Chronic Cardio: Is it Negatively Affecting Your Weight And Health?

By Jeff Goldman, Certified Exercise Coach, NASM Certified Personal Trainer, NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

Is it really possible to do TOO MUCH cardio?  Isn’t running, spinning, and using the elliptical 45-60 minutes a day good for the heart and the best way to lose weight?  It might surprise you to learn that a growing number of experts believe that the answer is “NO”.  In fact, there is a term for this excessive aerobic exercise: Chronic Cardio.  Chronic Cardio may actually be causing you to GAIN weight!

Chronic Cardio is considered moderate to intense aerobic exercise performed over 30-60 minutes per day, several times a week.  This includes running, jogging, elliptical, stationary bike, spinning, etc.  This does not include walking, which is considered low intensity (more on walking later in this article).

Cortisol:

So why do some experts feel Chronic Cardio is detrimental to your health?  There are several reasons.  The first is that Chronic Cardio increases and sustains the level of cortisol in your body.  Cortisol is a stress hormone that is released during stress and strenuous activities including resistance training.  This usually isn’t a problem.  When an appropriate amount of cortisol is secreted into the bloodstream, along with adequate rest and recovery time, the body can deal with the cortisol like it’s supposed to.  The problems arise when too much cortisol is released and the body doesn’t have the time to properly heal.  This is exactly what happens during Chronic Cardio:  The long aerobic activity releases too much cortisol than the body can handle, and since the activity is being performed almost daily, the body never has a chance to heal itself by eliminating the cortisol from the bloodstream. Increased levels of cortisol have been linked to:
  • The body storing excess fat in the neck, face, and, abdomen….especially in women (see study here)
  • Craving high sugar foods
  • Over eating and binge eating (see study here):
  • Metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (see study here)
  • Suppressed immunity (see article here)
  • Difficulty sleeping
The bottom line:  Sustained and excessive cortisol levels associated with Chronic Cardio causes you to store body fat and eat unhealthy foods!!  Furthermore, people who diet by cutting calories while performing Chronic Cardio are making the situation even worse, as low calorie dieting also increases cortisol. (see study here )

The Heart:

Another reason Chronic Cardio is frowned upon by some experts is that contrary to popular belief, Chronic Cardio may actually be damaging your heart.  (Again, this does not refer to low intensity aerobic activities like walking.)  Some recent studies have shown:

  • Endurance athletes have a higher risk of atrial fibrillation (a-fib) than the general public (see study here)
  • Endurance runners are at risk for calcified coronary plaque (see study here)
  • Intense endurance exercise causes acute dysfunction of the right ventricle (see study here)
  • Increased risk of myocardial fibrosis in older endurance athletes (see study here)

The bottom line: According to some studies, Chronic Cardio MAY cause some forms of heart disease.  Ironically, better heart health is a reason many people participate in long term, intense aerobic exercise.  As always, talk to your doctor before starting or changing any exercise program.


 Other drawbacks of Chronic Cardio include:
  • Repetitive stress injuries resulting in knee and hip replacements, back pain, chronic tendonitis, osteoarthritis, and foot/ankle issues
  • Loss of muscle mass if you are not eating proper amounts of calories and protein...which people who are “dieting” (because they are eating wrong)  usually don’t get enough of.  Also, people who perform Chronic Cardio are less likely to strength train, which further leads to loss of muscle mass.
  • Long daily time commitment

A Different Approach:

If your approach to exercise is Chronic Cardio and it’s working for you then that is great.  However, if you spin, run, or hit the “cardio” area of the gym day after day after day and you are not losing any weight, try this routine:

   1.  Twice a week resistance training targeting the entire body.  Yes!  Two days a week is sufficient to build significant muscle (see story here).  And don’t worry that lifting weights will make you big and bulky...that is a myth that refuses to die (see story here).  Furthermore, resistance training like we do at The Exercise Coach can help weight loss more than cardio does.  (see article here)


   2. Twice a week Concentrated Cardio: A 5 minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Cardio session at The Exercise Coach has the following benefits:

  • It’s just as effective as 40 minutes of steady aerobic activity for aerobic fitness, muscles, and blood-sugar control  (see article here)

  • It burns body fat

  • It’s anabolic:  It helps build muscle


   3.  Walk a few days a week for 30 minutes.  For most people, walking is all that is needed for your “cardio” conditioning.  Even Kenneth Cooper, who is considered  the father of aerobics, changed his opinion of long term vigorous exercise and now advocates walking 30 minutes a day. (see article here). The benefits of walking include:

  • It’s good for the heart:  According to The Stroke Association, a brisk 30-minute walk every day helps prevent and control the high blood pressure that causes strokes, reducing the risk by up to 27 percent.

  • Helps you lose weight: Walking for 30 minutes can burn up to 200 calories

  • Improves circulation

  • It lowers the risk of Alzheimer's

  • It Improves your sleep

  • It boosts immune function

  • It prevents falls in the elderly

  • And many more benefits! (see article here)

   4.   And last but not least:  Change your diet.  There is a saying that “you can’t outrun a bad diet” (maybe we should change that to “you can’t out walk a bad diet”)  All the exercising in the world won’t make a difference if you are sabotaging your workouts by making poor food choices.  A whole food diet like the one offered in The Exercise Coach Nutrition Playbook will jumpstart your metabolism which promotes weight loss.

The bottom bottom line:  For better health and weight loss, walk...don’t run!   Along with walking, train your body twice a week using resistance training to build muscle and gain strength.  Also, twice a week Concentrated Cardio is necessary to enhance cardiovascular endurance and fat loss.  And finally:  be extra conscious of your diet.  Eating real, whole foods is an easy way to shed body fat.  Give it a try for a couple months….what do you have to lose?