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

Cardio leads to "skinny fat"

No.

A calorie deficit which is unsuitable for your current body composition does that.

What cardio does however, especially, low intensity steady state, and in the absence of weight / strength training is to add sometimes significantly to that calorie deficit making it excessive. This inhibits recovery and your body seeks to protect fat stores in preference to LBM.

Cardio is an excellent tool if used in the right context of a programme.

so skinny fat > normal fat? lol

NO...

they are the same. While skinny fat may be "smaller" they are more likely to have visceral fat: the kind that sits inside and around your organs. You can't see it, but it causes huge health problems.

:laugh: so true! weight training is great and yields awesome results but its okay do to cardio too as long as you eat in accordance with your exercise routine!

I can't help to notice that cardio has been getting a seriously bad rep lately....

I get the idea that strengh/resistance whatever you want to call it is a vital part of losing weight and staying healthy, but there are more and more threads where people get told that 2 days of cardio per week is too much????

What about the health benefits of regular cardio vs just "heavy lifting"?

I know what works for me (cardio 4+ times a week from 30 mins to 1.5 hour on long runs, and lifting (though i doubt that some cousins of the Incredible Hulk on here would call it heavy! ) 3 times a week....
it gives me an all round program, burns calories, sustain lean muscle and makes me happy - oh, and got my bp down from borderline hypertention (139/89 to 117/70) and my body fat % down from 49.6 to 29%, so why the dislike of it?

Any ideas on why cardio is bad all of a sudden? :flowerforyou:

Because most people simply do too much of it match it with a bad diet that's too low in protein or too low in calories.

"Cardio is grossly overrated, and is not an absolute necessity for everyone who wants to lean down. For the most part, a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. Weight training can easily cause the cardiovascular adaptations that people seek through cardio, with the added benefit of supporting lean body mass & strength. I’m a strong proponent of doing the least amount of formal cardio as necessary to reach the goal, starting with zero.

Achieving the goal with the least amount of ‘formal’ cardio has the following benefits, in no particular order of importance:

It saves time.
It prevents joints from incurring overuse injuries.
It promotes better recovery from weight training, particularly in the muscles that might experience work-overlap (ie, the legs).
Resistance training has plenty of cardio-respiratory & cardiovascular effects on its own, as long as you’re not training like a pure powerlifter with long rest periods between all sets.
Cardio is a good ‘trump card’ to use if/when fat loss plateaus arise and other options are maxed out. If you use the card right from the outset, you won’t have any cards to pull when you need them. It can always be added incrementally on an as-needed basis. This achieves the underlying goal of doing the minimum amount of work required to reach & maintain the goal. If your goal was to become a better runner, cyclist, swimmer, etc for performance or endurance’s sake, then the protocol would definitely incorporate the training of those qualities through cardio. However, cardio simply is not mandatory or optimal for other non-endurance pursuits – given that a sound resistance training protocol is maintained. I would also add to this that if someone ENJOYS cardio, there’s no reason in particular to avoid it. Just watch for the common tendency to overdo it.
"

With that being said, I am not anti cardio and I do low intensity cardio twice per week while cutting. However, so many people over do it.

see this as well

http://www.soheeleefitness.com/2012/01/23/cardio-bunny-stop-it-stop-it-now/

bump

I think you're reaching in your conclusions trying to stir up drama.

I would like to think with the obesity epidemic in this country that someone trying to better themselves with Weight Watchers or "just cardio" wouldn't be ridiculed for attempting to better themselves by being referred to as "skinny fat" or whatever other terms the fitness elitists want to throw around.

FYI - Cardio doesn't make you lose weight. Calorie deficits do. Cardio helps create deficits.

Skinny fat is when you are thin, but have a high body fat percentage. I've never really figured out how cardio causes this since.. well, cardio burns fat. But.. alright then.

^^^^^ This

Running does not cause skinny fat unless someone has a moronic diet at the same time.

I run 70+ miles a week and have a bodyfat % of less than 10% with LBM right around 160 lbs. I got there by lifting 0 weights in the past 15 years.

I also don't run to lose weight but I lose weight to run more and win races.

THe people that think it's "bad" are probably too lazy to do enough of it..........

I totally agree with this.

I find that the majority of lazy people I try to work out with just want to sit and lift weights or lay down and lift weights. God forbid them to work out more than one muscle group at a time.
I always joke with people that if a bigger person tries to pick a fight with me that they will have to catch me first. LOL I'd rather be tonned and wiry than ripped with no endurance.
Or if the Zombie apocalypse ever happens it will be the fast people who will survive.

I do both cardio and heavy lifting but I LOVE cardio the best ;-)

I'm a cardio person it's what I like, so it's what I do. I'm not into strenght training if I'm up for it maybe once every two weeks I might do some push-ups or planks, just general use your own body resistence kind of thing but that's it.
I'm strong by nature so the way I look and the strength I have comes only from cardio.

I believe we are all different and we all need to do what works best for each of us.

HIGH Five to everyone for doing something good for your body whatever it maybe.
:flowerforyou:

There is an awful lot of misinformation and snap judgement going on in here... My only contribution is this:


Cardio is good for endurance. Endurance is required for good sex.

Muscles are sexy. Strength training is required for strong muscles.

http://www.snorgtees.com/zombies-hate-fast-food