Why running and cardio alone aren't giving you what you want

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I read this article today, and although it's a very important read, I think the title "Why Women Should Not Run" is a bit misleading. However, it does a good job of explaining the dangers of the cycle of over-cardio that many women get in to trying desperately to burn fat. What I get out of this: cardio in moderation, add in some resistance, and pace yourself. Link here, full text pasted below for ease of consumption ;-)

http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/5343/why-women-should-not-run/



Here’s another article re-edit/rerelease. This one was originally published on EliteFTS.com, and we’re presenting this updated and polished-up version today in case you missed it the first time around.

I’m not sympathetic.

When I look at the fat guy in the gym wasting his time doing forearm curls to lose weight, I feel no sympathy. When a big tough meathead gets stapled to the bench by 365 pounds—after trying and failing with 315—I don’t feel any sympathetic pangs there, either. Even when I see a girl spend a half hour bouncing back and forth between the yes-no machines—the adductor and abductor units—only to have trouble walking the next day, I can’t muster even an iota of pathos.

Nobody told these people to do these things.

Then, however, I watch my friend Jessica running on the treadmill—day after day, year after year—like a madwoman, and going nowhere. Her body seems to get softer with every mile, and the softer she gets, the more she runs. For her, I feel sympathy, because the world has convinced her that running is the way to stay “slim and toned.”

There’s a Jessica in every gym. Spotting them is easy. They’re the women who run for an hour or more every day on the treadmill, setting new distance and/or time goals every week and month. Maybe they’re just interested in their treadmill workouts, maybe they’re training for their fifth fund-raising marathon, or maybe they’re even competing against runners in Finland via some Nike device. Doesn’t matter to me, because years of seeing my friend on the treadmill has exposed the results, which I’m not going to sugarcoat:

She’s still fat. Actually, she’s gotten fatter.

I’ve tried to rescue her from the clutches of cardio in the past, but my efforts didn’t work until a month ago, when she called to tell me that a blood test had confirmed her doctor’s suspicion: She had hypothyroidism, meaning her body no longer made enough thyroid hormone.

Her metabolism had slowed to a snail’s pace, and the fat was accumulating. This was her body rebelling. When Jessica asked for my advice, I told her to do two things: To schedule a second test for two weeks later, and to stop all the goddamned running until then.

I’m not here to pick on women or make fun of them. There are men out there who do the same thing, thinking cardio will wipe away the effects of their regular weekend beer binges. It’s more of a problem with women, though, and I’m targeting them for three very good reasons:

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.

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

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

I hate a lot of things about the fitness industry, but over-prescribed cardio would have to be at the very top of my list. I’m not talking about walking here, nor am I referring to appropriate HIIT cardio. This is about running, cycling, stair-climbing, or elliptical cardio done for hours at or above 65 percent of your max heart rate. The anaerobic threshold factors into this, obviously, but I’m painting gym cardio in very broad strokes here so everyone will understand what I’m railing against.

Trashing steady-state cardio isn’t exactly a novel idea, and the better physique gurus figured at least a portion of this out years ago, when they started applying the no-steady-state-cardio rule to contest preparation. They failed, however, to point out the most detrimental effect of this type of training—one that applies specifically to women:

Studies—both clinical and observational—make a compelling case that too much cardio can impair the production of the thyroid hormone T3, its effectiveness and metabolism[1-11], particularly when accompanied by caloric restriction, an all too common practice. This is why many first or second-time figure and bikini competitors explode in weight when they return to their normal diets, and it’s why the Jessicas of the world can run for hours every week with negative results.

T3 is the body’s preeminent regulator of metabolism, by the way it throttles the efficiency of cells[12-19]. It also acts in various ways to increase heat production[20-21]. As I pointed out in previous articles, this is one reason why using static equations to perform calories-in, calories-out weight loss calculations doesn’t work.

