Is too much cardio bad for you?

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I guess you should just stick to hiit twenty minutes a day. That's high intensity interval training. or running or sprinting in intervals of walking and running. or you could do that with any exercise in cardio. The rest is weight training.
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Replies

  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Why?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,922 Member
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    I'm with the rest of them ... why?

    I'm a long distance cyclist! I ride centuries (100 mile rides in one day) each month and have done for the past 13 months, as well as many, many times before that. I also do audax/randonneuring events ... 200 km, 300 km, 400 km and longer. All as one ride.

    And of course I do all sorts of training in between all that.

    Oh, and I ran my first 10 km in mid-January. It was definitely over 20 minutes!!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Cardio is good. Too much cardio is when you go full throttle from zero to a hundred without proper gradual increase or proper recovery, but this is the case for any kind of training. HIIT would be horrible for me because it makes me want to eat all things. The measly amount of calories burned doesn't make up for wanting to eat 800 or so extra calories. I stick to low to moderate intensity most of the time with some interval training here and there for good measure on my non-hungry days, all properly fueled and with proper recovery after harder sessions.
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
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    Not sure how I'm going to run my ultra next month that way... think I'll stick to my 2-3 hours a day
  • StevefromMichigan
    StevefromMichigan Posts: 462 Member
    edited February 2018
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    20 minutes is not a lot. 30 minutes a day is more typical, and you could certainly do more.

    From a heart health perspective, medical professionals typically recommend at least 30 minutes a day, 5-6 days per week.

    If you are struggling to make 20 minutes, you might want to consider backing off the intensity a little to allow you to make 30+ minutes.
  • BitofaState
    BitofaState Posts: 75 Member
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    "Too much" of anything is bad for you,

    But what is too much?

    Too much ignorance is really, really bad for you.

    Maybe stop guessing and get a little education and knowledge.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited February 2018
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    'Too much' - 20 mins is not too much for MOST people... every one is different.

    In my case I used to do around 120 mins a day, that ended up being too much for me so I dialled it (way) back.

  • JMcGee2018
    JMcGee2018 Posts: 275 Member
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    As long as it is a sustainable routine that doesn't hurt you physically or harm your work and social life, there probably aren't many routines that would qualify as "too much" cardio. Some days I go on 30 minute runs; some days I go on two hour walks (working my way up to longer runs). 20 minutes is definitely not a lot--nowhere near anything that approaches "too much" cardio or something that would be bad for you.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Most of my cardio is walking at around 3.25 mph. I shoot for two hours a day (but figure 90-120 minutes are good enough). 20 minutes of walking is almost nothing.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    WYES. MARATHONERS HAVE MOST HEART DISEASE IN THE WORLD
    Lifting is cardio you *kitten* for brains. AETOBIC DYSTE IS ONE SMALL PART OFCTOTAL CELLYLAR RSP. AND NOT ANY MORE HOOKED UP TO GEART THAN ANY ITGER SYSTEM

    NO idea what you're trying to communicate, but you need to try spell check and Camel Case.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    WYES. MARATHONERS HAVE MOST HEART DISEASE IN THE WORLD
    Lifting is cardio you *kitten* for brains. AETOBIC DYSTE IS ONE SMALL PART OFCTOTAL CELLYLAR RSP. AND NOT ANY MORE HOOKED UP TO GEART THAN ANY ITGER SYSTEM

    NO idea what you're trying to communicate, but you need to try spell check and Camel Case.

    noooooooooooooo... camel case is worse than all caps....
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    WYES. MARATHONERS HAVE MOST HEART DISEASE IN THE WORLD
    Lifting is cardio you *kitten* for brains. AETOBIC DYSTE IS ONE SMALL PART OFCTOTAL CELLYLAR RSP. AND NOT ANY MORE HOOKED UP TO GEART THAN ANY ITGER SYSTEM

    NO idea what you're trying to communicate, but you need to try spell check and Camel Case.

    noooooooooooooo... camel case is worse than all caps....

    Depends on your age. :)
  • KellyLekey
    KellyLekey Posts: 19 Member
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    In response to the crazy posts regarding marathoners having more heart disease than any other athlete - which I'm not going to quote since I think the person posting is either a bot or has some serious issues - here's a pretty good article with technical references. Heart DISEASE is not the issue at all.

    The bullet from the article is that there may be some increased risk of dying from a cardiac event during or immediately after any endurance activity lasting for more than 3 hours, though the risks are far lower than sitting on the couch being fat. The risks are higher for young male athletes than they are for older or female athletes. No one is really sure why exactly. Additionally, many of the heart related deaths at endurance events are due to heart defects unrelated to endurance training/racing that are sort of 'weak links' in the athlete. The defect was small enough to be undetectable during routine activities but is unable to withstand a prolonged endurance event.

    https://www.peakendurancesport.com/endurance-injuries-and-health/endurance-health-and-lifestyle/heart-attack-risks-greater-athletes-competing-endurance-sports/

    To the OP - 20 minutes is not much. 30 minutes 5-6 days a week would be better. BUT how much depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you're trying to burn calories, 20 minutes is much not but better than nothing at all. Barely. If you're trying to run a 5k it's not enough because I bet you can't run that far in 20 minutes. When I'm not injured I typically run 3-8 miles 5 days a week and 10-20 one day a week at something like a 9-10 min/mile pace depending on the distance. I run a handful of 5ks and either a couple half marathons or a marathon a year.

    The last time I had a test of my cardiac function (precaution due to a non-heart related incident but the doc wanted to make sure) the sonographer had a fantastic day - he said he was SO HAPPY to see a heart in good condition for once.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    kellypim wrote: »
    In response to the crazy posts regarding marathoners having more heart disease than any other athlete - which I'm not going to quote since I think the person posting is either a bot or has some serious issues - here's a pretty good article with technical references. Heart DISEASE is not the issue at all.

    The bullet from the article is that there may be some increased risk of dying from a cardiac event during or immediately after any endurance activity lasting for more than 3 hours, though the risks are far lower than sitting on the couch being fat. The risks are higher for young male athletes than they are for older or female athletes. No one is really sure why exactly. Additionally, many of the heart related deaths at endurance events are due to heart defects unrelated to endurance training/racing that are sort of 'weak links' in the athlete. The defect was small enough to be undetectable during routine activities but is unable to withstand a prolonged endurance event.

    https://www.peakendurancesport.com/endurance-injuries-and-health/endurance-health-and-lifestyle/heart-attack-risks-greater-athletes-competing-endurance-sports/

    To the OP - 20 minutes is not much. 30 minutes 5-6 days a week would be better. BUT how much depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you're trying to burn calories, 20 minutes is much not but better than nothing at all. Barely. If you're trying to run a 5k it's not enough because I bet you can't run that far in 20 minutes. When I'm not injured I typically run 3-8 miles 5 days a week and 10-20 one day a week at something like a 9-10 min/mile pace depending on the distance. I run a handful of 5ks and either a couple half marathons or a marathon a year.

    The last time I had a test of my cardiac function (precaution due to a non-heart related incident but the doc wanted to make sure) the sonographer had a fantastic day - he said he was SO HAPPY to see a heart in good condition for once.

    That person usually rants about calories... in caps.... lots of caps!