A Case Against Cardio (from a former mileage king)
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We all know that we need to exercise to be healthy.
Unfortunately, the popular wisdom of the past 40 years – that we would all be better off doing 45 minutes to an hour a day of intense aerobic activity – has created a generation of overtrained, underfit, immune-compromised exerholics. Hate to say it, but we weren’t meant to aerobicize at the chronic and sustained high intensities that so many people choose to do these days. The results are almost always unimpressive. Ever wonder why years of “Spin” classes, endless treadmill sessions and interminable hours on the “elliptical” have done nothing much to shed those extra pounds and really tone the butt?
Don’t worry. There’s a reason why the current methods fail, and when you understand why, you’ll see that there’s an easier, more effective – and fun – way to burn fat, build or preserve lean muscle and maintain optimal health. The information is all there in the primal DNA blueprint, but in order to get the most from your exercise experience, first you need to understand the way we evolved and then build your exercise program around that blueprint.
Like most people, I used to think that rigorous aerobic activity was one of the main keys to staying healthy – and that the more mileage you could accumulate (at the highest intensity), the better. During my 20+ years as a competitive endurance athlete, I logged tens of thousands of training miles running and on the bike with the assumption that, in addition to becoming fit enough to race successfully at a national class level, I was also doing my cardiovascular system and the rest of my body a big healthy favor.
Being the type A that I am, I read Ken Cooper’s seminal 1968 book Aerobics and celebrated the idea that you got to award yourself “points” for time spent at a high heart rate. The more points, the healthier your cardiovascular system would become. Based on that notion, I should have been one of the healthiest people on the planet.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t – and that same mindset has kept millions of other health-conscious, nirvana-seeking exercisers stuck in a similar rut for almost 40 years. It’s time to get your head out of the sand and take advantage of your true DNA destiny, folks!
The first signal I had that something was wrong was when I developed debilitating osteoarthritis in my ankles…at age 28. This was soon coupled with chronic hip tendonitis and nagging recurrent upper respiratory tract infections. In retrospect, it is clear now that my carbohydrate-fueled high-intensity aerobic lifestyle was promoting a dangerous level of continuous systemic inflammation, was severely suppressing other parts of my immune system and the increased oxidative damage was generally tearing apart my precious muscle and joint tissue.
The stress of high intensity training was also leaving me soaking in my own internal cortisol (stress hormone) bath. It wasn’t so clear to me at the time exactly what was happening – in fact it was quite confusing, since I was doing so much of this so-called “healthy” aerobic exercise – but I had no choice but to give up racing, unable to train at anywhere near the intensity required to stay at an elite level.
To make ends meet…
…I became a “personal trainer” and I refocused my attention on training average “non-athletic” people to achieve reasonable levels of general fitness and health. Of course, we lifted weights as part of the overall plan (and I will go into greater detail on that important aspect of fitness in a later post), but for the aerobic component of their training, I started doing long walks or hikes or easy bike rides with them. My many clients got the benefit of me actually working out right along side them and I got the benefit of 3 to 5 hours a day of very low intensity aerobic work (well, very low for me anyway). It was refreshing and really didn’t take much effort on my part, but I knew I had to be deriving at least some small benefit from those hours.
Since I didn’t have much time left in the week for my own workouts, once or twice a week I would do a very short but very intense workout for my own benefit, usually sprints at the track or “hill repeats” of 2-3 minutes each on the bike. Lo and behold, within a year, my injuries were healing, I was rarely sick and I was even back to occasionally racing – faster than ever. Something “primal” was happening and it made total sense in the context of the DNA blueprint. I was training like my hunter-gatherer ancestors, building my aerobic capacity slowly and steadily without overstressing my adrenals or my immune system, training my body to derive more energy from fats (and not glucose), requiring far fewer carbohydrate calories from my diet, and building muscle with occasional quick bursts of speed and intensity. I was suddenly both fit AND healthy. My Primal Health system was kicking in and it all made perfect sense.
Humans, like all mammals, evolved two primary energy systems that powered the skeletal muscles of our hunter-gatherer ancestors 40,000 years ago and that would keep us all well-powered the same way today, if we weren’t so bent on circumventing them with our ill-fated (literally) lifestyle choices.
