6 Reasons NOT To Perform Cardio

March 8, 2010  •  7 Comments  •  Uncategorized

This is from Steve Maxwell:

1. Oxidative Stress – Which causes a breakdown of tissues. It also predisposes one to cancer and heart attack.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Increased appetite and a tendency toward binge eating patterns Aerobic exercise makes people hungry!

5. 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.

6. 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.

7 Comments »

  1. Jim,
    Do you agree with Dr. Cooper that anything over 20 minutes has diminishing returns? I do about 20 minutes (2 sets of everything) during the week and then on the weekends try to aim for 30 minutes. What do you personally do? Thanks for all the info and advice! Maralee

    Comment by Maralee — March 10, 2010 at 2:25 pm

  2. I never, ever perform classic cardio. I only perform internal based strength training. My heart rate goes up and down. That is fine. It is steady state cardio, such as running or cycling or stepping, that should never, EVER be done for more than 20 minutes and i don’t believe should be done at all.

    Comment by Jim Karas — March 10, 2010 at 2:48 pm

  3. I do not perform any cardio, so I was just wondering if the 20 minutes pertained to strength training as well, or if you should do strength training for a longer time period.

    Comment by Maralee — March 10, 2010 at 5:03 pm

  4. You may perform strength training longer as it is done in intervals. It’s the steady state cardio that is useless.

    Comment by Jim Karas — March 10, 2010 at 6:15 pm

  5. Did you see the Arlo & Janis comic strip today? It’s about jogging, and supports your position. about cardio.

    Comment by Sara — March 11, 2010 at 4:53 pm

  6. No and I’m dying to see it.

    Comment by Jim Karas — March 11, 2010 at 7:22 pm

  7. Wow … Over 1,000 people spinning together for two hours in Minneapolis, courtesy of LifeTime Fitness. Here’s an article about it and potential knee problems.

    http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/87614732.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

    Comment by Sara — March 15, 2010 at 3:18 pm

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