When T3 levels are normal, the body burns enough energy to stay warm, and muscles function at moderate efficiency. When there’s too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism), the body goes into a state where weight gain is almost impossible. Too little T3 (hypothyroidism), and the body accumulates body fat with ease, almost regardless of physical activity level. Women inadvertently put themselves into a hypothyroid condition when they perform so much steady-state cardio.

In the quest to lose body fat, T3 levels can offer both success and miserable failure because of the way it influences other fat-regulating hormones[22-31]. Women additionally get all the other negative effects of this, which I’ll cover below. Don’t be surprised here. This is a simple, sensible adaptation of a body that’s equipped to bear the full brunt of reproduction.

Think about it this way: Your body is a responsive, adaptive machine that has evolved for survival. If you’re running on a regular basis, your body senses this excessive energy expenditure, and adjusts to compensate. Remember, no matter which way we hope the body works, its endgame is always survival. If you waste energy running, your body will react by slowing your metabolism to conserve energy. Decreasing energy output is biologically savvy for your body. Your body wants to survive longer while you do what it views as a stressful, useless activity. Decreasing T3 production increases efficiency and adjusts your metabolism to preserve energy immediately.

Nothing exemplifies this increasing efficiency better than the way the body starts burning fuel. Training consistently at 65 percent or more of your max heart rate adapts your body to save as much body fat as possible. After regular training, fat cells stop releasing fat the way they once did during moderate-intensity activities[32-33]. Energy from body fat stores also decreases by 30 percent[34-35]. To this end, your body sets into motion a series of reactions that make it difficult for muscle to burn fat at all[36-41]. Instead of burning body fat, your body takes extraordinary measures to retain it.

Still believe cardio is the fast track to fat loss?

That’s not all. You can still lose muscle mass. Too much steady-state cardio actually triggers the loss of muscle[42-45]. This seems to be a twofold mechanism, with heightened and sustained cortisol levels triggering muscle loss[46-56], which upregulates myostatin, a potent destroyer of muscle tissue[57]. Say goodbye to bone density, too, because it declines with that decreasing muscle mass and strength[58-64].

And long term health? Out the window, as well. Your percentage of muscle mass is an independent indicator of health[65]. You’ll lose muscle, lose bone, and lose health. Awesome, right?

When sewn together, these phenomena coordinate a symphony of fat gain for most female competitors after figure contests. After a month—or three—of 20-plus hours of cardio per week, fat burning hits astonishing lows, and fat cells await an onslaught of calories to store[66-72]. The worst thing imaginable in this state would be to eat whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. The combination of elevated insulin and cortisol would make you fat, and it would also create new fat cells so you could become even fatter[73-80].

I won’t name names, but I’ve seen amazing displays of gluttony from some small, trim women. Entire pizzas disappear, leaving only the flotsam of toppings that fell during the feeding frenzy. Appetizers, meals, cocktails and desserts—4000 calories worth—vanish at the Cheesecake Factory. There are no leftovers, and there are no crumbs. Some women catch this in time and stop the devastation, but others quickly swell, realizing that this supposed off-season look has become their every-season look.
And guess what they do to fix it? Double sessions of cardio.

This “cardio craze” is a form of insanity, and it’s on my hit list. I’m determined to kill it. There are better ways to lose fat, and there are better ways to look good. Your bikini body is not at the end of a marathon, and you won’t find it on a treadmill. In fact, it’s quite the opposite if you’re using steady-state cardio to get there. The show may be over, and the finish line crossed, but the damage to your metabolism has just begun.

Don’t want to stop running? Fine. Then stop complaining about how the fat won’t come off your hips, thighs, and *kitten*. You’re keeping it there.

And as for Jessica, my friend whose dilemma sparked this article? She took my suggestion and cut out the cardio. Two weeks later, her T3 count was normal. Go figure.
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Replies

  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
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    tl;dr

    I hate the cardio vs. weight training debate.

