Get Off That Treadmill! Cardio is Counterproductive!
Replies
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@Papadunx BTW0
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Interesting to see the holier than thou approach of cardio enthusiasts. If you do cardio, you are saving yourself, living longer? Longer than who?
Seems a fresh attack on bodybuilders there. That are dropping dead all the time. Like WHO exactly? Which body builder can YOU state YOU know that dropped dead recently? Yeah, thought so. We body builders aren’t invincible by any means but some pretty stupid points.
Cardio is not the holy grail and the simple fact most people’s cardio is fat burning only so gain very little or no cardiovascular gain from doing it.
Lets face it, this site is about fitness. This means everything. My OH, the OP, is right in her statement. I don’t do cardio in the off season or very little, no more than 20 mins 2-3x a week if that. I eat a crazy amount of calories and certainly I raise my heart rate when I do my short and hard and intense lifting sessions.0 -
I'd take everything you read in muscle and fitness with a grain of salt.
I can somewhat agree with OP, in the sense that cardio isn't amazing for people trying to put on mass.
But I wouldn't say its counterproductive....that would depend on your goals. If you're an athlete, I don't think cardio would be counterproductive. Steady state cardio might not be the best option, but HIIT was amazing when I was playing soccer.0 -
I work out 4 hrs a day/ 6 days a week. burn 3000-4000 calories per workout. It's what works for me, and I lose 2.5 to 3 pounds a week generally. So I think I'll just stick with my cardio, thanks.
thats determination......0 -
I only tend to do two forms of exercise, swimming and walking. I am 73 and find that these both help to keep my weight healthy. As I have a back problem I was advised years ago to swim in order to help and it certainly has. I can work in the garden for an hour or two and |I get no problems with my back.I have tried going to a gym but it is just not for me as I do not enjoy it. I would like to have a go at working with weights at home but am not sure what I should do. Are there any web sites I can use to give me some ideas please?0
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Hello Gym Bunnies!
Hope you're all dandy. :0)
I'm afraid I'm the barer of bad news... well, simply relaying some new revelation: yup... as the title of the post says... don't waste your life on cardio! According to an article in Muscle and Fitness October Issue (Page 114) mixing it up prior or post weight training will detract from the intensity and performance. So get off that treadmill and go home!
So? What do you do? When do you integrate cardio in your routine, pre-workout, post-workout or on separate times or dedicated to only cardio days? How often do you cardio your fat off?
Thank you! :0))
Ok, so I don't have so much a problem with the article, but I DO have a problem with this post in general.
a) the title is meant to inflame. which it did to some extent. got the warring sides to bring their guns
b) the intro is derogatory, from the "hello gym bunnies", to the "get off your treadmill and go home"
c) the content is worded in such a manner that a number of people who are truly looking for help to get better may get further confused.
If you want to bulk, that's one thing.
If you want a strong heart, that's another.
If you want to be fit and muscular... THEN IT IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE!
BALANCE
B A L A N C E
As far as I'm concerned, you don't need to spend an hour on the treaddy and three hours on the weights 5x a week to get in shape.
Balance your eating habits (no you DON'T have to go crazy eg. paleo, cleanses, etc)
Balance your workouts (eg... I run - cardio - and I box - cardio/strength)
Balance your life... and you will end up looking great. It may take some time, but it will work.
If you want to be RIPPED - then yeah, go nuts on the weights.
If you want to be super LEAN - then ok, go nuts on the treaddy, in the pool, on the road....
If you want to cleanse, fine. If you want to eat clean, great. But you don't HAVE to in order to get healthy.
IF you want to just simply look and feel good in your own body... remember the word BALANCE.
Cardio is great for cutting fat (as long as you're not pumping it back into your diet)
Strength training (including body weight workouts like crunches, squats, pushups, planks) will add resilience to your body.
But damn, why do we have to create topics like this that are meant to divide? Soooo frustrating!
I was gonna post...until I read this and Mirey hit it on the point...as a competitive basketball player I find balance is the best way to be0 -
*sighs*
I do pretty much only cardio and have done for months. I'm now in good shape and everyone says so- including my GP!
I think my ticker speaks for itself.0 -
*sighs*
I do pretty much only cardio and have done for months. I'm now in good shape and everyone says so- including my GP!
I think my ticker speaks for itself.
I do no cardio and am in better shape than you, around 10% body fat. Therefore using your logic, no cardio and lifting weights is actually better.0 -
*sighs*
I do pretty much only cardio and have done for months. I'm now in good shape and everyone says so- including my GP!
