Article titled "Why women should not run" - opinions?

This article was posted that directly refutes 10 of the sources he cites. Either he didn't read the entire article he was referencing, didn't understand them, or hoped no one else would.

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

ETA No clickable links here?

While the author cites sources his ultimate conclusions are not supported. He is clearly, even if not intetntionally, stretching unrelated elements together to support his own bias and ultimately to promote his business.

Hit-Nail-Head

Don't know if this is of any interest to anyone but the average body fat percentage of an elite male marathoner is 3.3% - lower than for any other sport.

Compare a sprinters body to a marathon runners body.

FTW.

There are people in here defending runners by saying "yeah the women runner the boston were really fat" or whatever... this artcile isn't saying you'll get fat if you run, it's saying you won't be FIT. Will you be cardiovasculary in shape? Yes of course. But will you look defined with lots of muscle mass? Nope. That's the point of this article. Read it before responding, y'all.

Fitness is normally a measure of function relative to an objective/objectives.

Being 'well defined' is firstly entirely subjective and secondly doesn't measure anything functional. It just isn't a measure of fitness.

'Muscle mass' is similar - it's only a measure of fitness if you redefine it as pure strength.

If you enjoy doing something, and not getting injured doing it.. go for it.
I will note that there is some concern regarding the Q angle in women, and stress on the knees, but if you are not having knee pain, no biggie.

as far as being able to run X distance relating to your overall fitness, I know of more than a couple of Marathon runners personally that are obese. They look better than before they started running but they are obese by anybody's measure. Please note that I don't ever tell them to NOT run, because it is none of my damn business. If running is something they enjoy, then nobody has a right to try to kill their dream. I will note that one of them is fairly short, and he said he runs because he is working on getting the "runners body" and he likes the look of "long lean limbs".. I smiled and nodded.. not my place to point out that his limbs will never get any longer from running.

as far as elite level runners, boston maraton for example.. you be around the 3 hour mark to qualify (depending on age). I personally think that the runners appear to have a body type because they are bio-mechanically well suited to the activity, not because they simply do more of it. a typical olympic level weightlifter has a shorter body and limb length, having to move the bar shorter distances, that same person would have to do MORE work to run a marathon with a decent time.. This is the reason that China/Russia has been successful with selecting the ideal sport for a person based on body type. It does not mean the person will be successful, but if gifted in the sport AND the right body type, they will be able to go further than someone with a less suited body type.

Compare a sprinters body to a marathon runners body.

One of the dumbest and most intellectually dishonest arguments ever.

this.

I'm no expert but this is my take after reading the article -

He's talking about 20+ hours a week of intense cardio. And he's not talking about it making women fat, he says that it contributes to hypothyroidism which causes the body to retain fat, as well as the excessive cardio causing the body to burn muscle. This results in what a lot of people call "skinny fat," which simply means that you may be skinny but you have no muscle mass. The bottom line for me from this article was the same concept as for food (or anything else for that matter) - anything is excess is not good for you. I do 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week and do strength training 4-5 days a week as well, changing up the areas I'm targeting every day. My body fat, weight and inches are steadily decreasing and my muscles are getting stronger.

Wait, what? Running cannot cause an autoimmune disease. Women are more likely than men to have an autoimmune disease, period. And because hypothyroidism is fairly common, it's going to show up in women at rates higher than in men.

Also, hypothyroidism doesn't cause the body to retain fat - it slows down your metabolism (and all other vital life processes) and makes you so tired it is impossible to exercise (among all the other wonderful / fun symptoms).

This formerly overweight hypothyroid runner will continue to run.

Dear everyone talking about only seeing thing marathon runners. This article is ONLY in reference to LOSING WEIGHT. It's NOT in reference to elite level athletes who were never overweight to begin with... geesh. Is that really that hard to understand..

This is one of the issues I usually have with these articles. There's a difference between someone looking to lose weight and someone training for something. If you want to run marathons, then you obviously need to run. Myself, I'm in the military, so I need to run so I can pass my required fitness tests. But, if running isn't your thing, you don't need to force yourself to do it.

Usually, what I come away with is that, when it comes to WEIGHT LOSS, cardio doesn't hold the quite as uniquely elevated a position as it once did. When I was young, running is what you did to lose weight because, it's got high calories-burned-per-minute numbers. As I understand it, that's where it's forte remains- calories burned while performing the exercise. So it's still useful for weight loss, because it burns calories.