    Want to do only cardio? Great!
    Want to do only weight training? Great!
    Want to do a mix of both? Great!
  • prium01
    prium01 Posts: 306 Member
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    This article is not entirely true! Cardio also helps for fat loss but exercise or the intensity should be changed every month to challenge and shock your body for fat loss.I personally love running.It has really toned my thighs and glutes and my arms have become smaller..I lift weights but just so that I don't lose muscle.I run 4-5 days a week and do strength training 2-3 times a week...I don't know how much T3 is related to cardio...

    Body will definitely react to a different exercise..in the above case..that doesn't mean she had to stop running!
  • shells1234
    shells1234 Posts: 64 Member
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    So at first he's hateing on the over weight guy doing curls. Seriously just sounds like k e someone who hates everyone horrible article!! What that said I love lifting weights I don't go crazy because I just do it at home so I do whatever I can.
  • McLifterPants
    McLifterPants Posts: 457 Member
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    I think that the important thing that he's saying is that overdoing it on the cardio and not doing anything else can slow down your metabolism. It isn't that ALL cardio is bad, it's the idea of "Still not happy with your body? Just run even more! Run all day every day!" I don't think that running is a bad idea, when it's done in moderation and in conjunction with other types of exercise. Hence my assertion that the title of the article is bad.
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
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    I think the title is purposely provactive so as to get people to read it. Maybe something a little more subtler like "Is Running Bad For Women?" would have had a similar effect for grabbing attention, but sound less patronizing?

    I thought the article was interesting. Since I'm more into lifting and HIIT cardio, I could be susceptible to confirmation bias in that I would use this article to help support my position. But I'll wait to see if there are any critiques to this article's assertion before adopting its arguments?

    If anything, I think it should make someone think about how they can progressively add more intensity (or changes) to their fitness program if they want to remain lean/tone/whatever? Especially as it relates to hormone production. It's probably easier to do that with weight training and various HIIT, and more difficult for long-term steady-state cardio equipment users?
  • denezy
    denezy Posts: 573 Member
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    Bump so I can email this to my marathon addicted friend who always complains about her jiggly bits.
  • Heaven71
    Heaven71 Posts: 706 Member
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    Eh whatever! For every article you find dissing something, there is another telling you it's great. I stay clear of the negative and listen to my body and what works for me.
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
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    I thought it was poorly written. The author lost me in the beginning dissing people bench pressing and doing curls, and also dissing cardio. WTF is he/she talking about? I didn't read the whole thing, because as I said, whatever message they were trying to convey, they failed right from the start, iMO.

    This. I couldn't stomach the article because of the way it was written. Whatever good points the author had were lost throughout by the patronizing, biased way they wrote it.
  • liittlesparrow
    liittlesparrow Posts: 209 Member
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    To me this just sounds like someone who hates cardio and wants a valid excuse to never do it again.

    Everything in moderation.

    I like to run, and will continue to do so until the day I die. I've never seen an overweight runner. I don't spend hours every day, running though.
  • dorothytd
    dorothytd Posts: 1,138 Member
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    This is really interesting to me, specifically for the thyroid theory. When I was focusing on just cardio, my TS levels were off, but the other way - borderline HYPERthyroid. Some of my other blood work was off as well, including iron. As of my last blood test, everything was hitting normal levels again. I thought it was solely due to taking vitamins/iron regularly. However, I had also, for about 4-5 months prior to the test, been making sure I worked in strength training 3x a week. It certainly helped my body composition, but now I wonder if it had other benefits as well. Either way, I'm going to keep doing it!
  • DavidKBrewer
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    Wow, dissing on running but not giving any tips on what these awesome alternatives are. Great article.

    This sounds like it's more about people who binge eat then try to run it off, yet the majority of the article focuses on how just cardio is bad. Then he uses an example that after you've devoured a whole pizza in one sitting, it's not good to just try and run it off.

    Maybe...just maybe, and stop me if I sound crazy......it's the binge eating that's the real problem here.
  • CarlKRobbo
    CarlKRobbo Posts: 390 Member
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    OK, first, for those who did not read the whole thing and still commented, Why POST!?! It's not supposed to get the whole point across in 10 seconds!!

