Excessive Cardio May Do More Harm Than Good

Joseph Mercola reveals the health dangers of too much cardio exercise. More is definitely not better.

... In the TED talk above, Dr. James O'Keefe, a research cardiologist and a former elite athlete, discusses an important point that can be difficult for some to accept, namely the fact that extreme cardio can actually do more harm than good...

I am about two years older than Dr. O'Keefe and had a similar running history. Dr. O'Keefe actually won the largest sprint distance triathlon in Kansas City five years in a row, from 1999 to 20041 . Although I was never an elite athlete like Dr. O'Keefe, I had run a 2:50 marathon previously. It is satisfying to hear Dr. O'Keefe validate what I have been writing about for years now. I suspect we both wised up and stopped running at about the same age, after many decades of intense endurance training.

The myth that extreme endurance cardio is good for your heart took off at full speed when, in 1977, Dr. Thomas Bassler boldly proclaimed that "completing a marathon confers immunity against heart attack." Many die-hard runners still believe this to be true. Read more

Why You Shouldn’t Burn More Than 4,000 Calories a Week through Exercise

Mark Sisson explains why excessive exercise can be hazardous to your health.

Everyone agrees that being sedentary is bad and unhealthy and that being active is good and healthy. The research agrees, too; regular physical activity leads to good health, longer lives, and an improved ability to function throughout normal life. When you’re able to walk to the store, carry your groceries home, take the stairs, get out of bed without struggling, pack enough lean mass to survive a stay in the hospital, and ride your bike when you want to, you’re a functional human being, and remaining active on a regular basis helps maintain this state so crucial to basic health and happiness.

But what’s often hidden amidst the blanket pro-exercise sentiment is that too much exercise can have the opposite effect on health – people can really take physical activity too far. I talk about this all the time, so much that you’ve probably got “Chronic Cardio” emblazoned across your brain and shake your head when you see some hapless soul in spandex and the latest runners heaving himself down the street, heel first. I know just how bad that stuff can be, because I did it for a large part of my life. You’ve all heard that story before, though, about how even though training cardio hard gets you “fitter” in one sense of the word, it’s actually counterproductive for a healthy long life (doubly so if you want to have some lean muscle mass and pain-free joints in your later years). Read more

This Exercise Can Cause a 7-Fold Surge of Heart Problems

Hate exercise? Joseph Mercola reveals how to stay fit easily without the traditional boredom and drudgery.

Do you dread going to the gym for what feels like hours at a stretch? Or do you avoid working out altogether because you just don't have the time? Then what I'm about to tell you should be music to your ears: sometimes when it comes to exercise, less is more.

It's becoming increasingly clear that too much exercise, particularly long bouts of cardio, can cause more harm than good.

And while most Americans would be well served to exercise more, there's probably no need to work out for more than 45 minutes or so at a time, as long as you exercise correctly and efficiently. In fact, one of the most effective exercises I know of takes just 20 minutes for the whole workout (I'll explain more below)... Read more