Too Many Cardio Sessions...a good/bad thing?

I don't think it's a bad thing, but that's just my opinion. Better than sitting on your butt!

It doesn't sound like too much to me, but ultimately it depends on your level of fitness. As the body becomes conditioned to more exercise, it can handle longer periods of cardio. Listen to your body.....if you are pushing it too hard, you will feel fatigued and lethargic, rather than energized.

**Edited to add.....cardio 6 days a week isn't a bad thing (kudos for giving yourself a rest day though!) but are you lifting 6 days a week? 3 weight sessions per week is plenty.....

Read the link in my signature first of all.

And then here is my opinion.

Cardio is GREAT! do it! BUT... When you do cardio ESPECIALLY a LOT of cardio which I would consider that you do, your body not only burns fat, it also burns muscle. When you lose muscle, your metabolism slows down, your body will only be able to handle less calories per day before gaining weight, and the chances of you gaining your weight back go up drastically.

If you add in Weight lifting (which I suggest you do STAT) you build muscle, which speeds up your metabolism, which allows you to eat more without gaining weight, and your chances of keeping your weight off increase significantly.

While cardio is great for the cardio vascular system, it does little for your muscles. Its okay to do cardio, but You will not be as toned as you are hoping for just doing cardio alone. Even Olympic runners lift weights, training schedules for professional atheletes and marathon runners have everyother day weight lifting. Its an important part of becoming healthy, and without building muscle, your cardio isn't going to have the long lasting effects that you are hoping for.

So to answer your question, you definately can continue your cardio if you would like I would tone it down to about 45-60 minutes, but I would suggest that you bump up your weight training or you will be disappointed in the long run. focus on losing Body fat, not scale weight. Weight lifting will lose body fat, cardio will lose scale weight (i.e. fat and muscle).

bumping to read the links later. Thanks all!

I do 45 min cardio before lifting and then 30 after. So I think your'e ok. Just be sure to eat enough

It very well may be. Look here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/213976--the-final-nail-in-the-cardio-coffin

Yes. There is mounting evidence that when it comes to burning fat and not muscle, lots of cardio exercise is counter-productive. Resistance training in combination with cardio intervals, or short cardio sessions twice a week, seems to be increasingly recommended as the best route to burning fat, increasing your lean muscle mass, and improving your chances for long-term weight loss. In addition to the excellent article above, see here: http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2011/04/cardio-and-metabolism.php .

As one of the older posters (58) I guess it falls to me to advocate the old ways. I have read the topic on "the final nail in the cardio coffin" and I have read the various articles on the internet and in magazines. I embrace the value of HIIT training, but I think it is going overboard to jettison years of research and tens of thousands of success stories from long slow distance. So I mix it up. In my years I have seen many new good things come, but rejecting decades of research and human experience is going too far for me. I cycle, and the evidence is clear that high intensity intervals can propel one's cycling fitness dramatically. But a good base of long slow (I prefer steady) distance is absolutely required. Anyway, to bring it back to your question, I think that six or more sessions of cardio per week is fine. I often do two-a-days, AM and PM. But you defiantly need time off to rest and repair. I would mix it up though. I run (hamstrings) and cycle (quads) usually on alternating days. If you want to run only then you can vary your routine - hills, speed work, lsd, etc. Sure, embrace the new research, but not by turning loose of all the old ways that have worked for millions of people. There are literally millions of people out there who have lost weight and gotten fit using long slow distance. They did not all burn all their muscle instead of fat. One thing I can guarantee you is that there will be new research later offering a newer, better way. What is all the rage now will one day be seen as obsolete, even funny. Take it from an older guy who has seen a lot of fitness fads, find what works for your body, learn from others, but do what works for you.

Interesting. Want to read all the posts later after work.