#1 Cardio

#1 If you need to walk/ run for any amount of time, you'll need cardio fitness.And its great exercise - even just walking 20-30 mins.

Agreed, but it's frustrating when I work out 5 days/ week and still can't lose weight.

Typically 45 minutes of weights and 30ish minutes of cardio. Yes, I should up the cardio, but I'm just not motivated enough to do it.

MD -- you'll appreciate the article at One of the Worst Forms of Exercise There Is

The article starts out discussing endurance races and the acute effects of extreme exercise on the heart (specifically right ventricular function). Then they continue with the benefits of high-intensity interval training -- more efficient and more effective. Good read.

Fascinating article. I'll need to read it again. Some of us of a certain age can remember when marathoning was the sure fire preventive for heart attacks.

As an archaeologist, I really relate to the point that an optimum exercise routine recreates the hunter-gatherer environment in which we evolved. makes sense to me....

Yep, I'm on the long side too. Working out yesterday with a guy ~half my age doing leg extensions. We rotated sets and the only "rest" we had was the time the other guy took to complete a set, and then add or delete 45# plates on the machine. That was one of the best cardiac workouts I'd had in a while.

Interval training, cross-training, circuit training -- all good. My days of racking up miles damaging my knees is way behind me. Legs are much stronger for it.

Interesting, though it appears to be an ad for Peak Fitness! Interestingly, the New England Journal of Medicine had 2 articles related to runners and heart attacks this month.

Cardiac Arrest during Long-Distance Running Races

and

Acute Coronary Thrombosis in Boston Marathon Runners

both from Jan 12, 2012 editions. I can email the PDF's if you're interested.

Meh, experts are always come up with the new improved solution to fitness. I say the best solution is to experiment and listen to your own body.

For me, variety is the key. Once my body gets used to something, I need to change it up. Hiking, jogging, sprinting, swimming, biking, jump roping, lifting, super-setting, cross-fitting. They're all part of the mix. I find my knees, ankles, and other body joints, function much better when I incorporate jogging or jump roping into my routine, as long as I don't overdo it. I think my body's build naturally wants these activities.

In contrast, a body that is built like a boxy Strong Man is probably going to respond well to flipping truck tires everyday. I'm not built like that.

Agree on both counts.

About the article: I have a strong dislike when the distinction between scientific facts, advertisements and some hot-shot favourite programme gets blurred. It trips my B.S. meter. This article is very typical: It sets the stage by quoting scientific results (article X,Y,Z says marathon is bad for you), then slides into promoting whatever programme (definitively not marathon, so it's goot to be good for you - right?).

I am also very sceptical about those maximum intensity excercises. By stacking up so you can't do more than four to eight reps - max - then you're also at high risk for permanent injuries. Such a programme requires supervision by someone who knows what he's doing.

"optimum exercise routine recreates the hunter-gatherer environment in which we evolved. makes sense to me...."

Me too.
And i have noticed that when I visit indigenous peoples in Africa who still retain their old lifestyle - they are pretty healthy. They are not overweight. Their diet contains little sugar or prepared foods. The vege's are all organic. And most importantly - they do lots and lots of walking every day. Their bones are strong, and it's nothing for them to walk 10-20 miles a day. They sometimes eat significant amounts of meat or fat at lunchtime (not always -just when it is available)... but it does not seem to harm their health. The constant walking burns off the calories and the body handles it just fine.

In addition, they prepare a special extract from certain roots which they claim assists the body to burn off extra fat. I don't know why it works. But they insist that it does. Interesting. I told them to market it - but they just laugh. :-)

If these people move to the city (in Africa) and adopt a western lifestyle - with much less walking - then they start having all the same problems we do. More obesity. More heart attacks.

Pete2

Years ago I directed a dig in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, where we retrieved exquisitely preserved material, including enough varied evidence of diet that we were able to do a pretty good reconstruction of their daily food intake. At the time, I thought, "they are not getting enough meat!" That when I was in my juicy hamburger phase, and I thought a nice steak the perfect ending to the day.

What they ate was pretty much what you describe -lots of veggies, with the occasional bit of meat - maybe 20% of the total caloric intake. One of our researchers (the gentleman who analyzed the recovered feces) tried living on their diet as we reconstructed it, and he thrived!

I think it is pretty clear that we should move our bods more, and eat less meat. I rarely eat hamburgers anymore.

No Nazis in Canyon de Chelly - strictly against regulations.

I love that movie. Of course, it is actually just a standard documentary about the humdrum scholarly life of the average dedicated archaeologist. I rolled my eyes at the old swap-the-bag-of-sand-for-the golden-idol; we have been doing that for years and it regularly discussed in every Archeo 101 class during the first week.

From the article, I do appreciate the bit about super slow weight lifting. I have done this before with successful results, and I actually forgot about this technique. It's a good way to shock the muscles into growth. However, again, it's about variety. My body can burn out from doing too much super slow weight lifting, just like doing too much of anything else.

I fit in traditional cardio (e.g., jogging) whenever I can. For strength, I don't have time for the gym. So, I do a modified version of Grease-The-Groove (GTG). I recommend this option for people with tight schedules who work at home or at a place where GTG is possible. My strength is just as good, or better, than my strength when I was going to the gym regularly.

Here's an interesting true story that comes from the Amazon. It's got nothing to do with "cardio" ... except that if you are Indiana Jones and you get chased by indigenous warriors ... you better run really fast.

Many years ago an ornithologist visited a region in the Amazon. He was impressed with the hummingbird species, but did not have time to take a lot of specimens. So he asked the local Indian people to shoot some hummingbirds with their blowdarts.

In due course, some hummingbirds reached the ornithologist. They were shot dead with darts. But he wasn't happy because the darts damaged the feathers and the bodies of the birds. So he sent back a message to the Indians that he didn't want the feathers disturbed.

After some time a second package arrived. When the ornithologist opened it, he was amazed to discover several dead hummingbirds with their eyes pierced. The Indians had shot the hummingbirds through the eyes with their blowdarts.

Now ... that's accuracy for you !!

Definitely a good reason to work on cardio. :-)

Pete2

I do agree with you people here cardio exercise is one of the best exercise for all people from fitness point of view. It also save us from different diseases as well .