Cardio is pointless( I hate cardio)

Why, NOT to do cardio!

Today I've come on here to talk about something I've been passionate about for a long time and it is the idea we've purported that running is the fix all to losing weight. There are advice in life that we've been taught growing up that is there for the average bum but is not actual optimum for many individuals: drink seven cups of water a day, eat three meals a day, run on the treadmill to lose weight... Now, I have to bring up the extreme success examples and individuals that advocate for running to properly argue against it. David Goggins, a well know public figure and motivational speaker. He was a Navy seal and is a ultra marathon runner(100 miles) and has broken the pullup world record many times. On his Instagram he can be seen running many times, and running marathons was how he initially lost his 100+ pounds. David Goggins is highly respected for his achievements and mindset. Yet, it does not do much for his body. What do I mean by that? I personally have deep respect for him and will play his speeches at times on my phone for motivation, though running has never been anything I've needed to do to lose body fat. Now I personally hate running with a passion. The idea of running in circles and staring at nothing for minutes or even hours at a time does not excite me. Neither does running on a treadmill. So, I'm glad I get to come on here and bring the facts of just how flawed this exercise is to those with the goal to lose weight.

Run for your life don't run your whole life

Firstly, my biggest criticism with running is that it takes ALOT of time. The average person who runs one mile will burn only 100 calories. The standard time for military persons to run a mile is 7 minutes and 30 seconds. That's seven minutes of side pains, sweating, heavy breathing, dry mouth, and burning feet for the new runner to just burn 100 calories. This isn't really the issue though as it would be worth it if it were cost effective. However, the average persons living in the USA will consume between 2500 to 3600 calories per day! Making the 100 calories you lost only 4 percent of your daily intake if you ate relatively lightly. However the activity itself would make up roughly 2 percent of your daily life. 8 hours is sleep we have to do and 8 hours of work for the average persons. leaving 8 hours left of free time leaving 480 minutes of "free time". You have to eat, and the average person eats three meals per day spending about an hour and half total on another necessary activity. In order, to lose about half of your daily calories you will need to run for 10 miles to burn 1000 calories assuming you don't slow down your pace would take 80 minutes of this pain. In total you would spend 16 percent of your total lifetime just to burn half of the food you ate that day and not your actual stored fat. You see how the juice just isn't worth the squeeze? 

Secondly, it requires all of your attention and energy... FOR LIFE! Cardio is like working for a living in order to acquire money. It requires your daily attention. Cardio is active income. Which is unfortunate as in contrast, muscle building is like passive income. Muscle breakdown and build up during sleep increases metabolism and burns calories as the body tries to repair itself. This of course still happens with running but to a far lesser extent. Take long distance runners physiques vs sprinters. The build up to the sprint causes the whole body to jolt forward using muscles extended to the legs such as the lower back and glutes. These muscles make up the largest muscle groups in the body, increasing testosterone which furthers muscle loss promotion and burns the most calories as they require the most energy to repair. This is the reason, those who run usually run for life! 

Thirdly, there are many alternatives to running in order to achieve the same results. I just can't accept spending 16 percent of my total free use life running in circles in pain. Instead, this is what I do..

1. Dancing

there is a reason Zumba is so popular and it's not just for middle aged moms. Zumba is a social and fun activity that is also very intense. Full of starts and stops you'll find yourself sweating quicker doing Zumba then you would be running on a treadmill, and to your surprise having fun and making friends. 

2. Sex

I can't think of anything more fun and comfortable for cardio than sexual activity. I personally find myself sweating around the same amount with a 20-minute session under the covers as I would if I had a ran a mile; difference being that it's enjoyable and productive to my overall mental health. Now, if you don't have a partner then no problem! There are many fun alternatives.

3. Swimming

I can't think of anything more fun and comfortable for cardio than swimming. Deep swimming applies pressure to your entire body, increasing your general muscle growth and boosting your metabolism in the process. Though, this is effortless! You're not sweating and in pain. There are many fun activities and challenges you can incorporate whilst improving your cardiovascular endurance also.

4. Hot/ Cold exposure

There is a trend right now of people exposing themselves to ice baths and it's for good reason. Cardiovascular exercise is simply the rise of your heart rate then met by a slow fall. This happens when going inside a sauna for a 15 to 20 minutes, your heart rate boosts up to uncomfortable levels before falling down into normalcy. These are pretty uncomfortable, but the benefits outweigh running by miles! Dopamine levels rise after, cortisol the stress hormone goes down leaving you in a constant state of calmness and clear headed. Your metabolism is boosted and of course fat cells start to burn off. This all happens simply by sitting and It's so effective!

Cardio is a modern-day invention.

Most people can look at the starving kids in Africa with fragile bones, ribs poking through their skin and a skinny frame and understand that they didn't get that way through running thousands of miles a day. though, it is true they live very active lives relative to the 1st worlds activity, they have low body fat simply because they don't have enough food to eat. Living in a desert gives no room for crops to grow, streams to run through for fish and larger animals who both eat the fish and the crops. Don't imagine in those no-profit commercials that those kids and parents have a treadmill in their living room. What they do have instead is simply an active life. Way before modern day technology such as bicycles, cars and trains we had to walk everywhere and travel to far off areas in order to gather food, water and comforts. To live was a natural workout and for me is the preferred method for cardiovascular improvement.