Too much cardio??

bamagirl2020
bamagirl2020 Posts: 42
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! So I have read a few places that too much cardio is actually ineffective in helping to lose weight. I usually walk on the treadmill at 3.3 mph 5 or 6 days a week for at least 45 minutes each time. I am usually pouring sweat by the end. I am wondering if anybody has any information. Is what I'm doing fine or should I switch it up? And if so, how? I have a few back issues so I am not able to run at high speeds for a long period of time without seriously paying for it later. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • audjrey
    audjrey Posts: 360 Member
    Cardio alone will only take you so far, but that's not to say cardio isn't a helpful way to burn calories. However, add some resistance training to build muscle so that when you're not doing cardio you're still burning fat. It's really that simple.

    3-5 days of cardio and 3 days of total body weight training is great! You'll love the results but don't expect to see miracles until well after the third or fourth month.

    p.s. do Supermans for you back. They really help!!
  • brndygrl98
    brndygrl98 Posts: 196 Member
    I had a personal trainer about 4 years ago that actually scolded me for going more than 45 minutes on the treadmill. In the 2 weeks that I was walking for an hour or more I ended up losing muscle mass. I lost weight, but in the wrong way. Ever since then, I don't go over 45 minutes. I usually do the weight loss program on the treadmill which alternates speed of no more than 4.5mph for 45 minutes 5 to 6 days a week. Hope it helps you! Good luck!!
  • sarahtiano
    sarahtiano Posts: 78 Member
    It's important to switch up the cardio and keep your body guessing. If a treadmill is the only cardio equipment you have access to, try intervals to keep it different. good luck!
  • ebkins7
    ebkins7 Posts: 427 Member
    sounds fine... time wise and intesity for your body...

    Keep in mind that you're body may plataue at some point because it's "BORED". You'll need to think of other exercises to do to change it up... elliptical and bike are great alternatives and can provide the same intensity with less impact. If you REALLY want to fuel your weight loss think about incorporating weight training. Lean muscle burns fat at a higher rate so the more muscle you have the more fat you'll burn while at rest. You can do this by adding 1 - 2 weight training workouts each week.

    Hope this helps!!! Good luck!
  • KATE509
    KATE509 Posts: 25
    Take all advice with a "grain of salt"....what you are doing is good and WILL aid in your weight loss. And it will also increase your fitness and you can later add more. Keep it up!
  • HolleeERL
    HolleeERL Posts: 313 Member
    I imagine you will be just fine for now. I agree that you should add some weight training. If you want to increase your intensity, you can also increase the incline without having to run.
  • absolament
    absolament Posts: 278 Member
    Always switch it up. Walking is great exercises and I recommend doing it for 30 minutes every day if you can. But you should also be doing some strength training and stretching exercises. Good strength training exercises for a bad back are yoga and pilates. I do both, each once a week, and have lost a considerable amount of weight. And once a week you should also incorporate some form of higher impact cardio...such as dancing, kick boxing, x-bike/cycling.
  • Katie320
    Katie320 Posts: 61 Member
    Here's an article about doing too much cardio. Hope it helps!

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22325698/ns/health-fitness/
  • WildflowerAL
    WildflowerAL Posts: 41 Member
    I have never heard that too much cardio was a problem. I run about 5 days a week and struggle to make myself do stregnth training (I would rather run), even though I know building muscle will help my metabolism. I would keep on keeping on with what you are doing. You could definately mix it up--add strength training, incline maybe some intervals if your back will handle it.

    With my runs and watching my calorie intake I have been able to lose about 8lbs since i started using MFP (about a month ago).

    Good Luck!
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
    I'm so glad you asked this question, because I've been wondering too.

    I do 20 minutes on the elliptical, 20 on the bike, and then 20 on either the stair-runner, or the treadmill (depending on how tired I am). And I do that five days a week, at least.

    Then I do 30 minutes of strength/circuit training 2-3 days a week.

