Downside to Aerobic Training???

[eytonxav]

This article is written by Charles Poliquin, a well known strength coach. He identifies some health issues that aerobic training by itself may cause and suggests that it be combined with strength training. Personally, I do almost exclusively strength training, but want to incorporate more aerobic and HIT in my future workouts.

How to Counter The Many Negatives of Aerobic Training | Poliquin Article

And for Nords, note the plug about the benefits of Martial Arts

 

[timeasterday]

I think the key is balance. I run 3 days a week and do strength training 3 days a week.

But I had to shake my head at "you may suffer from lower insulin sensitivity from exposure to “dirty electricity”

 

[eytonxav]

Agree, I think taking a balanced approach to exercise (resistance, aerobic, flexibility, balance) makes sense to me, even without all the studies, and I need to incorporate more of those other elements into my resistance training.

As for the comment on the dirty electricity, that sounded pretty wild to me as well, although I do not think I would want to live under a high tension power line and the e-field that emits, but from a cardio machine I can't quite imagine that causing problems.

 

[dmpi]

You need to do both and balance them out. Being in my 50s I can lift weights only once or twice a week. But with aerobics I can fill out the rest of the week. My wife and I like to workout four or five times a week. We couldn't do it without the treadmill, elliptical trainer, and the stair master.
The article talked about the sprinter having less fat than other runners. All I can say is lets track down the sprinter at 50 and see how he's doing.
With regard to running making you age. My observations is yes, some extreme runners look old and weathered. However they are still far better off than the folks who do nothing at all. There's a miles-per-week sweet spot where you get all the benefits from running without causing premature aging. I would guess that this "sweet spot" is different for everyone. For me, I run about 15-18/miles per week.

 

[eytonxav]

The article talked about the sprinter having less fat than other runners. All I can say is lets track down the sprinter at 50 and see how he's doing.

I was sprinter when I was a teen, but I don't really do that any more, although when I played adult hardball back in my early 50s I would run wind sprints before the games to get loosened up. Recently discovered the prowler sled, and I am trying to sprint while pushing that and believe its very effective at getting the heart rate up and increasing hip/leg power. My BF is no longer anything I would want to show off in public, but I would say in general, the muscle/BF on sprinters is pretty impressive compared to many other athletes, but your right, you probably won't find many examples who are still sprinting in their 50s.

 

[RunningBum]

The guy has a very obvious bias against anything but strength training. He may be an expert in his field, but he's cherry picked everything negative he's read and heard about aerobic/endurance training and listed none of the many benefits. Balance makes sense to me. I think if you'd talk to any all-purpose personal trainer or fitness expert they'd say the same.

 

[eytonxav]

The guy has a very obvious bias against anything but strength training. He may be an expert in his field, but he's cherry picked everything negative he's read and heard about aerobic/endurance training and listed none of the many benefits. Balance makes sense to me. I think if you'd talk to any all-purpose personal trainer or fitness expert they'd say the same.

I don't think he's cherry picking at all, just pointing to some possible downsides to doing only aerobic type training. He has a pretty good resume and has trained several olympic athletes, many of whom are runners, although not marathoners. I know quite a few personal fitness trainers and they all speak very highly of him. See his wiki: Charles Poliquin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perhaps your a little biased given your forum name

 

[rgarling]

I thought this short article was very good. Thanks for posting it. It may seem odd if you are a fan of aerobics; however, it is reflective of current research. As far as his point about sprinters, he is making an argument to increase the intensity of running-oriented exercise, while reducing its duration. Generally, this results in a more optimal hormonal response and less oxidative stress to the body. Short and intense bouts of effort are what the body seems to respond best to. The 'dirty electricity' comment has to do with electromagnetic fields, which we are learning affect living creatures in unexpected ways. It turns out that most living things can sense, use, and respond to magnetic fields in some way. This video is a little far out, but will give you an idea: RESONANCE - BEINGS OF FREQUENCY on Vimeo

 

[RunningBum]

I don't think he's cherry picking at all, just pointing to some possible downsides to doing only aerobic type training. He has a pretty good resume and has trained several olympic athletes, many of whom are runners, although not marathoners. I know quite a few personal fitness trainers and they all speak very highly of him. See his wiki: Charles Poliquin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perhaps your a little biased given your forum name

I'm definitely biased, but I'm not writing articles picking out all the possible drawbacks to strength training and telling people they should stick to aerobic training. I actually have incorporated a day or two per week of strength training and should probably do three. I don't recommend anyone do the amount of running I do if their goal is for best health.