I think my ticker speaks for itself.
I do no cardio and am in better shape than you, around 10% body fat. Therefore using your logic, no cardio and lifting weights is actually better.
Depends....what's your cardiovascular health like? Just because you have muscles doesn't mean you can go a mile without being blown. 10% body fat is of course done in the kitchen for the most part....so I'm pretty sure you eat clean, and lift dirty. Plus LOOKING healthy and being healthy are two different things.0 -
Is she really doing CV work or fat burning work? Doubt its the former. Can't remember seeing the last person in the gym anywhere properly doing CV work myself...
As for CV health, I can happily jump on a treadmill/cross trainer and do an hour or two without problem. I don't because I'm not a drone and think about my goals rather than thinking cardio is absolute rather than a tool.0 -
i cardio for my heart health and because i want to start running 10k races so i have no idea how it' counterproductive to not run when i want to run.
Yup. I'm a half marathoner and heavy lifter.0 -
*smashing head into wall*
Know exactly what you mean!! lol
Basically how I understand it from my gym manager is for the 1st 20mins of a cardio workout you burn things like toxins ie alcohol out of your system while you warm up... then the next 20mins you burn anything you have stored from the last 24hrs like carbs protein etc.... only after 40mins graft do you then start to burn your fat stores!
So Ladies and Gents your fat burning work out starts after your first 40 minutes of excersise!!! (**Shrugs shoulders and sighs**)0 -
No, it doesn't. How exactly would that work? You simply start burning calories from the moment you start moving your legs. Being your liver holds around 200g carbs and your muscle much more, I somehow think 40 mins is not going to be enough to deplete you of carbs from energy stores.0
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I totally agree0
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Laughing so much I can't pick myself up off the floor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
I do cardio for cardio health.... And to help strengthen my asthmatic lungs....i cardio for my heart health and because i want to start running 10k races so i have no idea how it' counterproductive to not run when i want to run.0 -
Wait, what? You burn glucose and fat 24/7. You don't just arbitrarily burn one or the other, it's an all the time thing.*smashing head into wall*
Know exactly what you mean!! lol
Basically how I understand it from my gym manager is for the 1st 20mins of a cardio workout you burn things like toxins ie alcohol out of your system while you warm up... then the next 20mins you burn anything you have stored from the last 24hrs like carbs protein etc.... only after 40mins graft do you then start to burn your fat stores!
So Ladies and Gents your fat burning work out starts after your first 40 minutes of excersise!!! (**Shrugs shoulders and sighs**)0 -
I work out 4 hrs a day/ 6 days a week. burn 3000-4000 calories per workout. It's what works for me, and I lose 2.5 to 3 pounds a week generally. So I think I'll just stick with my cardio, thanks.
Holy....crap......how do you find the time?!?!? wait....the energy?!?!?
That's amazing...kudos to you!!!0 -
Its all good if you ask me..as long as you're making improvements then good job to you...being active is much better then being inactive with many benefits whether you weight train...do cardio..pilates..yoga..whatever..its all for health and wellness..combined these things can help greatly...different people..different training is what it comes down to....a competitive bodybuilder is not going to do the same training as a sprinter..but some things will be very similar0
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*smashing head into wall*
Know exactly what you mean!! lol
Basically how I understand it from my gym manager is for the 1st 20mins of a cardio workout you burn things like toxins ie alcohol out of your system while you warm up... then the next 20mins you burn anything you have stored from the last 24hrs like carbs protein etc.... only after 40mins graft do you then start to burn your fat stores!
So Ladies and Gents your fat burning work out starts after your first 40 minutes of excersise!!! (**Shrugs shoulders and sighs**)
You probably want to find a new gym or at the very least stop taking advice from the gym manager. Clueless!!0 -
If Dr. Oz or a magazine told people that breathing was bad for them, we could seriously weed out some of the stupid.
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*sighs*
I do pretty much only cardio and have done for months. I'm now in good shape and everyone says so- including my GP!
I think my ticker speaks for itself.
First, I want to say that is great that you've taken control of your health and made progress.
But, I always grimace when someone wants to point to thier ticker as proof of something. All that really proves is that you had a lot to lose to get into a healthy range and you did. It's doesn't prove your methods were optimal and it says nothing about your current body compostion or your performance and functionality.
