Category Archives: Cardio
A Healthy Dose of Running
I get asked this question a lot: Is there a healthy dose of running? In my opinion, No; if you’re not walking 30min per day. And if you are, and have additional time to exercise, you’re better off doing a couple 20-30 minute weight training sessions per week. Still have time left? Throw in an…
Fear Acidic Exercise NOT Acidic Food
Many mistakenly blame food for shifting the body into an acidic state. Saying that cancer grows in an acidic environment (low pH), and hypothesizing that the consumption of highly acidic foods (like meat and cheese) promote cancer growth. Even though most experiments show cancer growth at normal pH (7.4), and our body has a natural…
Cardio…Ain’t Nobody Got Time Fo Dat!
Chronic aerobic exercise not only favors muscle breakdown from elevated cortisol and free radical accumulation, but its time lost when you could have been building muscle. Moderate intensity jogging, cycling, or riding the elliptical for 1-2hrs is extremely time consuming when performed several days a week (or daily!), when equal or better results can be…
Cardio = The Worst Investment Ever?
One of the greatest things about the human body is its ability to adapt quickly to a new stressor. After initial contact, less and less of an adaptation is required, until dealing with the ‘once-challenging’ stimulus almost seems easy. This phenomenon is especially evident in exercise, as weights begin to feel lighter with resistance training,…
Eat Less + Exercise More = Burn Less + Store More
As mammals, if caloric intake is chronically low (during a diet), or energy expenditure is chronically high (from excessive exercise), we unknowingly learn to function on less calories per day. Our body seeks a caloric homeostasis by either storing more fat for energy, or increasing hunger to access more calories. Think of the bear, who…
Chronic Cardio = Low Testosterone
Long-distance endurance training produces an abundant amount of cortisol, which makes us prone to fat storage, muscle loss, and the degeneration that comes with it. One of the reasons it burns up muscle is because cortisol competes with testosterone - when one is secreted, the other is inhibited. Cortisol is catabolic (muscle death), and testosterone…
Cardio = Concentrated Muscle Damage
One of the reasons endurance exercise is more damaging than other forms of exercise, is because intense oxidation and acidity occurs in the same muscles, with no time to recover. This ‘over-load’ is what causes damage, as opposed to stressing a single muscle (triceps) or group (pecs and triceps), for a short period of time…
Chronic Cardio = Heart Damage?
Although the other negatives of selecting long-distance cardiovascular training as your predominant form of exercise are eye-opening, this one tends to hit home the most. Mainly because a good portion of the population starts running, cycling, and swimming in an effort to improve their heart health. I can’t help but think of someone running their…
