Should we runners not run?

ejwme

...a physician mentioned to my husband recently that he sees a lot of people that are "running themselves into the ground". So I thought I'd bring it up for discussion here to see what results.

Yep, that was quite literally what I was doing. I've reformed.

I totally did this too... but rather than change my miles, I changed my diet. I was eating too little to fuel my workouts. Upped the calories and felt like a million bucks. YMVMV, but there's more than one way to skin a cat.

moonbaby12

Yes yes yes this right here!

weightloss happens in the kitchen. fitness happens in the gym.

Long distance running does not cause thyroid conditions. See: almost every serious marathoner ever. Some marathon runners may acquire thyroid issues. Just like some non-marathon runners acquire thyroid issues. In fact, I'd wager more non-marathoners acquire thyroid issues than marathoners.... OMG, NOT running a marathon will give you a thyroid condition! Yeah, no.

When you run long distances, anything over 20 miles in a week, you need to treat it very seriously - you need to pay attention to your diet, your shoes, your hydration, your strength training, your flexibility training. "Carbohydrate loading" is typically the reason people gain weight while running - because they thought their 45 minute run entitled them to a giant plate of pasta instead of the two pieces of fruit it was really calorically worth. Muscle loss happens when you don't strength train regardless if you run or not, and a lot of people think strength time and cardio time are interchangeable in the gym, when they are not.

If you're running less than 20 miles in a week, it really doesn't matter what you do so long as you stay injury free, you're likely not going to hurt yourself running "too much" if you've worked up to it. People who get heart or other serious medical problems actually from running are typically in the 100 miles a week plus category - they're professional runners, who make money by running farther, faster, and sacrifice health for their jobs. Much like the desk jockeys sacrifice their health for their jobs.

You like running? Keep it up. Learn from your body, eat, drink and train responsibly, and have fun. But don't pay too much attention to people who claim that a passtime healthy human beings have enjoyed since we started walking upright is "dangerous", especially if they claim it's only dangerous for people with vaginas.

MercenaryNoetic26

How much do you love running? I love weight training way more, so I choose that over running. I dabbled in running, but I always found that if I wanted to develop one ability over the other, it was always strength and muscle. I preferred my body with more muscular curves. Running for me, sabotages hard earned muscle.

So if you're a runner, and passionate about it, keep running.

cbeckl

While I understand that ONLY cardio (and lots of it) definitely isn't the way to go, the author of this article can pry my running shoes out of my cold, dead fingers! :laugh:

same here....I'll never stop running!

ami5000psu

I have a pulled hamstring, but i did not stop running. I just cut running in half and substitute cardio time on the elliptical. It is healing slow. I am not taking any anti inflammatories or pain relief. I just get nice and sweaty and i stretch it out extra everyday.

....it's healing slow because you won't let it have time to heal.

bcattoes

I couldn't get the link to open. Who wrote the article?

While certainly running, like any exercise, can be overdone, running is good exercise. Our bodies are designed to run. We'd probably all be better off if we ran.

michellelemorgan

I have a pulled hamstring, but i did not stop running. I just cut running in half and substitute cardio time on the elliptical. It is healing slow. I am not taking any anti inflammatories or pain relief. I just get nice and sweaty and i stretch it out extra everyday.

....it's healing slow because you won't let it have time to heal.

Yeah. This totally stinks but while I'm injured I'm sitting out as well. I hurt myself on Saturday and haven't been able to run since. I've just been doing tons of upper body stuff and core work. I tried running today but only made it a quarter of a mile before the pain kicked in and I had to come home. It was sad to stop but I'd rather be better in a week or two than take longer to heal because I won't allow my body the time it needs.

I'm so glad there is interest on this topic!

3dogsrunning

I couldn't get the link to open. Who wrote the article?

While certainly running, like any exercise, can be overdone, running is good exercise. Our bodies are designed to run. We'd probably all be better off if we ran.

If you scroll down a bit the OP copied and pasted it.

TL;DR
Excessive amounts of cardio and dieting can cause problems.

michellelemorgan

I couldn't get the link to open. Who wrote the article?

While certainly running, like any exercise, can be overdone, running is good exercise. Our bodies are designed to run. We'd probably all be better off if we ran.