The first energy system relied heavily on the slow burning of fats, keeping us fueled while we were at rest or sleeping, yet also allowing for continuous or intermittent low levels of aerobic activity (think of our ancestors walking across the savannah for hours foraging for roots, shoots, berries, grubs, insects and the occasional small animal). It makes sense. Fats are very efficient fuels that are stored easily in the fat cells and burn easily and cleanly when lots of oxygen is present (as when we are breathing normally). Even if there’s no food in the immediate area, a well-trained fat-burning hunter-gatherer could continue walking and foraging for days without compromising his or her health or efficiency.
The second major energy system we developed through evolution was an ATP-fueled system that allowed for intense loads of work to be done in very brief bursts (think of our hunter-gatherer ancestors sprinting to the safety of a tree to avoid being eaten by a lion). ATP is always sitting right there within the muscle cells, available in a split second, and it is the highest octane fuel we have. In fact, it’s ATP and adrenaline that allow the little old lady to lift the front end of the Ford Fairlane off her husband when the jack fails. Unfortunately, the muscles can only store about 20 seconds worth of this precious fuel to complete life-or-death tasks. If our ancestors survived that quick sprint to safety, their ATP reserves were filled again within minutes using the other energy systems.
Furthermore, that brief burst of intense energy sparked a small “growth spurt” in the muscle, making it even stronger for the next encounter with the next lion – a true survival adaptation.
(Note: While our energy systems are actually quite complex, varied and interrelated, I have simplified things here to make it easier to “digest”.)
Bottom line: Fats and ATP were the two primary energy sources for locomotion: we either moved slowly and steadily or “fight or flight” fast, and we became stronger and healthier the more we used only those energy systems.
But here’s the real take-home message for us: We did not evolve to rely heavily on a carbodydrate-fueled energy system, and yet, carbohydrate metabolism seems to rule our lives today. Yes, carbohydrate (in the form of glucose) can play a major role in the production of energy in skeletal muscle, but it turns out that the heart and skeletal muscle prefer fatty acids (fat) as fuel over glucose.
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t regularly ramp their heart rates up for over an hour a day like so many of us do now. Even when the concept of organized hunting came along, it would appear that our hunter-gatherer ancestors relied more on superior tracking ability (using our highly evolved and exceptionally large brains) and walking (using our superior fat-burning systems), rather than on actually “chasing down” their prey. In fact, squandering valuable energy reserves (and increasing carbohydrate [glucose] metabolism by a factor of ten) by running hard for long periods of time was so counterproductive it would have likely hastened your demise (imagine chasing some game animal for a few hours and – oops – not succeeding in killing it. You’ve spent an incredible amount of energy, yet now you have no food to replace that energy. You have suddenly become some other animals prey because you are physically exhausted).
So, what does all that mean for us in the 21st century seeking to maximize our health and fitness?
Well, we know that this current popular high intensity aerobic pursuit is a dead-end. It requires huge amounts carbohydrate (sugar) to sustain, it promotes hyperinsulinemia (overproduction of insulin), increases oxidative damage (the production of free radicals) by a factor of 10 or 20 times normal, and generates high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in many people, leaving them susceptible to infection, injury, loss of bone density and depletion of lean muscle tissue – while encouraging their bodies to deposit fat. Far from that healthy pursuit we all assumed it was! What, then, is the answer?
Knowing what we know about our hunter-gatherer ancestors and the DNA blueprint, we would ideally devise an aerobics plan that would have us walking or hiking several hours a day to maximize our true fat-burning systems and then doing intermittent “life or death” sprints every few days to generate those growth spurts that create stronger, leaner muscle.
However, since allocating a few hours a day to this pursuit is impractical for most people, we can still create a plan that has a fair amount of low level aerobic movement, such as walking briskly, hiking, cycling at a moderate pace, etc a few times a week and keep it at under an hour. Then, we can add a few intense “interval” sessions, where we literally sprint (or cycle or do anything intensely) for 20, 30 or 40 seconds at a time all out, and do this once or twice a week.
If you are willing to try this new approach, but haven’t sprinted for a while, you may want to ease into it. Start with maybe three or four the first time, resting two minutes in between and, after a few weeks of doing this, work your way up to a workout that includes six or eight all-out sprints after a brief warm-up. An easy few minutes of stretching afterwards and you’ve done more in less time than you could ever accomplish in a typical “80-85% Max Heart Rate” cardio” workout. That’s exactly type of the plan I do myself and that I give all of my trainees now.
