Is it true?

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Oompa_Loompa
Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've heard from more than one source that anything over 20 minutes of cardio at one time is pointless...is that true?

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  • CallieM15
    CallieM15 Posts: 910 Member
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    My trainer told me anything over 40 mins is pointless. 40 mins and your body burns fat all day.
  • Phatdaddymike
    Phatdaddymike Posts: 74
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    Cant believe its true......you run for 20, and you run for 40...ill run for 3 hours and lets compare weight loss in a month....:grumble:
  • durbanski
    durbanski Posts: 183 Member
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    So 40 mins and you're locked in the zone?
  • Jglover30
    Jglover30 Posts: 7
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    I agree with fat daddy. I can't believe that it would be "pointless" you're buring calories, increasing your heart rate and endurance when you work out. As long as you're not overdoing it it's helping you each your goals. I'm also big advocate or working out and try to get in at least 6 days per week...60 - 90 minutes per day :)
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
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    I know it doesn't make sense.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    No, it's not true. Proving once again that trainers are some of the worst people to get advice from on anything remotely scientific. :wink:

    A simplified explanation:

    Your body uses the glycogen in your muscles and the fat in your fat stores for energy as well as the calories you eat. At various points in your day, it may be burning more fat or more glycogen. But at night your body replaces any glycogen that it burned. It replaces it by burning fat.

    Therefore, the more calories you burn, the more fat you burn overall.

    Btw, the bad advice used to be: you have to do cardio for at least 20 min. or it's worthless. I find it :laugh: that this has turned into "don't do more than 20 min". Neither turns out to be true, btw.
  • sjcply
    sjcply Posts: 817 Member
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    if that were the case, then how do the ppl on biggest looser exercise for 5-6 hrs a day and lose the amount of wt that they lose. If that were true then you would lose the same amount if you did 20min or 1 hr and that is not the case, for me alteast it's not.
  • nlehmann
    nlehmann Posts: 164 Member
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    Pointless isn't really the right word. After 20 minutes of hard cardio inside your fat burning zone is enough to keep your body burning carolies after you complete your workout.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    yeah...... no, that's not true in the slightest.
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
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    Thanks Everyone!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    They might have been thinking about this statement, which is... any cardio UNDER 20 minutes is pointless, which I also disagree with. I can get on the treadmill and go for 15 minutes, run intervals 2 or 3 times and burn 100 calories.

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