Yes that is the correct title. Generally speaking, I along with the majority of other people find running to be stupid, counterproductive and dangerous. Curious as to why, read on.
1. Have you looked at distance runners?
Distance runners look like crap. Hey, I'll be honest, I workout to look good naked. Now I have met a number of endurance athletes and the majority of them look like that guy: fat and rather dumpy looking (naturally I say that in the nicest way possible.) Think about this, if distance running was designed to help you look hot naked would you still have that spare tire and those man boobs after running 26.2 miles... no you wouldn't.
2. Running is a surefire way to erode metabolism and eat up your muscles.
The rate of your metabolism is determined mainly by the amount of muscle mass you have. It doesn't matter if you are male or female, you want to build muscle. Losing muscle results in your body needing fewer calories, a decrease in caloric need all the time, this means if you are still eating the same amount your body stores the excess calories as fat.
There are two types of muscles fibers in the body, fast and slow twitch. The fibers that help you run slower for longer distances and will not increase your metabolic rate as they develop are the slow twitch fibers. The fast twitch muscles fibers are the ones that are responsible for speed, revving up your metabolism and making your body look incredible.
The slow twitch fibers are stimulated by endurance type exercises at the expense of the fast twitch fibers. The slow twitch fibers and the fast twitch fibers are in a zero sum competition with one another. This means that if one group gets better, stronger the other group gets weaker. So the more adept you get at your endurance training the more muscles and your metabolism shrivel.
This doesn't mean that endurance exercises are a waste of time. For those that are looking at becoming a swimmer, distance runner or cyclists they are great. If you are looking to lose fat though they aren't going to help you unless you have 25 hours a week to dedicate to your exercises. Plus that type of workout has another side effect, loss of sex drive.
If you are worried about getting "big" relax. The truth is that big muscles do not happen by accident. So you aren't going to wake up after lifting weights or going for a sprint and one day wake up with huge muscles. Big muscles are the result of dedicated and conscious effort over time. Really big muscles are the result of great genes and or drugs. So your fear of looking like the Incredible Hulk are unfounded.
3. Running is a waste of time.
Q: What is the worst exercise that an overweight person can do to lose weight?
A: Endurance type training such as distance running.
Aerobic exercise such as distance running is really the least effective type of exercise for fat loss. End of story.
4. Boring, boring, boring.
Could there be a more boring exercise in the world other than running? I really don't think so. How fun is it to the exact same thing repetitively for thirty, forty or sixty minutes? Endurance training means that you are running in a straight line forever and all you end up with is busted joints and lackluster results.
I have to be fully engaged in what I am doing to go fast when it comes to sprint based interval running. So there is no time for boredom. I get to go backwards, forwards, sideways, up stairs, down stairs, in simple patterns and so on. I have limitless options plus I am done in 20 minutes or less! This doesn't leave time for boredom and I get killer results!
Need to break-free from that imprisoning treadmill? Give your body some real fat loss workout through advice from a reputable Arlington, VA fitness bootcamp trainer.
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