Health and Fitness
Here’s Why Cardio Isn’t My Forte, But I Do It for 5 Compelling Reasons for Decades.
My solution was to find the sweet spot to lower risks and augment the benefits of cardiovascular workouts.
I am not here to say cardio is good or bad. Its compelling benefits in the proper doses were proven centuries ago. You may wonder if exercise is an individual matter, and it is useless to argue about personal preferences why I write about it.
It is because understanding fitness principles and risk factors and learning mitigation strategies by leveraging the experiences of others can be invaluable. Thus, I decided to summarize my perspectives and experience.
I deliver the headline of my story in two sections. First, I explain why I have concerns about excessive cardio. Then, I articulate the compelling benefits of adequate cardio with practical examples based on my experience, observations, and literature reviews.
For those unfamiliar with the term, cardio exercises refer to workouts that challenge the cardiovascular system by increasing the heart rate and creating more blood flow to the tissues.
When the body is adapted to the pressure, people might have a more improved cardiovascular system and overall health improvement.
Like all lifestyle choices, exercise is also an individual matter. A solution that works for one individual might not work for another. The amount also varies. Therefore, ideally, each person needs a personalized workout regimen suiting their needs, goals, fitness levels, and medical history.
Like many health and fitness enthusiasts, cardio is not my favorite type of exercise, primarily in excessive amounts, compared to resistance training such as calisthenics and weightlifting, which takes shorter. However, I also don’t like excessive resistance training for various reasons.
I used to love long-distance running, boosting my mood in my younger years, thinking the more would be, the better. But I was wrong. Due to misinformation and lack of experience in those days, I faced undesirable outcomes of this addiction, like many others.
Any fanaticism about exercise regimens, especially from influencers and celebrities introducing tools and services, must be taken with caution, not devotion. Some of them can be misleading and might cause unnecessary suffering, even though some might be great for a particular group of people.
Nevertheless, after learning about the side effects of excessive cardio on the body and understanding how my body responded to exercise, I gained insights and adjusted my workout regimen accordingly.
The type and amount of exercise might vary for the public and among fitness professionals too. For example, bodybuilders and gymnasts do different activities to succeed in their fitness careers. A bodybuilder might favor resistance training, and a gymnast might prefer more cardio for agility and flexibility.
The bottom line is that all types of exercises have pros and cons depending on how we practice them, how often, and how much we do. They also depend on our goals, fitness levels, and medical history.
However, any type of exercise in the right amount can be better than having none. Sedentary life is a known risk factor for physical and mental health disorders. Nonetheless, excessive and compulsive exercise can also be a severe health issue.
I cover my experience under each heading below. I have no devoted tendencies toward any kind of exercise. First, I’d like to touch on the risks of cardio workouts when performed incorrectly.
Risks of Cardio If Done Incorrectly
I cover the risks of cardio under five primary headings. They are oxidative stress leading to chronic inflammation, potential muscle loss, preventing abdominal fat loss, and consuming time.
First, I briefly explain each risk and summarize the critical points of viable solutions to lower these risks and turn them into opportunities.
1- Oxidative Stress
Every type of exercise causes some stress in the body. It is because the body needs to make biochemical and electrical adjustments during and after exercise.
For example, the metabolic pathway needs to work faster to provide the required energy to muscles from glucose and fat molecules. And it also needs to synthesize proteins from amino acids.
In addition, the body needs to create the necessary chemicals to recover from the effects of pressure and regenerate cells and damaged mitochondria.
My solution was to reduce cardio time by increasing intensity, which produced better results in the long run. I also choose more joyful, effective workouts with friends and loved ones in a shorter period.
2 — Chronic Inflammation
The body produces inflammation to recover from the wear and tear of muscles, known as micro-injuries. This is necessary and useful for recovery in small amounts and for a short time.
However, excessive inflammation for a prolonged time can be toxic to the body, adversely affecting our cells, tissues, and organs and breaking the body’s balance.
Apart from excessive cardio creating too much oxidative stress and creating substantial inflammation responses, the effects of some cardio types, such as long-distance running on joints, might cause excessive inflammation, especially for older adults.
Similar to the previous item, my solution was to reduce the amount of cardio and perform the ones with less impact on joints. Therefore, I replaced long-distance running with a barefoot walk on sand or grass and did intense ones on a trampoline.
3 — Potential Muscle Loss
If cardio is not done correctly, it can cause muscle loss. The previously mentioned points, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation are the fundamental mechanisms for this undesirable situation.
Some people use cardio for weight loss, but excessive amounts, especially on an empty stomach and without proper nutrition afterward, might lead to muscle loss.
For example, I had a friend who used to do four hours of cardio in the gym machines between 4 and 8 AM daily. He substantially lost muscles all over his body, including skeletal muscles, when his sarcopenia and osteoporosis were diagnosed.
However, cardio was not the only factor. He also lacked recovery after four-hour cardio as he worked in a factory, restorative sleep, and bioavailable proteins. He was on a plant-based diet and followed the “no pain, no gain” principle having almost no fun in his life.
The main reason is the effect of the stress hormone cortisol, which also relates to the next section. As I experienced muscle loss in my younger years, reducing the amount of cardio and replacing it with intense types lowered the risks of muscle loss.
I had to increase my protein intake after each cardio session for a speedy recovery. I also used recreational activities such as dry saunas and warm baths with Epsom salts.
4 — Preventing Visceral Fat Loss
Even though cardio is excellent for lowering calories, it can increase the stress hormone when done excessively.