Let’s recap:
The benefits of low level aerobic work (walking, hiking, cycling, swimming):
- increases capillary network (blood vessels that supply the muscle cells with fuel and oxygen)
- increases muscle mitochondria
- increases production of fat-burning and fat-transporting enzymes
- more fun, because you can talk with a partner while doing it
The benefits of interval training (sprinting in short intense bursts)
- increases muscle fiber strength
- increases aerobic capacity (work ability)
- increases muscle mitochondria (the main energy production center in muscle)
- increases insulin sensitivity
- increases natural growth hormone production
The costs of chronic (repetitious) mid- and high-level aerobic work
- requires large amounts of dietary carbohydrates (SUGAR)
- decreases efficient fat metabolism
- increases stress hormone cortisol
- increases systemic inflammation
- increases oxidative damage (free radical production)
- boring!
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Technorati Tags: exercise, working out, cardio, toning, strength, DNA
Posted By: Mark Sisson
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I really enjoyed this article and I found it very informative. It is pretty long and I think it might have been easier to read with better formatting.
My best thoughts,
Bradley Woods
Hi Mark, is there scientific evidence supporting what you’ve found in your experience? If there is could you send me a few links? I would be interested to look into this further.
Thanks,
Sonya
Men’s health magazine is suggesting that you are correct. Keep up the good work!
So would running five miles in 45 minutes three times a week be considered too much?
By doing cardio 1-2 times per week and no more than 20-30 mins per section, plus total body mass training, you will minimize fat while you get bigger in muscles.
Mark,
I’m curious about what you mean by “low level” cardio. I understand that this means reducing our time in aerobic exercise, and thus going shorter distances.
But I am still wondering about relative effort. Do you suggest that we all stay in heart zone 2? Is heart zone 3 ‘low level’? Is heart zone 4 the forbidden zone?
Forgive me for understanding the world through the readout on my Polar monitor! Thanks for your great article,
Mike H.
Mike,
Depends on your level of fitness. The idea is to burn only (90%) fat when you train aerobically. For very fit people, this might be as high as zone 3, but for most it will be walking briskly, hiking, biking at medium pace, etc. Then you reserve the really hard stuff for short anaerobic bursts (intervals) once or twice a week.
Remember, all this is advice for someone wishing to maximize health, energy, longevity etc…If you are deciding to compete, then you might choose some more radical compromises.
Hi Mark, Have you heard of a product called Isagenix? I have been using it and having great results. I wondered if it is as good for me as it seems to be? I’ve lost weight and have more energy, this product is a health and wellness that cleanses the toxins out of my body. All the ingredients seem to be what I need but I thought with you in the health business you would know if this kind of cleansing is good for the body? It seems to be the new thing to do, but is it the best I can do? Thanks, Roxie
Roxie,
Isagenix has a number of products. Because they are an MLM, I would not rate their products highly. OK ingredients at exhorbitant prices. Also, not a big fan of “cleansers.” That said, if you are getting the results you want, who am I to steer you away?
It sounds to me like you experienced a classic case of overtraining and overuse injuries, and are now claiming high intensity cardio as the problem.
The problem was not the intensity at which you worked, but rather the frequency by not allowing your body proper rest and recovery. All exercise is beneficial (low intensity aerobic, high intensity aerobic, very high intensity intervals) to overall health. However, you must recognize the intensity and frequency at which you work and allow your body time to recover and grow stronger.
And exercise promoting hyperinsulinemia? That’s news to me! I’d like to see your sources on that one…
I fully support Mark on this one. I was being over-trained by a Kung Fu instructor and it was only 2 days per week; but for an hour each time. I was also suffering ALL of the symptoms Mark described. I am still in recovery mode now. The cortisone was dissolving my muscles and making me weaker and I was also suffering from hyperinsulinemia. I even started collapsing. And I am a type O, which is meant to be suited to extreme exercise routines. I’m all for Mark’s method of training now.
Jonathan,
Not sure you got the message here. Of course I overtrained. That’s what many many marathoners and triathletes do. That’s the point. Any exercise IS good provided you do the right amount and allow the proper rest. Most who compete do not allow proper rest.
The necessary high carb diet is what promotes hyperinsulinemia – not the actual training. No sources necessary for that.
Completely agree.
As a trainer myself I rely on diet and weight training to bring about results rather than pointless joint bashing such as running and fixed pivot shitty machines like the cross trainer.
People used to think the earth was flat and now we know better. Its only a matter of time before people feel the same about endless hours on the CV equipment.
http://www.neilmct.com
wwwneilmctcom.blogspot.com
Do some kettlebell then think again this whole cardio issue.
David,
I’m not sure I get where you are going with that. What are you saying?
Sorry,I wanted this comment in an another post of an another homepage. This post was in another browser:).
