long distance running is bad, and HIIT?
foodie178
Posts: 47 Member
i just heard the other day that marathons and long distance runs are not that good for the body! after all, the first marathon runner (who would have had to have been a well conditioned runner to have the job that he did!) died immediately after reaching his destination. how long does a run need to be for it to be considered detrimental to your health? i've found multiple articles arguing for why long distance running is bad, but i guess the big questions are:
1. why are long distance runners so lean, or appear to be so lean and muscular?
2. they obviously are strong, so why is long distance running bad?
high intensity interval training is recommended for weight loss and training in general. how long does a HIIT workout need to be for it to be considered effective? can you do an HIIT workout on the treadmill effectively?
1. why are long distance runners so lean, or appear to be so lean and muscular?
2. they obviously are strong, so why is long distance running bad?
high intensity interval training is recommended for weight loss and training in general. how long does a HIIT workout need to be for it to be considered effective? can you do an HIIT workout on the treadmill effectively?
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Replies
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I have always been told (from more than one marathoner) that the problem with running those distances is the temporary heart damage that is done. Tests have shown it usually reverses within a couple of months I believe. When my dad had a heart attach, the 39 year old kid in the bed next to him was a marathoner. He collapsed and had a massive coronary on a five mile leisure run. Personally, I only run if someone is chasing me, and if he is good looking enough, he can catch me.
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Long distance running is not bad for your heart... it may be bad for your knees and hips, but that's a whole different issue. When runners have heart problems its usually attributed to an underlying condition... not the running. Ultra runners do runs over 100 miles and they don't drop dead.0
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1. why are long distance runners so lean, or appear to be so lean and muscular?
They are lean... they have very low body fat. Most aren't actually very muscular... if you put a long distance runner and a sprinter side by side, you'll see the difference. But with such low body fat, the muscle they do have is more visible.
2. they obviously are strong, so why is long distance running bad?
I wouldn't say it is bad, but it is very taxing and stressful for the body.0 -
Running isn't bad for you and it's actually becoming the most popular form of exercise. If it were that bad the roads would be littered with dead bodies.0
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i don't think you are at the point where you have to worry about the long term effects of distance running.0
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I run and I also do HIIT. I usually do 5k distances, who is around 36 minutes or I do a 45 minute run. Some athletes may have underlying health issues which may contribute to their unfortunate demise. A good HIIT work out is usually 20-30 minutes and 3-5 times a week for it to be effective. There are some great DVDs out there such as Jillian Michaels or Insanty. Take your pick if you're interested. I do martial arts for 2.5 hours a week, HIIT 3 days a week and run once a week. Still alive, fit and healthy. We have so many runners where I live in London.0
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Read this, there is research that shows the issue:
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/running-may-be-harmful-your-heart
2. "they obviously are strong..." What is your definition of strength? If you mean the absolute amount of weight a person can lift, I would argue that they are not strong, at least relative to someone who trains for strength (think powerlifting or olympic lifting). If by strong you mean they have the willpower to run the distance, that's another story.0 -
Long distance runners are lean and toned, not realy muscular in the same way a sprinter is. This is because the slow-twitch muscle fibres needed for distance runnng don't bulk-up when exercised. It's only fast-twitch fibres that do that. Also, long slow runs, it is believed, help to train the fast-twitch fibres to behave like slow twitch ones to help cope with endurance and not enlarge in the way a body builder or sprinter's does.0
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If you're talking about Phidippides, he ran 280 miles round trip from Athens to Sparta and back before running the final 26 miles and dropping dead. He overtrained a bit. (Wikipedia
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You can do anything with stats and numbers to make them look good or bad. There is a far greater percentage of people with heart conditions amongst those who dont exercise and those who run long distances. I've yet to see many stories of a cardiac epidemic amongst past olympic athletes or amongst many of my friends and their associates who have run long distances all their lives. Amongst those who dont exercise, on the other hand...0
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Chronic long distance running is, in fact, bad for your heart and other organs. Recent studies support this fact. I'm not talking about 5-15k runs or 1-2 marathons a year, but CHRONIC long distance running.
This is one of many articles/studies out there on this subject.
http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/severe-health-risks-marathon-running/page/30 -
i run marathons and i'm still alive! and i do intensity stuff too. i've only had health gains- i'm still fat though so my muscles aren't visible. but i bet i'm more muscular under my fluffy exterior than i was 40kgs ago!0
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By the article's definition, anything that leaves you sore the next day is bad for you (and of course, they don't quote a single reputable source).
The headline probably sold several magazines though, which is the whole point for them.0 -
Wow even more bad information in this thread than usual.
Read the book "born to run" and I guarantee you will look at distance running differently.0 -
Oh good grief. This again? People are always quick to point out so-and-so who died of a heart attack after running (!) but they don't bother to think about the thousands of other people who also died of a heart attack that day from poor lifestyle and diet choices (or the thousands of other runners who did not have a heart attack that day).
Here's my opposing article:
http://www.runnersworld.com/health/too-much-running-myth-rises-again
_Thousands_ of people run 100s competitively every year. Yes, thousands. Maybe some of them have heart problems, but I doubt it's from running as much as they do (more likely from all the beer and Pringles!). I personally know many of these people. Maybe a little crazy, but their hearts all seem to be doing just fine.
Everything in moderation, people. And, yes, moderation varies from person to person.0 -
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I don't see relevance.0 -
So sport can be damaging to people with medical conditions.
