Running?

Dear BBQ,

You recently sent me a question:

"Is running good for you?"

My first reaction is yes, of course! I mean its so painful its gotta do something good!

But is that right?

The act of long distance or endurance running actually does have some benefits such as calorie burn and bragging rights (not to mention incredible endurance and ability to do something really boring for hours on end), but do the negative side effects make it worth while to skip the marathons?

The first problem with running is obviously the damage it does to your joints, and your knees especially. People who run long distances consistently are much more likely to have knee problems, ankle problems, foot problems, or even back problems if not running with correct form.

The second bone I have to pick with LDR actually applies to all forms of slow cardio such as biking, elliptical, jogging, running, etc. Loosing weight with low intensity, long duration cardio is actually neither very effective (average calorie burn of 100 per mile when running) or very good for you. It results often in being "skinny-fat" or losing lots of weight, but not getting really lean or toned and having "loose" skin, especially if you have lost a significant amount of weight.

This is a result of the body needing lots of calories and burning both fat and muscle in its search for fuel. True you lose weight, but its not just fat that you are losing, and I'm pretty sure we all want more muscle as well as less fat, if only so we can move easier.

"So running isn't the best option, but what can I do instead?"

Good question blog-beast-of-questions... (or BBQ for short)

First of all I should say that everyone in the united states should start lifting weights. Now before you start to rip my head off, hear me out...

Lifting weights is not only a great way to burn calories, but it also provides stress to the muscles making the body not want to catabolise  them for fuel. In addition it can also build some muscle making your life easier in every respect and making you look much better overall. The secret that lifting weights has is the long term benefits. When you run on a treadmill you get a pretty decent calorie burn while you are on it, but when you get off it stops. You get a slightly higher metabolism rate for perhaps 15 minutes, however when you lift weights your metabolism is boosted for up to 48 hours! This means that not only do you have to spend less time working out, but you actually burn more calories than strait cardio.

Now I know what you are saying... (If you are a woman)
"Lifting weights will make me bulky and I don't want all that extra muscle!"

Look... If lifting weights made you gain a ton of muscle magically then every single guy on the planet would be a ripped machine! In reality its extremely hard for a man to build muscle, much less a woman. It takes extreme dedication and an enormous amount of calories to gain a large amount of muscle.

Notice how must gym rats are really not very cut or large? It takes more than weightlifting to become big.

The second thing that all people should at least dabble in is HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. In normal interval training you do a short section of intense exercise followed by several minutes of low intensity cardio. In HIIT you flip it on its head by doing several minutes of intense exercise followed by thirty seconds of total rest.

The calorie burn generated is staggering. Your heart rate skyrockets and stays high for a LONG time (up to 24 hours) after the workout.

"Well thats all well and good, but what about you? What do you do?"

Well I'm actually trying out something new right now, its called cardio acceleration. Its a program designed by Jim Stoppani, who holds a PhD in Sports Psychology or something like that and designs programs like this one. Normally I don't trust anyone who has a PhD in anything relating to exercise, but this guy actually tests his products out on himself, and the results are obvious.

Basically cardio acceleration is a weightlifting program designed to burn a heck of a lot of calories in a very short time while still hitting the weights HARD. What you do is start with a set of some weight exercise, such as the bench press, and then do a minute of cardio. Then you do another set of weights, and another round of cardio, and repeat that for however many sets you are planning on doing that day. Usually its about 24. This method keeps the heart rate high and provides a lot of cardio in addition to a lot of weight lifting in a very short time.

For more information or a workout calendar of his plan visit this link: Click me!

To recap I believe that low intensity cardio is not very useful, but if you enjoy it it still provides good exercise and at the very least it keeps you moving which is 100,000% better than nothing.
Start lifting some weights! Even if its not very much, but don't do it randomly. Look up on Bodybuilding.com some good exercises, follow a good plan (pick a good rep range) and get some crazy results!


Get results, or get out,

Ryan