And I still say he cherry picked. He cites the dangers of extreme running and the lack of benefit of doing minimal aerobic training, without mentioning there is a wide range where you can safely do aerobic exercise with good benefits.

 

[rgarling]

... without mentioning there is a wide range where you can safely do aerobic exercise with good benefits.

He (and researchers) are talking about jogging and running as aerobic exercise. There is just no way around the fact that running increases oxidative stress and has negative side effects. If you like to run, do it; just be aware that it isn't all roses as far as your body is concerned. And like he said in the article: " There are some benefits of aerobic exercise for sedentary people and specific populations... The key here is that it is better to do aerobic training than to do absolutely nothing and be sedentary."

If someone is thinking they are talking about walking, they aren't. Walk all you want.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Interesting article. I've been taking a look at some of the effects of running specifically, and how it is harmful to the spine especially, but also damages knees over time as well.

 

[Lsbcal]

I will go out on a narrow limb here. I browsed the article which kept referring to "elite" athletes. Who here is in this category? For most of us, this article is an unnecessary read.

The article starts off:

Aerobic training has many negative health effects, and being as more than 45,000 people ran the New York City Marathon on Sunday, this topic is more important than ever.

How many of us here are doing marathons? I don't and have been a runner for several decades. You don't have to do extreme sports to do aerobic fitness.

 

[W2R]

I think the article is biased against aerobic training. For example, it says

aerobic training [...] does little to help with fat or weight loss. “The effect of regular aerobic exercise on body fat is negligible,” writes researcher Stephen H. Boutcher in his article “High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise and Fat Loss.”

When was the last time you saw a morbidly obese marathon runner? There aren't many AFAIK. In fact, I don't know many people who have lost 50+ pounds and kept it off, who don't at least walk regularly.

I am 64 and lift weights three times a week and have for years. I love lifting weights and I love the way lifting in the long run makes me feel so much more youthful, strong, capable, and independent. I do think balance is a good idea and I intend to move towards that by eventually incorporating a little walking or exercycling into my routine (mostly for weight loss purposes). I have tried that several times but always end up ditching the walking or exercycling for some reason. Right now my workouts are still almost entirely weight lifting, despite my good intentions. I am thinking of buying a treadmill, because spending that much might persuade me to use it regularly. On the other hand, I really need to commit to it because I don't need another clothes rack.

 

[RunningBum]

I will go out on a narrow limb here. I browsed the article which kept referring to "elite" athletes. Who here is in this category? For most of us, this article is an unnecessary read.


How many of us here are doing marathons? I don't and have been a runner for several decades. You don't have to do extreme sports to do aerobic fitness.

There are a few of us on here who run marathons, and more who have done so in the past.

I've run 25 marathons and longer, with my last one about 6 weeks ago, and my next in 3.5 weeks. I pay attention to these studies, and talked with my doctor about it in November, and my cardiologist running friend within the last month. Both continue to run themselves, and neither have recommended that I cut back.

Again, this isn't a fitness plan that I recommend to anyone. If someone asks me for advice, my first advice is that they find activities that they enjoy and will stick with.

 

[palomalou]

At 58 I've hung up the jogging shoes for good and just walk. While I CAN run, in the last 5 years or so every bout of a few months running has left me with a knee pain, or a strained ligament, or some such that means I have to stop entirely for a bit. Walking, all on the treadmill for now, at least never have to stop for weeks or even months. I should do the weights more frequently though. I'll add that mostly walking on the treadmill may have had nothing to do with my weight loss, but was concurrent with losing 70 pounds and keeping 50 off for 8 years now.

 

[Lsbcal]

Runningbum, you are probably a good exception to my "you don't need to do marathons" rule. I don't know where the overdoing it boundaries are but perhaps you are on the efficient frontier.

 

[Lsbcal]

At 58 I've hung up the jogging shoes for good and just walk. While I CAN run, in the last 5 years or so every bout of a few months running has left me with a knee pain, or a strained ligament, or some such that means I have to stop entirely for a bit. Walking, all on the treadmill for now, at least never have to stop for weeks or even months. I should do the weights more frequently though.

I've started doing more walks in between running days. At 64+ my running days are milder. I don't do races anymore and just enjoy the scenery in the park while running. I work at reducing the competitive spirit.

 

[eytonxav]

I will go out on a narrow limb here. I browsed the article which kept referring to "elite" athletes. Who here is in this category? For most of us, this article is an unnecessary read.