Mark,
I have been reading your site/blog for several weeks and am very impressing by both its content, and your positive attitude.
In terms of fat loss, (assuming that one is eating correctly in terms of macronutrient ratios, adequate protein consumption, caloric leves), what would be your cardio/interval suggestions?
I am assuming low level cardio (i.e. 30 min of steady state interval walking, swimming, etc) and 2 HIIT type worksouts per week?
Sudip,
2 HIITS per week for sure. The rest can be 30 minutes or even 2 hours each, as long as it’s very low level stuff (walking, hiking, etc) Once the Heart Rate gets abover 55-60% max, that’s when you can (and should) reduce the time. When you get to 75-85% max HR, you can get a lot done in as little as 20 minutes. What we DON’T want is 90 minutes or 2 hours of 75-90% Max every day.
Mark,
I think this site is excellent and have been influenced by it to try your 30 day primal challenge. Til now I have been a marathoner and steady state jogger guy.
However I have been more persuaded by your physical condition as evidenced on your videos than by all this conjecture about how primitive humans lived.
The fact is if you look at the San people (Bushmen)of the Kalahari who still lead stone age lives, their method of hunting is to a) dart an animal such as a kudu with a small poison arrow then b) send out one runner to chase it down and literally run it to death. The kudu sprints out of sight but the hunter keeps pressure on it by jogging steadily on its trail. It can take an entire day of steady state jogging before he reaches the exhausted animal and then he will kill it with a spear. So, based on that evidence it would seem that the ability to jog steadily for hours on end has been of great evolutionary advantage to humans. . .
Anyway, thanks for all the great information!
Joe, you must be referring to that Men’s Health article on the San Bushmen. I disagree with the premise. You’ll note that they don’t run hard and long…they “trot” which is actually the kind of low level aerobic activity I’m talking about and saying is OK. Also, they don’t do it every day (once you have a kudu, you don’t go out and get more without a nice freezer to keep the extra in). They don’t train to do this as if it’s a race against the animal. Instead they track it and methodically pace themselves while the wounded, drugged animal sprints and rests. Using their human mental superiority, they “cut the tangents” and slowly move in on the animal. All in all, if I were allowed to do that in the USA, I would consider it a totally Primal activity – one that my other intense training would allow me to do with relative ease once or twice a week. Just because we “can” do it once in a while doesn’t mean we should train for endurance events every day.
Glad you dig the site. Keep watching.
Hi Mark,
I enjoyed your post for the most part. And I agree with 99% of what you said. The main difference is I know that I was designed not evolved. But the mechanics you describe are what we were designed to do.
I am a molecular biologist, personal trainer and former bodybuilder so I have a deep interest in this subject.
I found your post because I have not trained one bit since getting married 5 years ago (new baby, started my own company…etc) and just started training in Brazilian Jujitsu and the cardio intensity when “sparring” (basically wrestling) is intense!
I find myself every two or three days (if I don’t take a day off) getting heart palpitations (with a heart rate of 48-55)… it is really anoying and a little scary. I had a cardiologist friend check me out and my ekg was ok.
Did you ever traing anyone who went from zero cardio for over 5 years to 100% heart rate max training for over an hour? How did they feel?
I know, I know… Do as I say, not as I do.. Hey I’m human.
Maybe YOU were “designed”. If have been “designed”, I demand a full refund and a sack full of hammers. I think the kid linked in my name might want one, too. Being production line defects, and all. Your “designer” has a sick, twisted streak that results in things like ossifying tissue until the person afflicted suffocates. In my universe, it’s an unfortunate consequence of faulty reproduction processes. Which seems a lot less mentally ill, honestly.
Kevin, normally you should spend a few weeks or months easing in to an intense training program. Gradually building up from slower aerobic activities to brief intense bursts, etc. As long as your ekg is OK, I guess I can’t add much.
I know you’re right, I just don’t know how to do it with something like Jujitsu where your opponent is going full throttle. I mean if I don’t put at least equal effort, I am going to get tapped out… I’m going to see if I can get some suggestions from the instructor today.
I appreciate your web site and specifically this page, as I have always believed the science behind what you’re saying (less evolution of course)…
twat
Know how you feel Kevin. I went into Kung Fu after children and had the exact same problems. Before then I used to be incredibly fit, did body building and the whole works. Then straight into extreme Kung Fu workouts after having so many years off and I also thought I had heart problems but my doctor also assured me that I was okay. But I had a lot of other things wrong with me instead due to the overexercising. See post above.
