Anybody else run races (5k, 5 miler, 10k, half marathons)

[sangheilios]

As far as I know, it's speculated that ancient humans chased their prey on the savannah by jogging until it died of exhaustion, similar to wolf packs, I have heard humans innately have much more endurance than other mammals but it still feels unnatural to me.

Here is the thing, you want to incorporate exercise modalities that you genuinely enjoy simply because you are substantially more likely to stick with it over the longer term. If you are trying to force yourself to engage in an activity that you really don't enjoy it's not something you'll be able to sustain. This is the biggest reason why a lot of people fail with their fitness/health goals, that and they also try to do way too much way too soon.

For me personally, I've always enjoyed gym type workouts, whether that be weights, bodyweights, sleds, strongman exercises, etc. I also really enjoy hiking and going for walks outside in nature.

I do like shorter burst sprint or middle distance type running but find that it can be difficult to do much of this if I'm doing a lot of serious lower body work in the gym.

I used to like lower intensity swimming as well, I found it was really relaxing and it felt good on the body.

A while back I went through a phase where I did boxing, I actually had a trainer and got pretty good at it but eventually lost interest. A big part of it was more related to the culture/vibe of the gyms that are associated with this. You are going to find many legitimate meatheads in environments like this and it wasn't something I liked. I remember trying the BJJ classes they had at that gym and it was filled with a bunch of douchebags that thought they were super tough lol, I literally took like 4 classes and was completely turned off by it. I think places like this attract a lot of guys that are secretly very insecure and want to feel tough or badass.

 

[FlexpertHamilton]

Here is the thing, you want to incorporate exercise modalities that you genuinely enjoy simply because you are substantially more likely to stick with it over the longer term. If you are trying to force yourself to engage in an activity that you really don't enjoy it's not something you'll be able to sustain. This is the biggest reason why a lot of people fail with their fitness/health goals, that and they also try to do way too much way too soon.

For me personally, I've always enjoyed gym type workouts, whether that be weights, bodyweights, sleds, strongman exercises, etc. I also really enjoy hiking and going for walks outside in nature.

I do like shorter burst sprint or middle distance type running but find that it can be difficult to do much of this if I'm doing a lot of serious lower body work in the gym.

I used to like lower intensity swimming as well, I found it was really relaxing and it felt good on the body.

A while back I went through a phase where I did boxing, I actually had a trainer and got pretty good at it but eventually lost interest. A big part of it was more related to the culture/vibe of the gyms that are associated with this. You are going to find many legitimate meatheads in environments like this and it wasn't something I liked. I remember trying the BJJ classes they had at that gym and it was filled with a bunch of douchebags that thought they were super tough lol, I literally took like 4 classes and was completely turned off by it. I think places like this attract a lot of guys that are secretly very insecure and want to feel tough or badass.

I agree with you on that all that, all the exercise I do is based on what makes me feel good and that's what I tell others as well. I was only arguing whether it's natural from an evolutionary perspective to do endurance running or not.

And yeah I can definitely see that with martial arts classes. People are just worthless.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

As far as I know, it's speculated that ancient humans chased their prey on the savannah by jogging until it died of exhaustion, similar to wolf packs, I have heard humans innately have much more endurance than other mammals but it still feels unnatural to me.

Yes that is true, humans have a lot of endurance in comparison to other animals. But the cost of having that endurance is your body trying to make you as light as possible so the energy requirements are as low as possible.

And that means getting rid of muscle which is metabolically active and requires far more calories to keep it around than fat.

 

[Ricky]

I get a good runners high and like being able to run. I also love lifting.

ive always been conflicted. I think the best way to mitigate the interference effect between strength and endurance training is to do them on separate days

 

[Ricky]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8365736/

The discussion provides a summary of the evidence on the effects of exercise on weight loss, body composition changes, and weight maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity. The overview of reviews analyzed 12 systematic review-meta-analyses (SR-MAs) comprising 149 unique individual studies.

The findings indicate that exercise contributes to weight and fat loss, with exercise training groups experiencing greater weight loss compared to non-exercise control groups. The addition of exercise to a dietary intervention led to additional weight loss compared to the dietary intervention alone. Aerobic training was consistently effective for weight loss, while resistance training did not show significant effects. Aerobic exercise and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) resulted in similar weight and fat loss when energy expenditure was equalized, suggesting no superiority of one over the other. The choice between modalities should be based on individual preferences.

The evidence also demonstrated the effectiveness of exercise in reducing visceral adiposity, particularly through aerobic training. However, resistance training did not significantly decrease visceral adipose tissue. Exercise did not show a significant difference in lean mass change compared to non-exercise control groups, indicating potential preservation of lean mass during weight loss. Regarding weight maintenance, the available evidence is limited, with few studies indicating no significant effect of exercise on preventing weight regain. However, retrospective analyses and weight control registries suggest that greater amounts of exercise are associated with less weight regain.

Adherence to exercise protocols remains a challenge in demonstrating the effect of exercise on weight maintenance. Further research is needed to identify effective strategies to improve adherence and provide more robust evidence in long-term obesity management.

 

[sangheilios]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8365736/

The discussion provides a summary of the evidence on the effects of exercise on weight loss, body composition changes, and weight maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity. The overview of reviews analyzed 12 systematic review-meta-analyses (SR-MAs) comprising 149 unique individual studies.

