Cardio..to much??

I'm sure that this has been asked plenty of times before...sorry..I'm new and I haven't seen it posted, forgive me. LoL.

I'm a cardio person and I usually run for 30 minutes to an hour at times, on a Elliptical...is that a bit to much?? I go to the gym and run at least 4 to 5 times a week...

I did some searching and some sites say 45 minutes to an hour is fine and some say just go for 30 minutes to 35 minutes...then you have some sites that say 10 to 15 minutes at tops...

I just want to make sure I'm not over doing it...I feel fine when I run for this long and I've been doing it for a while now...but I really don't want to do my body any harm....

I think as long as you are eating enough to make up for those calories burned you're fine

Just listen to your body and take it easy if you start to feel faint, etc.  But if your body is letting you do it I really don't see a problem :-)

I think there is absolutely no problem as long as you stay in your right heart beat zone. You can run for as long as you want as long as you don't make your heart pump too hard.

Cardio can be done as much as you can tolerate.  I work out on the elliptical at least an hour every day and as long as 90 minutes on the weekends.  I also take a cardio mix class and its 60 minutes granted the last 10 min are ab excercises but most classes like that at a gym are going to be 60 minutes -

I think the 30 min rule is so beginners don't over do it and its more attainable type goal, but once your body builds up the endurance then longer time is fine.

This really depends on your intensity levels.  If you want to accomplish more in less time, then up your intensity level (work harder in less time) while doing cardio. 

My personal philosophy is why be on the treadmill for 30-60 minutes when I can just go on for 15-20 minutes and get better results in less time?

To me that's a no-brainer.  Up the intensity and you don't have to be on there for as long....unless you like taking your time.

A lot of people like to get on they're favorite cardio machine and set it to a slow to moderate pace, and go for a "stroll in the park" intensity level for 45 or 60 mins.  While there is nothing wrong with this, you aren't stoking your metabolism nearly as much as you could be, with say doing a 15-20 minute high intensity cardio session. 

While some people think they're getting a lot accomplished by doing slow-moderate cardio for 30-60 minutes, simply because it says they burned 300 calories, this isn't always the case.  Yes, they've burned 300 calories, but they're metabolism has hardly been increased for long term fat loss.

The whole idea is to increase the metabolism itself in order to be burning more calories 24/7, even while at rest.  Most long duration cardio sessions do not accomplish this important aspect of switching your body into a fat-burning furnace.

However, short duration, high intensity cardio does do this. So maybe think about switching to a high intensity cardio method.  You'd be amazed at how awesome the results come...and in less time. :)

-Todd

hi winterzlove.  from your picture you look young and healthy (i LOVE your hair color!), so I say go with how you feel.  30-60 min 4-5 days a week isn't too much if it isn't too much for you.  just pay attention.  if you start to feel run down, no energy, coming down with colds, then those are signs of overtraining and you should back off.  Also make sure you're eating enough nutrition-packed calories for those workouts.  too much working out, not enough calories is a bad equation. 

that said, it wouldn't hurt to mix it up a little.  do a different cardio machine, throw in some longer, lower intensity cardio sessions, do some weight training.

oh! and make sure you stretch after your workouts. don't want an injury to put you on the sidelines.

You should try and do a cardio workout that is at least 30 minutes if not longer.  After the 30 minute mark your body starts burning more fat more efficiently, so your 30-60 min workouts (4-5 times a week) sound good.  

I've been working with a trainer and on days where the intensity is lower I aim for a work out between 60 and 90 minutes (and this is including the warm up and cool down).  And then on days where we up the intensity I aim for a work out of 45 minutes or so. 

I would say that what you are doing now sounds like a good format as long as you are paying attention to how your body is responding to the routine.

Thanks so much for the help!! You guys rock ;)

Originally Posted By: kkbutler

"You should try and do a cardio workout that is at least 30 minutes if not longer.  After the 30 minute mark your body starts burning more fat more efficiently, so your 30-60 min workouts (4-5 times a week) sound good."  

This is not necessarily true.  Longer duration cardio, may burn more calories, but only because you are doing it for a longer period than say shorter, more intense cardio sessions...but, long duration/low intensity cardio does nothing in the way of spiking your metabolism and forcing your body to burn fat at an accelerated rate. Short duration/high intensity cardio does.

Also, if after the 30 minute mark your body begins to burn more fat more efficiently, then it seems like the first 30 minutes is a complete waste. Remember, your body will look to carbs as it's main fuel source, not fat...so, if you do not have enough carbs in your system, your body will begin tapping into muscle tissue as a fuel source...this is NOT what you want.

Just thought I would share some facts that may open a few eyes as to what's the more efficient and effective cardio method to undertake.

