Is i bad to do 1 hour of cardio everyday?

[AnimalPaintball]

I am thinking I need to give my legs a rest, but enjoy it so much.

Thanks
Mondo

[Jenslyn17]

It's not that simple. If you think about it, lots of physical jobs will have you do in excess of an hour a day of cardio, but it isn't formalized and is perhaps a more 'organic' type of cardio, in that you don't stress the same patterns of movement that much, depending on the job. But yea, it's not unhealthy per se if you don't go nuts on intensity or anything.

Still, cardio is a tool to shift your caloric balance. Diet, however, is a much more powerful one. I would focus more on that and do less cardio, especially because it can be so damn boring :P

[SaminPA]

To be honest, I'm interested in finding this out as well. I have been doing an hour of cardio 4-5 days a week. Started doing this hoping it would speed up some weight loss, but at this point I enjoy doing it.

[TheBarrett]

I do cardio daily. I wouldn't advise someone to go from doing no cardio to doing it 7 days a week, but if you're body can handle it and you want to, more power to ya.

[th3pwn3r]

No, it's not bad. I've been doing well over an hour of cardio per day for a long time. Although my muscles and joints could use a break I still do at the least an hour a day. Of course if you're in pain or need time to recover then it's not a bad idea to take a day off.

[Jenslyn17]

Oh, and if you need to give specific muscles a rest but still want to do cardio, do a movement that stresses other muscle groups... not rocket science ;-)

[CiscoKidney07]

I do cardio about 5 or 6 days a week. Cardio is something I use to keep my blood sugars in check. (I had a kidney transplant in 2007) Because of the medications which I have to take (antirejection) they increase my blood sugars, I do cardio. Also, cardio can be helpful in weight loss, and especially if you have quite a few pounds to lose. I found this out through personal experience.

[bbrock293]

Leg and lower back muscle need to recover just like any other muscle. Take a day or two off every now and then.

[stingray72]

I also do an hour of cardio a day. But listen to your body but dont get lazy at the same time.

[drvali]

I say it depends what you do the rest of the time, the type of cardio, your diet and your body.

On a cutting diet:
I did HIT (45min) every day for 3 months, and lost some muscle, fat loss stopped after about 6 weeks, and legs felt like they were about to fall off by the end (dropped legs weight training after 4 weeks).

I now do ~2h of LISS cardio (~12km walk in 1h 30min or so, 6km at a time), been 2 months and fat loss continues, weights are pretty much the same as when I started and hitting legs twice per week without any problems. The diet is similar to when I did HIT.

On a maintenance diet:
I used to run 25 to 45min each day, after gym, sometimes HIT, sometimes normal run, and the leg muscles got over-trained a bit (weights didn't quite go up for longs, when they did for everything else), but was not bad.

[Jetigen]

Is i bad to do 1 hour of cardio everyday?

Depends on intensity. Otherwise, body can adapt to it if forced. I remember reading about a guy in California who runs 50 miles everyday.

[th3pwn3r]

I remember reading about a guy in California who runs 50 miles everyday.

Oh lord, that's serious. I'm going to have to look into that. He must go through a pair of shoes every month at the least. I thought I ran a lot...psshh...I suck.

[Jetigen]

Here he is :
Dean Karnazes
http://www.ultramarathonman.com/web/

He ran 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days. A real life Forest Gump.

[bbrock293]

Depends on intensity. Otherwise, body can adapt to it if forced. I remember reading about a guy in California who runs 50 miles everyday.

Yes, the body will adapt (build more muscle) but you still need to get some recovery in every now and then.

[th3pwn3r]

"His long list of competitive achievements include winning the world's toughest footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, running 135 miles nonstop across Death Valley during the middle of summer."

What's more impressive is that he didn't crap himself, this guy is inhuman.

[thekaratekid]

an hour a day isn't so bad. Think about Forrest Gump. He ran 24 hours straight for a full year didn't he?

A day off here and that wouldn't hurt though. But wow, that's impressive. I have to drag myself onto the treadmill for a 15 minute cardio session a few times a week!

[fpaep80]

I am thinking I need to give my legs a rest, but enjoy it so much.

Thanks
Mondo

One problem with so much cardio is that you loose muscle doing it. So you are trying to loose fat, it will work, but you will also loose muscle. and if you work out hard, then cardio prevents your body from recovering.

[mod4sale]

It's not even necessary to do cardio to lose weight. Just eat 500 cals under your maintenance and watch the weight fly off. Personally i just stopped doing 45 mins+ cardio after about a month because i notice i needed more energy which increased my appetite for more food. If you want to do cardio then more power to you I just focused all my energy on weight's and my metabolism does the rest of the work for me with eating under my cals.

[JohnCyr]

Depends what your goals are, what kind of job you do... I usually go 45 minutes every two days on the elliptical. Asides from that I also whitewater kayak at least twice a week!

[bbrock293]

One problem with so much cardio is that you loose muscle doing it. So you are trying to loose fat, it will work, but you will also loose muscle. and if you work out hard, then cardio prevents your body from recovering.

This is completely wrong. Please elaborate on how cardio causes muscle loss. Cutting diets typically come with a small amount of muscle loss. And how does cardio prevent the body from recovering?

[Khabaal]

Wrong section of the forum if you're not referring to cardio as a means to lose weight. In terms of exercise (for health or just general endurance), no. It's recommended you do 30+ minutes of cardio daily. If you're a beginner or you feel you aren't getting adequate rest after your sessions, just slow it down for a while. At least a sing off day a week maybe. Or shorten the length of the exercise. Generally speaking though, CARDIO daily isn't a bad thing. Different forms of cardio after all. Keep doing what you enjoy. If you think you need a rest, take a rest. Listen to your body. Just don't use it as an excuse to be lazy.

Also:

One problem with so much cardio is that you loose muscle doing it. So you are trying to loose fat, it will work, but you will also loose muscle. and if you work out hard, then cardio prevents your body from recovering.

LOL!
Are you serious dude? Increasing your heart rate causes muscle loss?

[DEEP3R]

Why wouldn't you at least want the heart benefits of cardio? I do one hour of the elliptical everyday. I am a bigger guy though so lots of cardio is going to benefit me well, at lest for now.

[th3pwn3r]

Deep3r, you have a great point that a lot of people look past since they're just too concerned with fat loss. Another good thing about cardio is the release of endorphins, being able to eat more tasty foods AND you're actually using your muscles during it which probably aids in preserving said muscles as opposed to just running a deficit through diet.

[tjwoody]

Just started back up the cardio. I dont like it. Ive been trying to run more and find that fun, but bike, eliptical, etc i dont like. indoor stuff that is.

i can stand 20 mins and thats it.

[th3pwn3r]

Then run some, shadow box some, ride the elliptical some and do some jumping jacks? A little bit of everything adds up and helps prevent getting bored.

[kimberlynn2007]

I dont think it is. I have been doing cardio 7 days a week an hr a day for three weeks now. I have lost 13 pounds and created a big deficit in calories. I only do cardio at this point because from experience before my body tends to bulk up quickly if i do both too soon. I absolutely love weights but for my body i have to lose before i add the extra weight of muscle so i dont have the shrunken head look with massive muscle. Doesnt look so well on my 5'3" female frame. Just my opinion and how my body works.

[biggoron]

Holy bump

[noobydooby]

depends on what type of cardio you do, and the intensity level.

i alternate biking and running to give my knees some rest. i would bike 2 hours 1 day, then run 10k the next.

[shesprints]

Same cardio every day gets monotonous for most and you risk injury (seriously, even if you think you're bulletproof, I don't know many people who can do the same thing for an hour a day, cardio-wise, without some excess stress on connective tissue). Switch it up and maybe, if you want to improve (say, at running) throw in some shorter days with intervals.

[KINGAAVERY]

I am 15 years old and I have a gym membership. I want to start becoming serious about fitness as a new lifestyle change/choice. My plan is to go to the gym Monday-Friday 2x a day to the gym. The only problem is idk what routine I should do and what muscle groups I should work on. I would like to have a six pack this is one of my goals and to have a nice body. I am en ectomorph so I'm guessin it may be harder for me to gain muscle can someone please help me figure out a routine and muscle groups to work out? Thanks sooooo much!!!