45+ mins of cardio bad for you?

daisy968
daisy968 Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Somewhere I read on here that after 45 mins, your body runs out of energy reserves or something so essentially "too much cardio" is not that great for you? I usually do 45-60 mins of cardio at the gym and I'm wondering others views on this.

Replies

  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Thats why we eat food, its fuel. 45 minutes is where the running starts to get good!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There is a point of diminishing returns...that said, "good" or "bad" for you is all relative. If you're an endurance athlete you're going to be doing more cardio than 45 minutes...this can become an issue if you don't understand how to properly fuel your body as you will start burning muscle mass. This is particularly true if you don't do resistance training and your protein intake is too low combined with low calories.
  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
    Agree with above that it's relative to your goals. Generally speaking though, you're fine.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    Obviously it depends on the intensity, listen to your body and don't over do it. I personally strive to do at least 45 minutes to an hour and a half on my cardio days.
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    LOL might not be bad for you but it is for me.... but that is because I despise cardio :bigsmile: :drinker:
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Three hours on Saturday or die trying. I take a sliced up apple with me :smile:
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    What's bad for you is sitting on the couch eating.
  • Beckboo0912
    Beckboo0912 Posts: 447 Member
    I'm unsure...hiw about we do this. I do 45 mins of cardio and you sit for 45 mins...then see who fairs hetter in a months time.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Somewhere I read on here that after 45 mins, your body runs out of energy reserves or something so essentially "too much cardio" is not that great for you? I usually do 45-60 mins of cardio at the gym and I'm wondering others views on this.
    Um no.
    2 hours is more like the amount of time it takes to run through your glycogen reserves, in running terms it's often called hitting the wall and in cycling terms it's called bonking.
    Wouldn't even say that is "bad for you" but it certainly makes you feel awful until you refuel. It's actually very hard to burn muscle unless you have a spectacularly bad diet and extreme (not moderate!) exercise habits.

    Too much of anything isn't good for you but think more like running marathons every day rather than an hour a day. Humans are actually supposed to be active.....
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Somewhere I read on here that after 45 mins, your body runs out of energy reserves or something so essentially "too much cardio" is not that great for you? I usually do 45-60 mins of cardio at the gym and I'm wondering others views on this.

    Are you talking about "hitting the wall"? At some point (depending on intensity, glycogen reserves etc) in a long cardio session your body is going to deplete all of it's glycogen stores and you bonk as your body switches over to fat utilization instead. You can help offset this by eating carbs before or even during the cardio session. There is nothing inherently harmful in this process though.

    The real danger from doing an hour+ of cardio in the gym is boredom! You can switch it up and get a big calorie burn in a shorter time by doing some High Intensity Interval Training.
  • MBrothers22
    MBrothers22 Posts: 323 Member
    Listen to your body, it'll tell you if that much is "bad" for you.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    That's me doomed then ;-)
  • beth0277
    beth0277 Posts: 217 Member
    This is an interesting topic and one I have researched a lot because I am a runner. There have been studies recently (and I don't have one to link but you can google search and find them I'm sure) that say that cardio exercise, particularly running but really all forms, does have a U shaped curve of benefit. They found that people who run around 15-20 miles a week live longer than those who don't run. But those who run more than 20 miles/week live a similar lifespan to those who do not run. Now, it is very early in researching and I've been told mostly the concern is people who are always training for marathons. The study shows that after a marathon, your body has the same enzyme present that someone has that is having a heart attack. It goes away but I think the study is saying constantly putting your heart under so much stress in the form of long cardio intervals can cause scar tissue and other heart problems. It's very controversial but I have cut my running to around 20 miles a week. I don't need to do more than that anyway. I love running and want it to make me healthy but not be counterproductive. I asked my doctor and she said it is still early in the research and she wouldn't give it up, but she also wouldn't go on 2 hour runs every weekend.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    I do about 45-60 minutes of HIIT cardio 6xs a week. And I feel healthier and stronger than ever. I also will throw a bit of light weight training in the mix, but I don't think there is anything wrong with long periods of cardio. I personally wouldn't do over 60 minutes, but that's just a personal preference.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    I do about 45-60 minutes of HIIT cardio 6xs a week. And I feel healthier and stronger than ever. I also will throw a bit of light weight training in the mix, but I don't think there is anything wrong with long periods of cardio. I personally wouldn't do over 60 minutes, but that's just a personal preference.