    Should I amp up the strength?
  • absolament
    absolament Posts: 278 Member
    hush7hush, you are doing a great program. If you're not losing the weight, it could be any combination of too much or too little calories, empty calories, stress, or not enough sleep.
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
    I am losing the weight, I think.
    I've only been doing it for a couple weeks, but I feel toner already.
  • hoyagirl03
    hoyagirl03 Posts: 220 Member
    Maybe you are doing a bit much... Can you do the bike or elliptical instead of doing only walking? Also, do you do strength training? That can help break up the monotony...
  • meg0013
    meg0013 Posts: 102
    I've never found anything wrong with using only the treadmill. I started my weight loss in December and I've lost 49 lbs total. I'm on the treadmill every day but I do switch it up. MWF I run, and every other day I do a brisk walk (4.0) at a steep incline (13+). That burns calories quicker than anything! Add some strength training 1 or 2 days a week and you should be set!
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,330 Member
    Straight long duration cardio will burn fat, but because you are only using the endurance type muscle fibers your body will reduce the size of the other type of muscle fibers to make your more efficient for endurance. That means your muscles will get smaller with a lot of long duration steady state cardio. This is often stated as "cardio makes you fat" but really what long duration steady state cardio causes you to become skinny fat. Google "Cardio makes you fat" and you will find a bunch of stuff that explains this in much more detail. Or Google "The Dark Side of Cardio" and you will find stuff as well. Basically the question is do you want the female version of a marathoners body or a sprinters body?
    Endurance-SprinterAerbicvsAnerobic.jpg

    I would suggest rather than mainly long duration cardio you should do Interval training. Check out http://www.intervaltraining.net/ for more information. I would especially recommend High Intensity Interval Training or the hybrid of that with strength training often called Metabolic Resistance Training. They will all burn more fat than your 45 minutes of treadmill workout even though it will seem you burn more calories with the straight running on the treadmill, but the calories burned by it stop pretty much right away when you stop exercising. HIIT or MRT will keep burning calories long after you stop and they will burn up to 9 times more fat if I remember my numbers correctly.
  • bamagirl2020
    bamagirl2020 Posts: 42
    Cardio alone will only take you so far, but that's not to say cardio isn't a helpful way to burn calories. However, add some resistance training to build muscle so that when you're not doing cardio you're still burning fat. It's really that simple.

    3-5 days of cardio and 3 days of total body weight training is great! You'll love the results but don't expect to see miracles until well after the third or fourth month.

    p.s. do Supermans for you back. They really help!!

    I had to Google what Supermans were, but I'm definitely going to try them tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion!
  • bamagirl2020
    bamagirl2020 Posts: 42
    Straight long duration cardio will burn fat, but because you are only using the endurance type muscle fibers your body will reduce the size of the other type of muscle fibers to make your more efficient for endurance. That means your muscles will get smaller with a lot of long duration steady state cardio. This is often stated as "cardio makes you fat" but really what long duration steady state cardio causes you to become skinny fat. Google "Cardio makes you fat" and you will find a bunch of stuff that explains this in much more detail. Or Google "The Dark Side of Cardio" and you will find stuff as well. Basically the question is do you want the female version of a marathoners body or a sprinters body?
    Endurance-SprinterAerbicvsAnerobic.jpg

    I would suggest rather than mainly long duration cardio you should do Interval training. Check out http://www.intervaltraining.net/ for more information. I would especially recommend High Intensity Interval Training or the hybrid of that with strength training often called Metabolic Resistance Training. They will all burn more fat than your 45 minutes of treadmill workout even though it will seem you burn more calories with the straight running on the treadmill, but the calories burned by it stop pretty much right away when you stop exercising. HIIT or MRT will keep burning calories long after you stop and they will burn up to 9 times more fat if I remember my numbers correctly.



    First off, congratulation on your weight loss! That's awesome and very motivating. I looked at that website and I especially like the HIIT workouts. I'm going to try the 30 second interval workout tomorrow.
  • bamagirl2020
    bamagirl2020 Posts: 42
    Maybe you are doing a bit much... Can you do the bike or elliptical instead of doing only walking? Also, do you do strength training? That can help break up the monotony...

    I do the elliptical occasionally, and I try to do strength training. I usually do 2 or 3 leg machines (I'm not sure of the name), along with leg raises, squats, crunches, etc. Do you have any other suggestion?

    P.S. I live in a college apartment complex and I use the gym in our clubhouse. It only has a few basic machines so I'm kind of limited on what I can do. Thanks for your help!
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