Cardio: how much is too much?
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I hate "traditional" cardio (treadmills, ellipticals, jogging, etc) so I take at least 1 high intensity cardio class for an hour each day, 5 days per week: BodyCombat, Boot Camp, Zumba. I add in other classes that are low intensity cardio 2 to 3 times per week and have strength elements, as well: PiYo, Pilates, BodyFlow etc for an additional hour.
I do BodyPump (barbell, dumbbell, and body weight) 4x per week for one hour which gives me lower cardio, but focuses on strength.
Weight Room (both machines and free weights) 2 to 3x per week for 1/2 hour to an hour. I hit an Elliptical if a class is cancelled or whatever, but I like to get my cardio from classes that build strength, balance, and mobility.
For me, "too much" is when I feel sick, cranky, and exhausted after I'm done.1 -
Ask an alternative question: How much cardiovascular fitness is too much?1
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I weight train 4x a week and do cardio 5x a week, My secret is to make sure you eat well and get your 8 hours of sleep to avoid breaking down your body lol1
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No more than a couple of hours a week. Far too much scientific literature out there regarding the ironic health risks associated with excessive cardiovascular training.0
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leanitup123 wrote: »How much cardio do you do each day and what kind? Do you do some sort of cardio everyday? How much is too much?
It varies, depends on where in a cycle I am.
Generally in a maintenance phase I'll only run 25 miles per week, so about 4 hours total, and a bit of bike commuting, so perhaps 4 hours of that. In peak load I'll be up to 60 miles per week, so about 10-12 hours per week.0 -
I think I read somewhere that super elite endurance athlete's can have enlargement of the heart tissue (AHS) athletic heart syndrome.
at the bottom of this wiki link has medical journals about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome0 -
Personally, my resting heart rate appears to be linked to overtraining - train too much and my resting heart rate goes up. That's when I know it's too much cardio and time to back off a bit.2
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Personally, my resting heart rate appears to be linked to overtraining - train too much and my resting heart rate goes up. That's when I know it's too much cardio and time to back off a bit.
Really? my resting heart rate is always high for some reason 90-100 bpm however when I asked my Doctor about this he said it was normal and not to worry about it. Seems high to me tho but what do I know.0 -
leanitup123 wrote: »How much cardio do you do each day and what kind? Do you do some sort of cardio everyday? How much is too much?
For me, it varies from maybe a 20 min walk to 24 hours on the bicycle.
I don't care what any studies have to say. My thing is ultra-distance cycling so I will continue to cycle long, long, long distances until I simply cannot any more. 0 -
jpoehls9025 wrote: »
I think I read somewhere that super elite endurance athlete's can have enlargement of the heart tissue (AHS) athletic heart syndrome.
at the bottom of this wiki link has medical journals about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome
So essentially cardiovascular fitness is demonstrated by the effects of increased cardiovascular fitness?
fwiw I developed a larger than normal heart as a teenager, it has no real impact.
An RHR of less than 60 isn't unusual in trained individuals.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »jpoehls9025 wrote: »
I think I read somewhere that super elite endurance athlete's can have enlargement of the heart tissue (AHS) athletic heart syndrome.
at the bottom of this wiki link has medical journals about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome
So essentially cardiovascular fitness is demonstrated by the effects of increased cardiovascular fitness?
fwiw I developed a larger than normal heart as a teenager, it has no real impact.
An RHR of less than 60 isn't unusual in trained individuals.
From what I read of the study there is no supporting evidence that AHS has any adverse effect on the cardiovascular function so no real threat (found yet), large hearts more to love I suppose lol0 -
jpoehls9025 wrote: »
I think I read somewhere that super elite endurance athlete's can have enlargement of the heart tissue (AHS) athletic heart syndrome.
at the bottom of this wiki link has medical journals about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome
But this condition is generally benign and not a health risk...and is actually a good thing for many people...as the heart gets stronger, things like high blood pressure, etc can be better controlled and resting HR comes down.
The heart is a muscle, so if you work it, it's going to grow...when you stop, it will atrophy just like your skeletal muscles.
The only issues I've ever really read about are for people who are doing ultras regularly and scaring of the heart.0 -
jpoehls9025 wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »jpoehls9025 wrote: »
I think I read somewhere that super elite endurance athlete's can have enlargement of the heart tissue (AHS) athletic heart syndrome.
at the bottom of this wiki link has medical journals about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome
So essentially cardiovascular fitness is demonstrated by the effects of increased cardiovascular fitness?
fwiw I developed a larger than normal heart as a teenager, it has no real impact.
An RHR of less than 60 isn't unusual in trained individuals.
From what I read of the study there is no supporting evidence that AHS has any adverse effect on the cardiovascular function so no real threat (found yet), large hearts more to love I suppose lol
Exactly. So the point that was challenged upthread is nonsense.
There is one study that suggests that high volume endurance athletes may have some increased risk of CV contraindications. It's essentially the basis of the HuffPo and various knuckledragger articles titled the "worst possible exercise you can do" or some variant thereof.
When you read the study it makes no assessment of the cause of the contraindications, and the risk factors were very low anyway.
So lets not fear CV work. The big impact is being able to eat enough to compensate for the expenditure.0 -
I agree with @cwolfman13 and @meanderingmammal in that there doesn't appear to be evidence suggesting AHS has an adverse effect on CV function.
My physician has also commented on my low RHR and that he is not worried about it given my activity level...so I'm not worried either.0 -
Yup I would say its safe to say to not fear any reasonable amounts of training as long as you get good rest and eat enough. Ive been doing double workouts a day morning and afternoon for along time now and I havent had any issues. Just slept and ate / supplemented with vitemans and fish oil!
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I also have a naturally high resting heart rate. Usually around 81 at best (and I mean truly "resting" not when sitting perfectly still type of "resting"). If I'm sitting totally relaxed and zoned out watching TV or reading, my heart rate stays around 98 to 100 BPM.
I'd hoped that while my heart rate is always high, that going from no exercise to hours of strength and cardio 5 days per week would help. After 4 months, my heart rate DID hit a "low" of 79 to 81 for a few days. But has crept back up to 85 and now 88. So daily moderate to intense cardio exercise has not decreased my resting heart rate even a tiny bit.
*I wear an Alta HR day and night and only take it off to shower and to charge it which is a total of a few hours per week that it's off*0 -
WendyLeigh1119 wrote: »I also have a naturally high resting heart rate. Usually around 81 at best (and I mean truly "resting" not when sitting perfectly still type of "resting"). If I'm sitting totally relaxed and zoned out watching TV or reading, my heart rate stays around 98 to 100 BPM.
I'd hoped that while my heart rate is always high, that going from no exercise to hours of strength and cardio 5 days per week would help. After 4 months, my heart rate DID hit a "low" of 79 to 81 for a few days. But has crept back up to 85 and now 88. So daily moderate to intense cardio exercise has not decreased my resting heart rate even a tiny bit.
*I wear an Alta HR day and night and only take it off to shower and to charge it which is a total of a few hours per week that it's off*
yay I'm not alone lol.
Yeah Ill tell you what sometimes I feel like it benefits me in my Cardio routines tho somehow "bro science" Quicker oxygen deliver? maybe but when it comes to endurance (running for ever) I find it easier then most even when I'm coming back from a couple weeks off my legs fatigue before I get winded or feel like death.
Done tons of training in my life time sometimes longer then 8 hours at a time like when I did a Spur Ride (Calvary thing).
who knows, high resting heart rate for life club I suppose.1
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