Aerobics (Cardio) is Not Your Priority in Lasting Weight Loss
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Is your cardio addiction leading to metabolic disaster?
This is something I’ve talked about before when it comes to weight loss (fat loss), but I believe the biggest mistake in the “mindset” of people today is thinking that enough exercise can get them the weight loss they want and should be their top priority. I was reminded of this recently by a person I see in the gym who is doing at least 2+ hours of daily cardio and some weights. He is in there 4-5x a week and I kid you not, brings food to the gym to snack on while he works out. I’ve consulted with him in the past and told him that he needed to focus less on working out and more on eating correctly, yet his response was “Oh…I can’t do that, I like to eat too much…so I need to workout instead”. Wrong……wrong….wrong. So instead of thinking the answer was in his eating, he is brainwashed by some mainstream myth about exercise can cure everything. If people want lasting changes in their health and weight loss, they need to start with the most important muscle…..the brain. People need to understand that exercise is NOT the cure all for losing weight WHEN nutrition is neglected. The fact that most advice you hear is “exercise more” is just not helping to get the right mindset when most probably need to be hearing “eat less” or “eat more real foods”.
Below is an interesting quote from an article entitled “Study: Exercise Won’t Cure Obesity“:
Researchers from Loyola University Health System and other centers compared African American women in metropolitan Chicago with women in rural Nigeria. On average, the Chicago women weighed 184 pounds and the Nigerian women weighed 127 pounds.
Researchers had expected to find that the slimmer Nigerian women would be more physically active. To their surprise, they found no significant difference between the two groups in the amount of calories burned during physical activity.
“Decreased physical activity may not be the primary driver of the obesity epidemic,” said Loyola nutritionist Amy Luke, a member of the study team.
There are also downsides to being a “cardio” junkie…..remember more is not better in most cases….here’s a couple good points from Steve Maxwell on some of his top 10 reasons he doesn’t do aerobics:
Oxidative Stress – Which causes a breakdown of tissues. It also predisposes one to cancer and heart attack.
Elevated cortisol production – Which causes a breakdown of muscle tissue and increases fat storage or depot fat. People do aerobics to alleviate stress yet end up creating more stress.
Lowered testosterone and HGH levels For men, aerobics are a form of chemical castration. Low T-levels are associated with lowered libido, depression, anxiety, increased body fat and decreased muscle tissue. This contributes to muscle-wasting and lowers the basal metabolic rate.
Increased appetite and a tendency toward binge eating patterns Aerobic exercise makes people hungry!
Burns a relatively small amount of calories vs. the time spent One large meal completely offsets the pitiful amount of calories burned in an hour aerobics session. This is exacerbated by over-engineered running shoes which cushion the feet in such a way to create a neural amnesia.
Adrenal burnout A consequence of the ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters which also stimulate the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the fight or flight hormone. Excessive adrenaline creates an addictive response and people going routinely for the so called ‘high’ of running end up with adrenal burnout, e.g., chronic fatigue and depression.
Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the father of aerobic exercise (and the person who coined the term) completely recanted his assertions regarding aerobic exercise. After observing a disproportionate number of his aerobic-enthusiast friends die of cancer and heart disease, he reversed his ideas on the benefits of excessive aerobic exercise. He now claims anything in excess of 20 minutes has greatly diminishing returns. In fact, he’s now an advocate of scientific weight training.
and from Mark Sisson (a former “cardio junkie”) he gives his case against cardio:
During my 20+ years as a competitive endurance athlete, I logged tens of thousands of training miles running and on the bike with the assumption that, in addition to becoming fit enough to race successfully at a national class level, I was also doing my cardiovascular system and the rest of my body a big healthy favor.
The first signal I had that something was wrong was when I developed debilitating osteoarthritis in my ankles at age 28. This was soon coupled with chronic hip tendinitis and nagging recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. In retrospect, it is clear now that my carbohydrate-fueled high-intensity aerobic lifestyle was promoting a dangerous level of continuous systemic inflammation, was severely suppressing other parts of my immune system and the increased oxidative damage was generally tearing apart my precious muscle and joint tissue.
The stress of high intensity training was also leaving me soaking in my own internal cortisol (stress hormone) bath. It wasn’t so clear to me at the time exactly what was happening “ in fact it was quite confusing, since I was doing so much of this so-called ‘healthy’ aerobic exercise but I had no choice but to give up racing, unable to train at anywhere near the intensity required to stay at an elite level.
The costs of chronic (repetitious) mid- and high-level aerobic work
- requires large amounts of dietary carbohydrates (SUGAR)
- decreases efficient fat metabolism
- increases stress hormone cortisol
- increases systemic inflammation
- increases oxidative damage (free radical production)
- boring!
and if you want to look at the longevity aspect of those who live long, you won’t see that “cardio” activity actually plays a huge role. Here’s a piece from a NY Times article on looking at longevity factors from centenarian people around the world:
The most common thing this group had is that they did not reveal any particular lifestyle secret for their own longevity. When asked specifically, none has exercised. None was a vegetarian. Not a single one ate yogurt throughout his life.
Now before people start assuming I said it’s ok to just sit on a couch and eat chips, that’s not the point of all this. The point being in your battle against weight loss, you need to start where it matters the most…in how and what you eat. From there you compliment your efforts with “effective” exercise…and not “excessive” exercise. Too many people are being excessive in what they do, expecting faster results somehow. Slow and steady (and healthy) should be your mindset…and the results will come soon enough. So if weight loss is the goal….just keep it simple and focused:
- You need to eat in calorie deficit (not starve yourself either). Exercise burns some calories, but not that much compared to the damage you can do with a fork.
- Do some resistance training. Muscle burns fat….so the more muscle you have, the more “fat burning” factories you have made.
- Eat real foods. It’s that simple. Processed foods and grains are a metabolic disaster to your system and all the hormones involved. People have found weight loss easy once they just started eating real (or as some call Paleo) foods. If it wasn’t around 1000 years ago, then you probably don’t need to be eating it.
- Be active, in a lifestyle capacity. Do activities you enjoy, leave the HR monitor at home (or just toss it out). If you want to go for a trail run, go run….if you want to go for a mountain bike ride, go ride….if you want to play tennis, go play…go walking, go hiking, go do some sprints….enjoy what you do. But stop some excessive pre-planned cardio routine that you “think” is burning fat….when the complete opposite may actually be going on. If your activity requires you to be eating more calories just to recover and most in the form of sugar drinks/bars…how are you helping your fat loss efforts?
- Lastly….stop blowing out your adrenals (which will effect the thyroid) with excessive stress. Excessive exercise is a stress to the body as well as your “mental” stress. Want to gain weight in the long run? Then just stay stressed all day and see what happens. Want to compromise your hormones and health, then skimp on your sleep by staying up late. Many don’t appreciate the health you have right now, until it is gone that is. Screw up your metabolic system now, and you will have a much bigger struggle with weight loss later. So keep happy, keep things simple and get your sleep!
There you have it. Our obsession to cardio as the answer for all weight issues…..may actually be causing more down the road. If you think excess oxidative damage, excess free radicals and excess amount of calories needed is a good plan long term…..well, good luck to you is all I can say. But you are running down a road of metabolic burnout (adrenal/thyroid issues) and possible increasing risks for degenerative diseases at the cellular level (destroy your cells with excess damage from oxidative/free radicals). That and you will certainly pack on the weight later once your metabolic system is dysfunctional.
Again note I am not saying that you shouldn’t be active, it just needs to be a more lifestyle approach than some crazy long and addictive cardio session. More is not better, smarter is! In a nation with a gym on every corner, and 100,000s of people running marathons every month….why is the state of health getting worse and worse (and people not losing weight long term)? Slow and steady always seems to work….that and focus on eating real foods first!
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37 Reader Comments
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Excellent job on this article Mike. I particularly appreciated seeing your suggestion to be active in a lifestyle capacity. It’s certainly what I recommend to my readers as it’s far more sustainable than dragging yourself to the gym.
Sell that riding lawn mower and get off your butt.
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“This is exacerbated by over-engineered running shoes which cushion the feet in such a way to create a neural amnesia.”
This is the first time I’d ever heard of this. Could someone expand on it?
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Craig, here’s an article I wrote awhile back about some of the shoes designed to let you walk more naturally and how modern shoes are detrimental to the way you walk.