I guess browsed is the correct term, as your comment made me wonder if you absorbed anything or whether I am nut job for posting something of no value to the forum.

For example:

Benefits of Aerobic Training for Sedentary People

There are some benefits of aerobic exercise for sedentary people and specific populations, but there are also negatives that can be avoided if you just choose a different mode of exercise—strength and anaerobic system training. The key here is that it is better to do aerobic training than to do absolutely nothing and be sedentary. So, if you only have two options, of being sedentary and not moving, or doing 30 minutes of aerobic training, by all means, do the aerobic training. But, you’ll get better results if you do strength training instead, or in addition to the aerobic training.

To review, the bad news about aerobic training is that it doesn’t help the everyday person lose fat; it elevates cortisol, lowers androgens, degrades muscle, lowers power, and increases inflammation if done for a prolonged period. Now for the good news!

I am all for any form of exercise vs doing nothing, but I find when it comes to things like this, there is always something to learn albeit for an average joe like me or someone that is at a more elite level.

 

[LeavingOhio]

This article is written by Charles Poliquin, a well known strength coach. He identifies some health issues that aerobic training by itself may cause and suggests that it be combined with strength training. Personally, I do almost exclusively strength training, but want to incorporate more aerobic and HIT in my future workouts.

How to Counter The Many Negatives of Aerobic Training | Poliquin Article

And for Nords, note the plug about the benefits of Martial Arts

This is interesting. I'm a runner and once upon a time was quite serious about it (ran in college, have run many marathons and even two ultramarathons - a 50 miler and a 40 miler up a mountain and back down). As I've gotten older, PRs are long behind me, and that's tough to take for a former competitive runner. I have found now that working out with weights (I use Power 90, the precursor to P90X) and a similar program on the Wii and doing some kickboxing is a nice change to just running a ton of miles...miles that were beginning to give me calf problems. So, while you are increasing our aerobic exercise, I'm decreasing mine.

If you do circuit training with weights (going right from one exercise to another), you can really raise your heart rate and sweat, getting an aerobic benefit along with your weights workout.

 

[Ronstar]

If you do circuit training with weights (going right from one exercise to another), you can really raise your heart rate and sweat, getting an aerobic benefit along with your weights workout.

I'm finally starting to understand the aerobic benefits of weight training. Up until recently, I only ran and biked. Now I'm mixing in weights while cutting my running in half. I don't know much about the negative effects mentioned in the article - I just have structural problems with increased running.

 

[eytonxav]

I agree that weight training does get your heart rate up, especially if you go from one set or exercise to another with little recuperation time in between. When I initially started lifting I used to do a full body circuit, but now am doing straight sets of one exercise before moving to the next one. I suspect the circuit training does provide a little more aerobic benefit.

Right now, for my aerobic, I am really getting into pushing a prowler sled and also hitting a heavy bag. If you get a chance give the the prowler sled a try, I promise it will get your heart rate up there.

 

[Lsbcal]

I guess browsed is the correct term, as your comment made me wonder if you absorbed anything or whether I am nut job for posting something of no value to the forum.
...

Nope you are quite right to post this article. And you are probably saner then me . Please forget my too generalized comment above on the article content.

 

[RAE]

He (and researchers) are talking about jogging and running as aerobic exercise. There is just no way around the fact that running increases oxidative stress and has negative side effects. If you like to run, do it; just be aware that it isn't all roses as far as your body is concerned.

Agreed. Chronic cardio training (which has been defined as long stretches at a sustained heart rate in the 80+% range) is just not something the human body is adapted to endure. I personally think we are better off trying to emulate the types of activities that our ancestors engaged in on a regular basis, to maintain health and fitness. Mark Sisson talks about this at the link below:

Read more: Dear Mark: Chronic Cardio | Mark's Daily Apple
​

 

[ERhoosier]

Selective "research" mixed with personal opinion.

Here's brief synopsis of benefits of proper aerobic exercise from a much more reputable source:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/aerobic-exercise/EP00002/NSECTIONGROUP=2

 

[photoguy]

Agreed. Chronic cardio training (which has been defined as long stretches at a sustained heart rate in the 80+% range) is just not something the human body is adapted to endure. I personally think we are better off trying to emulate the types of activities that our ancestors engaged in on a regular basis, to maintain health and fitness.

I don't know about this. See the nature article Endurance running and the evolution of Homo:

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/krigbaum/proseminar/Bramble_Leib_2004_nature.pdf

and

Persistence hunting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia