I grew up in a world that didn't have cardio...

[DeepZenPill]

Not to mention the fact that there WERE some ripped fucking bodybuilders who cut down without cardio. Instead they were doing 2 hours of nonstop lifting.

I stopped doing mindless cardio this year and I chuckle to myself everytime I walk by all the people on the cardio equipment on my way to the weights. I see the same fat people running month after month, with barely a change. If cardio wasn't so hyped as a great way to lose fat, then people might realize how much more important diet is.

I'm not saying cardio is useless. Last summer I would bike 16 miles a day, but that's MUCH different than being on a stationary bike. I could actually enjoy it. And I sure got lean as hell doing it combined with a diet. The best physical benefit I got from it wasn't losing bodyfat though, it was my increased endurance. I never got out of breath and my cardiovascular system had become so much more efficient.

If you're going to do cardio, at least try to find a way to do it that's fun.

 

[poantrex]

Cardio doesn't burn fat? Well, I guess the 8 inches I lost off my waist 5 years ago was a fluke then.

 

[IronKop77]

If cardio is so ineffective why do track stars, bicyclists, and swimmers have such low bodyfat %? I dont think these people focus all that much on their diet.

It may be new to the workout industry but come to think of it the industry isnt any more then 100 yrs old in itself!

I do agree that diet has a huge impact on our body composition but to say that just through dieting one can achieve the % of coleman, I dont buy it.

Also lets not forget the importance of cardio for circulatory health here. I THINK THIS HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON WHY CARDIO HAS BECOME SO MAINSTREAM ALSO.

 

[Bulldog_10]

Also lets not forget the importance of cardio for circulatory health here. I THINK THIS HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON WHY CARDIO HAS BECOME SO MAINSTREAM ALSO.

That's why it's called cardio dude...cardio=heart.

 

[zeeman66]

I understand what Sofa is saying, even though i'm only 36. I remember being a pre teen when all the jogging craze started just like pet rocks,pet tshirts and stuff like that......What i remember reading in muscle mags like the perry rader ironman was high rep breathing squats,cleans and olympic lifts if you wanted to improve your endurance and jumpstart your metabolism,now the first thing you read is bike 20min,staormaster 20min etc...i think thats the point he's trying to make moreso than which one works best

 

[slobberknocker]

I like the idea of taking up another activity instead of just mindlessly running, lol. My older friend, for example, was a powerlifter and also played semi pro football as his fun activity.

 

[chanmanfoo]

well said sofageorge. i couldnt agree more.
foo

 

[Nelson Montana]

Glad to see somebody else take the heat on this subject for a change.

It should also be noted that the only athletes that jogged 40 years ago were boxers. And guess what? Almost no boxers jog anymore. They run 3 mnute sprints -- which helps them do what they need to do.

Why are track stars and swimmers thin? Because fat runners and fat swimmers aren't successful. But it isn't the swimming and running that got the thin ones thin.

And as far as today's bodybuilders being more ripped today...BULLSHIT! Most of these guys are fat fucks except for the time around their contests. And it ain't because of cardio kids. It's drugs and diuretics. The bodybuilders from the 60's were cut all year round.

In about 10 more years, aerobics will be considered as outdated as a Jane Fonda work out video.

Okay -- everyone go back to yelling at Sofa now.

 

[Bulldog_10]

Glad to see somebody else take the heat on this subject for a change.

It should also be noted that the only athletes that jogged 40 years ago were boxers. And guess what? Almost no boxers jog anymore. They run 3 mnute sprints -- which helps them do what they need to do.

Why are track stars and swimmers thin? Because fat runners and fat swimmers aren't successful. But it isn't the swimming and running that got the thin ones thin.

And as far as today's bodybuilders being more ripped today...BULLSHIT! Most of these guys are fat fucks except for the time around their contests. And it ain't because of cardio kids. It's drugs and diuretics. The bodybuilders from the 60's were cut all year round.

In about 10 more years, aerobics will be considered as outdated as a Jane Fonda work out video.

Okay -- everyone go back to yelling at Sofa now.

But don't you agree that cardio is good for you? It's just that you don't consider riding a bike, or jogging cardio. Sprints are cardio, as well as riding the bike, as long as the intensity is high...and you keep your heart rate up in the 70+% range.

 

[SofaGeorge]

But don't you agree that cardio is good for you? It's just that you don't consider riding a bike, or jogging cardio. Sprints are cardio, as well as riding the bike, as long as the intensity is high...and you keep your heart rate up in the 70+% range.

According to almost all of the scientific evidence I've seen - NO.

I sprint for leg development and endurance. Periodically I go through phases where I run... to increase endurance...

... but I'm not finding any evidience that hitting the treadmill or exercise bike for a couple hours a week IMPROVES your health.

It may offer some negligible benefit, or it may have a slightly negative effect... but it definitely doesn't turn you into a health god.

Most distance runners look like death on a stick. I used to live in the mountains and all the distance runner chicks would stop by my place for water. They were sweet chicks but they were skankier than crack whores to look at. I've never seen so many unattractive bags of bones... and before you jump on "bags of bones" it wasn't that running got their bodyfat down to nothing - it ate the crap out of their MUSCLE. They had no meat left. They looked like they escaped from Aushwitz.

The debate will rage on as to whether or not their are benefits to cardio... but so far the evidence is NOT there to support it as being "good" for you.

The point of my post was simply that cardio is a relatively new concept fabricated to sell products. If it was the weightloss miracle that RUNNER magazine or Jane Fonda would have you believe - why weren't people running to lose body fat in the '40s or '50s? People have known how to run since they had to get away from saber tooth tigers? Why did running supposedly only start buring off bodyfat when running shorts and jogging shoes hit K-mart?