Cheers
Scott
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Good post. Hah I laughed out loud when I heard the story about the dude who workouts 2 hours at a time. People, if you’re spending more than 60 minutes in a gym… there is something horribly wrong with your plan.
The amount of lactic acid build up after an hour of serious working out is just not healthy or productive. Most of my clients have gotten the best results with only 3 hours of working out per week along with a solid eating habits. Go figure.
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Brilliant article. Thank you so much for writing it! I did my third Ironman this year and then developed an interested in HIIT and improving my body composition. Now, after 6 weeks of HIIT (30 minutes 5-6 days a week), little to no cardio, and a totally different diet (goodbye carbs!), I am thinner than I was when I was doing 15 hours of cardio a week. I feel very physically fit and I can enjoy that fitness because my body feels good and I am not tired and sore all the time!
I will eventually train for a triathlon (short) again and a marathon again, but not because I think they are good for me…only because I love them and I want to continue finding a place for things in my life that I love. But most certainly those long distance events will never play a central role in my health and fitness routine again. My goal now is health, overall fitness, and longevity.
Thanks again for a wonderful article.
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Great post Mike!
Without creating a calorie deficit with diet, any type of cardio or HIIT is largely a waste of time for the person trying to get lean. Diet is such a big deal. There are people who can get lean with diet alone, but exercising with a poor diet is a recipe for failure.
Rusty
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LOL. The next paragraph of the NY Times article is “In fact, 30 percent were overweight. Some smoked. The fact that they had a strong family history of exceptional longevity seemed to be the main commonality. This supports the notion that they have special genes protecting them from their environment.”
I’m really not sure how over-engineered running shoes exacerbate the small amount of calories burned during typical aerobic exercise. Could you explain that correlation?
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Great article. I particularly appreciate that you associated metabolic dysfunction with adrenal/thyroid issues. I wish more people knew about that. I wish I knew about that 10-15 years ago! I’m struggling with some sort of metabolic issue right now, probably due to previous long term stress and poor diet. It’s so difficult to drum up enough energy to do anything … let alone work out. And I don’t know to what extent I may be overtaxing my adrenals or thyroid when I do engage in physical exercise.
On a sort of related note …. if y’all want to do an article on what sort of diet / lifestyle / workout promotes health for pregnant women and their babies, I’d be interested in reading that.
Thanks for putting so much great information in one place!
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Rod – I agree…get rid of leaf blowers and gas powered lawn mowers….if anything at least it will be a little less noise stress on us all! Hell might even drop the gas prices nationwide!
FJ – so true how once you get down the eating, you just need a small amount of training per week….and don’t have to live in the gym or spin classes.
Jessica – I myself have done sprint tris and adv races, but I never obsessively train for that. The one time race itself is not the damaging part, it’s the months of obsessive over-training people put into it. Although I’ll never be a world class tri guy….I’m ok with that knowing my health will thank me later.
Rusty – You hit the nail on the head, most exercise is not going to work (especially the shorter HIIT stuff) if nutrition/calorie deficit isn’t happening.
M – the point being, you will not see longevity and excessive cardio go hand in hand….as much as I hear it is “so good for the heart and lungs” from the mainstream. Of course there are plenty of other factors involved with longevity such as the lifestyle, nutrition and genes play a role (but not a large large %). Most people who are living long will just be active daily walking to the store, doing chores, maybe some stretching, working in the yard, etc…..independent and living an active/natural lifestyle….not doing aerobic classes. Also the point with the shoes is how the damage caused by chronic use of over-engineered shoes (and the damage it does to our natural pattern of movement and all the joints involved) is not worth the tiny amount of calories you actually burn in the process….aka watching what you eat is a better and less damaging way to go about it.
Angel – I know how tough it can be with adrenal/thyroid issues (as have had plenty of clients with that). The best thing is a healing diet and lifestyle approach. Some short exercise (strength training especially), slow active lifestyle like walking, managing stress (in general) and getting to sleep. Avoiding caffeine and other stimulants too. Once the damage is there, there is still hope the body can repair itself…..may be at a slower pace than you want it to go, but it can and will happen over time. Slow and steady now and forget about what you did in the past…as you only need to worry about what you are doing today! I’ll look into getting an expert on here for pregnant women….not my area of expertise but I know a couple people who are knowledgeable about it more.
