Jenifer

I'm a cyclist so often I can be riding for up to four or five hours say two or three times a week. Do you think long distance cycling is damaging? And to add, do you think it's ineffective for fat burning?

An African colleague recounts stories of east African hunters running down game over several hours until the animal exhausts itself, allowing an eventual kill.

It is a myth that we were meant to sprint and walk. Having said that, and having been both a sprinter and a marathoner, from a health perspective, sprinting is my preferred training mode past 50.

Look at sprinters, and then look at marathon runners. Enough said!

Olympic sprinters tend to have the type of body everyone would like. Marathon runners tend to be skinny-fat or just very "normal" looking.

On top of all of this, I have seen quite a number of people get knee surgery due to marathon-style cardio!

HIIT is where it's at if you want to run. Sure it's more intense, but it's also far more effective and healthy for your joints!

It's too bad that people are brainwashed into thinking that traditional cardio is the only answer.

There is a fellow in my neighborhood who does distance running. He has an awful-looking physique. He's very emaciated. I assume much of his muscle has been catabolized…or maybe that's what I'm seeing, muscle with skin stretched tightly across it. Hmmm. I wonder if he might be extremely healthy though???

But the thing is, because so few true bodybuilders do it, there isn't enough science to show (what I believe to be true, on personal experience) that if you time your SS cardio right, and time your nutrition right, you can have the best of both worlds: muscle gain and super endurance.

Having a blast doing it is the side benefit.

Soundgarden is dead, but Chris Cornell is still putting out the good tunes. For some reason I think he lives part of the time in Europe now.

Tyler,

You gave me an idea to post my detailed workout routine. Thanks for the idea…it is up now.

Bob,

You can go low intensity for much longer periods of time (as long as you have the time). I like to hike in the summer and sometimes it lasts 4-6 hours. I don't feel any negatives whatsoever from it.

Nate,

Yeah…part of the army workouts are great, such as all the bodyweight stuff…but that marathon stuff is brutal. Maybe the reason why is so that they have the ability to jog long distances in battle. Who knows?

Rahul,

I don't think you need that supplement. If you are losing inches it sounds like you are making positive progress.

myra,

I forgot about the guy who cut his leg off with a pocket knife. That is brutal! I'm not sure I could have done that, but if it was life or death…then maybe?

McBreal,

I could see doing a marathon just for the challenge of it. That actually makes sense to me. I like to do things that test my will, just for the fun of it.

Jessica,

Yeah…we should have fun doing activities and not just doing stuff to stay in shape. Great point.

Addison,

I'm glad you found the best methods to get is shape. It is shocking how inefficient marathon style running is for fat loss. It is a lot of effort, for very little pay-off.

Justin,

You can still get results without being fully fasted. Here is what I recommend for people who are feeling sluggish due to fasting before their workout. Eat an apple…I like Fuji…they are only 60 calories and give you a decent energy boost. By the time you get into HIIT it will be burned off and you will be good to go.

Rod,

Mount Vernon is a pretty area…especially just a bit north. I have driven through hundreds of times on the way to Vancouver, BC. That whole area is incredible.

Kane,

I have mixed feelings on swimming. It is great for creating nice looking muscles and sculpting the body, it is a healthy activity and fun…it isn't the best fat loss exercise. Google "swimming and fat loss" and you will find several studies on this topic, showing that it is hard to lose that last bit of body fat swimming. So my advice is swim part of the time, but also do HIIT out-of-water.

Luke,

I am way too impatient for running for hours on end. It bores me, but I like to hike from time to time. I guess it is just a matter of preference for what someone finds fun. I'm glad that short sprints work better for fat loss. It would be a bummer if it took hours to lose fat.

Anthony,

I need to address the point about the ability of sprints to build endurance. There have been several great studies on this.

Thanks guys!

Rusty

I used to run for miles and miles and yes I did lose lots of unwanted body fat but I developed the scrawny runner look – my genetics are party responsible as I was a teenager and growing to be a lanky build but the running definitely made my long legs look even more matchstick like. Fortunately, I now train in a smarter way and have not been on a run > 5km for a long long time but I am in 'better' shape (in my opinion). I think that the bottom line is that unless you are a professional marathon runner, there is no need to train like one. (Though I will agree that the odd slow longer run can be quite a nice escape from the stresses of life – just don't do it too often if you want to achieve a muscular look of any sort).

Thanks
-Kane