Cardio: The Ugly Truth

Ahhhh cardio. A concept that seems simple yet carries with it a multitude of speculation and even more of a “He said, she said” type deal. I’ve heard so many different things about doing cardio and I’m sure you have to. Such as, “The more you run, the more calories you burn!” and “Don’t do any cardio, strictly lift weights.” and “Do only cardio, you don’t want to get bulky.” Blah blah blah. I’m going to try to tackle these topics using my own experience and the resource I use that you can find at the bottom of the post.

Okay let me start off my saying that I have a love/hate relationship with cardio, and when I say cardio I’m mostly referring to running. I was on the track and field team in high school but only because my mom threatened me to either join marching band or pick a sport (not kidding) so I choose to run in circles. Why I picked track and field at that time is beyond me because I was reallllly bad at it. Like come in last every single time bad at it. Like the coaches only put me in one race because they had to bad at it. You would think that running skills would rub off on me considering my mom ran in high school and STILL holds running records, and the fact that my older sister got a full ride scholarship to college because of how freakin fast she ran. My brother is even good at it, lapping me when we used to hike when he is a whole 3 years younger than me. Embarrassing I know. But I stuck with it for the whole year and then the year after that I found my true love, swimming. It’s my element and I tend to agree with it more. 

I started to incorporate running into my workout routine about a month after I changed my eating habits but when it started to be as hot as the surface of the sun I moved my cardio inside and onto my moms treadmill. This is when I really started to actually love it. I never really loved it outside because it’s freakin hot and I would always give up when I knew I could go longer. On the treadmill I tend to push myself harder instead of stopping because I know how much time I have left in my set. Also telling myself to “stop being a pansy you have 10 seconds left” helps. 

Anyways enough about me. Like I’ve said before I’ve heard MANY different things about the “correct” way to do cardio and the constant back and forth is nothing but frustrating. Recently I took to google and decided to find out on my own in order to solve this unsolved mystery. This article I found “9 Steps to Perfect Health. #7 Move Like Your Ancestors” by Christ Kesser (not a Doctor if you’re wondering for cite purposes but practices Acupuncture and Chinese medicine). I suggest reading this whole article if you have the time because it’s extremely insightful, but I’m going to try to shorten it.

But let me start by saying that when I talk about cardio I’m referring to the repetitive activity done at moderate intensity like jogging or walking on the stairmaster.

At first he explains that on one hand we have the typical coach potatoes that don’t do any exercise, but also on the other we have the fitness fanatics who will do countless hours of cardio thinking that they are going to loose weight fast when in reality it’s not the case at all. He states that Americans have continually gained weight over the last 40 years in spite of increased leisure time exercise and increased energy expenditure. He goes on to say that people would be surprised to know that the caloric burn during exercise is actually pretty small, people who exercise tend to eat more and increasing specific periods of exercise can actually be detrimental. What did I just say that? Yep it can actually be harmful to your health. I’m not saying you’re going to drop dead the next time you run for 45 minutes; I’m saying a continued effort over a long period of time. My sister is the perfect example. She was literally run into the ground, as in she broke her leg during a race. She was so good that her coaches had her do back to back races at every meet, which damaged and weakened her body to the point where she still has problems with to this day. Yet on the outside she looked like she was in the best shape of her life. What reflects on the outside doesn’t necessarily reflect what’s going on inside.

So how can cardio be harmful? Well our helpful guy Chris gives us a list of scientific reasons such as:

Increases inflammation

Depresses the immune system

Decreases fat metabolism

Disrupts cortisol levels

Causes neurodegeneration

He expands on the topic of cortisol levels (what manages stress) by saying that too much exercise can disrupt our natural cortisol rhythm and drives levels to high at first but over time depresses them over time, which then promotes fat gain and muscle loss. Over exercising can also increase heart disease. Say whattttt? Yep. In the study he mentions 102 runners were compared to 102 non runners. The runners aged between 50 and 72 and ran 35 miles a week. And guess what? They were actually THREE times more likely to have heart damage than the non runners. There were 12 heart attacks among the runners vs. 4 attacks among the non runners. And yes I know this could be based on a number of different aspects like I’m sure you are thinking, but the runners had NO history of heart disease and were exercising like maniacs so you would think they would be healthy right?

This doesn’t mean that the next time you want to go for a run you think to yourself “But Ashley said it’s bad for you!” and don’t end up doing it. I am saying don’t run aimlessly on the treadmill for an hour, instead integrate HIIT into your workout. I’ve talked about HIIT on my healthy instagram before but just to elaborate again for those who don’t know. HIIT in short means = High Intensity Interval Training. So basically short bursts of energy with periods of low intensity in order to keep your heart rate guessing. I really fell in love with running when I started doing HIIT because it meant that I could take breaks during my workout whereas I’ve always been told to run, run, run and to keep running! Now I’m no Forest Gump here, but I believe it has further improved my endurance, my stamina and my ability to say that I like running (never thought I would see the day). 

Here are some statistics to back up what I’m trying to say. In a study, one group was assigned to “chronic cardio” while the other was assigned to intervals of 8-second sprints. After 15 weeks the researchers found that the HIIT group had a significant reduction in total body mass, fat mass and better insulin levels. Another study done at McMaster University found that “6 minutes of pure, hard exercise once a week could be just as effective as an hour of daily moderate activity.” 

So tell me, would you rather run for an hour or do a short 30 minute HIIT session? And HIIT doesn’t have to be just running, it can be anything! You can apply it to any type of exercise of your choosing, such as hiking, swimming, cycling etc. It is very versatile and every time you work out it can be different than the last. Below is my go to HIIT exercise when I’m not feeling creative. It may seem easy but I promise you, you will be dripping with sweat at the end. I typically run on the treadmill 4x a week and every single time I try to make it different than the last in order to keep my body guessing and to avoid hitting a plateau. I’ve also incorporated doing incline walks to help train my body for the Grand Canyon hike I’m going on in October. 

Well if you’re still with me at the end of this very lengthy long post then you’re ready to shake the next person that says “The more cardio the better!” Funny I mention that actually, I follow a girl on instagram who does 2+ hours of cardio 7x a week! Are you kidding me? I wish I could shake the crap out of her. But I’m sure she will pay for it later while her little 106 pound frame is currently reaping the “benefits.” Ha. 

So next time you step outside, or on the treadmill, or hop in the pool, incorporate HIIT and you won’t regret it. Unless you’re sore the next day ;)

http://chriskresser.com/9-steps-to-perfect-health-7-move-like-your-ancestors