I copied and pasted the entire article just a comment or two down but here is the website again http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/category/training/

iWaffle

1. They’re often intensely recruited for fund-raisers like Team-In-Training, lured by the promises of slim, trim bodies and good health resulting from the months of cardio training leading to marathons—in addition to doing something for charity.

What's wrong with being in good health while doing something for charity? I don't know what the point of this note was.

2. Some physique coaches prescribe 20-plus hours per week of pre-contest cardio for women, which essentially amounts to a part-time job.

Bulls**t!!! If you can run a 10 minute mile then that would mean you're doing 120 miles a week of running. This is sheer sensationalism. I ran 150 miles last month and my total running time was just over 22 hours. That's for the entire month.

3. Steady-state activities like this devastate the female metabolism. This happens with men, too, but in different ways.

It makes your body more efficient by lowering your heart rate and improving your cardio vascular system. I wouldn't say this devastates your metabolism.


I get it. The writer in this piece wants you to stop doing nothing but cardio. This is true. I would add in strength exercise as well but there's no point in cutting out the running if you enjoy it. Can you get fat running? Yes, you can get fat doing anything or nothing. Eat back the calories you burn running but don't continue eating the same amount when you slow down your training. This is just common sense stuff that has nothing to do with the specific sport of running.

Is running making women into muffin top blobs? Why can't I find any pictures of women marathon runners with huge spare tires that the author here is referring to?

Lupercalia

The overall point of what this article is trying to convey is women believe that in order to lose weight they MUST eat much fewer calories and they MUST run themselves silly and this is just false.

He's trying to say you can get faster, if not better results from HIIT 3 times a week for 30 minutes a day instead of running 5 days a week 60 minutes or more a day.

Is he saying it in the best way? Probably not.

He's just trying to get the point across that only running (and lots of it) is not the way to a sleek sculpted body. Now, will your lungs be happy? Sure thing. But the other muscles in your body? Nope.

^^THIS! I think this article has been taken out of context in this thread...or nobody actually read it. Keifer wasn't saying nobody should run, or women should not run. He's talking about women beating themselves into the ground with steady state cardio. Running was the example he used, but it could be any sort of steady state cardio.

He's also not saying DO NOT DO CARDIO. This article is making the case in favour of HIIT (high intensity interval training) over steady state cardio (running, stair master, elliptical, bike, etc) for fat loss.

momofJandA

While I understand that ONLY cardio (and lots of it) definitely isn't the way to go, the author of this article can pry my running shoes out of my cold, dead fingers! :laugh:

agreed!

_DaniD_

That article is nothing but ramblings of a crazy person.

3dogsrunning

The overall point of what this article is trying to convey is women believe that in order to lose weight they MUST eat much fewer calories and they MUST run themselves silly and this is just false.

He's trying to say you can get faster, if not better results from HIIT 3 times a week for 30 minutes a day instead of running 5 days a week 60 minutes or more a day.

Is he saying it in the best way? Probably not.

He's just trying to get the point across that only running (and lots of it) is not the way to a sleek sculpted body. Now, will your lungs be happy? Sure thing. But the other muscles in your body? Nope.

^^THIS! I think this article has been taken out of context in this thread...or nobody actually read it. Keifer wasn't saying nobody should run, or women should not run. He's talking about women beating themselves into the ground with steady state cardio. Running was the example he used, but it could be any sort of steady state cardio.

He's also not saying DO NOT DO CARDIO. This article is making the case in favour of HIIT (high intensity interval training) over steady state cardio (running, stair master, elliptical, bike, etc) for fat loss.

I think part of the problem was the original post and title. When I did read the article I answered then went back to edit. After reading another reply I realized that the author wasnt saying don't do cardio, I implied that based on the topic.

I agree with all of the above.

bcattoes

I couldn't get the link to open. Who wrote the article?

While certainly running, like any exercise, can be overdone, running is good exercise. Our bodies are designed to run. We'd probably all be better off if we ran.

I copied and pasted the entire article just a comment or two down but here is the website again http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/category/training/

The link times out and won't open (we have a filter that fails if a link takes too long to open). I saw the article. I didn't see where it said who wrote it.

Lupercalia

Is running making women into muffin top blobs? Why can't I find any pictures of women marathon runners with huge spare tires that the author here is referring to?