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Wait.. you mean I don’t have to run in place… for 2 hours… while staring at the wall? Awesome. Lol. Good stuff as always. Man I hate cardio. I wish I could get every hour of planned cardio I ever did in my life back. Sprints and intense workouts are SO the way to go.
The SoG
P.S. The comment fields aren’t autopopulating my info again
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SOG – you can practice your Flashdance/Footloose dancing at any time…I won’t judge!
As for the comment stuff…..yell at Scott, he’s my tech support.
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Mike,
I didn’t understand this part of your blog post:
“…over-engineered running shoes which cushion the feet in such a way to create a neural amnesia.”
Please could you explain?
Thank you,
Omar
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Omar – check above in the comments as Scott linked to an article that would explain it better. (that and it was actually a quote that originated from Steve Maxwell)
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I’m a maniac… maniac. lol
The SoG
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SO I read the first sentence of this post and seriously thought you were talking about me… when you said that you see someone who is at the gym 2+ doing cardio!! But then I saw that you wrote HE and sighed with relief! ha ha! But I am not going to lie, I do do cardio 2 hours a day!
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GIGI – come away from the cardio machine and join the dark side of fitness.
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[...] Excess Aerobics And Weight Loss [...]
funny how some of these articles show up at the exact time I am noticing these patterns with other people. I had a discussion with one individual a couple days ago about excessive cardio and cortisol production and tried consulting them on the issue. My own clients don’t take to kindly to the words natural food. The magic is in the fork, not the amount of exercise you do is usually what I hint. Take it for what it’s worth.
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@Craig
It’s true – it is not natural to run through the heel. In fact even big cats as Nike have started admitting the flaw of the over cushioned running shoe heel.
Check out THE POSE METHOD OF RUNNING for more on proper running form..
-Yavor
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Great article – thanks!
I am in constant denial that food effects my weight! Seriously. I love crap food. Articles such as this are a much needed reality check. It’s almost comical how I can convince myself that eating cookies and ice cream don’t have a THING to do with my unwanted excess weight – too bad it’s not funny!
That said, I don’t understand when people say, “down on cardio, but love HIIT”. Isn’t HIIT a form of cardio?
Thanks again!
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Beth – It’s amazing what people do convince themselves is ok to avoid the harsh reality that crappy eating gets them nowhere. HIIT is just much shorter and more intense, not an hour or two jogging. Glad we could provide the reality check…now just ditch the crap, your excuses are no good here and start eating right!
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As far as the whole “over engineered running shoes” go, it’s true. Shoes of any kind are really small fancy casts for your feet, that’s why the muscles in your lower legs and feet get weak and lazy. Thus the reason for bad running form and the “pain” of running. I’ve switched over to running barefoot or even in Vibram’s FiveFingers and it’s amazing how much better you run and how I feel no “typical” running pain yet run much faster. I will say I do agree that doing excessive amounts of cardio while taking a back seat to nutrition isn’t smart, I don’t think there is anything wrong with Cardio at all. I think lifting is great, but I also think natural exercises are much better overall. Running (with good form) is great, Sprints are awesome, so is swimming, biking, and even walking. I think people need to find someone they truly love doing as far as exercise goes. Some people just don’t care to lift weights, or do bodyweight exercises, but they still want to look good and be fit right? So why not do something you enjoy. Myself I’d like to find a happy balance between cardio and lifting weights, I don’t spend hours doing either, and I watch what I eat, and still enjoy it. That’s what people need to do. Just enjoy.
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I agree 100%!!! As a performance coach and trainer, I am fighting this battle on a daily basis. This article will be a great weapon to have in my arsenal to use in my war against over-training! Thank You
Health is Wealth
Dustin
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Awesome article!
As a personal trainer, I am trying to convince my clients of this very point ALL the time!
I barely do any cardio anymore and when I do, it’s HIIT workouts. Nothing is more boring than spending an hour on the treadmill! Obviously if your passion is endurance sports like marathons or Ironmans then extra long cardio sessions are top priority, but for the average person that just wants to look great on the beach, forget it!
