Ten Reasons Why I Don't Do Aerobics

By Steve Maxwell

I spend my days at a corporate gym. It's a sweet gig and a temporary livelihood.

One morning, while observing a female member endlessly running the treadmill-to-nowhere-fast, I realized I see the same people returning day after day, iPods silently blaring or, worse, mindlessly captivated by one of the ten wall-mounted television screens, while grinding away on those steppers and treadmills.

The drudgery of their Sisyphean tasks compels their attempts to lose self-awareness by inundating themselves with external stimuli. Often, their bodies reflect this lack of self-awareness in skewed gaits and other imbalances.

These same people come in religiously to get the feel-good fix, believing somehow their mindless, movement addiction is in some way benefiting them. Interestingly, they stay fat, show no progress, and sometimes even get fatter, especially after holidays. Most of these people are loathe to touch a weight, much less engage in any kind of productive strength-training. You see this same phenomenon in gyms all over the country.

Some will say, "Well, some exercise is better than none,"

But I say, if you're going to spend the time, why not produce something worthwhile?
Here are ten reasons why I don't do aerobic exercise:

But first, what is aerobic exercise? Any steady state locomotion elevating the heart rate into the zone for twenty minutes or more. The zone is determined by formulas based on age and resting heart rate.

Now, ten reasons why it not only doesn’t work but is a poor use of exercise time:

1.Oxidative Stress
Which causes a breakdown of tissues. It also predisposes one to cancer and heart attack.

2.Elevated cortisol production
Which causes a breakdown of muscle tissue and increases fat storage or depot fat. People do aerobics to alleviate stress yet end up creating more stress.

3.Lowered testosterone and HGH levels
For men, aerobics are a form of chemical castration. Low T-levels are associated with lowered libido, depression, anxiety, increased body fat and decreased muscle tissue. This contributes to muscle-wasting and lowers the basal metabolic rate.

4.Increased appetite and a tendency toward binge eating patterns
Aerobic exercise makes people hungry!

5.Excessive Muscular Fatigue
Making it difficult to do other more productive forms of activity. Aerobics creates muscular weakness.

6.Conversion of fast-twitch muscle fibers to slow-twitch
The loss of fast-twitch muscle fibers contributes to aging and the loss of explosive power and speed. People become slower and slower.

7.Burns a relatively small amount of calories vs. the time spent
One large meal completely offsets the pitiful amount of calories burned in an hour aerobics session.

8.Overuse injuries to the feet, ankles, and knees from excessive, continual force transmitted throughout the body
This is exacerbated by over-engineered running shoes which cushion the feet in such a way to create a neural amnesia.

9.Shortening i.e., deformation, of the muscle tissue from repetitive mid-range (partial range) movements
This creates inflexibility, immobility, and muscle imbalances. Besides being tight, the bodies postural alignment becomes compromised. Aerobics create tight, inflexible bodies that are in chronic pain.

10.Adrenal burnout
A consequence of the “feel good” neurotransmitters which also stimulate the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the fight or flight hormone. Excessive adrenaline creates an addictive response and people going routinely for the so called “high” of running end up with adrenal burnout, e.g., chronic fatigue and depression.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the father of aerobic exercise (and the person who coined the term) completely recanted his assertions regarding aerobic exercise. After observing a disproportionate number of his aerobic-enthusiast friends die of cancer and heart disease, he reversed his ideas on the benefits of excessive aerobic exercise. He now claims anything in excess of 20 minutes has greatly diminishing returns. In fact, he's now an advocate of scientific weight training.

In strength and health,

Steve Maxwell

  

Six reasons why aerobic work is counterproductive (part 1)
by Charles Poliquins site (Keith Alpert/C.Poliquin)


As a Strength Coach and a Personal Trainer for 15 years, I’ve had a chance to see many fitness enthusiasts workout at many gyms in my local area and throughout the country. At any given gym or fitness center, the one thing that I notice is how you see the same people doing the same workouts month after month, year after year. The amazing thing is that these people continue to look the same or they are actually looking worse aesthetically. This is especially true with the constant performance of continuous aerobic work. What’s sad about this is that they feel like they are doing everything necessary to get the result they are looking for. They are resigned to the fact that this is how it’s going to be and there isn’t anything that can be done to correct their deficiencies. If you were to ask them what results they would like to get out of their workout, the number 1 answer is “losing weight or getting thinner.”
When I am asked what it takes to look “fitter,” the first question I ask is: “How long have you been doing your current training program?”
The usual answer I receive is “somewhere between 6 and 12 months.” The
typical program they follow is “30 – 60 minutes of continuous aerobic work 3 to 5 times per week.”
Our training tells us that this is not a good approach to take for the client seeking improving results over time. World renowned strength guru Charles Poliquin has identified 6 reasons why aerobic training is counterproductive to fat loss:

(1) Continuous aerobic work plateaus after 8 weeks of training so
anything more is counterproductive.
This is quite an “eye opener” for most people who immediately recognize that they may have been wasting their time for such an extended period. To quote Charles, “using this principle in preparation for the 92 Olympics, the Canadian Alpine Ski team actually surpassed the Cross-country team on aerobic scores as measured by third party University labs.” Who wouldn’t want to perform as well as the Canadian Alpine ski team?

