Cardio addiction

One problem I have seen over the years as a trainer is "cardio addiction." This is where people get the mindset that they need to do tons of cardio everyday to stay lean and keep the fat off. This is simply in my opinion an urban legend in the fitness realm.

What we have to remember is exercise is a form of stress on the body and we need to treat it like medicine. A moderate form of stress is good just like a moderate dose of medicine is in most cases. However, if we overdose on exercise i.e. cardio just liek medicine we see negative side effects start to occur that will sabotage our best efforts. We will overstress the body and it will start to break down from the inside out. We will become overtrained and produce large amounts of the stress hormone cortisol which can cause inflammation and impede muscle recovery and fat burning two things we need to build lean mass and get that lean look that most people strive for.

If you have ever seen a serious marathon runner you will notice that many times they are skinny but not really toned. Alot of this is because they are constantly stressing their body and it is breaking down on the inside. They are dipping into protein(muscle) for energy which takes away from the lean look. Their muscles many times look like "flat tires." This is not always the case. Some runners who cycle their training properly and get optimal nutrition do look more toned.

Do you think it's coincidence some of these great marathoners have been having heart attacks i.e. Alberto Salazar? It's really simple why this is happening, too much stress on the body and not enough recovery time.

Another thing I feel is a big problem is doing the same type of cardio over and over and over. In my mind this is very counterproductive. One way is the fact is if you don't "rotate your tires" by crosstraining you will wear down your joints much like the tires in your car if you don't switch them up. I have a big problem with running programs drawn up by running coaches because they have you running 4-5 times per week which can be murder on your knees and low back especially if you are running on pavement. I like to have my clients do 2 running days a week versus 4-5 and have them crosstrain with non or lower impact cardio on the other days(biking, swimming, eliptical).

The other way is that your body will adapt to these modes fairly quickly and if you are trying to lose weight and burn calories it is essential to keep switching it up every time you change your strength phases (4-6 weeks). Keep the body off guard so it will continue to be challenged and burn calories at a high rate.

To sum it all up cardio is best done in moderate doses(3-5 times a week), I even promote a 2 days on 1 day off concept where you do 2 days in a row and take a day off . Also keep mixing it up so you don't wear down your joints. Another thing is keep you sessions under 60 minutes in one session per day(unless you are training for a marathon or triathlon) don't tax your body more than once per day as this can also lead to over training as well. Think quality versus quantity. I personally like to do 3-4 days a week of 20-40 minutes. 2 days are interval days shorter and more intense interval training for 20-30 minutes to really push into my anaerobic system and the other two are long pace maintaining my heart rate at 70-80% of my max to challenge my aerobic system.

I feel this works well and it allows me to get it done in conjunction with my strength training so I keep a balanced routine and have time to stretch as well. Remeber exercise is like medicine the right dose is effective, an overdose causes negative side effects, an too little yields no results.