Put in some major effort during your weight training sessions and get in 3 HIIT sessions a week. That along with a clean diet (of course) will have you ripped!
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This is something that I try to tell my clients all the time! Excellent article! EXCELLENT!
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Could you elaborate on the “calorie deficit” bit with any specific references to it? Just curious since I’ve read in other places that an excess of calories from fat and protein don’t matter so much in terms of weight loss. It’s the calories from carbs (especially refined) that cause the fatness.
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Nick – that’s a loaded question with many variables to consider…but if you are eating whole food protein/fats/fruits/veg…chances are over the long haul you will be in a calorie deficit state (as it’s not dependent on just one day and can cycle calories to achieve the same results). Muscle retention has huge impacts on the ability of the body to oxidize fats so protein is the key component. Diets high in processed carbs is a sure fire way to lose muscle and lower you fatty acid metabolism over time (leading to weight gain). Calorie overload on protein/fruits/veg just wont happen for the most part. Lyle has a good take on it as well:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/is-a-calorie-a-calorie.html
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Despite most of what you hear and read, activity does not seem to be a controlling factor in weight loss or how heavy a person is. Gary Taubes discusses the Tokelau Island Migration Study in his book ‘Good Calories, Bad Calories.’ In it, he states that researchers found that Tokelauans who migrated to New Zealand (as opposed to those who stayed on Tokelau) had a more rigorous life involving more exercise through their work, but they were fatter than their islander counterparts who lived less active lifestyles. Why the difference? Tokelauans who had migrated to New Zealand consumed bread, potatoes, sugar, and meat instead of what the Tokelauans on Tokelau ate: fish, coconut, and lower levels of sugar, flour, potatoes, etc.
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Great article. I completely agree with sneakers being overly cushioned. Recently the arch of my foot has been hurting after running and I realized it was from the sneakers I was wearing. I would love to see an article about the best sneakers on the market and what makes a good running shoe.
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Great article.
But this thought seems in contrast with the dominant lifestyle that says:
No Pain No Gain.
Look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOyrm4tl2ck
More with less! That means efficiency in happiness.
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Two Things CrossFit and Paleo.
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[...] Read the full article here. [...]
Another brilliant post in opposition to the need for long boring aerobic workouts. I got so tired of walking in circles, riding the stationary bike and making a game out of chasing the girl in front of me on the elliptical trainer, or pretending to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
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No pain more gain = HAPPYCIENY
(broken link – removed)
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I seriously doubt many here or on other forums like this will ever reach Chronic Cardio- they isn’t even a clear cut defination for it. After reading some of the responses, I can see many will hardly push their HR again and say they read that cardio is bad, ALthough I perfer strength training then spinning my wheels for a cardio workout, getting an 80 per cent Target heart rate going is a GOOD THING perhaps three times a week instead of seven. Cardio exercise will not help you lose weight but it will tune your body and correct health issues that will create a better operating system to burn calories and control insulin production (the fat trigger). Don’t fool yourselves and keep from pumping the heart.
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Pj – I agree there is no “clear cut” definition….but in my opinion it has to do with the “effectiveness” of exercise and burning fat. If one takes on excessive amounts of “cardio” activity…only to need a higher intake of calories to sustain…most being carbs…that is really not helping the overall fat burning environment. Much like the “gym” person who spends hours on a treadmill or spin class 5x a week….yet in 3 months looks the same. It’s not working. Also the effectiveness includes the long term….as anyone can burn themselves out in 3 months and then gain all the weight right back. Then they are in worse condition than when they started (including possible adrenal issues that will make getting the fat off harder the next go round). Of course we are also not preaching everyone sit on their butt and do nothing. SMART exercise is the key….which can include lifting weights and shorter/intensity (as much as one can do for their level of course) based activity….along with a slower paced active lifestyle. It’s amazing how quicker the body transformation changes can come about once people start doing smart exercise along with smart eating (which is really where the most results will come from).
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I do cardio for 30 minutes 3 times a week, usually after a 45 minute strength training session. Will this cause me problems in the future?
PS: I have cut down on my caloric intake, and do not binge on food when I am done.
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Mike OD Reply:
Jeff – I doubt it…just keep the pace slow, steady and enjoyable.
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