Is too much cardio bad for you?

I do a lot of cardio - running, walking, elliptical, stair climber, sometimes the stationary bike. I like the endurance it gives me for skating, which I will do 3 hours of tonight. I average 80 minutes of exercise a day according to my devices, probably 30% is strength work, and it's been 2+ years at this pace and I'm doing well.

KellyPoetry wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

How much is too much?
For you? For me? For everyone?
In what way bad for you?

BTW I did over 300 hours of cycling last year, it certainly wasn't bad for me - but I'm not you....

20 minutes of (genuine) HIIT every day would be an awful routine by the way - true HIIT should be done at an intensity that requires proper recovery.
But my guess is you are just doing a variety of interval training and unlikely to be HIIT, certainly hope it isn't your routine as that would be a shortcut to injury.

How many times per week do you do HIIT? I love my elliptical but started incorporating HIIT, it's a great workout for my body tone and cardio/burning fat. Apparently it's better than hours of elliptical .. I like to switch it up

IT's not. Unless you're working to improve your VO2Max.

If your focus is on caloric burn, 20 minutes is less than hours. in fact, 20 minutes is less than 45.

20 minutes a day is 2.3 hrs/week. If you go to 1 hr Zumba twice and take a 20 minute walk, you're already over for the week. IDK about you but that's my BASELINE.

As with most things, this is contextual question and depends on what your goals are. Cardio and strength training tend to compete with each other, so essentially you have to pick a winner.

If you compete in an endurance type of sport, such as cycling or distance running, it's natural that your cardio training would (and probably should) be higher. If you are trying to strength train at the same time then your lifts will suffer, especially if you are also eating at a deficit because you have to fuel your exercise.

If you are looking to improve your physique, then strength training is the winner you should pick. More cardio generally does not help, unless you do HIIT. Ultimately it comes down to optimization. The reason HIIT workouts (when done right) are so beneficial is the "afterburn" and effect on metabolism. More bang for your buck (or return on your time investment). So HIIT on strength training rest days, along with strength training itself will do more for physique. Not to mention that strength training improves your cardio too. I've never had to stop running because I'm winded, it's been because I tire out my muscles over time. Larger, stronger muscles are more efficient and can last longer. My running endurance increased dramatically, despite doing it far less often, after I began strength training (my own admittedly anecdotal evidence).

If you want burn more calories and eat more food, combined with endurance, then do cardio to your heart's content. The real answer to this question depends on what you want to accomplish.

stanmann571 wrote: »

KellyPoetry wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

How much is too much?
For you? For me? For everyone?
In what way bad for you?

BTW I did over 300 hours of cycling last year, it certainly wasn't bad for me - but I'm not you....

20 minutes of (genuine) HIIT every day would be an awful routine by the way - true HIIT should be done at an intensity that requires proper recovery.
But my guess is you are just doing a variety of interval training and unlikely to be HIIT, certainly hope it isn't your routine as that would be a shortcut to injury.

How many times per week do you do HIIT? I love my elliptical but started incorporating HIIT, it's a great workout for my body tone and cardio/burning fat. Apparently it's better than hours of elliptical .. I like to switch it up

IT's not. Unless you're working to improve your VO2Max.

If your focus is on caloric burn, 20 minutes is less than hours. in fact, 20 minutes is less than 45.

To be fair, I'd rather dig my eyes out with a spoon than spend hours on the elliptical.

sijomial wrote: »

KellyPoetry wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

How much is too much?
For you? For me? For everyone?
In what way bad for you?

BTW I did over 300 hours of cycling last year, it certainly wasn't bad for me - but I'm not you....

20 minutes of (genuine) HIIT every day would be an awful routine by the way - true HIIT should be done at an intensity that requires proper recovery.
But my guess is you are just doing a variety of interval training and unlikely to be HIIT, certainly hope it isn't your routine as that would be a shortcut to injury.

How many times per week do you do HIIT? I love my elliptical but started incorporating HIIT, it's a great workout for my body tone and cardio/burning fat. Apparently it's better than hours of elliptical .. I like to switch it up

@KellyPoetry
I never do HIIT - it's completely inappropriate for my already high fitness levels, exercise goals and overall program. There's also a good chance you are doing interval training not HIIT too as it seems to be applied to any old kind of interval training.

But I do a lot of interval work, especially in the winter - for example six (or more) minute intervals either side of my FTP and repeat for an hour or more. Yesterday's session was specifically tailored to boost recovery to Zone 3 to mimic a fast outdoor ride with bursts of speed, 12 and 2 minute intervals for 80 minutes.

Define "better"? For whom? For what?
If you are training for an endurance event then it's far less useful than "hours of elliptical".
In reality it's different not better.

The phrase "switch it up" makes me shudder I'm afraid. A well designed program has progression built in.

Indeed. A well designed program also has "switching it up" built in. Long days, fast days, cadence days, pace days, call it what you will variation should be programmed in.

strive356 wrote: »

My source is a weight training site called LiveLeanTV, and a functional medicine doctor named Chris Kresser. LiveLeanTV says that some cardio is better than nothing, but if you want to lose weight it's better to do weight lifting. Hours and hours of cardio won't get you very far in calorie burn because you are only losing calories WHILE you are working out. When you weight lift, you burn calories all day and the next day AFTER you workout.