However, it seems that there is new emphasis on developing muscle mass with weights and resistance training so that, while it may not burn as many calories during exercise as cardio does, the increased mass can burn more calories while we're NOT exercising. This approach seems to still be trying to gain ground in the public mindset, sometimes because people still fixate on cardio as *THE* way to lose weight or because some still associate lifting weights as the realm of jocks, bodybuilders, and male models. They don't always see that weightlifting can still help someone who simply wants to be healthier in general.

Personally, I do a mix. Weights and resistance training help build the strength and muscular endurance I need for my job, as well as increasing what I burn while resting, thanks to the increased muscle mass. Cardio provides my heart and lungs with training to increase their capacity and efficiency in providing my body with increased blood and oxygen flow when I need it, such as in high-stress situations and when taking the aforementioned required fitness test.

I really think the article would be better if it were along the lines of "Why we should not *only* run", because you don't need to run away from running. You just don't need to see it as your only way to lose weight.

This came up yesterday...the title is stupid, but most people around here seem to miss the point of the article. The point of the article is stop doing excessive cardio and take a more balanced approach to your fitness...i.e incorporate some resistance training, etc

Personally, I agree...I can't believe the number of people here that do XXX cardio in the AM....XXX cardio in the afternoon...and XXX cardio at night. There is a point of diminishing returns and cardio and diet in the absence of resistance training may leave you at a healthy body weight, but with a higher level of BF% because you bur more muscle.

PS...I'm a runner.

LOL I dont give a darn what some article says. I LOVE running and will never give it up. You would have to pry my running shoes from my cold dead hands. Cheers!

If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that female runners are fat.

Lol:)

Here is a good counter article to the original one that you posted.


https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.runnersworld.com/health/how-does-endurance-training-affect-your-thyroid-and-vice-versa&h=zAQHsxPUJ

I've seen these claims before. The whole basis of their discussion is that, if you keep doing the same thing, your body adjusts and you have to eat less. This is true, from every exercise class and science/biology class I've been in.

BUT …

What runner keeps running at the same pace for the same distance forever? Most of us don't. Last 5K finished in 27 min? Great! Now the goal for the next is under 26 … or something like that. We're constantly challenging ourselves to go a bit longer or a bit faster.

The same is true for ANY exercise. Yoga, ballet, Zumba, pilates, cross-fit, P90X, step aerobics, whatever. Even traditional weight lifting challenges you to lift more next time than you did last time. Our bodies are constantly adapting to accommodate what we ask. The workout from last week may not give us that same sense of "burn" or "wow, I can't believe I did that" or whatever as it used to. It's part of life. Does that mean we shouldn't exercise? NO. It means we should be aware of how adaptive our bodies are, and keep changing our workouts to keep getting maximum results.

So, if you like to run, then run. If you prefer kickboxing, Zumba, or weights, then do that (It's good to incorporate resistance and cardio into your weekly routine, IMO). Don't dis on someone else's workout just because you don't like it for you (not saying the OP did that, more like the article…)

Keep in mind who his audience is. Contest-level bodybuilders for the most part. His definition of "fat" is going to be way different than mine.

I also think that if you look at the specific claims he makes, it looks slightly less crazy.

"run for an hour or more every day on the treadmill"
If you're doing 10 minute miles, that's 42 miles per week.
7.5 minute miles makes for 56 miles per week.
"20-plus hours per week of pre-contest cardio for women"
That's 120-160 miles per week.

I'm obviously no fitness expert, but those numbers seem a little high to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be unhealthy.

One final note - if you don't know of any female runners who are still overweight after months and even years of running, you need to open your eyes. I'm not saying it's the standard, but there are definitely some in that situation. For the ones who are, I think it might be worth your time to take a look at what this guy is saying.

Keep in mind who his audience is. Contest-level bodybuilders for the most part. His definition of "fat" is going to be way different than mine.

I also think that if you look at the specific claims he makes, it looks slightly less crazy.

"run for an hour or more every day on the treadmill"
If you're doing 10 minute miles, that's 42 miles per week.
7.5 minute miles makes for 56 miles per week.
"20-plus hours per week of pre-contest cardio for women"
That's 120-160 miles per week.

I'm obviously no fitness expert, but those numbers seem a little high to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be unhealthy.

One final note - if you don't know of any female runners who are still overweight after months and even years of running, you need to open your eyes. I'm not saying it's the standard, but there are definitely some in that situation. For the ones who are, I think it might be worth your time to take a look at what this guy is saying.

I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I know of absolutely NO female runners who are still overweight after months and even years of running. That is the absolutely 100% truth.

Those that are overweight, but are running that I know of, are running to aid their weightloss and it is working, because they seem to consistently lose weight, week in, week out. I am not talking about myself in this instance, but have somebody else in mind.