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The majority of Americans do not get anywhere close to enough exercise so the idea of “too much cardio” may seem ridiculous at first.
Technological “advancements” and gadgets that supposedly make our lives “easier” have come with a price–decreased physical activity and a host of related health problems.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, some exercise aficionados tend to overdo it thinking more is better.
Physical exercise may not be a drug but it does possess the addictive nature and traits of a powerful pharmacologic agent. As with any chemical agent that affects biological systems, a safe upper dose limit exists beyond which the adverse effects may outweigh the benefits.
I am not undermining the importance of physical exercise with this sobering statement that yes, you can in fact overdo it in the exercise department, especially when it comes to too much cardio!
People that partake in moderate to vigorous physical exercise on a regular basis are much healthier than their sedentary counterparts.
Extreme exercise, however, is actually counterproductive to great cardiovascular health.
If you are exercising correctly and efficiently there’s no need to workout for more than 30-60 min at a time.
It’s important to get your heart pumping with the right type of metabolic conditioning which will improve the amount of blood oxygen, release endorphins, stimulate your immune system and increase staying power.
But there is a point of diminishing returns to these benefits and research is piling up that continuing that cardio session too long–beyond 60 minutes per day can cause more harm than good.
How? Read on …
- Shall we say catabolic state? Excessive cardio spells breakdown and not in a good way.
- Excess cortisol is released which not only contributes to more catabolism but chronic disease. It never ceases to amaze me how many endurance athletes have thyroid problems.
- Repetitive strain injuries and injuries that won’t heal with continued over exercising.
- Lowered defenses i.e. weakened immune system. Endurance athletes with chronic respiratory infections are a prime example.
- Insomnia.
If that’s not bad enough, what does too much cardio do to your heart? You’re obviously exercising to improve its function and adopting lifestyle factors that won’t have you dropping dead of a heart attack, but an excess can be a serious blow to your heart’s health.
How Too Much Cardio Kills
Research done on marathon runners and other endurance athletes who regularly partake in too much cardio show the following characteristics including scarring of the heart muscle.
To some they may be the epitome of fitness and the ultimate show of endurance but the extreme stress on their heart comes with a very high price. . .
- Extended vigorous exercise such as that performed during a marathon or similar event raises your risk of cardiovascular disease by 7 fold.
- Long-distance training in general leads to high levels of inflammation and the damage continues long after the race is over.
- Research has revealed diffuse scarring of the heart muscle along with structural changes after several years of excessive training.
- Studies show long-term endurance athletes suffer from diminished function of the right ventricle.
- Increased blood levels of cardiac enzymes–markers for heart injury.
- Atrial fibrillation (rhythm abnormalities).
Although most people reading this article are not exercising enough it’s still important to understand the dangers of excessive traditional cardio. Since most of us are not elite level endurance athletes what does this mean for us? It certainly shouldn’t be used to avoid exercising at all. Exercise is absolutely necessary for health & fitness just not excessive amounts of it.
How Much is Too Much Cardio?
Push your body hard enough for a challenge while allowing adequate time for recovery and repair. Move like traditional man with short burst of high intensity activities but not long distance running, biking and swimming such as required for endurance events.
Even an hour or more more on the gym’s cardio machines is not a wise idea.
Exercise to feel better, look better and perform better. It will aid in keeping your weight in check, help you to sleep more soundly and give you a better outlook–the reasons are many and most of us will not run into the problem of exerting ourselves excessively.
If you are a high level endurance athlete or think 5 marathons a year is a reasonable goal you may want to seriously reconsider how you train. Bullet proof your heart through short burst of exertion followed by periods of rest or recovery intervals. Heart attacks never happen because your heart lacks endurance rather they typically happen during times of stress when your heart needs more energy and pumping capacity but doesn’t have it.
For further reading on the subject check out these links:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/crossfit-for-endurance-the-fast-road-for-the-long-haul/
http://www.ctvnews.ca/extreme-exercise-can-lead-to-heart-scarring-study-1.835279
http://running.competitor.com/2012/06/news/how-much-running-is-bad-for-your-heart_54331
http://www.alsearsmd.com/2009/10/marathon-deaths
About the Author
Paula Jager CSCS and Level 1 CrossFit and CF Nutrition Certified is the owner of CrossFit Jaguar. Her exercise and nutrition programs yield life changing results.
You can connect with her on Facebook by clicking here.