    You do HIIT for 45-60 mins? :huh:
  • SEAFOODMAN
    SEAFOODMAN Posts: 342
    300minutes a week is the standard now, it was 250.
  • ClinicalTrial
    ClinicalTrial Posts: 55 Member
    For the general healthy person, no. In fact, it ought to be encouraged.
    I do about 45-60 minutes of HIIT cardio 6xs a week. And I feel healthier and stronger than ever. I also will throw a bit of light weight training in the mix, but I don't think there is anything wrong with long periods of cardio. I personally wouldn't do over 60 minutes, but that's just a personal preference.

    You're either overestimating the time spent or overestimating what constitutes HIIT.
  • Oscarinmiami
    Oscarinmiami Posts: 326 Member
    I just do 20 min on elliptical 5x a week...I used to do more but I was always tired...I feel much better now, I guess it depends on your body and calorie intake...yep not very helpful sorry...lol
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  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    Insanity is considered HIIT.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    This is an interesting topic and one I have researched a lot because I am a runner. There have been studies recently (and I don't have one to link but you can google search and find them I'm sure) that say that cardio exercise, particularly running but really all forms, does have a U shaped curve of benefit. They found that people who run around 15-20 miles a week live longer than those who don't run. But those who run more than 20 miles/week live a similar lifespan to those who do not run. Now, it is very early in researching and I've been told mostly the concern is people who are always training for marathons. The study shows that after a marathon, your body has the same enzyme present that someone has that is having a heart attack. It goes away but I think the study is saying constantly putting your heart under so much stress in the form of long cardio intervals can cause scar tissue and other heart problems. It's very controversial but I have cut my running to around 20 miles a week. I don't need to do more than that anyway. I love running and want it to make me healthy but not be counterproductive. I asked my doctor and she said it is still early in the research and she wouldn't give it up, but she also wouldn't go on 2 hour runs every weekend.

    Some interesting info, and I read some similar studies/articles on the subject. I guess we're all essentially looking for the key to a long life, so we'd better check for traffic when jogging across the road or we might get hit by a bus! :wink:
  • ClinicalTrial
    ClinicalTrial Posts: 55 Member
    Insanity is considered HIIT.

    HIIT is assessed by your heart rate. Insanity's circuit doesn't promote the heart rate intervals that are considered HIIT even if you personally feel it's high - it's not high enough if you're lasting 60 minutes 6 days a week.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    On doesn't have to do 45+ minutes of cardio per day! but there are not any real problems with doing so. How much and what type of cardio depends on your goals, current fitness level, etc.

    From a fitness standpoint most people will get better results by mixing in workouts of different intensities and durations, rather than doing the same thing every day.

    Any talk about excess cardio burning too much sugar or "burning muscle" is just blather.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    repost
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    Insanity is considered HIIT.

    HIIT is assessed by your heart rate. Insanity's circuit doesn't promote the heart rate intervals that are considered HIIT even if you personally feel it's high - it's not high enough if you're lasting 60 minutes 6 days a week.

    Oh... well I do 45-60 minutes of Insanity 6xs a week.
  • DebTavares
    DebTavares Posts: 170 Member
    You know I think it's all personal preference. Some endurance runners can go for much longer than you are indicating and they're in great shape. That said, personally I prefer to do cardio for distance instead of time. So I pretty much do 3 miles of cardio everyday but I try to do it interval style, with bouts of going super fast alternated with times of taking it at an easier pace. I basically trade time for intensity and really try to push myself hard. I used to exercise for time and not really push myself intensity-wise, but it was always so hard to get myself to the gym knowing that I had to be there for a long time. With my intensity approach, I find it much easier to go to the gym for a number of reasons. First, is the fact that I'm not slaving for hours. Second, I actually get sore this way and third, I make sure I really sweat. I like feeling like I've really pushed myself and worked out hard. But all of this is personal preference and there are many endurance athletes who are in great shape who also push themselves hard. I just personally find it hard to push the intensity when I have to do it for a really long time.
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