The problem with the stress hormone cortisol is that it is catabolic for muscles but anabolic for fat cells. It means that it can utilize sugar from muscles but cannot utilize fat molecules.
Therefore, elevated cortisol levels in the bloodstream prevent fat burning. So elevated cortisol can reduce muscle mass but cannot reduce fat stores.
My solution was to increase growth hormone with short burst workouts, lowering cortisol’s effects. In addition, improving my sleep quality, meditation, and better nutrition optimized cortisol levels.
5 — Time Consuming
I left this to the end as it is not a health problem. But time is the most precious asset in our lives, so it matters.
My solution was to perform less time-consuming workouts, which do the same or better effects for the benefits I introduce in the next section. The solution was to find the sweet spot.
Section Summary
These issues also relate to weight loss mistakes that I covered in a recent story titled Here Are 4 Reasons You Can’t Reduce Visceral Fat and Lose Muscle Mass Instead.
Compelling Benefits of Cardio If Done Correctly
In this section, I summarize the health, fitness, and well-being benefits of cardiovascular workouts based on my decades of experience, observations, and review of health and fitness literature.
1 — Heart Health
If you check the National Library of Medicine, you might come across thousands of reports on the benefits of cardio. In fact, cardio stands for cardiovascular.
Cardio workouts can challenge the cardiovascular system by increasing the heart rate and creating more blood flow to the tissues.
I won’t go into details about this benefit, but I’d like to highlight that cardio workouts can also contribute to metabolic health.
For example, cardio workouts can make the body more insulin sensitive hence preventing metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes that might lead to heart diseases, strokes, cancers, and neurodegenerative disorders.
2 — Brain and Mental Health
Anything good for the heart can also be good for the brain. As I extensively research this domain, I can confidently inform you that cardio workouts in moderate amounts can be beneficial for the brain.
One of the most important and well-documented benefits of cardio is increasing BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor).
BDNF can influence neuronal function, creating neuroplasticity in the brain. We need BDNF for neuronal maintenance, survival, plasticity, and regulating neurotransmitters. It is an essential molecule in preventing neurodegeneration, such as dementia.
Another noteworthy benefit of a cardio workout is boosting mood by increasing good feel hormones in the body and neurotransmitters in the brain.
3 — Natural Detoxification
Cardio workouts serve as a natural detoxifier in the body because it activates the lymphatic system to get rid of toxins and pathogens through the skin.
In addition, providing better blood flow to tissues and increasing oxygen saturation can improve the cleaning of the metabolic garbage from cells.
4 — Accelerate Fat Loss
You might ask if this item clashes with #4 in the previous section. This is an important point. It is like the metaphor of a knife that we can use for beneficial or harmful purposes.
If cardio is done in a suitable amount and at the proper times, it can accelerate fat loss. For example, a 20-minute cardio in a fasted state in the morning can mobilize fat molecules and lead them to be burned during the day.
I used cardio during my fat loss journey, which worked well for me. I also observed numerous other people who used it to accelerate fat loss. You might check out one of the previous stories mentioning this protocol.
5 — Agility and Flexibility
Agility and flexibility are important fitness goals. They make us feel confident and happy, especially as we age.
It is excellent to lift 100kg weight for muscular strength, but it doesn't do much good in our life if we cannot tie our shoes. Thus flexibility, as we age, is extra important.
Athletes use cardio workouts to improve balance and speed. In almost all sports, such as football, basketball, tennis, martial arts, and gymnastics, players use cardio to improve agility and flexibility.
Conclusions and Takeaways
In the proper amount and at the right times, cardio can be beneficial for people with no underlying health conditions. However, the amount and timing might differ based on our needs, goals, and fitness levels.
The key risk factors of cardio come from its excessive amount for a prolonged time, increasing oxidative stress and inflammation, making hormonal and epigenetic effects in the body. Stress can change our genes.
From my experience, the viable option to address the hormonal issues was to move from extended cardio to interval and intensified sessions.
Instead of running for four hours or using machines in the gym for hours, I completed my HIIT in 20 minutes. This approach can decrease cortisol and increase growth hormones.
To address inflammation issues, you can choose soft spots to jog or run. You may also consider a trampoline to emulate running in HIIT format to reap the benefits as I do.
So far, walking around 10K steps daily has given me many health and fitness benefits. However, I prefer walking to running as I get older. I don’t like and do long-distance running, but I love joining 25K steps bushwalking at weekends with my friends in the fitness club.
I documented an inspiring story of a mature age couple who reversed their type II diabetes by walking around 20K steps daily for a while. So if cardio is appropriately used, it could do wonders for our health and well-being.
Exercise within our capacity and capability is an excellent way to improve our health and prevent diseases. For example, as I documented in a recent story, even 150 minutes of exercise per week can significantly lower cancer risks.
I am pleased that some holistic health physicians first prescribe exercise for mild lifestyle disorders before medication. I know that many people improve their physical and mental health by including regular exercise in their lifestyle.
If you are new to exercising, you might start slow and build your strength, flexibility, and agility gradually. Performing exercises with others and music can be extra motivating.
As exercise puts significant stress on the body, getting support from qualified professionals is always necessary if you have specific health conditions. Recovering from the effects of the previous exercise is essential before starting a new one to prevent injuries and disorders.
The key takeaway of this story is cardiovascular workouts can be valuable when done correctly without causing excessive stress and inflammation. Therefore, finding the sweet spot is essential to benefit from them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might check my perspectives on resistance training.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
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