Before you start wasting hours on those boring treadmills, stationary bikes, and elliptical machines, let's see if low- to moderate-intensity, long-duration cardio exercise is actually doing your body good, or if it's just a matter of time. It's a waste. I hope you will accept when you finish this article that there is a better way to get in great shape, and it doesn't involve endless hours on boring cardio machines.
It is common to hear that fitness professionals and physicians recommend low- to moderate-intensity aerobic training (cardio) to people trying to prevent heart disease or lose weight. Most often, recommendations form something along the lines of "30-60 minutes of steady pace cardio 3-5 times per week to keep your heart rate at a moderate level." Before you accept this popular belief and become a "hamster on the wheel" doing endless hours of boring cardio, I want you to consider some recent scientific research that indicates that steady-pace endurance cardio work is all it takes. Until the crack can't happen.
First, realize that our bodies are designed to perform physical activity followed by stop-and-go movement rather than recovery, or steady-state motion. Recent research is suggesting that physical variability is one of the most important aspects to consider in your training. This tendency can be observed throughout nature, as all animals exhibit a stop and go motion rather than a steady state motion. In fact, man is the only animal in nature that attempts to perform "endurance" types of physical activities.
Most competitive sports (except of endurance running or cycling) are also based on stop-and-go movements or short bursts of recovery. To examine an example of the different effects of stop-and-go training versus endurance or steady state training, consider the bodies of marathoners versus sprinters. Most sprinters have a very lean, muscular and powerful-looking body, while the typical dedicated marathoner is often emaciated and ill-looking. Who will you be like now?
Another factor to keep in mind regarding the benefits of physical variability is the intrinsic effect of different forms of exercise on our bodies. Scientists have known that extreme steady state endurance exercise (different for everyone, but sometimes defined as more than 60 minutes per session on most days of the week) increases free radical production in the body, worsening joints. It May reduce immune function, cause muscle wasting, and cause a pro-inflammatory response in the body that can potentially lead to chronic diseases. On the other hand, highly variable cyclic training has been linked to increased anti-oxidant production and an anti-inflammatory response in the body, a more efficient nitric oxide response (which may encourage a healthy cardiovascular system), and an increased metabolism. Rate response (which can help with weight loss).
In addition, steady state endurance training only trains the heart at a specific heart rate range and does not train it to respond to different stresses each day. On the other hand, highly variable cyclic training teaches the heart to respond to and overcome various demands, making it less likely to fail when needed. Think of it this way – exercise that trains your heart to accelerate and decelerate faster will make your heart more able to cope with everyday stress. Your blood pressure and heart rate can increase rapidly due to stress. Steady-state jogging and other endurance training do not train your heart to be able to handle rapid changes in heart rate or blood pressure.
Cardio should be done but, in a balanced amount so that the body does not suffer.
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