The findings indicate that exercise contributes to weight and fat loss, with exercise training groups experiencing greater weight loss compared to non-exercise control groups. The addition of exercise to a dietary intervention led to additional weight loss compared to the dietary intervention alone. Aerobic training was consistently effective for weight loss, while resistance training did not show significant effects. Aerobic exercise and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) resulted in similar weight and fat loss when energy expenditure was equalized, suggesting no superiority of one over the other. The choice between modalities should be based on individual preferences.

The evidence also demonstrated the effectiveness of exercise in reducing visceral adiposity, particularly through aerobic training. However, resistance training did not significantly decrease visceral adipose tissue. Exercise did not show a significant difference in lean mass change compared to non-exercise control groups, indicating potential preservation of lean mass during weight loss. Regarding weight maintenance, the available evidence is limited, with few studies indicating no significant effect of exercise on preventing weight regain. However, retrospective analyses and weight control registries suggest that greater amounts of exercise are associated with less weight regain.

Adherence to exercise protocols remains a challenge in demonstrating the effect of exercise on weight maintenance. Further research is needed to identify effective strategies to improve adherence and provide more robust evidence in long-term obesity management.

I don't think anyone on here was specifically stating that cardio was not helpful for losing weight. The discussion we've been having is whether or not running may be overhyped as a form of exercise and also what it's potential drawbacks are.

It really depends upon what your goals are. If someone wanted to lose weight, their best approach would be to maximize their body recomposition. The best way to do this would be to build muscle, so strength/weight training of some sort, and incorporate something that helps burn calories, which could be just about anything, with a solid overall diet. Most people would be much better off incorporating things like hiking or walking, going for long bike rides, swimming, etc. Think about activities you could do for close to an hour or more where you are able to hold a conversation but also getting your breathing and heart rate up a bit. You'd find that recovering from exercise like this would be much easier than going for more intense longer duration modalities where your heart rate is getting into 70%+ max heart rate.

 

[sangheilios]

I agree with you on that all that, all the exercise I do is based on what makes me feel good and that's what I tell others as well. I was only arguing whether it's natural from an evolutionary perspective to do endurance running or not.

And yeah I can definitely see that with martial arts classes. People are just worthless.

I partially question that to be honest. One thing to consider is that these humans would have been working in groups. Something else to factor in is they may not have really been running all that much to begin with, it's not like they were running a half marathon or something like that.

Here is something to consider, when people go and complete a marathon they are at an increased risk of many health issues, one in particular is called rhabdomyolysis, which is the breakdown of muscle tissue that enters into the bloodstream, urine, etc. Severe dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, etc. Did you know where the word marathon came from? During the battle of Marathon, back in ancient Greece, there was a battle with the Persians and they sent a messenger on foot to Athens. When he arrived he relayed the message and proceeded to drop dead lol.

 

[Ricky]

These are all good points. I exercise year round so for me to run a marathon is easier then people who are sedentary. I do run slowly because i am not out there constantly putting in tons of miles year round

i also prefer to lift too so carrying extra muscle compared to most


running has a high risk of injury for most people. I just love to mix things up and am definitely supportive of alot of walking which i do when i listen to podcasts and audiobooks

 

[sangheilios]

These are all good points. I exercise year round so for me to run a marathon is easier then people who are sedentary. I do run slowly because i am not out there constantly putting in tons of miles year round

i also prefer to lift too so carrying extra muscle compared to most


running has a high risk of injury for most people. I just love to mix things up and am definitely supportive of alot of walking which i do when i listen to podcasts and audiobooks

I think the biggest issue with running is that it has a very high risk of injury compared to other forms of exercise. In my honest opinion, I think the most important factor for an exercise routine should be to minimize injury risk as much as possible. Think about it this way, if you get some sort of injury this could prevent you from doing certain types of exercise for possibly weeks or even months, in fact certain injuries could prevent you from any form of activity if it is bad enough or in the right spot lol. The goal should be to engage in something that you enjoy where you don't get hurt, with the reason being that it is something that can be sustained for years and years and years.

Years ago I tried out BJJ, which I mentioned to the other poster, and I took like 4 classes before quitting. A big part of it was the douchebag vibe of the place but I also was getting injuries. I got twisted up in some bow and arrow hold where I had pain from my neck to my SI joint and had pain getting out of bed the next morning, I was 25 at the time. I then had my elbows and wrists get slightly hyperextended, so I had pain in there as well. I said to myself "If I continue doing this I'll be ****ed up for life" lol. What is the point of engaging in an activity if you are literally destroying your body lol.

I'm sure you agree with these points. I personally enjoy stuff like plyometrics, bounding, sprinting up hills and doing short fast runs like a mile. I especially feel the mile is good because you can go really hard at it and develop a lot of conditioning with that without it taking very long. Even something like an 800m run after a lower body workout would be great, a fit person could push themselves for around 3 minutes or less and be able to do that.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

I get a good runners high and like being able to run. I also love lifting.

ive always been conflicted. I think the best way to mitigate the interference effect between strength and endurance training is to do them on separate days

Just stop running. It will not mitigate the effects, you are effectively spinning your wheels.

Walk all you want.

 

[RobbyDog]

I have two marathons and a 50K trail race under my belt.

 

[eli77]

It's all about your diet forget about your shoes and please stay away from those funny sketcher shoes.