Why has cardio become a swear word on MFP all of a sudden?

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  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
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    I haven't yet come across anyone bashing cardio - and that people are doing so surprises me. The health benefits to cardio are there for everyone to see, surely? Both cardio and lifting are excellent froms of exercise.

    Edited because I cannot brain today for I have the dumb.
  • mammothdoll
    mammothdoll Posts: 58
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    It does seem to be a new fad. And it's incredibly silly. Cardio is a lot of fun, it is good for you, and it's very useful in real-life situations.
  • toasterlisa
    toasterlisa Posts: 100 Member
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    I live in a climate where I can walk outdoors all year round. I've had some here scoff at my "cardio" but it's working for me.

    I like to walk, so I absolutely don't think twice about lacing up my sneakers and heading out of the house first thing every morning. Depending on my work schedule, some days that even means at 5:15am.

    I also do weight bearing exercises at home like squats, crunches, plank and stuff like that while watching tv.

    Best wishes to all on your health and wellness journey.
  • scriehl
    scriehl Posts: 94 Member
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    Cardio is still good in my book. Cycling and running are my favs and weight training.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I've noticed this lately too and I'll be honest.. it irritates me. Yes, weight training is important in this journey. But, not everyone can lift heavy (I'm recovering from injuries that prevent me from doing free weights.. so, any "weight training" I'm doing right now is strictly on the machines). I've had a cardiologist tell me that cardio is what is keeping me from seeing a lot of issues in my family history and to keep doing it.

    So, I'll be honest.. I don't honestly care what the MFP "experts" claim. Nor do I care about an article or blah blah blah that says cardio isn't good for me. *I* know cardio is good for me and I'm going to keep doing it -- every *gasp* time I go to the gym! Yes, I am working on the machines with weights too, but cardio is not a bad thing.

    And I think people do others a serious disservice by telling them not to do it. I am where I am in this journey because of cardio.
  • amycool
    amycool Posts: 57 Member
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    I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

    This is definitely something I've seen on the posts about cardio "skinny fat" I don't even know what that is, is it just a body that doesn't have muscles all over it?
  • DaveRCF
    DaveRCF Posts: 266
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    I think it is probably a function of the fact that cardio is a bit easier to grasp whereas strength training is a bit more complex and there are more variations. I have always been a cardio junkie but know that a combination of strength and cardio is the best way to achieve good health so I have dialled back the cardio to 1-2X per week and strength 3X per week. Note that there ARE aerobic benefits to strength training, albeit much reduced from straight cardio.

    I don't sense any anti-cardio sentiment on MFP though.
  • insatiable_need
    insatiable_need Posts: 127 Member
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    I think it's the whole "if you only do cardio you will be skinny fat" or whatever. I know that a good balance of cardio and strength training is important, but goodness. To each their own, if someone wants to do cardio every day, at least they're moving!

    I agree with this. I think people are concerned about being skinny fat. I currently only do cardio and it's dropped my body fat 7%. Should I add in some strength training to get it lower? Probably, but cardio is and will always be my favorite way to exercise and be healthy.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    Thanks!! I lost 60lbs doing LOTS of running and interval stuff like Jillian Michaels...Just started "heavy" lifting, but could not help to notice that some people diss cardio completely....
    i got the idea too that it's a new fad to just do strengh and dismiss the benefits of cardio...
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
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    Cardio leads to "skinny fat" and some people seem to have issues with the whole "skinny fat" look and think that every muscle should be worked hard and defined.. Yea sure I do strength training but I do not wanna get "ripped"