    I agree with so much of the first points - It was NOT dissing Bench Pressers\Forearm Curlers, that was a reference to:

    A - Benchers trying to bench more than their last failed attempt in the same session - Seriously?! If you've failed 315, WHY even load up 365!?
    B - People who Curl to Loose weight (I.e. Just like the fat guy at my Uni gym who asked to be shown how to use the Preacher Curl as he wanted to loose weight, ignored my\gym staffs advice on a proper program, insisted Curls\Bench was all he needed, and 1 year later, he's gained 2 inches on his waist!)

    It's not hating on Cardio, either, it's the endless cardio, that's not done alongside a decent diet, that's then extended to more time when nothing changes.

    As the article states, the human body is designed to adapt, this article is in reference to those who have failed to realise that and who fail to adapt themselves, therefore leaving themselves in the same rut\cycle

    It's not someone that hates Cardio, or never want's to do it, they are open to the many, many other ways this can be done.

    Finally, Poorly written? Bashing Cardio? Anyone noticed the 80 references to medical research papers at the end of it, or are they doing the same thing and "bashing\dissing cardio"?

    Open your eyes people, and read the whole article
  • DavidKBrewer
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    ^ It's written poorly because it's seething with disdain for cardio, starting with the headline. Even though as you read, he explains the point a "little" more clearly; it's trying to use shock to get people to read where if it could just stand on its academic merits, he wouldn't need it.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    Well, this paragraph in the article is so stupid it negates anything else he said.
    Nothing exemplifies this increasing efficiency better than the way the body starts burning fuel. Training consistently at 65 percent or more of your max heart rate adapts your body to save as much body fat as possible. After regular training, fat cells stop releasing fat the way they once did during moderate-intensity activities[32-33]. Energy from body fat stores also decreases by 30 percent[34-35]. To this end, your body sets into motion a series of reactions that make it difficult for muscle to burn fat at all[36-41]. Instead of burning body fat, your body takes extraordinary measures to retain it.
    If he has any studies to back these stupid statements up then either he is taking them out of context or the studies are stupid too.

    If anyone is interested in how energy is really stored and used in cardiovascular exercise then read the book Lore of Running by Dr. Timothy Noakes, MD
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
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    When I look at the fat guy in the gym wasting his time doing forearm curls to lose weight, I feel no sympathy. When a big tough meathead gets stapled to the bench by 365 pounds—after trying and failing with 315—I don’t feel any sympathetic pangs there, either.

    Hey fat guy. Stop using the bench press and stop doing curls. The author of this column won't feel sorry for you.

    I love how diet is never really addressed in this article. How many times are we going to see this copy-pasted here? This gets dumber every time I read it.
  • _DaniD_
    _DaniD_ Posts: 2,186 Member
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    There’s a Jessica in every gym. Spotting them is easy. They’re the women who run for an hour or more every day on the treadmill, setting new distance and/or time goals every week and month. Maybe they’re just interested in their treadmill workouts, maybe they’re training for their fifth fund-raising marathon, or maybe they’re even competing against runners in Finland via some Nike device. Doesn’t matter to me, because years of seeing my friend on the treadmill has exposed the results, which I’m not going to sugarcoat:

    She’s still fat. Actually, she’s gotten fatter.

    Give me a break. Please.

    She is not fat from running. If people choose to be runners and skip the weights that's their choice. I'm starting to feel really annoyed with all the preachy weight lifters.

    Can we stop posting this article? It's an exaggeration and the person who wrote it is clearly less than an expert.
  • CarlKRobbo
    CarlKRobbo Posts: 390 Member
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    Well, this paragraph in the article is so stupid it negates anything else he said.
    Nothing exemplifies this increasing efficiency better than the way the body starts burning fuel. Training consistently at 65 percent or more of your max heart rate adapts your body to save as much body fat as possible. After regular training, fat cells stop releasing fat the way they once did during moderate-intensity activities[32-33]. Energy from body fat stores also decreases by 30 percent[34-35]. To this end, your body sets into motion a series of reactions that make it difficult for muscle to burn fat at all[36-41]. Instead of burning body fat, your body takes extraordinary measures to retain it.
    If he has any studies to back these stupid statements up then either he is taking them out of context or the studies are stupid too.

    If anyone is interested in how energy is really stored and used in cardiovascular exercise then read the book Lore of Running by Dr. Timothy Noakes, MD

    As requested, studies\references:

    32. Jones NL, Heigenhauser GJ, Kuksis A, Matsos CG, Sutton JR, Toews CJ. Fat metabolism in heavy exercise. Clin Sci (Lond). 1980 Dec;59(6):469-78.

    33. Romijn JA, Coyle EF, Sidossis LS, Zhang XJ, Wolfe RR. Relationship between fatty acid delivery and fatty acid oxidation during strenuous exercise. J Appl Physiol. 1995 Dec;79(6):1939-45.

    34. Romijn JA, Coyle EF, Sidossis LS, Gastaldelli A, Horowitz JF, Endert E, Wolfe RR. Regulation of endogenous fat and carbohydrate metabolism in relation to exercise intensity and duration. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 1993;265:E380-E391.

    35. Martin WH 3rd, Dalsky GP, Hurley BF, Matthews DE, Bier DM, Hagberg JM, Rogers MA, King DS, Holloszy JO. Effect of endurance training on plasma free fatty acid turnover and oxidation during exercise. Am J Physiol. 1993;265:E708–14.

    36. Elayan IM, Winder WW. Effect of glucose infusion on muscle malonyl-CoA during exercise. J Appl Physiol. 1991 Apr;70(4):1495-9.

    37. Saddik M, Gamble J, Witters LA, Lopaschuk GD. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase regulation of fatty acid oxidation in the heart. J Biol Chem. 1993 Dec 5;268(34):25836-45.

    38. McGarry JD, Mannaerts GP, Foster DW. A possible role for malonyl-CoA in the regulation of hepatic fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis. J Clin Invest. 1977 Jul;60(1):265-70.

    39. Robinson IN, Zammit VA. Sensitivity of carnitine acyltransferase I to malonly-CoA inhibition in isolated rat liver mitochondria is quantitatively related to hepatic malonyl-CoA concentration in vivo. Biochem J. 1982 Jul 15;206(1):177-9.

    40. McGarry JD, Mills SE, Long CS, Foster DW. Observations on the affinity for carnitine, and malonyl-CoA sensitivity, of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in animal and human tissues. Demonstration of the presence of malonyl-CoA in non-hepatic tissues of the rat. Biochem J. 1983 Jul 15;214(1):21-8.

    41. Sidossis LS, Gastaldelli A, Klein S, Wolfe RR. Regulation of plasma fatty acid oxidation during low- and high-intensity exercise. Am J Physiol. 1997;272:E1065–70.

    @DavidKBrewer, I agree to a point, it IS heavy handed, using shock tactics, and as he's looked into 80 different scientific studies on the subject, and could be written a bit lighter..
    Unfortunately, this kind of article can't stand on it's academic merits, as can be seen by people shouting the article down, without realising that the academic research has been linked under the original article, and that most of the statements, are linked to the relevant study
  • _DaniD_
    _DaniD_ Posts: 2,186 Member
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    I don't think that running is a bad idea, when it's done in moderation and in conjunction with other types of exercise.

    tumblr_mca1crX94W1qj1j9lo1_500.gif
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
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    We have a Jessica at my gym. She's skinny alright and looks great in a pair of jeans and a tshirt, I would kill for her body. But once she puts on her running shorts and tank top and hits the deadmill everyday for her hour or more, you see all the chicken wing and back fat flapping as she goes. Has she reached her favorite pair if skinny jeans size yes, do I want to look like her anymore? Not so much. I run, I love running, it's helping me lose weight. BUT I also add resistance with weight lifting and cross train by swimming, I might be bigger than her, but I don't have those jiggly bits like she does.


    But to each her own, she's happy with what she sees in the mirror