Yahoo article about "cardio making you fat"

From my seat, the only link the article seems to make between cardio and fat (so cutting out things like effects on joints, posture, immunity, inhaling polluted air, etc) is that some people get hungry after doing cardio and eat more calories than they burn.


In the end, it isn't cardio that makes the person fat, but rather the individual's difficulty regulating what they eat when cardio makes them hungry.


In my case, I have friends and family who cannot understand that I can go out and exercise without feeling ravenous afterwards. They expect that, when I come in from running a few miles, I simply want to eat everything in site. The reality is that, while I CAN eat (my appetite is not appreciably diminished), it's rarely anything more than what I would normally feel.

First, the article's author is hardly a disinterested researcher. He is selling stuff (books, etc.)

Second, I'm reading a book called *Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain*, and cardio,especially HIIT, causes your cells to create more receptors for insulin. For type 2 diabetics, that is awesome news.

Third...

One pound of muscle burns six calories per pound per day.
One pound of fat burns two calories per pound per day.

True... and the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest. No quibbles here.

Your Joints: An article about "boomeritis" in The New York Times reveals that the number two reason baby boomers visit their doctor is because of an exercise-related injury, most of which are attributable to the punishing nature of classic cardio.

Low impact cardio... doh!

Your Posture: Do you really want the rounded shoulder, chin jutting alignment of a runner, stair stepper or spin fanatic?

o_O Not sure about this one.

Your Immunity: Want to get sick and tired?

I'd like to see some scientific proof on this one.

Your Lungs: ...exercising in a heavily polluted area.

So don't. Unless you're training for when the Olympics will be held again in a place like LA, in which case you should strap an exhaust pipe to your face and run through a burning forest.

Your Shape: If you are shaped like a pear and do manage to lose a few pounds with cardio, what do you end up looking like? A smaller pear.

Uhm, yeah... you can't change your body type, no matter what you do. You are an endomorph, ectomorph or mesomorph. Lifting will shape whatever God gave you.

Your Muscle: After 20 to 30 minutes, most classic, steady state cardiovascular exercise begins to chew up your precious, calorie-burning muscle.

Even if true (would like proof for this one too), there are still a lot of benefits to cardio, and HIIT cardio may help avoid muscle loss.

It brings up a few valid points, but overall, it's best to do some of both cardio *and* strength training.

Agreed. A few good points are brought up, namely more muscle loss if you're losing weight by only doing cardio. But I've heard over and over that cardio plus strength training is the best. If you lose a bunch of weight only eating at a deficit and doing cardio, you'll only end up looking like a smaller version of what you used to look like.

Losing weight by "only doing cardio" is nonsense. You must have a calorie deficit to lose weight. Creating that deficit via cardio does NOT ensure muscle loss. While I don't doubt that it can happen, it's not a given.

Diet and the type of exercise makes a difference. There is no exercise called "cardio". Cardio just means an exercise that is good for your cardio-vascular system. Which most all exercise is, including strength training.

bump for later reading

I did Insanity. I lost 15 pounds, and was stronger at the end than at the beginning. This article is total crap. Cardio doesn't make you fat. Cardio doesn't destroy muscle. He sites 0 scientific sources, or even remotely scientific sources, to back up his claims. Ignore this article. Strength training AND cardio are best for overall fitness.

This X2

Guys, I'm really concerned after reading this article. Last week was my best week of triathlon training this year. I did 100 miles on the bike, 42 miles running and a few hours of swimming. Now I'm worried that all the hard work I've put in getting to my ideal weight is shot? Will my BF% go up like 10% do you think after this?