To clarify ATP is used all the time independent of what energy system is used to generate it.
you seem to infer ATP is not used during activity that is not sprinting.
I also contend you are unlikely to be able to “trot” a Kudu to the point of exhaustion at a low heart rate.
the fact the runner is not achieving a sub 3 hour marathon pace does not preclude he is making a sustained effort or that the effort is not daily does not invalidate long sustained efforts as a natural activity. The women carrying firewood on her head is most likely making a sustained effort even walking.You don’t see a lot of talking going on while women carry heavy loads for hours a day… stick 20kg on your head and walk for 4 miles
there is millions of women who do substantially more than that 365 days a year. . however how primal is that activity?
I think you primal model is in need of checking not least in that you have odd ideas about hominid evolution. The main problem with a primal model is there probably is and never was a standard regime.
However interval training is highly effective but this is nothing new or absent from endurance training.
I am unhappy with the propagation of the evolution certainties on this site.. but in your defense your training regime appears to be quite beneficial if not enjoyable, there is a large supportive social aspect
did primal man engage in 8 high intensity sprints a day with limited recovery intervals?
great read. I was a bicycle racer for about 7 years and become extremely burnt out, quitting all physical exercise for nearly two years and gaining over 60 lbs. The time investment for cycling is ridiculous, even for a mid level amateur. The accidents are dangerous and people regularly die in races. Cyclists are good at cycling, and not much else. Ask them to do pushups, they cant. One pro(JHK mtb pro) once joked he could not do 10 pushups. The average racer devotes +/- 20 hours per week. Racers now are recognizing they are developing heart conditions, due to the prolonged elevated heart rate. There is also a correlating instance of cancer among endurance athletes. I see it as a fad, and luckily I am locked in at the lower rates for my crossfit gym..
No idea if you’ll get this or not seeing how old this article is, but… Im preparing for a sheriffs academy in February. They used to just run the cadets a lot. But I found out that now theyre making it worse. They are trying to get as many people to quit as possible since they dont have as many spots to fill and want people to quit.
Now, in the current academy, they are running the cadets ~10 miles everyday, sometimes all at once, sometimes accumative throughout the day. I have a feeling it will be the same in Feb. So I have until Feb 9th to get as many miles in as possible to get my body used to the distance.
Its only a few months, then the 6 in the academy, so Im not expecting a lot of long term health problems, but whats the best way to combat the negatives of long, slow distance? I was thinking still throw in sprint days 2 or 3 days a week. Also, keep walking and biking everyday as my main form of in-town transport.
Also, as a former milage-king, what do you think is the best program to increase from an average of 1 mile at a time to 10 at a time?
Brandon, don’t fret. Just do the work necessary to succeed in the training. You won’t do any significant damage at your young testosterone-fueled age. As long as you eat well (cut the grains and simple sugars, but you’ll need to add more starchy carbs like spuds, yams, sweet potatoes, etc)
Hello Mark,
I used to do tempo runs 2-3 miles 2-3 times a week and some strength workouts. Last summer I replaced my tempo-runs with sprints on the grass, which reduced the volume of my running. That brought down my HDL cholesterol from 57 to 44 and I didn’t like it. I thought it would badly effect the health of my arteries (I’m 71 yo). I also checked some other sources and they confirmed that cardio exercise is good for HDL cholesterol.
I am back on my old cardio routine now with tempo-runs. It is moderate fun rather than stressful high intensity training for me. I often include intervals in my runs. I can only hope this cardio routine is harmless for my immune system, and generates not that much oxidative stress. We live and we learn …
Thanks for your blog.
Alex
Alex,
I’m sure your routine is working well – and supporting your immune system. “Moderate fun” rather than stressful is always the key. Don’t know how much your diet had to do with changes in HDL either…it’s often a collection of different variables that causes these changes. Also, cholesterol tests are not always accurate as a snapshot. Cholesterol levels rise and fall under various conditions all day, so you may not have really even had the 7 point drop you were told about.
I say keep doing what you’re doing, Alex.
Hi Mark,
I enjoy your site. It seems to me you are an advocate of Covert Bailey’s philosophy. Except, of course he recommends whole grain carbs. It’s hard to give up the bread and pasta! It was his book, Fit or Fat, that finally made sense to me, as to why we should exercise. Thanks for all the good info…
Mark,
Enjoy you perspective. 30 year runner, just started Crossfit and Tabata sprints. Doing 4 sets of 6 sprint of 20/10 splits. Is that too much?
Dave
Dave, depends on your starting fitness levels (regardless of 30 years) and the intensity of the work. If you are doing 24 sprints at 20 secomds each, you are clearly not going all out on most of them. That’s the distance runner mentality – to do more reps at a slightly slower pace and recover quickly. What you are describing puts you in more of a high-end aerobic zone than an anaerobic burst. While your workout might prepare you for a race, if you are looking to boost HGH, increase pure sprint speed and get more bang for your buck, it’s better in this case to go all out for 8 and be “truly knackered” when done.
Mitochondria development is important. Is there a certain % of HR or % of MaxVo2 that stimulates mitochondria development?
Slow twitch muscle fiber 45%-75% vV02max, note though that running at this range has a “ceiling” or max. Meaning if you run at 45% you’ll reach the same max adaptation of mitochondria in a slow twitch fiber as 75%.
temp, can you cite that for me, please? I like it.
Hi temp, yes, I am also very interested in this as I am training up for my next Kung Fu grading which has a grueling 3 hour physical included with the technical. Could you give us an article to read? Thanks.
Thanks for keeping up with this, and educating us!
This is a very informative article, but I have a question. I run a 5k in about 27 minutes and would like to eventually get down to 20 minutes or below and be competitive in local 5k races. Is it possible to accomplish this by just doing a couple of short sprint workouts per week and doing hour-long walks or bike rides on the other days? Thanks.
Hi there. I just got referred to this site today. This post is a great read. I subscribe to your theories here most definitely.
Perhaps in line with what you say, eating more often with smaller meals, doing anaerobic instead of aerobic training along with strength training utilising compound movements which triggers a neuro endocrine response is the way to go. Now thats a long sentence
And eating Paleo.
Nice blog. Ive subscribed to your RSS feed!
Bill, you could do a few 5-6 milers a week at HR less than or equal to 75% max. Then do two sprint workouts a week: one short and super fast (8-10 x 10-20 seconds), the other 6-7 x 60-80 seconds. Fill in the rest with the hiking. That should get you closer to 20 minute 5K.
Hi, love the site,
I never post anywhere, but I think you’ve got health and fitness figured out.
I’ve been doing this, about 3x a week:
1 mile at 9.0mph on the treadmill,
my ’sprint’ for general fitness
1600 meters in 6 mins on the rower,
for rock climbing,
2 miles in 6 mins on the bike,
for mountain biking
So it’s about 20 mins of cardio, with 4 mins recovery between each part. Then follow that with intense weight training, 3×8s. I had a 1.75x BW DL, pullups with a 35lb weight, etc. I built great for a few months, then started getting weaker and more tired. Quit for a week, and I’m about to crank it back up again. Is my cardio too much? Or should I change it from 3x to 2x a week? I’m already paleo, wheat/gluten free (recovering celiac), sardines, tuna, lots of other animals, raw, whole veggies, fruit.
I’ve got BCAAs on the way, for pre-workout. I’ve fasted twice before to quit smoking, but I’m going to add one fast day per week now.
I’m doing a lot of things right, just wondering if the cardio is excessive, and if I should ease up a bit, or go from 3x to 2x a week.
Hi Mark,
What if I am training for a marathon and I need to maintain an increasing amount of mileage until the final race?
I just started the primal diet about a week ago and I would love to continue to see and feel the difference for myself. But I am wondering if that is wise since you said that one needs high levels of carbs to sustain a intense cardio like this. Must i stop running if I enjoy it just because I am going on a primal diet?
rb, you definitely have a good intense workout protocol. Maybe you don’t need to do it so often as you have suggested.
Moon, if you have trained on a high carb diet, now may not be the best time (leading up to a marathon) to start fiddling with drastic carb-cutting. Get through your race and then start low-carb training fater it. That doesn’t mean you can’t fine tune carbs a bit right now – making sure you only replace the carbs you’ve burned in workouts or that you’ll need to get through tomorrow’s workout.
Thanks Mark!
I’ll cut it back to 2x a week. I’ve also decided to reduce my distance to 75% of each cardio circuit, but maintaining the intensity. I’m entertaining the idea of reducing it to 50% (half mile run, half mile row, one mile bike) but increasing the speed.
Mark-
Great article. I have a few questions for you.
Obviously exercise is good for you, but as with all things, too much of anything, even good things, can become bad.
There are people out there that follow very intense workout routines, which involve working out 6+ days per week, an hour+ a day, doing anything from weight lifting sessions, to cardio. Is this, in your mind, a bit much? Is this not a great routine to follow over the long term?
I am wondering if a better routine, which would provide good results, but also not “over-do” it, and can be followed long term, would be a few resistance training sessions per week, maybe 30 minutes each, along with a couple of High Intensity sprint workouts per week, and then add in a day where you go for a nice walk, or moderate jog. Is this more along the lines of what you say is the more ideal workout routine for someone to follow, rather than longer, intense workouts, everyday?
The way I tend to look at it, is that exercise stresses the body. That stress, and your bodies adaptation to that stress, is what results in the changes we see. Too much stress is a bad thing for the body, which is why people can go too far with exercise, over train, and actually begin seeing negative results.
-Chris
Hi, I am a triathlete and have been for seven years. I can certainly attest to chronic fatigue from the workouts. I’d like to continue on competing in the sport but I would like to do so following the primal blueprint methods. I have been on a primal transition for about three weeks now and have not trained hard since my last race in July. Does anyone know of any training plans that I can follow in order to stay in triathlon Grok style? By the way I have been doing some long low intensity runs and swims and I feel way better.
I would guess Bob that to be a primal triathlete youre going to have to be less primal with your foods. All that intense exercise will will need some good source of carbohydrate energy to maintain. I’m sure Mark has answered this question thousands of times and if I remember correctly he stated you’re going to have to make some comprimises in the primal lifestle if you want to compete like that.
Bob, for what its worth i’m attempting to go through the same transition from long training runs and bike to short interval type training. I’ve chosen the CrossFit method which promotes only short (10 to 30 min) high intensity workouts. However I think high intensity needs to be further defined.For example 3 rounds performing a 400 meter sprint followed by 10 pull ups raises your HR close to max for the duration of the 3 rounds were as performing a push press for 1 rep 6 times with 2 minutes rest in between hardly has you breaking a sweat but both are high intensity. My point here is that I think we can handle more high intensity workouts that hit different systems. I wish i could speak more intelligently about this stuff but one thing I do know from my limited experience is that the long distance training I performed last year to compete in 3 1/2 Ironmans resulted in a weak body. My goal now is to CrossFit for the next three months and work on run and swim skills. Following the three months I will continue with the CF WODS (workout of the days) and incorporate CrossFit Endurance. I got the idea from this guy who’s performing the same program for IM Arizona http://www.gotrimax.com//TriMaxEvan.htm..hope this helped
Mark, my coworker has been sending me your posts for awhile now and since starting a diet that is mostly in line with primal eating since April, I finally decided to subscribe to your newsletter. This article was great, but I am wondering if my workout routine fits in with this. I go to Curves and do the circuit 3 to 4 times a week. Because I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy in my feet, I do not do very serious aerobics on the stepping squares, but do try to really do good, serious reps on the resistance machines. I also take an (for me) aerobic yoga class once a week. These exercise choices work for me, (following the adage that the best exercise program is the one you will actually do), but does this fall in line with your program or can I adapt it to your program? Thanks for the Primal Blueprint.
Rita, I think you are headed in just the right direction. As your strength improves (and neuropathies subside) you can add to the load. For now keep doing what you are doing and emphasize the diet.
Uhmm fatty acids are used to make ATP. They are not two different things! Where did you get this idea and why?
from wikipedia
“Muscle cells also contain globules of fat, which are used for energy during aerobic exercise. The aerobic energy systems take longer to produce the ATP and reach peak efficiency, and requires many more biochemical steps, but produces significantly more ATP than anaerobic glycolysis. “
see from above “(Note: While our energy systems are actually quite complex, varied and interrelated, I have simplified things here to make it easier to “digest”.)
I explain ATP as the universal muscle “currency” more fully in the book.
Mark
Would the plyo and kenpo exercises in P90X be too much?
Ben, maybe just once or twice a week.
Mark,
I found your site today. You suggest a limited amount of low-level aerobics, but am I correct that this is mostly because of time constraints? I am 51 yo, overweight, and have a lot of time on my hands right now. Would it be beneficial to do a lot of low intensity walking? And some high-intensity work like weightlifting and intervals.
Tom, yes, time constraints are the only issue. Otherwise, we might be well-served by slow walking or hiking a few hours a day most days. That’s why I give a low minimum of 2 hours per week, but leave the door open for more. The rest of peak fitness/health happens by doing brief intense sprint sessions once a week, as well as functional, full-body resistance training two or three times a week. Of course, it’s all in the book
Ironic that you write today, as three “fit” runners died in the Detroit Marathon this weekend and a 13-yr-old boy died on the football field in LA, a great young athlete “who had even run the LA Marathon”.
I ran a marathon once. That was 30 years and about 100 lbs ago. I exercise fairly regularly, but have not been getting satisfactory results. From what I have been reading here (and elsewhere), it seems I have been doing a few basic things wrong.
Hi Mark,
I just found your website while doing some research on insulin resistance. I am looking to decrease my risk of diabetes, since it runs in my family and my fasting blood glucose is high-normal.
I was just wondering if you were able to recover from the pain in your ankles. I assume since you are still exercising, the condition has become manageable. Has the diet helped reverse some of the damage?
I am overweight and exercise has become painful. I am looking for ways to use food to my advantage and help me lose weight. My podiatrist told me I have a great deal of inflammation in my feet, which causes pain and hinders most exercise, especially “cardio.”
I would love to hear your take on this.
Thanks,
Isabel
Isabel, I no longer run the huge distances I used to, when I do run I run barefoot (or in FiveFingers) and fast, I stopped eating all grains (so I decreased systemic inflammation). Those three things have made me pain-free for eight years.
Mark, interesting article, but are your opinions based on your experience only or are they supported by scientific studies or evidence, and if so I would sure love to see the cites??? Thanks
Heh. I understand that it was simplified, but it’s fatty acids vs. glucose for the production of ATP, and not fatty acids vs. ATP, no? One can simplify without being wholly off-base.
That, and I’m always baffled by people that come by and have to mention that they don’t like the mention of “evolution”. Well, sod off, then. And go read up on your bacteria and viruses. If you go all “well that’s microevolution”, do us all a favor and punch yourself in the mouth. You’re not going to miss those brain cells, anyway.
That, and if you’re really curious about whether any of this is valid, who’s stopping you from going and seeking out the science yourself? While you can’t always get full text, PubMed is free for public use, and several medical journals allow free public access if you register. Failing that, there’s always your local college or university library.
Rely on other people to do the research and distill it for you, and you can never know for sure whether it’s actually correct. Although judging by some of the posts on vermiculite and gardening, reading comprehension is not a common skill.
Summary: Read a Book.
Addendum: That’s not fiction.
Hey there Mark,
I came across your article today, it is quite interesting.
I was wondering if this oversimplification is ignoring the functional energy systems of different muscle fiber types. While low intensity walking, hiking, biking is great for burning fat and increasing some endurance and promoting blood flow to oxidative fibers (slow twitch – ST) it does not strengthen oxidative-glycolytic fibers (fast twitch a – FTA). While you discussed HIT which I agree is excellent for fast twitch glycolytic fibers (FTB), the “fight-or-flight” response sympathetic nervous system fibers, it still does not promote hypertrophy or efficiency with FTAs. In the “Biophysical Foundation of Human Movement”, it is discussed that the FTA fiber recruitment bandwidth is higher intensity work lasting 30 seconds to two minutes, this seems a critical timeframe for running 400s, swimming 200s, or something primal such as rock climbing (the average boulder route is approx. 8-12 moves of high intensity and lasts 45-90 seconds).
What is your take on the FTA versus FTB?
Aside from that, I was curious on your take of my own regimen:
Day 1: 1 mile of Interval Swimming in 200s, and 400s of breast and freestyle. Deadlifting, 3×8 at highest weight possible allowing complete sets.
Day 2: 1 mile warmup, approx. 6:40 followed by approx. 2 hours of bouldering practice, climbing as hard of routes that are feasible at my level. Bench press 3×6 as heavy as possible allowing complete sets.
Day 3: Rest and recovery including light game of tennis or swimming at a low intensity (I recall reading a few clinical studies supporting active recovery).
I repeat this schedule every 4 days.
This has been my winter break regimen and I will probably maintain something similar to that when I return to school.
As for goals, I am looking to better myself overall, increasing strength to weight ratio (for climbing), strength overall, climbing intensity (I compete in bouldering competitions), decrease bodyfat % (I fluctuate between 9-10% and would like to be around 7-8%), and increase my cardio performance (VO2 Max) so I can compete in sprint triathalons relatively easily.
I have been contemplating whether or not I have been overtraining, but I have continued to build strength, maintain body weight, improved physique, and gained difficulty in bouldering (mainly tendon based I believe – collagen deposition) and would like to hear your input on this.
Thanks for the feedback,
David
-Sorry for the novel!
This makes alot of sense when I sit and think about it. I cannot think of a reason that the primordial man would have to run nonstop for any long period of time.