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

I love doing cardio. I don't care how much strength training a person tries to push. They can only speak for their body and not mine. I know about strength training and I strength train, but not as much as I do cardio. I prefer doing cardio/strength than just solo strength training and I don't believe in lifting heavy. I know what I'm aiming for and what I need to do to get there.

Cardio burns fat.

I'm losing weight to get healthy, and my doctor insists on cardiovascular exercise as part of my plan. I respect his highly educated opinion.

I hope your doctor has taken some extra courses, because all the doctors I have met have no training in the area of weight loss and exercise. My family doctor is completely honest in this area, she simply commends me on my progress, and if I want expertise she refers me to either a dietitian or someone specializing in exercise. She is highly trained in treating disease, and that is all. Maybe your doctor is different. It would be nice to see some doctors actually take time in this area as it is key to disease prevention.

cardio ftw!!!!

i think the problem is people want to apply one size fits all rules. this goes for diet and exercise. its hard to troll what someone.s individual body will do when a "rule" is applied. for instance, it's pretty hard for an obese person to reach starvation mode.

same with doing weights and cardio. these aren't incompatible, our ancestors followed a similar program and to them it was called living. i think too often people read too much hypothetical stuff about what their bidies should be doing and don't spend enough time actually trying to find out what works for their body. i think the individual in the body is going to know what's going on better than a stranger making conclusions from a compiled study

I think that both are equally important. However Cardio in my opinion is the most important but it should be an all around approach to health by doing both cardio and strength training. I've always wondered, if you do cardio with resistance wouldn't that be the same as doing both in one? Not saying that it's a replacement for both individual workouts but I'm meaning in general.

Go cardio yourself.

i really think that both is needed... some just like to do more than the other... it just really depend on the person.

Cardio burns fat.

Weight lifting burns more fat after the actual workout is done.
http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/WT&End.html

And actually, cardio has a much easier potential of burning higher % of carbs than fat. Anything but the lowest level of HR is starting to burn more carbs than fat, starting at 60 to 100% when you go anaerobic with sprints.

And do to much cardio day after day on calorie restricted diet (like on MFP), and you have a great potential of burning up too much carbs, causing muscle breakdown to keep the blood sugar level correct.

Now, maybe you don't need the extra muscle in your upper body like the long distance runner in the picture above, because your racing ability relies on no extra weight were you don't need it (same with pro road cyclists BTW).

That being said, love the long cardio bike rides, even though I know I burn up muscle in the summer!

Some people need cardio for weight loss as it makes it easier to maintain the calorie deficit required to lose weight and meet their goals. Yes, they could lose the same amount of fat if they simply ate less calories, but if it were that simple no one would ever be fat. 'Just eat less calories' doesn't help. Having the option to 'earn' more calories helps a lot of people along the way of changing their lives. I know personally, I could never have stuck to my calorie goals without any extra help from doing some cardio.

Obviously, the heart and lung fitness is another important aspect.

That said, the benefits of weight training for weight loss and muscle building/toning/looking hot are well documented and irrefutable imo.

Everyone should incorporate both, those who want more calories to eat should add more cardio, those who want toned muscles should add extra weight work.

I've never seen anyone on here tell someone they should never do cardio, wouldn't mind a link to that?

I have cardio to thank for all my weightloss- and I do genuinely enjoy it!

However- I WISH I had start lifting along side it sooner as although I got slimmer, I didn't lose any B.F (maybe 2% in a year even though I lost 25lb!).

I started NROLFW at the beginning of Feb and am already seeing my overall shape improve a bit.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with just doing cardio though- especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. Give people a break, surely ANY exercise is better than none and some people literally did nothing before.

If cardio is so good for the heart (the more the better) then why do so many marathon runners die from heart attacks in their 20s and 30s? Why does a marathon runner's heart swell up and take about three months to get back to normal size?
I don't think excessive cardio is good for the heart at all.

Please provide your source for this statement. As a runner, I certainly would hate to fall over dead from running... or did these few cases have previous genetic heart conditions that were offset due to their choice of cardio?

I'd love to read more about this chronic problem. :ohwell:

Ultra marathoner - 50 marathons, in 50 days, in 50 states. Look how emaciated he is.

And you are insinuating that this picture was taken after that effort?

Doesn't matter, you can train properly to burn mostly fat as fuel, that doesn't happen often with recreational runners - hence the "wall".
Dean does, and advocates the Maffetone method or similar. He also includes cross training and other activities for well rounded system. He is expert. But find some of his old photos, he's gotten wiser and smarter. And stronger.

No, I'm not "insinuating" anything. It was called sarcasm.

I keep reading comments that long distance running leaves you looking like a POW survivor. This was an example showing that to not be true. You can be a distance runner and have muscle.

I lost over 80 lbs with just walking and diet, so you certainly can't knock cardio for pure weight loss as far as I am concerned. However, since I I regained a relatively small amount of weight (15 pounds) when I stopped smoking nearly 2 years ago I have been back on the weight loss drill once again. Cardio/diet alone is just not working anymore, so I have started to really mix up my exercise. I now have 3 x cardio days, 3 x weight days + boxing technique classes once per week. 1-2 of my cardio days are HIIT and every 4th weights day is a circuit. I like to mix it up and have a constant challenge, whether that be cardio, weights, HIIT or boxing it is all exercise and it is all working together to give me the results I have been looking for.

I think you just need to find what works for you and what anyone else thinks really doesn't matter a s**t

Cardio is still good in my book. Cycling and running are my favs and weight training.

Yep... Me too!!

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