Why-How Much Cardio is Too Much Are Misguiding You?

How much cardio is too much? Are you too dependent on aerobic exercise for weight loss?

Performing only a single type of workouts can be tiring and non-effective in the long run.

It also means you are not burning calorie and there is no significant loss in fat.

This form of workout is great for improving heart rate and overall metabolism.

But if you are doing cardio daily or 6 times a week for more than 1 hour, it can harm overall health and you will not lose weight.

Experts suggest doing intensive aerobic sessions longer than 9 hours per week can impact your heart and will lead to increased stress on the right ventricle of your heart.

In this article, we will dive deep into how much cardiovascular exercise is healthy and the benefits it provides!

So, without wasting further time, let’s dive right in…

Table of Contents

Cardiovascular

A simple and effective form of workout or respiratory workout, that increases blood circulation and enhances metabolism rate.

It has been very popular lately because more people are now aware of good health and a fit body.

Cardiovascular is also great for burning fat, calories and helps to lose weight.

Without going to the gym cardio helps to improve your stamina and endurance.

It is a mix of high and low-intensity workouts and can be performed even by any beginner also.

Cardio vs Weight training

Losing weight can be very intimidating, when you are just starting out!

Overweight people tend to find it more difficult to perform weight training or any high-intensity workouts due to many health issues.

Cardio is simple, yet effective workout which can help you burn calories efficiently and without going to the gym.

But, weight training is also very popular and effective way to lose body fat!

So, which one is better cardio or weight training? let’s find out-

Health experts suggest that weight training burns more calories post workouts.
Whereas in the aerobic exercise you burn more calories in one session but you can very easily gain that calorie post-workout session.
Weight training increases metabolism for long periods, if you are working consistently, your metabolism will increase for long periods.
In cardiovascular exercise, you need different forms and consistently increase your intensity to lose weight in long run.
But in weight training, you need consistency in workouts and have a controlled diet to achieve a perfectly shaped body.
Lifting weight also increases lean muscle mass which helps to burn calories even after a workout session.
Weight training improves your body shape by helping burn fat and enhances muscles.
Cardio only focuses on losing weight and not helps in improving overall body shape and muscles.

Effects Of Too Much Cardio

People want shortcuts to lose weight either they go for unhealthy products or just join any gym and think they can lose weight!

One misconception people had with this form is that they can very easily lose weight by doing it.

So, they depend totally on cardio, and hence the arises what are the effects of too much cardio on your body?

# Cardio overload:

When you are only doing cardio and not able to burn a single pound, it means that it is because of cardio overload.

Cardio does increase blood circulation and pumps your heart faster, but excess workout increases the risk of heart damage.

# Loss of muscle mass:

Excess cardio leads to loss of muscle mass in certain people.

Loss of muscle mass leads to a slow metabolism rate and this can hamper the rate of burning calories.

Losing muscle mass also makes your muscles weak and you can get injured by doing excess cardio.

# Stress on muscles:

Repeatedly doing aerobic workouts for 60 minutes 6 times weekly puts a lot of stress on your muscles.

Overdoing cardio will not result in weight loss but it can hamper your muscle growth for sure.

Muscles don’t get time to recover as body cells need rest to recover the sore and stiff muscles.

# Too much cardio kill gains:

Performing high-intensity cardio for regularly will eventually kill you gains.

Sticking to around 20-30 minutes of moderate cardio is enough to pump your heart and increases your metabolism.

When you reduce the cardio session by a minimal amount and perform it only when you are not lifting weight, you will not muscles tissue.

Is Doing Cardio Everyday Bad

There is no bad in doing it every day but if you are totally dependent on it and overdoing it!

Then you have to stop and analyse whether you are really losing weight or not?

People tend to perform cardiovascular activities because they find weight training or other forms tedious or boring.

If someone is already suffering from heart conditions and blood pressure, they shouldn’t be allowed to perform it daily.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): People of age 18-year-old or above must perform-

Any moderate-intensity aerobic physical exercise of at least 150 minutes per week OR
A robust-intensity physical activity of 75 minutes per week OR
Equivalent combination of above activities each week.

