Too much cardio?

[iamme]

i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

 

[oboeguy]

I guess riding my bike to and from work 40+ minutes each way means I'm doing too much. Forget those weekend days I ride 5+ hours, what am I doing to myself?!?

 

[jalaram]

Originally posted by: iamme
i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

It depends on whether they're hard or easy runs. You can run almost every day as long as the hard runs are mixed in with the easy ones.

I.e. yes, you do have give your body a break.

 

[CrimsonChaos]

Agreed. It depends on the level of intensity of your workouts. The importance in cardiovascular training is always maintaining your target-heart rate for a substantial time period. Exercising above or below your target zone is in-efficient, and can even be dangerous.

And it also depends on the goal of your regimen. If your goal is to participate in the next Iron Man, you're severely under-training. If your goal is to just stay fit, and maintain a certain body weight, you're fine.

Just remember one thing, and you'll live long and healthy -- moderation is the key to life.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: iamme
i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

Basically, you don't want to do really hard cardio on back to back days and you should take at least one day per week completely off.

Other than that, it's actually pretty hard to overtrain yourself. I've only had it happen a couple times and I was doing close to 20 hours per week on the bike.

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: iamme
i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

Basically, you don't want to do really hard cardio on back to back days and you should take at least one day per week completely off.

Other than that, it's actually pretty hard to overtrain yourself. I've only had it happen a couple times and I was doing close to 20 hours per week on the bike.

there's nothing wrong with doing cardio every day of the week. Just give yourself a day or 2 of easy runs (or more) between hard runs (or rides.) If your body hurts the next day, that's probably a hard run.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: iamme
i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

how are the rock hard pecks and 6 pk abs coming?

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: jaedaliu

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: iamme
i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

Basically, you don't want to do really hard cardio on back to back days and you should take at least one day per week completely off.

Other than that, it's actually pretty hard to overtrain yourself. I've only had it happen a couple times and I was doing close to 20 hours per week on the bike.

there's nothing wrong with doing cardio every day of the week. Just give yourself a day or 2 of easy runs (or more) between hard runs (or rides.) If your body hurts the next day, that's probably a hard run.

Even pros take at least one day off per week. Trust me on this.

 

[skace]

I used to run every day of the week. But the last 2 weeks I've been running only 3 days, Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Although, since I'm taking breaks every other day, I've been running much much harder on these days and I think the benefit is better for me.

The one thing that caused my shift is that one week in september, after a particularly great week of running, I could not run at all for 3 days. I'd try and start but within 10 minutes I was wrecked. On the 4th day, I felt much better but could only run 65% of what I was at the week before and I had to build back up from there.

I'm sort of playing it by ear though for the last 4 months, so who knows what I will be doing in october. (My workout is exactly 45 minutes / not counting stretching and warmup).

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: iamme
i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

how are the rock hard pecks and 6 pk abs coming?

coming along nicely i'll be sending those pics in a few months with a finished product pics of pecs? *snort* :laugh:

well, i'm no where near 20 hours a day so i guess i'm safe....i was just thinking a run in the morning and one in the afternoon. i've got about 5-10 pounds i want to burn off before i start lifting and i'm eager to start

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: jaedaliu

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: iamme
i know that with lifting weights, you need to give your body time to recover and rebuild for maximum results. does the same hold true for cardio? both in for cardio endurance and fat loss? would running 30+ minutes twice a day be overkill and not yield efficient results?

Basically, you don't want to do really hard cardio on back to back days and you should take at least one day per week completely off.

Other than that, it's actually pretty hard to overtrain yourself. I've only had it happen a couple times and I was doing close to 20 hours per week on the bike.

there's nothing wrong with doing cardio every day of the week. Just give yourself a day or 2 of easy runs (or more) between hard runs (or rides.) If your body hurts the next day, that's probably a hard run.

Even pros take at least one day off per week. Trust me on this.

Sure. They're out there pushing themselves hard trying to break their personal bests. Things may have changed in the last 10 years, but when I was in high school, I remember reading an article about the ?University of Texas? coach that ran every day. Even pulled to the side of the road on a road trip (by himself) to get in 4 miles before the next day.

I guess the big thing is, if your body's complaining, take a little time off. If it's not, and you're just running for cardio's sake, every day should be fine.