(2) Aerobic training worsens power locally and systemically – in other
words, it can make you slower.
If you are an athlete or a “weekend warrior” who likes to participate in athletic events or team sports that require speed and jumping ability, this is the last thing you want from a cardiovascular training program. Coach Poliquin adds that “the more lower body aerobic work you do, the more your vertical jump worsens. The more upper body aerobic work you do, the more your medicine ball throws worsen.”

3) Aerobic training increases oxidative stress which can accelerate
aging.
According to Endocrinologist Dr. Diana Schwarzbein (author of The
Schwarzbein Principle II ,) “oxidation” is a process that forms free radicals in the body. Normally the body can neutralize free radicals with substances known as antioxidants. It is only when there is an excessive build-up of free radicals that the body cannot neutralize all of the free radicals. This leads to changes to your metabolism which can accelerate aging.

(4) Aerobic training increases adrenal stress which can make you
fatter and produce other undesirable health consequences
According to Dr. James Wilson (author of Adrenal Fatigue – The 21st. Century Stress Syndrome,) “normally functioning adrenal glands secrete minute, yet precise and balanced, amounts of steroid hormones”. When one does too much continuous aerobic exercise, the adrenal glands are stressed in a way that can upset this delicate balance which could lead to adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue is associated with such symptoms as: tiredness, fearfulness, allergies, frequent influenza, arthritis, anxiety, depression, reduced memory, and difficulties in concentrating, insomnia, feeling worn-out, and most importantly- with respect to this article - the inability to lose weight after extensive efforts.”

5) Aerobic training increases body fat in stressed individuals by
contributing additional stress.
If you are already going through a lot of stress in your life then adding more “stress” by doing too much continuous aerobic work will actually add more body fat thus making it hard to reach a weight-loss/body fat goal.

6) Aerobic training worsens testosterone/cortisol ratio which
impedes your ability to add fat burning lean muscle.
When the testosterone/cortisol ratio is lowered your ability to add lean muscle tissue, which helps to increase caloric expenditure, is again hampered making weight loss much more difficult. Coach Poliquin notes that “continuous aerobic work is basically exercise induced castration!

 

Aerobics: The Big Lie from Dynamic Barbell Club site

At Dynamic Barbell Club, we do not recommend steady-state low intensity
aerobic exercise for long term fat loss. Walking, jogging, low-intensity cycling falls into this category.
Low-Intensity aerobic exercise is not an effective way to lose body-fat
and can actually increase fat stores under certain conditions. The
evidence of the above statement can be found in any commercial gym across the USA. Aerobic classes are a great social outlet, but an inefficient means to lose fat.
World renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin states, “Low intensity aerobic exercise increases body fat around the abdominals, hips and thighs once the 6-8 week adaptation period has been completed.” Why, because the body adapts to implied demands and since the main fuel source for low intensity aerobic exercise is fat and oxygen the body will store more fat where it is easily accessible; the abdominals, hips, and thighs. This is bad news for the average women spending 4 hours per week walking on the treadmill or doing classes.
The top 5 reasons I don’t recommend long duration low-intensity
exercise:
1. Long duration low intensity exercise decreases muscle tissue. You must increase and maintain muscle tissue for significant fat loss to occur.
2. There is a high incidence of orthopedic injury among avid joggers and marathon participants. It is accepted by runners in the know: if you run a marathon you will be injured.
3. Excessive aerobic exercise increases resting cortisol levels.
4. Aerobic exercise is time consuming. An intense 35 minute resistance
training workout will do more good than 60 minutes of walking.
5. Increased oxidative stress: a cause of premature aging.
Resistance training is the most effective and time efficient exercise
protocol to lose body-fat.

ADVANTAGES OF RESISTANCE TRAINING OVER AEROBIC TRAINING

1. Anyone at any level of conditioning can participate in resistance training.
2. Postural faults can be addressed while resistance training.
3. Corrective resistance exercises can decrease incidence of back pain.
4. Specific muscles can be emphasized to reshape your body.
5. Resistance training is the best way to increase bone density.
6. Growth Hormone levels increase with a properly designed program.
7. More effective at improving insulin resistance than aerobic training.
8. Increases testosterone levels naturally.
9. Increases muscle tissue which is the most important factor for fat loss.
10. Resistance training increases metabolic rate, regular aerobic work
decreases metabolic rate.

I’m not saying that aerobic exercise is bad for you, there are many
health benefits obtained from regular aerobic exercise. It just is not an
efficient way to lose body-fat.

 

Charles Poliquin Himself Proves You Don't Need Aerobics To Stay/Get Lean