Another important factor you tend to forget is whether too much cardio is bad for your heart?

There are many forms in this workout which makes it intensive and the heart pumps faster than usual.

Exercises like walking, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, and others are great aerobic workouts.
You should perform up to 30-40 minutes of maximum cardio.
According to Mayo clinic proceedings research people who did more weekly workouts around 2-3 times for 150 minutes.
Are more likely at risk of coronary artery calcium.
A 2015 study suggests that strenuous jogging of around 4-5 hours a week can put your life at risk later on.

Now, there are many females who also ask as to how much cardio is too much for a woman?

Every individual has unique body whether its male or female!

When weight loss is your only goal, it is advisable to perform a moderate-intensity aerobic workout of 150 minutes per week.

But if you performing to keep yourself fit then also you must do only 3-4 sessions of 30 minutes weekly.

The female body is slightly different from the male counterpart and metabolism is also slow in females.

Here are few things to remember before you perfrom intense cardio-

If you are into walking then brisk walking is great for you as you can easily perform 15-20 minutes of brisk walking 4 times a week.
Females love dancing which is also a great cardio workout, and increases your heart rate and pumps maximum oxygen to your heart.
20 minutes of cycling is great for females.
If you perform all the above workouts then you are guaranteed that it will improve your health and reduces chances of disease.

What Happens To Your Body When You Do Cardiovascular Activities

Most people start exercising only when they have some health issue.

It’s very important to inculcate a habit of doing some kind of workout which will keep you fit and strong.

Cardio helps to start your basic workout routine and allows you to follow some easy and basic forms of workouts.

Your body experiences many changes while performing cardio, let’s find out some of them-

Your skin helps to release the heat produced during workouts, vessels in blood dilate the skin and helps to reach the skin.
Blood flow increases and carries oxygen to the heart and other body tissues much faster.
It also tears your muscles in the body but those muscles get stronger in the long run.
During workouts, your lungs take in maximum oxygen, more than VO2max as this is the maximum oxygen your body can take in.
The brain works faster as you feel more focused and awake because the brain releases endorphins during workouts.

Is Cardio Good Everyday

What makes cardio or aerobic activities a joy to perform…

Is that it provides instant relief and joy.

These workouts improves your mood and helps to keep you focused for long periods.

And the some of the important benefits it has are-

Improving you sleep
Increasing your blood circulation
Strengthen your lungs and heart
Helps to improve muscles strength
Wards of diseases like, heart attack, diabetes, hypertension, etc

But many of you must be wondering is it safe to do cardio everyday?

According to research, 60 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per day is good when your goal is weight loss.

But, a report published in 2017 suggests that doing cardio every day can be harmful in long run and should be avoided.

Everyone has a different body, as there is no single method or any special type requirement you have to follow.

Overdoing cardio can lead to some poor health and body conditions.

Let us take a look at some of the common symptoms you may see-

Improper sleep
Lack of concentration
Tiredness
Continuous pain in joints
Sore muscles

How Much Cardio Should I Do A Day

It’s very unreal sometimes to see that we have found ourselves stuck in health & weight issues as humans.

Our ancestors were not worried about health neither they did anything special to improve health.

Although most of the work our ancestors perform needed physical activities!

Now when we look at ourselves, our lifestyle is dependent on the remote to get the work done..!

WHO suggests actively engaging in some form of physical activity to live longer and staying healthy.

And cardio helps in doing that, but you must be thinking how much aerobic exercise is enough per day?

According to Harvard Medical School for all adults even older and disabled people need to perform at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week.
Try to do 10-15 minutes of short workouts out of 150 minutes.
Most of you guys must be fit, in that case, perform at least 75 minutes of physical workouts.

The Bottom Line

What I will suggest, that always perform a mix of cardio and weight training workouts.

How much cardio is too much depends on your body, health condition and age.

So try to stick to moderate-intensity workouts and go for short interval workouts of 15-20 minutes per day.

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And if you like to add something just comment below.

Cheers!