So, you used cardio as a tool. Great! At some point if you do not include some resistance also, you will begin to lose crictical muscle mass. That will not be optimum.
I think it was Matt who said, it's just a tool and what tool (or tools) you use depends on your goals. It' not an either/ or question but as another poster more eloquently put it, it's about balance. There's an old saying that if the only tool you have is a hammer, every probelm looks like a nail.0 -
Basically how I understand it from my gym manager is for the 1st 20mins of a cardio workout you burn things like toxins ie alcohol out of your system while you warm up... then the next 20mins you burn anything you have stored from the last 24hrs like carbs protein etc.... only after 40mins graft do you then start to burn your fat stores!
So Ladies and Gents your fat burning work out starts after your first 40 minutes of excersise!!! (**Shrugs shoulders and sighs**)
No.
Your body uses a mix of fat and other fuel substrates at the same time whatever activity you are doing.
The confusion arises in that some activities use a higher percentage of fat in comparison to carbs etc depending on the circumstances including the duration. If you work at lower intensity then the % of fat used is greater or if you have been exercising for a while then your body will seek to protect diminishing carb stores by using a greater % of fat for fuel.
Should you be concerned? No. The actual amount of fat physically used in any given workout is miniscule no matter what you are doing. What is important is the overall amount of calories burned, which creates a deficit, which prompts the body to use more fat for energy throughout the course of the day / night.0 -
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding in this thread. The article was talking about cardio being counterproductive to strength gains. If you are someone who is lifting heavy and whose goal is to gain strength/size, then cardio can and most likely will hinder your gains. If you are someone whose goal is endurance or distance running or just enjoy cardio more than lifting, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with cardio and it is a wonderful workout.
The title of the thread is misleading, but if you take time to understand what it is saying, then you will see that it isn't bashing cardio. All it's saying is be careful how you use cardio when training for maximum strength and size.
I agree with the fact that excessive cardio is not conducive to strength gains, but moderate cardio should not have that impact
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/cardio-and-mass-gains.html
I agree with that. It's all in how you choose to use the cardio. There is a fine line, though, at which point it will most likely start to cut into gains.0 -
I have to disagree when said that Cardio is a waste of time. I do Cardio for a number of reasons; For my heart, to clear my head, to work up a sweat, to blow off some stress, etc. The benefits of Cardio go beyond weight loss. I do some form of Cardio every single day. I do strength train 3-4 times a week, but Cardio will always remain a part of my lifestyle.0
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Weights are what helped me shed that final 5 lbs, the final 5 that cardio didn't.0
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Weights are what helped me shed that final 5 lbs, the final 5 that cardio didn't.
I needed to read that, thanks for sharring!0 -
Hello Gym Bunnies!
Hope you're all dandy. :0)
I'm afraid I'm the barer of bad news... well, simply relaying some new revelation: yup... as the title of the post says... don't waste your life on cardio! According to an article in Muscle and Fitness October Issue (Page 114) mixing it up prior or post weight training will detract from the intensity and performance. So get off that treadmill and go home!
So? What do you do? When do you integrate cardio in your routine, pre-workout, post-workout or on separate times or dedicated to only cardio days? How often do you cardio your fat off?
Thank you! :0))
News flash: not everyone is obsessing over their weight training performance. Some people are more concerned about their running performance.
Guess you better go tell all those Olympic runners that they are wasting their lives with counterproductive activity.
Also, some of us here LOVE cardio. I love it more than ice cream and would participate even if it were bad for me, which it isn't.
Thank you all the same.0 -
Wait, what? You burn glucose and fat 24/7. You don't just arbitrarily burn one or the other, it's an all the time thing.*smashing head into wall*
Know exactly what you mean!! lol
Basically how I understand it from my gym manager is for the 1st 20mins of a cardio workout you burn things like toxins ie alcohol out of your system while you warm up... then the next 20mins you burn anything you have stored from the last 24hrs like carbs protein etc.... only after 40mins graft do you then start to burn your fat stores!
So Ladies and Gents your fat burning work out starts after your first 40 minutes of excersise!!! (**Shrugs shoulders and sighs**)
:laugh:
Tigersword, I better tell tell my body to stop burning fat in the *first* 20 minutes. (Or am I a special snowflake since my workouts don't go past 30 minutes?) :laugh:0 -
oh gosh! you mean to tell me that after losing 160+ pounds with nearly 95% cardio that I'm doing it wrong? I think not! Do what works for you, as I shall continue doing.0
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