In short:

Here are the pros and cons of each type of cardio:



Long duration/lower intensity cardio

Pros: Less intensity, so it's overall easier

Cons:

Takes longer to complete

Does not spike the metabolism effectively to burn excess calories after your session is over.

Less calories burned by the body throughout the day

Can become boring resulting in a higher percentage drop out rate

If done after a weight training workout, it can put one into a catabolic (muscle wasting) state.

Overall less efficient method of burning fat



Short Duration/High Intensity Cardio

Cons:

You have to work harder

Pros:

Takes less time to complete

More Goal Orientated

Don't get bored as easily

Spikes your metabolism big time

Burn more calories in the hours after your cardio is completed

Overall more fat is burned throughout the day, and more results are obtained in a shorter amount of time.

Because of the short duration of sessions, you can bracket your food intake accordingly and prevent any catabolism from occuring.



Hope this helps some!

-Todd

Todd,

I have been thinking a lot about your posts on Cardio Max (short, high intensity workouts).  I just feel like if I only work out for 20 minutes, that I simply *can't* be burning as many calories as I want to.  When I get on the treadmill, if I don't go for at least thirty minutes, then I feel like I failed, or gave up.

What I do usually, is speed walk for a few mintues, then run for as long as I can, and then finish by walking again.  I have slowly been upping my running time, as I get into better shape.  I am up to 22 minutes straight!

Can you give me some advice?

Thanks,

Shayna

Yah, that fear of not getting a good enough cardio workout by only doing 16-20 minutes is something that a lot of people have a hard time getting over.

The whole point of Max OT Cardio (or any other form of high intensity cardio) is to force your body to work a little harder each time and force your metabolism to elevate - permanently. When you accomplish this, you'll be burning more calories throughout the entire day...and this equals a greater amount of fat loss in the fastest amount of time.

I am going to tell you a true story about myself.  Before I entered my first bodybuilding competition, I had never dieted before or done any cardio of any sort for more than 1 week straight.

When I came across Max OT Cardio on the Internet, I decided to give it a try because it sounded practical and ...well, you only have to do it for 16 minutes...lol!  It sounded very efficient, so I used it as the sole method of cardio for helping shed my body fat and get me into the best condition of my life. I went from 200 pounds with quite a bit of fat around my stomach, love handles and lower back...to 178 pounds with about 4% body fat for my competition. 

And while I was dieting down for my competition, I knew a lot of the other guys that were competing in the same competition as me who were doing 1 hour of cardio every day...and some of them did that twice a day!!  That's 2 hours of cardio...and you know what?  I was getting leaner and leaner by the week...and I was only doing 16 minutes of cardio per day...THAT IS IT!  I would be on and off the treadmill and they would look at me like "are you nuts?"  I would go over to some of the guys and they'd be like "are you done your cardio already?"  I'd say "yup!"  And they'd just shake their heads like I am completely insane and that there was no way I would be losing fat doing that little amount of cardio. 

What they didn't take into consideration is the fact that each day I went in to do my Max OT Cardio, I was working slightly harder than before...I was always increasing the intensity a tad bit more.  Pretty soon, I was powerwalking at a very fast pace and varying the speed and incline settings every 2 minutes....but my intensity level was super high...a lot higher than those people who were doing the 30 minute-1hour marathon cardio sessions. I was working harder than them and doing so in less time.  Some people think going for 45 minutes is hard, well I can attest that doing high intensity cardio for 16 minutes is TEN TIMES HARDER, and more effective. This is what makes all the difference in the world to switching your body into a fat burning machine.  It's all about intensity.

Even though I was only burning between 250 and 350 calories per session, the intensity level was so great that I was stimulating my metabolism to burn a ton of calories in the hours after my cardio session was over with. This is where the beauty of short duration/high intensity cardio kicks in..and where long duration/low intensity cardio fails.

Too many people focus on how many calories they are burning DURING their cardio sessions...as opposed to how hard they are working and how much intensity they are generating from one session to the next.  I mean, it is known fact that if you go at say...a mediocre pace on any cardio machine, you may burn X amount of calories in 30 minutes...lets just say 200 calories.  And then if you go for 60 minutes, that would equate to 400 calories...and if one were to go for 2 hours, that would equate to 800 calories.  That's cool and dandy and all....but have you jacked up your metabolism one bit?  Not really.  Will you be burning extra calories in the hours after your session is over?  Not really.

So, my whole point is ....it's not how long you go for, but it's how intensely you work during the session.  It's how effectively you raise your metabolism for long term fat loss results.

I urge many to ponder the things I have mentioned above...and hopefully most of it makes practical sense.

