Is there a thing as too much cardio?

D

dalinks

0
I currently already have a weight routine going, but I'm curious can I over do cardio? I ask this cause I would like to step it up and start losing weight quicker. So can you over do cardio?

My plan is 3 times a day of steady state cardio 30 minutes each for 5 days a week.

What do you think? Can I do more? What is the max?

I'm strictly monitoring my calories and eating high protien meals.

Maybe someone has other pointers? Thanks.
 
There is no "max" as it will depend LARGELY (well, almost entirely) on the individual fitness, goals, etc. My first guess is that 90 minutes a day is overkill for you if you have to ask. There are of course people that can handle this amount, but they are likely the ones that already know what they're doing.

The short answer here is that yes, there's such a thing as too much anything.

Fat loss is going to come as a huge result of your diet, not how long you can stay on the treadmill. Remember, you cannot and will not ever be able to out train a bad diet :)

What you need to do is focus much more on diet, and also starting picking up some weights rather than hitting the treadmill for hours on end.
 
I read a good article in TIME magazine about how too much cardio can actually make some people gain weight. I don't have the link, I'll try to find it, but it basically went something like this:

Your body reacts to stress, and by hitting the cardio machine for longer than normal, your body becomes hungrier than usual. With such aweful food choices out there, it is quite likely that burning 500 cals on a treadmill will signal your brain to go eat a 1,000 calorie meal for dinner shortly afterwards. The point of the article was that some people are better off just eating lightly without working out too often.

I will look for the article and re-post.
 
There is also the theory that excess cardio increases the hormone cortisol, which signals the body to store energy as fat. The theory is that after a long cardio session the body assumes you will do it again soon and trys to store as much fuel as possible in the form of fat to be ready to provide the energy required for the next session when it comes. That is one theory why HIIT (or any high intensity, short duration/low volume) training tends to increase lean body mass and decrease body fat, by increaseng the levels of testosterone and HGH, while minimizing cortisol and CNS fatigue. Most individuals can get maximum cardio vascular and fat loss benefits from 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week of intense cardio. Many individuals will aslo experience overuse injuries if they do more than that for extended periods of time (years) or just get bored with all the time it takes and give up completely.

From my experience there is no substitute for actual running (not a treadmill or eliptical or bike or stepper or even swimming) in terms of INTENSE cardio. The only thing I have found that comes close is the Stairmaster (that thing that looks like an escalator going backward).
 
over-training is also an issue. Remember intense exercise is very stressful for the body and, as with basically everything you can do too much. Note that it also makes the immune system weaker if you over-train.
 
Quinnch said:
I read a good article in TIME magazine about how too much cardio can actually make some people gain weight. I don't have the link, I'll try to find it, but it basically went something like this:

Your body reacts to stress, and by hitting the cardio machine for longer than normal, your body becomes hungrier than usual. With such aweful food choices out there, it is quite likely that burning 500 cals on a treadmill will signal your brain to go eat a 1,000 calorie meal for dinner shortly afterwards. The point of the article was that some people are better off just eating lightly without working out too often.

I will look for the article and re-post.
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I hate crap like this. Not ripping on you personally, at all, just the article. That's such BS in my opinion. Yeah, don't exercise because you'll get hungrier. There's a great idea! You're supposed to eat more when you exercise. How about the people learn some damn self control and get up and do something and eat right? Too much effort there, I guess. Your brain is not "signaling" you to eat an exact amount of calories. It tells you it's hungry because you worked hard. That's a good thing. You SHOULD eat, just don't pig out. They'd rather just workout less so it's easier.
 
I am in the heart of Ironman triathlon training and routinely log 12 - 15hours / week of cardio. The only downsides to cardio are the time involved, monotony, and reported reduced testosterone levels. The upsides are many including a lowered resting heart rate (mine is 48), highly functioning cardiovascular system, increased capillarization, increased mitochondria, and a strong left ventricle.

I get the impression, maybe incorrectly, that some people are justifying less cardio because they don't want to do that much. If you don't want to do that much cardio - fine. But don't suggest that it is bad as it is not as long as you don't overdo a single exercise, like running, and get a stress fracture or shin splints.
 
g8r80 said:
I am in the heart of Ironman triathlon training and routinely log 12 - 15hours / week of cardio. The only downsides to cardio are the time involved, monotony, and reported reduced testosterone levels. The upsides are many including a lowered resting heart rate (mine is 48), highly functioning cardiovascular system, increased capillarization, increased mitochondria, and a strong left ventricle.

I get the impression, maybe incorrectly, that some people are justifying less cardio because they don't want to do that much. If you don't want to do that much cardio - fine. But don't suggest that it is bad as it is not as long as you don't overdo a single exercise, like running, and get a stress fracture or shin splints.
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That's crazy man when is the Ironman? And I totally agree, as is evident by the first post.
 
Ride_On said:
That's crazy man when is the Ironman? And I totally agree, as is evident by the first post.
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My triathlon schedule starts April 4 with a 70.3 Ironman and I am going to do 1 or 2 more 70.3 Ironmen, a sprint, and a 140.6 Ironman in November, Florida if I can get into it or Cozumel if I cannot.
 
g8r80 said:
My triathlon schedule starts April 4 with a 70.3 Ironman and I am going to do 1 or 2 more 70.3 Ironmen, a sprint, and a 140.6 Ironman in November, Florida if I can get into it or Cozumel if I cannot.
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I apologize for the ignorance :), but I have no clue what any of that means haha. I mean presumably that's the distance covered, but I don't know the breakdown. Either way, I admire the **** out of people like you.
 
Ride_On said:
I apologize for the ignorance :), but I have no clue what any of that means haha. I mean presumably that's the distance covered, but I don't know the breakdown. Either way, I admire the **** out of people like you.
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Here's the breakdown:

typical sprint triathlon: 600m swim, 13 mile bike, 5k run
70.3 Ironman: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 run (half marathon)
140.6 Ironman: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 run

Thanks
 
I second the Time article being crap. I am too lazy to post a point-by-point rebuttal, so just trust me. :-D The science was crap. They cherry-picked data.

Though I understand wanting to lose weight more quickly, avoid the temptation. Study after study shows that slow, steady weight loss is healthier, and more maintainable.
 
I agree with what my fellow triathlete (but no Ironmans here!) said about cardio. All I would add is that it is "too much" cardio if it is enough to make you stop doing cardio, if that makes any sense. In other words, you may go so gung-ho that you end up burning yourself out on the idea of regular exercise. Do as much as you can, and want to, and enjoy, doing.
 
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