    I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

    I only run, and I have a Z score of -2.7 from Dexa using NHANES data. That means I'm about 2.7 standard deviations below the mean body fat in NHANES data.
  • DistortedButterfly
    DistortedButterfly Posts: 44 Member
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    Being on a track team, participating in the long distance running events i do cardio Every day except sunday
    and lifting 3 times a week.
  • Bakerchk
    Bakerchk Posts: 424 Member
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    I think for many people, eating healthy and weight lifting is "easier" than cardio. I personally love cardio because I am a smoker and I can feel it pulling the nicotiene out of my body. Plus I am trying to become more lean, and I know this is the core to my workout to get the body I want. I also do a lot of pilates exerises to tone certain areas, but I wouldn't look the way I do now if it weren't for cardio.
  • mandapanda001
    mandapanda001 Posts: 370 Member
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    I say do what you want and don't worry about what they think. Only you know what your body does best with as far as exercise. Cardio = awesomeness (in my opinion) :-)
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Cardio leads to "skinny fat" and some people seem to have issues with the whole "skinny fat" look and think that every muscle should be worked hard and defined.. Yea sure I do strength training but I do not wanna get "ripped"

    I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

    Skinny fat is having a high % of bodyfat at a low weight, which if that is your goal that is fine. I'd venture to guess most would not want that.
  • TNGURL
    TNGURL Posts: 89 Member
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    I agree with you completely... I personally believe cardio helps burn fat faster!!! It does on my body anyway! I have to have my cardio (running). I am currently in last phase of P90X2 and haven't ran during this program and I can tell I'm not losing weight as fast. Next week, I am reintroducing my running... somehow! Not only do I miss the mental decompression of running, but I miss the results I get with it. It's a great balance for me... that's what works for me.

    But, yes... I think people think it' skinny fat, if you only do cardio. Different strokes for different folks... I say if you're moving and eating healthy and it working for you.. that's a good thing!
  • athensguy
    athensguy Posts: 550
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    I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

    This is definitely something I've seen on the posts about cardio "skinny fat" I don't even know what that is, is it just a body that doesn't have muscles all over it?

    Skinny fat is also known as normal weight obesity. It's when your BMI is in the normal range (18.5-25), but your Body Fat % is high enough to put you in the obese category.
  • drewbird911
    drewbird911 Posts: 120 Member
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    I've just started some Strength training as well as Cardio. One reason, I wasn't doing any Strength training was MFP doesn't give any calorie for it!
    But I want to perform better at swim bike run, I think that adding Strength training will help.
  • insatiable_need
    insatiable_need Posts: 127 Member
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    I'd like to have a "skinny fat" body.. But if people hear me say that I get stick for it

    This is definitely something I've seen on the posts about cardio "skinny fat" I don't even know what that is, is it just a body that doesn't have muscles all over it?

    From my understanding, "Skinny fat" is someone who is a healthy weight with a high body fat percentage. For example: I weigh 135, with a BMI or 24.2 so I am a healthy weight. However, because my body fat percentage is 37.8, I am "obese" and therefore the "dreaded" skinny fat. It makes me laugh every time I say it.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    I think it's because the notion of Strength Training for women is only recently becoming widely accepted. Initially, it will hog the spotlight, but eventually it will balance out to the point where it's seen as equally valuable to Cardio. It was the missing piece of the puzzle of fitness for many years, and now it's coming to light more people are 'band-wagoning' - not that that is a bad thing in this case.

    In the fitness community, also, skinny-fat is regarded in almost the same light as obesity and low body fat, strength and muscularity are what people like to see in such places. And as cardio doesn't further your progress towards improved strength or muscularity, it's seen as a waste of time.

    Me personally, I just hate cardio. Flat, dead, hate it. I love weight lifting and resistance training though.
  • joepat21
    joepat21 Posts: 13
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    I think it all depends on your goals, fitness level, and diet. If you want to maintain or increase your LBM than too much cardio is detrimental. Also, traditional road running/jogging is very tough on your joints. Increasing LBM also has the added benefit of increasing metabolism. So I think that is why resistance training is being touted over Cardio. Personally, I think that a little bit of Low Intensity Cardio 1-2x per week, 30-45 minutes is beneficial for weight maintenance/loss and helps keep the body in a fat burning mode.

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