-Todd

Now this is probably a stupid question *lol*, but when I run on the Elliptical...I usually have the intensity set on 5 or 6...would that be considered low or high intensity?? 

It all depends on your current fitness level.  For some that would be considered high intensity, for others that would be moderate, or perhaps even not very intense.  So, it depends on the individual. 

When doing Max OT cardio or another form of high intensity cardio, you have to log your stats (calories burned and distance gone). This is then your current intensity level. Then, for each successive cardio session, you strive to beat the distance gone in the same amount of time. 

Plus, settings from one type of machine to the next will vary, so it is hard for me to say what intensity level that is considered.

As well, intensity is not just measured by a single setting on a cardio machine...it is measured by how hard you are working...and this may be controlled by speed, resistance level, incline, and how often you switch those settings up throughout your cardio session. 

-Todd

Todd,

Thanks for your reply!  I am giving your ideas a great deal of thought.  I am going to incorportate them into my workouts.  I think that what I will do is limit my cardio sessions to 30 minutes, and start slowly upping my intensity.

I'll see how I feel after a couple weeks.

-Shayna

Sounds good...good luck!  Let us know how it all goes.

-Todd

i love high intensity workouts, you see other people on a x trainer for an hour and youve been on it for  20min and your calories burned are still higher, plus it actually feels like youve earned the calories burnt instead of just strolling on a bike and don't feel satisfied 

I would have to forcefully but respectfully disagree with Todd.  Many of us aren't here to be body builders.  I, for one, am a competitive runner.  Physiology dictates that you have to have your heart rate in the aerobic zone for at least 20 mins to get any type of aerobic benefit, which is needed for being healthy, calories and bodybuilders nonwithstanding.

Runners run for hours, literally.  My Sunday runs are 2 hours.  So 30 mins are definitely not too much.  I would never run only for 30 mins on my aerobic days, I always go over that, but again, I'm a competitive runner.

I kind of have experience with both types of training as in high school we would run for a higher intensity for about 20 mins.  And it, quite plainly, did not get me anywhere NEAR the shape I needed to be in to compete my best.  Talk to ANY respectable running coach out there, and s/he'll tell you the same thing I'm telling you.

I think more people here aspire to be more of the runner type than the body builder type, but I could be wrong.  I have to go to class now so this was just a cursory explanation but I would be happy to go into MUCH more detail if you would like.

So in short, I would emphatically say it is NOT too much, even work to increase it if you can.  I'm sure the other runners on this board will agree with me.

I have been on the X trainer 5 days a week averaging 300-500 calories a day for 5 months and I am not losing any weight. I lift small and suspect that building some muscle mass is logically why, but I wouldnt say my intensity is the reason the pounds arent coming off. I eat moderately, drink lots of water but I cannot get below 197 to my ideal of 178. Thats not a huge problem in the world, I understand, but if someone has an idea for me - at this point I think I would try. I dont want to be a competitive runner or a body builder, just drop 15 and be fit.

Runnergirl,

the type of cardio (high intensity/short duration) I have praised above is not a specific type of cardio geared towards bodybuilders or any one fitness sector in particular.  It is simply an efficient way of achieving the same fat loss/fitness results (if not better) you would by doing longer duration/lower intensity cardio, but in less time per session.

And that is not true that you need to be in "the aerobic zone" for at least 20 minutes before any aerobic benefit is had. Intensity is the key to fat loss results and stimulating the cardio vascular system. The high intensity/short duration cardio method I describe above and in other threads is called Max OT Cardio.

Now, I do not dismiss other forms of cardio, because any type of cardio is good for you and will produce results, I am not negating that fact. I am simply stating that high intensity/short duration cardio is more efficient.

Now, you say you're a competitive runner, which is great, but this also explains why you run for 2 hours, etc..  While that is all fine and dandy and is required for your sport, going for that duration isn't required for the fat loss and cardio benefits that most people on here are looking for.  There is nothing wrong with running for long periods of time, and yes one can certainly do it if they choose to, but it's not the most efficient method to obtaining maximum fat loss and fitness benefits.

So yes, if one is thinking of becoming a competitive runner and their goals are focused around that ambition, then yes, I can see where running for long periods of time would be a practical thing to do...and I can see where running coaches would encourgage it.

I don't think of people on this forum as aspiring to be a "runner type" compared to a "bodybuilder type" or any other "type".  People on here are looking to generally improve their fitness levels inside and out, as well as shed some body fat to increase their overall health. I have simply stated my experience and knowledge of Max OT Cardio, which I have found to be the most efficient cardio method for aiding to shed fat and enhancing your cardio vascular level.

Some food for thought..... read this.

-Todd