I'm learning a lot from the athlete's posts here and I am very inspired by their ability and stamina to do so much exercise. But doesn't it produce too much cortisol and stress and that adds to your physical and mental diseases?
20 mins, true, is not a lot. However, 2 hours of running can be very stressful and you eat more. I'm not saying you shouldn't be an athlete. I'm saying stress management is a part of weight loss and overall health.

It depends on what your purpose for working out is. If it is to train for a marathon, then you would have to manage your stress pre and post workouts. A detox bath with epsom salts and essential oils would help.

If you are overweight and fatigued, or have a stress related disorder, then I why not try ten minutes a day of intervals?

mywell.blog

I do lots of races, including marathons, and I don't find that I need any particular stress relief as a result. In fact, I consider running itself to be a stress reliever (my experience, this may not apply to everyone). I just need to use common sense for recovery -- adequate food, sufficient hydration, focus on appropriate sleep/recovery. My successful races are among the high points of my year and I'm grateful for the time that I can spend training for them.

A "detox bath" with essential oils might be pleasant for some people, but it's not required.

These points seemed to be based in a slightly weird understanding of endurance exercise, not one that matches my experience at all. I don't run to lose weight (although running, when done in sufficient quantities, burns *a lot* of calories, so I'm not sure what Kresser is talking about). It's an important part of my physical and mental health.

strive356 wrote: »

My source is a weight training site called LiveLeanTV, and a functional medicine doctor named Chris Kresser. LiveLeanTV says that some cardio is better than nothing, but if you want to lose weight it's better to do weight lifting. Hours and hours of cardio won't get you very far in calorie burn because you are only losing calories WHILE you are working out. When you weight lift, you burn calories all day and the next day AFTER you workout.

I'm learning a lot from the athlete's posts here and I am very inspired by their ability and stamina to do so much exercise. But doesn't it produce too much cortisol and stress and that adds to your physical and mental diseases?
20 mins, true, is not a lot. However, 2 hours of running can be very stressful and you eat more. I'm not saying you shouldn't be an athlete. I'm saying stress management is a part of weight loss and overall health.

It depends on what your purpose for working out is. If it is to train for a marathon, then you would have to manage your stress pre and post workouts. A detox bath with epsom salts and essential oils would help.

If you are overweight and fatigued, or have a stress related disorder, then I why not try ten minutes a day of intervals?

mywell.blog

Because trying to time an interval is much more stressful than "I'm going to go run until I'm tired or until I hit my mileage goal." My type 1 diabetes certainly hasn't suffered from training for halfs.

You seem to think that endurance fitness is far more mentally taxing than it actually is. Or you just don't understand what goes into endurance training (I certainly don't eat back two hours worth of running calories). Or perhaps you're just shilling content for other sites.

strive356 wrote: »

My source is a weight training site called LiveLeanTV, and a functional medicine doctor named Chris Kresser. LiveLeanTV says that some cardio is better than nothing, but if you want to lose weight it's better to do weight lifting. Hours and hours of cardio won't get you very far in calorie burn because you are only losing calories WHILE you are working out. When you weight lift, you burn calories all day and the next day AFTER you workout.

I'm learning a lot from the athlete's posts here and I am very inspired by their ability and stamina to do so much exercise. But doesn't it produce too much cortisol and stress and that adds to your physical and mental diseases?
20 mins, true, is not a lot. However, 2 hours of running can be very stressful and you eat more. I'm not saying you shouldn't be an athlete. I'm saying stress management is a part of weight loss and overall health.

It depends on what your purpose for working out is. If it is to train for a marathon, then you would have to manage your stress pre and post workouts. A detox bath with epsom salts and essential oils would help.

If you are overweight and fatigued, or have a stress related disorder, then I why not try ten minutes a day of intervals?

mywell.blog

I think you need a better source.

Speaking as a long-term long distance cyclist who often puts in 6 to 10 hours a day on a bicycle with occasional ventures up into the 12-24 hour range ...

Cycling IS my stress management.

Tough day or week at work or university ... and a good, long ride can be just the thing. It gets me away from my computer, TV, people, noise etc., and gives me a chance to think. Me, my bicycle, fresh air, scenery, and my thoughts. Whatever the situation is, I can think it through and come up with options for a solution ... then release it because I have a plan ... and for the rest of the ride, I can think about other things and enjoy. When I finish a long ride, I have a sense of accomplishment. If I haven't been able to accomplish much else lately, at least I've accomplished that. It's encouraging.

And when it comes to running, which I've only recently started doing ... I've discovered that it too gives me that opportunity to think but also, by the end of a run, I get the "runner's high": the endorphin rush. I don't get that while cycling most of the time. Occasionally I will but not often. However when running, I get it after even a 5 km run. I feel great and I'm filled with energy!! So much so that after a run, I'd often go for a bicycle ride and then clean the house.

Sure, I eat more when I do a long ride or decent run than when I spend a day sitting in the office ... but I burn more too and need the fuel. There's a balance.

And sure a hot bath, or more often a hot shower combined with a bit of stretching, is a good way to end the day after a long ride ... but I don't need to "detox" and I don't need those "essential oils" and things. Hot water and some zinc oxide soap does it for me.