Don’t worry I usually save my hour of cardio for after my hour of lifting 😉 I think it’s impossible to keep up as recommendations change! First we aren’t doing enough, then we’re doing too much… My goal is every marathon in moderation! Haha l
2 hours in the gym? Hmmm, after your heavy lift you could combine some lighter weights/cardio for a little 10-15 min circuit blast. Very effective and you gain an hour:)
So is one marathon a year okay? I don’t want to be putting all this work in running everyday to be healthy when it’s doing the opposite. I consider myself a long distance runner. 6 miles on an average day…. Like one really long run a month.
I wouldn’t go for more than one a year and I wouldn’t run everyday. Less is often more. I would also do some biking/rowing to balance the stress of running all the time. And definitely take off a period of the year off from running and focus solely on strength for about 3 months. In other words, periodize your training around the marathon.
Thank you. I will give it a try 🙂 I’m starting to slowly realize less really is more. During my last marathon training I was afraid to take some days off due to a minor injury, but ended up doing so…. I was surprised at how much better I ran from resting vs pushing myself. Seems like a no brainer, but at the time I really had this mentality to keep going faster & harder…
Lindsey Buhl some interesting info…
There’s no fear of me going over an hr. LOL
Thank you so much for bringing this out to discussion. I am a recovering exercise/bulimarexic post 15 yrs. I taught aerobics and other classes for 16 yrs and was a hard core about all of it. My wake up call was losing my Dad to cancer at age 58. He was never sick a day and always working and puttering and just a very positive person. That changed a lot of things for me and I began to question my obsession with “health and fitness”. My husband’s uncle, an avid runner, dropped dead of a massive heart attack at 51, which caused further concern, and I noticed a lot of my exercise buddies had some serious chronic injuries and illness. When I realized that I was not in balance or in control, I gave up this obsession for moderation, as the Bible clearly states, even about “physical exertion”. I have been free of the negative thoughts that kept me doing counterproductive things for a long time now, but I do have a “leaky” heart, as diagnosed by my doctor and I have some other health issues that I am becoming aware of now. I am positive that I did damage during those years, but God is gracious and I am beginning to heal with some of the new ways of caring for my body. Thanks again for reminding us that more is not always better, even when it seems to sound logical and benign.
I run/walk about 2.5 miles about 3 times a week. I do a few 5k races and a half marathon each year. Do you think by doing this one bigger race a year would have negative effects? Or does that story speak more to people who run hard each time they run for longer distances and do full marathons frequently? Thanks..
@Teresa–no, I don’t think that is excessive at all. And yes I was speaking more in terms of “people who run hard. . . marathons frequently”. Keep up the physical activity that you enjoy, adding in some interval and strength training for even better performance!
in all things, moderation
Is this someone’s opinion? Could you provide some references for this article?
It’s all over the internet. Check the links provided at the end of the article, Mercola.com has a couple excellent articles on the subject along with Mark’s Daily Apple or just Google “excessive endurance exercise and heart damage” and look for the more reputable sources and ones that you trust.
I’m 52, female, eat a mostly primal diet, and in good health (knock-on-wood). I’m training for a 10K. I just ran my first 5K and my goal is to do a 10K. I’m not a “runner” by any stretch of the imagination, and I don’t see myself continuing at this pace after I’ve accomplished my 10K in Sept. I prefer to walk/jog and ride my bike with strength training at the gym and that’s what I’ll go back to once I’ve done the 10K. It’s just always something I’ve wanted to do and decided this was the year. To build up to a 10K I’ll be running 4x a week, until Sept. 21, at a distance of 2miles to 9 miles by the end of training. I know that the 9 miles will take me well over an hour to complete – if I can even run that far, might have to walk part of the way. From your article it sounds like what I’m doing isn’t necessarily a good thing? I’m aware of the pitfalls of over-exercising but was thinking that since this is only a short term goal for me and not something I plan to do past the 10K, it wouldn’t be such a bag thing? Any thoughts you have on my plan would be greatly appreciated and thanks for all the great articles!
Hi Becky, good for you on your goal setting! One 10 K would certainly not be overdoing it and is actually a wise goal for someone that enjoys running along with the strength training you do. Check out Brian MacKenzies 12 week plan — it is geared towards a half or whole marathon but could easily be scaled for a 10K. http://running.competitor.com/2011/05/training/brian-mackenzies-12-week-crossfit-endurance-advanced-training-program_28400
Thanks for the feedback Paula. I really appreciate it. I’ll definitely look into the training plan you mentioned.