bad for you, but in all other cases it is? What I'm getting at is that it has been implied that marathon type training is bad for you.

beckajw

Depends on what you're striving for. If it's for endurance training for a say a marathon or half marathon, then probably not, but if just for general fitness, it's over kill. Not to mention that you will probably lose lean muscle tissue at a higher rate than compared with just some moderate cardio.

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.

When I hike, I hike for 6 or more hours. There's nothing wrong with that much cardio. However, there's no point in it either--except to get to the top of the mountain!

ATOLLIT

I wouldn't say it's bad for you, I think that's a big pile of rubbish, unless you are pushing yourself to the point of falling down with exhaustion, or not eating enough to support that amount of exercise. On the other hand, it might not be necessary for what you are trying to achieve. If, as some people have said, you want the kind of cardio fitness that would allow you to run a marathon, you probably do need to do that much. If you're just trying to lose weight/burn some calories/generally get a bit fitter, then there are probably more effective ways to reach your goals, such as mixing up the cardio with different kind of workouts.

TheRealParisLove

If you have the time, and you enjoy your cardio activities, then by all means do as many hours as you like. I'm positive that professional athletes, dancers, bike messengers and others in very active careers are getting way more than 2 hours of cardio work done every day.

pitbullmama

I would listen to the fitness cousultant - they have had the training.

Sarcasm?

meerkat70

"Unless you're training for a marathon". So it's ok in this case, but if you are not then it's counter productive. How does your body know the difference?

If you are training for an event that takes more than 2 hours to complete, you NEED more than 2 hours of training a day to complete it. It isn't a matter of your body knowing the difference.

Yes, but because you NEED it it's suddenly not bad for you, but in all other cases it is? What I'm getting at is that it has been implied that marathon type training is bad for you.

I'm not sure anyone said it was bad for you. Just not necessary.

GaryRussell123456

If you have the time, and you enjoy your cardio activities, then by all means do as many hours as you like. I'm positive that professional athletes, dancers, bike messengers and others in very active careers are getting way more than 2 hours of cardio work done every day.

This.

IronmanPanda

It really depends on what your goals are.

clijun

as a general rule over 2 hours is excessive. i do once a week work ot longer than that but is because of a sport (not one that many people think of as a sport) that i play on saturdays.

lizziebeth1028

"Unless you're training for a marathon". So it's ok in this case, but if you are not then it's counter productive. How does your body know the difference?

If you are training for an event that takes more than 2 hours to complete, you NEED more than 2 hours of training a day to complete it. It isn't a matter of your body knowing the difference.

Yes, but because you NEED it it's suddenly not bad for you, but in all other cases it is? What I'm getting at is that it has been implied that marathon type training is bad for you.

OK went back to double check my posts. I never said it was bad or counterproductive. I said it was not necessary and excessive for overall general fitness. I referenced marathoners just in case she was training for distance running which she has not confirmed. (no input from the OP since her original post)

lizziebeth1028

"Unless you're training for a marathon". So it's ok in this case, but if you are not then it's counter productive. How does your body know the difference?

If you are training for an event that takes more than 2 hours to complete, you NEED more than 2 hours of training a day to complete it. It isn't a matter of your body knowing the difference.

Yes, but because you NEED it it's suddenly not bad for you, but in all other cases it is? What I'm getting at is that it has been implied that marathon type training is bad for you.

I'm not sure anyone said it was bad for you. Just not necessary.

Thank you Meerkat:flowerforyou: