Cardio vs. strength training

Cardio is more important to me. The problems you mentioned only arise when you do too much too soon. Cardio keeps you healthy. Strength gives you a better appearance. Both take patient effort over time. It is supposed to be a lifestyle

 

Looking at anecdotal accounts, some people who have tried IF say that it caused adrenal problems with symptoms such as insomnia, irritability, mood swings, menstrual irregularity, and "masculinization" of women due to increased testosterone levels.

On the good side, body builder Kristine Weber has achieved excellent fitness gains and hasn't said anything about it causing health her problems. A study by Nils Halberg et al in 2005 showed IF has an advantage of improving insulin sensitivity in healthy men.

A study showed that fasting adversely affected glucose tolerance in women but not men.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15833943?dopt=Abstract

Clinical studies of how fasting affects the human adrenal system are needed, especially for women. Published science in this area is lacking.

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shatte...cific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/

Someone's personal story about going overboard with diet and training. A fitness method doesn't always lead to good health, even if it produces the desired fitness gains. It's good to have blood tests to monitor hormones and other substances when embarking on a new fitness lifestyle.

http://www.jencomaskeck.com/2013/01/part-two-thyroid-adrenals-and-hormones.html

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_abCD_17lCk"]'Cardio' Does Not Exist | Doug McGuff M.D. - YouTube

 

Another thought about IF. Some problems may be the results of behaviors associated with IF and not IF itself. People who use IF tend to use caffeine or other stimulants because they are an appetite suppressant. It can also give the perception of helping to remedy a degraded ability to concentrate during a fasted state which some say they experience. The bulletproof coffee fad on the web is being promoted along with the IF fad, as the two go hand in hand and are a good marketing ploy. Some IF users choose to consume coffee because they derive a sense of social adhesion and allegiance to the contrarian web moguls who are promoting it. Stimulants can compound sleep disorders that adrenal problems related to IF might already be causing a person. Coffee that has caffeine is still a stimulant and has the same side-effects, even the expensive 100% super-virgin, organic, upgraded, bulletproof, IF-promoting, lean-gain, sleep-compatible coffee that the web moguls are selling.

One hormone tends to affect others. When the adrenal system is thrown off its normal cycle (by fasting, stress, disease, pregnancy, obesity, stimulants, alcohol, other drug use, etc.), a cascade of problems can result. Revolving disorders may occur where restful sleep occurs for a week followed by insomnia the next week and irritability the next. People may resort to buying expensive adrenal supplements such as DHEA from web moguls, sleep and relaxation aids (pharmaceuticals, magnesium supplements, or melatonin), or the use of alcohol to try to settle down.

 

Research has shown that consumption of alcohol (also refined sugars, sodas with phosphates, and caffeine) is associated with depletion of magnesium in the body, which can cause insomnia and numerous other health problems involving the brain, heart, liver, and bones. This includes gluten-free "paleo" alcohol. A lifestyle of IF along with liberal caffeine and alcohol consumption has a good chance of setting the stage for insomnia and irritability, which can cause people to buy even more supplements to try to calm down. Dark sodas contain caffeine, refined sugar, and phosphates, all of which promote depletion of magnesium. Many fitness energy drinks are high in caffeine but have no magnesium. Drinks with this composition that are consumed in the name of fitness can have unwanted health effects such as insomnia.

Instead of relying on supplements as a crutch, a solution would be to curtail or remove the caffeine and alcohol or find a fitness method other than IF if it is causing compulsion to use stimulants that are causing problems.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19271417

http://www.ancient-minerals.com/magnesium-deficiency/need-more/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/magnesium-the-most-powerf_b_425499.html

Thought should be given to the various elements of a fitness lifestyle and how they might affect and magnify each other in a way that could unexpectedly degrade a person's health, in spite of fitness gains that may be achieved. A person using intermittent fasting without caffeine and alcohol might experience good health and fitness results. Someone who uses IF with a liberal use of coffee and alcohol might experience health problems such as adrenal fatigue. An anti-synergy effect could make the problems worse than what would have been caused by using any of those elements alone.

 

Cardio because I am training for a marathon... but I do both.

 

Who are you, Dr. Oz?

I'm not even sure who your post is directed at, if anyone, but I drink two small but strong cups of coffee a day at the most, and I don't drink it to suppress appetite or maintain concentration (being in a state of ketosis already does that for me). Since I keep my carb consumption to a minimum and eat a lot of fat during my eating window, I can easily go 24 hours without eating and not suffer any ill effects like hypoglycemia, either with or without caffeine. Most people, myself included, actually find they are sharper and have better concentration while in a fasted state. The reason I drink coffee is because I like it. It gives me an added boost, but also a good coffee is chock full of essential minerals and antioxidants. Bulletproof coffee is also a great way to get in my daily requirement of high-quality fat, but I do not use the trademarked brand of coffee and MCT oil that Dave Asprey markets, which is a rip off and backed by unsubstantiated claims regarding its alleged absence of mycotoxins from mold. Any good quality coffee, MCT oil and grass-fed butter will do.

Only when a person consumes an excess amount of coffee/caffeine does it pose a problem. Most healthy people who don't have issues with caffeine sensitivity can handle a few cups of coffee a day without any adverse effects on their adrenal health or their sleep.

If a person has issues with hunger and low blood sugar while doing intermittent fasting, it's because they're not following a low carb diet and getting adequate fat. IF isn't for people who consume sugar and refined carbs, basically running entirely on glucose for fuel. I have found that most people who run into issues with IF don't have their diets in check and are eating the wrong foods.

 

bulletproof coffee is the shit. I always used to think coffee wasnt good for you but then i actually kind of researched it and found outs its not harmful at all.

 

You're an odd character. Who is this directed at, and why do you bring stuff like this up at random? Strange. Who said anything about anyone needing caffeine to do IF?

Anyway, alcohol is definitely of detriment to a person looking to attain optimal health. Even occasional drinking poses a huge setback, which is why I decided to forgo drinking completely three months ago. Before that I was only drinking once or twice a month, but since adopting a completely ketogenic diet, I find that it's best to do without alcohol altogether, since even when I do drink in relatively small quantities, it adversely affects the way I feel for days and causes problems with my sleep.

 

Cardio, because I love running. I recent heard that running over 2 hours per week can lower your life span, but I could care less.

 

If someone told me that id tell them to get a donut and shut the fuck up.

That sounds so stupid.. seriously, don't believe that.

People who run can run, those who cant either have bad knees, or are very overweight and will die sooner anyways.

Getting cardio exercise doesn't lower your life span unless you have a rare medical condition.

 

very strange bald head creepy old man avatar that knows everything.

 

There is a lot of evidence to show that chronic cardio both lowers one's lifespan as well as their longevity. Humans never evolved to run the long distance marathon runners do, and because of this a good number of them develop problems with their joints down the road, regardless of their health originally, and even have sudden death heart attacks. Traditional cardio actually puts a huge strain on the entire body which isn't good. And as people like Doug McGuff have pointed out, there is really no such thing as "cardio" the way people know it to be. The only way to truly access the cardiovascular system is through lifting heavy things.

 

Everything you talk about lowers a life span, you search for it.

 

I've averaged 50 miles per week for for the past 19 years and have no joint problems. Most of the people I know that have joint problems don't run and are overweight and out of shape. As far as longevity, running makes me feel more alive and adds quality to my life. If it makes me live to 70 instead of 80 so be it.

 

I know some people who live to run. I also know quite a few younger people who did track in HS who have told me their knees are damaged even at 22 or 23. I like to run but I feel it on my knees and I'm in pretty darn good shape. So maybe it's just different for each person I guess. When I used to run a lot my knees were always sore. I stopped running all the time and they feel fine. I still run races but I do different training now. I just ran a race yesterday and felt great but my left knee was killing me this morning.

 

I think it all comes down to consistency. If your body is used to running a certain amount it will adapt to that. The problems arise when someone doesn't run for a certain amount of time and then runs too much too soon. That's just my experience though. I also coach high school cross country and track and have seen what happens with various runners under different training conditions. Most runners in HS don't run all winter and then run way too much all of a sudden to get ready for the track season. This can unfortunately lead to many injuries.

 

I don't doubt you. I was just a little surprised back then to see a number of young people so torn up. But again...I know others who run all the time with no issues so what you're saying seems to make sense. I'm no expert on the subject so I'm just rambling on about what I've seen. But I do enjoy running and doing my races and I'd like to find a happy medium so I can do the races without being quite so sore afterwards. If I run too much, I'm sore all the time. If I don't run enough then I'm sore afterwards.

 

exercising my mind. although i know i need to get up and walk around a lot more then i do too.

 

Whoever titled the youtube video of McGuff (on page 7) is being misleading. Someone cherry-picked a short segment of him and gave it that title. McGuff didn't say that cardio doesn't exist. In that short clip he's acknowledging its existence and saying that cardio involves more than the heart itself, which most people already know, making his explanation somewhat pedantic.

There are those who will start up meaningless semantic arguments and try to obfuscate the issue such as, "Cardio uses some of the same biochemical systems of the body as HIIT; therefore, HIIT is superior and cardio doesn't exist."

Cardio is distinct from other activities such as low-speed weight lifting workouts or high intensity interval workouts that involve fast, intense movements that temporarily use more oxygen than what is available from respiration. Cardio invokes an equilibrium where oxygen is used in the workout as fast as the respiratory system is capable of providing it and the activity needs to take place continuously for at least 20 minutes. In other types of workouts, oxygen is being used at a rate less or more than the respiratory system is capable of providing it and the activity isn't always continuous for 20 minutes or more. Cardio is a distinct mode regardless of whatever physiological or biochemical systems that cardio may share with other activities and whatever obfuscation tactics people are trying to use to confuse the issue.

There are people on youtube and elsewhere who are fans of HIIT. They are trying to marginalize cardio to promote their HIIT fad for personal or for marketing reasons to differentiate their product from the competition. It becomes like little kids in the schoolyard in a "my fad is better than your fad" spat. Another problem is the way some people (many times young adult males) are using the maximization of muscle mass as the sole factor for determining what they perceive as the value of a workout. That's a very narrow way of assessing the value of workouts.

Many of the health and fitness related posts on RT are preoccupied with young adult males trying to maximize their muscle mass, especially arm muscle.