Here's an article by fitness author/trainer Rachel Cosgrove on what running did to her previously lean body:

http://members.rachelcosgrove.com/public/The_Final_Nail_in_the_Cardio_Coffin.cfm

Of course she didn't get a "huge spare tire", but she says her body did indeed change whilst she was training for her first Ironman.

"My body was soft, with no definition, and had definitely changed due to spending the majority of my training in the steady-state aerobic zone — the same "fat burning zone" many books and magazine still talk about.

I was in great shape as far as my endurance and cardiovascular system were concerned, but I had less noticeable muscle tone and didn't have the definition I was used to having in my abs and arms.

Put it this way: I didn't even want to wear a crop top at my race because I didn't have abs, to show. In fact, I felt like I had rolls for the first time ever! My body had started to look like that of a flabby endurance athlete.

I'd lost some muscle and looked soft and flabby, but I was still happy with my performance and thrilled that I accomplished my goal."

Cosgrove gets into the whys and hows of it in the article and goes on to discuss how she regained her previously lean body by first dropping all the steady state cardio and instead doing HIIT or circuit training styled workouts. She dropped the fat and returned to her lean state within about 8 weeks.

michellelemorgan

I couldn't get the link to open. Who wrote the article?

While certainly running, like any exercise, can be overdone, running is good exercise. Our bodies are designed to run. We'd probably all be better off if we ran.

I copied and pasted the entire article just a comment or two down but here is the website again http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/category/training/

The link times out and won't open (we have a filter that fails if a link takes too long to open). I saw the article. I didn't see where it said who wrote it.

D.H. Kiefer

cwolfman13

I think all this article is saying is that far too much focus is placed on cardio in general and running specifically. I myself run...but I don't run steady state cardio for hours and hours every day...you do get to a point of diminishing returns and too much cardio also starts burning into your muscle. Look at marathon runners..are they lean and toned? Not really...they're fit, but they're also "skinny fat" just like pretty much every cardio bunny who neglects to do resistance training.

What I get from this is that people would get far more benefit if they did some combination of some cardio and some resistance training...and I would agree with that. Having been on this site for awhile, I'm always amazed and bewildered by the amount of cardio people do for no other purpose than a calorie burn. When you set fitness goals beyond that, things start falling into place much better in RE to your training.

PaulDJohnson

Take a look at this article in RW. It addresses the blog you are referring to. It sounds like the OP of the blog post didn't read the studies.

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/how-does-endurance-training-affect-your-thyroid-and-vice-versa

In short the likelihood that the blog post is accurate is very low. I can say that excessive ANYTHING tends to be bad. I remember getting ready for a marathon and just piling up one injury (impact or fatigue related) after another. I came to the conclusion that marathon running exacted too great a price for the sense of accomplishment.

Elzecat

weightloss happens in the kitchen. fitness happens in the gym.

Long distance running does not cause thyroid conditions. See: almost every serious marathoner ever. Some marathon runners may acquire thyroid issues. Just like some non-marathon runners acquire thyroid issues. In fact, I'd wager more non-marathoners acquire thyroid issues than marathoners.... OMG, NOT running a marathon will give you a thyroid condition! Yeah, no.

When you run long distances, anything over 20 miles in a week, you need to treat it very seriously - you need to pay attention to your diet, your shoes, your hydration, your strength training, your flexibility training. "Carbohydrate loading" is typically the reason people gain weight while running - because they thought their 45 minute run entitled them to a giant plate of pasta instead of the two pieces of fruit it was really calorically worth. Muscle loss happens when you don't strength train regardless if you run or not, and a lot of people think strength time and cardio time are interchangeable in the gym, when they are not.

If you're running less than 20 miles in a week, it really doesn't matter what you do so long as you stay injury free, you're likely not going to hurt yourself running "too much" if you've worked up to it. People who get heart or other serious medical problems actually from running are typically in the 100 miles a week plus category - they're professional runners, who make money by running farther, faster, and sacrifice health for their jobs. Much like the desk jockeys sacrifice their health for their jobs.

You like running? Keep it up. Learn from your body, eat, drink and train responsibly, and have fun. But don't pay too much attention to people who claim that a passtime healthy human beings have enjoyed since we started walking upright is "dangerous", especially if they claim it's only dangerous for people with vaginas.

Yep. To everything you wrote here, spot on!
They used to tell women not to run because their uteruses would be damaged.
Now we know better.