Are You Wasting Your Time Doing Too Much Cardio?

Hello again!

It looks like we’re FINALLY getting some warmer weather and a little less rain here in Toronto, Canada, and I’m starting to see more and more people getting outside and going for long runs.  As a soccer player, doing more cardio might seem like a great way to improve your athletic endurance as well as getting a little leaner, right?

Not exactly.

I’d like to challenge the common belief that doing a lot of cardiovascular exercise is the best way to improve your overall fitness and to reduce body fat.  If you follow a good strength training and interval training program, there is really no reason for performing excessive amounts of cardio. In fact, as I will explain, there may actually be reasons not to.

Too many soccer athletes are running themselves into the ground doing hours of cardio to improve their fitness and performance, or to lose a little weight in the pre-season. However, more and more research is mounting which clearly demonstrates that long, slow, steady-state cardiovascular activity is actually counterproductive to achieving these goals. Not only is excessive cardiovascular exercise relatively ineffective, but it may actually do more harm than good. I realize that this is a bold statement that flies in the face of conventional wisdom within the mainstream fitness industry, but this article will explain why this is in fact the truth.

Too Much Cardio Can Hurt Your Heart

A recent study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, that examined the heart health of a group of men who had been part of a national or Olympic team in distance running or rowing showed that half of these lifelong endurance athletes exhibited evidence of heart muscle scarring. And now a new study (published in the journal Circulation) using laboratory rats also demonstrates a direct link between prolonged cardiovascular exercise and heart damage, similar to with the human endurance athletes.

The research shows that over time strenuous cardiovascular exercise can damage your heart. Admittedly, unless you’re engaged in high-level endurance training this information should not overly concern you, and you certainly shouldn’t use it as an excuse to avoid exercising at all! However, there are many other reasons to avoid doing too much steady-state cardiovascular training.

Cardio Can Waste Your Muscle

Trying to lose weight by performing long periods of cardio may actually also lead to the wasting of muscle tissue (especially in combination with a low calorie diet). This is something we really do NOT want to happen! Muscle is the body’s fat burning furnace. Lean muscle tissue is responsible for maintaining a healthy metabolism, preventing injuries, improving mobility and performance, as well as helping you develop a toned, athletic-looking physique.

Because excess cardio can metabolize both fat and muscle, it can result in what I call the “skinny-fat” physique. You may lose some weight, but your body will still look and feel soft, flabby, and weak. Also consider the fact that over-doing it with aerobic exercise can increase oxidative stress and lead to elevated cortisol levels, resulting in a depleted immune system, low energy, and more abdominal fat storage.

Long Duration Cardio Also Wastes Your Time

In the fast paced society that we live in few athletes have the time to spend several hours each week doing long, slow, boring cardio workouts. In fact, “I don’t have the time” is one of the most popular excuses for not exercising! The truth is that most people are far more likely to participate in an exercise program if the time commitment is not as great, which is fine because unless you are a pure endurance athlete long duration cardio is totally unnecessary.  It is important to remember that although endurance is an important element in a soccer conditioning program, soccer is still essentially a speed / power and agility sport, requiring quickness rather than long slow “marathon” style training. In addition, with all of the time required for technical practice, speed and agility drills, strength and power training, on top of your playing schedule, it is a blessing that you don’t need to be doing countless hours of running every week!

Adrenal Fatigue

Excess cardio can put extra stress on your adrenal glands, which may lead to fatigue, anxiety, depression, insomnia, reduced immunity, and inability to concentrate. If your adrenals are compromised this can also make it harder to lose body fat.

OK, so tons of slow cardio is OUT.  How do you improve your athletic conditioning for soccer without doing hours of running?  What if there was a way to get in great shape in less time, without all the potential negative effects of cardio? There is!

To Get Lean You Need to Get Intense

Now, I’m not implying that you should never perform any form of cardiovascular exercise. On the contrary! Going for a walk, a swim, a bike ride, or playing a pick-up game of soccer with your friends are all healthy activities to participate in. If you are a beginner, moderate cardio exercise may be a good way to gradually increase your activity level. Cardiovascular exercise really only becomes a problem when it’s over-done. But there are safer and more effective ways to get in great shape and improve your fitness.

Brief, intense resistance training (strength training) workouts are superior to cardio training in a number of ways. Strength training, anaerobic exercise has the benefits of increasing your lean tissue, improving your bone density, regulating your blood sugar, and increasing your metabolism over an extended period of time. The higher the intensity of the strength training session, the longer the metabolism remains elevated, and the more total calories burned.

In addition to strength training, there are certain forms of “cardio-type” training that are very effective. You just need to make your cardio workouts shorter, faster, and more intense! The solution is High-Intensity Interval Training (also referred to as HIIT).

HIIT involves brief, intense sessions of cardiovascular exercise, lasting only 15 to 20 minutes. It consists of a series of short, high intensity bursts and longer low intensity intervals. For example, after every 2 or 3 minutes of low intensity jogging you would perform a 30 second fast run, and then back to jogging… alternating these intervals for the entire workout. This type of cardio is FAR more effective for fat loss. For evidence of this, compare the body of an elite sprinter to that of a high-level marathon runner. Sprinters are lean, muscular, and athletic looking, as opposed to the drawn-out, unhealthy appearance of many long-distance runners.

In addition, studies now show that HIIT causes an increase in the release of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) in your body. HGH is a vital hormone that is KEY for physical strength, health and longevity. Plus it burns fat like crazy! It is important to note that with both strength training and interval training, the key is intensity.

I believe it’s time to re-evaluate the obsession with cardio amongst soccer coaches and players, and consider more effective strategies for improving performance. For a complete training training resource including programs for speed, endurance, technical development, and strength, check out www.SoccerAthletics.com.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them below… I want to hear your opinions!

Stay fit, train smart, and play HARD!

Josh