Where is the eureka moment in this?0 -
I can die of a premature heart attack, or stroke, or a big belly and the metabolic syndrome, or a pulmonary embolism . . . or from running. I would rather go out with my sneakers on.
I think my chances of living a long and active life are a little better with running than with obesity.0 -
I can die of a premature heart attack, or stroke, or a big belly and the metabolic syndrome, or a pulmonary embolism . . . or from running. I would rather go out with my sneakers on.
I think my chances of living a long and active life are a little better with running than with obesity.
Totally second this 0 -
I actually just watched this thing on the History Channel about how long distance running is actually a natural trait of humans.. our stone age ancestors were able to run very long distances.. and sprint very short distances. We actually have a nack for running and our bodies enjoy doing it.. that is why we still have these crazy things called marathons where people run for hours. Our bodies have a desire to run because we did it so much in prehistoric times.
Running, of course, comes with a higher risk for injury as compared to walking. It's also not recommended that very heavy people spend a ton of time trying to run, because it can impact their ankles and knees. I don't know think it's necessary for us to aim to run hours every day. I'm trying to get to a point where I can run about 30 minutes or less a day (that's about a 5k), although I do have some MFPals who run for hours/10+ miles a day. I just don't have the time!!0 -
In terms of overall health risk, exercise training represents somewhat of a conundrum. By that I mean that, during the exercise session itself, the stress of the training load increases one's risk of a negative medical event. However, chronic exercise DECREASES one's overall risk for long-term lifestyle disease conditions, and decreases mortality and morbidity rates.
Most health authorities consider the long-term benefits of exercise to outweigh the transient risk that occurs during the workout itself.
In the early "running boom" days, distance running was thought to confer an extraordinary protection against disease and sudden death. In one of the more spectacularly wrong statements ever made in medicine, a cardiologist --Thomas Bassler -- supposedly was quoted saying that if you could run a marathon, you were "immune from heart disease".
Acute medical events that occur during distance running events usually happen for one of the following reasons:
1. The person had underlying heart disease or another serious medical condition and was unaware of it.
2. Especially during marathons. one can experience serious disturbances in electrolyte balance. The risk seems to increase with excessive water intake.
3. Environmental conditions, esp thermal stress.
These situations can be exacerbated for beginners who aren't really trained to run the distance, or really experienced runners who push themselves too hard in search of a top performance effort.
It is wrong to dismiss these studies out of hand. The detailed research into the acute effects of running events like a marathon is turning up information that should at least be considered and looked at in greater detail. However, it is still too soon to draw global conclusions, esp given the fact that you have had hundreds of thousands of people running marathons for decades now and they are not all dropping in the streets.0 -
I don't think endurance races are bad for you as long as you are physically fit and train your body to complete these events in a safe manner. Good endurance runners don't just do endurance running either. They incorporate interval based training to increase their aerobic capacity. They'll do a wide variety of running workouts as well as cross training.0
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long distance runners are skinnier because they concentrate on running and none on weights spirinter do weights and running they will do squats deadlifts compounds heavy weights.
long distance running will impact joints over time you can get torn ligamants.
sprinter is also risky anything is risky if not done proper0 -
Long distance running is not bad for your heart... it may be bad for your knees and hips, but that's a whole different issue. When runners have heart problems its usually attributed to an underlying condition... not the running. Ultra runners do runs over 100 miles and they don't drop dead.
:huh: :huh: :huh: When will this myth die?
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-running-wont-kill-your-knees
http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/joint-myth?page=single
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-03-23/health/hm.running.aging_1_joints-knee-mason?_s=PM:HEALTH
Unless you suffer from a pre-existing condition that contraindicates running you need not worry about your joints.0 -
Runner's heart is real, I do believe. There are muscles that thicken in lifelong 'elite athletes'. It is discussed in a medical literature review that I posted above. I'm definitely NOT an elite athlete, but my heart issues are congenital. I have had them my whole life and was not aware of them until I developed edema. We are currently investigating the severity of the damage. Do I continue to run? YOU BET I DO!0
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I really hate this comparison. What they don't take into account is the training methods of a sprinter and a long distance runner. Sprinters lift weights, they squat, deadlift, clean and press. The over body is built in the gym.i just heard the other day that marathons and long distance runs are not that good for the body! after all, the first marathon runner (who would have had to have been a well conditioned runner to have the job that he did!) died immediately after reaching his destination. how long does a run need to be for it to be considered detrimental to your health? i've found multiple articles arguing for why long distance running is bad, but i guess the big questions are:
1. why are long distance runners so lean, or appear to be so lean and muscular?
2. they obviously are strong, so why is long distance running bad?
high intensity interval training is recommended for weight loss and training in general. how long does a HIIT workout need to be for it to be considered effective? can you do an HIIT workout on the treadmill effectively?0 -
Fat is bad
Carbs are bad
protein is bad
long distance running is bad
simply walking is bad
lifting weights is bad
Eating 500 calories is bad
eating 1,000 calories is bad
eating 1,500 calories is bad
eating 2,000 calories is bad
EVERYTHING is bad as far as what I've heard (and yes, I have heard all of these)
Do your own research and see what suits YOU!0 -
Long distance running is not bad for your heart... it may be bad for your knees and hips, but that's a whole different issue. When runners have heart problems its usually attributed to an underlying condition... not the running. Ultra runners do runs over 100 miles and they don't drop dead.
There's no actual medical evidence it's bad for knees and hips either, for what it's worth.0 -
Sorry, just spotted that Brian got there first with that point.
(And yes, it's exasperating to read that knees and hips stuff over and over and over.... )0
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