10 reasons not to do aerobic training

First, let's be clear on what I mean by aerobic training: it is any exercise which you can carry on continuously for an extended period of time, and is typically done in the form of running, swimming and cycling. For a long time it was the mode of exercise recommended for fitness and weight loss for reasons I won't go into here. Things change though, and science has made discoveries which renders this advice obsolete. Unfortunately, things often take too long to filter down to the fitness industry, or the medical profession for that matter, and aerobic training is an excellent example of something which should be consigned to the scrap heap but still forms the basis of many training regimes. If you run marathons then you probably need to do some aerobic training; everyone else, read on...

10 reasons not to do aerobic training:

1. It is ineffective after about 8 weeks. In other words, your fitness will improve for a short period of time beyond which you are wasting time and effort which would be better spent on different training methods.
2. Aerobic training is catabolic. This simply means it will cause you to lose muscle tissue which is detrimental for a number of reasons, not least because muscle mass tops Dr Mark Houston's list of predictors of how long you will live! This is because if you become ill, you will lose muscle mass; if you don't start with much you have less chance of surviving. Decreased strength and a slower metabolism are just two of many more reasons why losing muscle mass is a bad idea.
3. Adrenal fatigue. Like any excessive stress on the body, aerobic exercise can contribute to adrenal fatigue because of its long-duration continuous nature. Besides causing many umpleasant symptoms this can make fat loss almost impossible and often results in fat gain, particularly around the midsection. Probably not what you had in mind when you set off jogging! More intense exercise interspersed with periods of recovery is perceived as much less stressful by your body.
4. Inefficient use of time. Anaerobic training methods, for example weight training and interval training, have been shown to improve both anaerobic and aerobic fitness markers; in other words you improve both. Aerobic training only improves aerobic fitness, and I don't believe it even does it as effectively as anaerobic training. Two birds, one stone.
5. You have little need for high levels of aerobic fitness. People often complain about 'feeling unfit' during daily activities, for example when they have to lift heavy objects or run up stairs, but it isn't your aerobic fitness which has let you down in these examples. No job or daily activity that I can think of (I'm happy to hear your suggestions!) demand high levels of aerobic fitess. Strength is a much more useful quality, and the stronger you are the easier you will find any of life's tasks. And remember: your job only makes you as strong as the demands of the work involved. To find the work easier you need a strength reserve, so while a farmer may already be stronger than an office worker, being even stronger would make more sense than being more aerobically fit.
6. It won't get you fit for your sport. In the past, sports coaches often advocated boosting your 'aerobic base', with players in predominantly anaerobic sports spending time doing aerobic training in the off-season. The situation has improved dramatically in recent years, but some things are hard to let go and many amateur players in sports such as football, rugby and tennis waste time on aerobic work, and many boxers are still known to pound the streets like Rocky! Not only is it pointless, it may interfere with strength gains from weight training, something which is extremely valuable for your sporting performance.
7. It has little effect on your metabolism. Aerobic exercise may increase your metabolism for two or three hours while intense exercise can raise your metabolism for almost 48 hours, and this is one of the ways in which more intense training can have a positive effect on fat loss. The advice to do aerobic exercise for fat loss is completely out of date, and several studies have demonstrated superior fat loss on an intense interval protocol compared to much longer endurance training methods.
8. Time becomes the main programme variable. Rather than jogging the same distance at a faster pace or swimming the same number of lengths faster, many people simply go further at the same pace. This type of training is often referred to as Long Slow Distance Training (LSDT) in endurance training circles; unfortunately, it is the slow bit that seems to get emphasised while the distance, and therefore time, gets longer. And longer. And longer. There are many reasons not to train for too long, not least of which is the fact that a lack of time is often the reason (or excuse?!) people have for not exercising. And before you justify it by saying that you do increase your speed, if it's still continuous it's still aerobic!
9. Aerobic exercise does not equal cardiovascular exercise. Although the terms 'cardio' and 'aerobic' have become synonymous, 'cardio' is any activity which improves the function and health of the cardiovascular system, while aerobic refers to the intensity at which the working muscles are operating (and is relatively low as it relies on having adequate oxygen available). Resistance training and interval training are at least as effective as aerobic training at improving your cardiovascular health, yet this is still one of the main objections from people advised to drop their aerobic work.
10. It's boring. Now I appreciate that some people do actually enjoy going out jogging or swimming a few lengths, and we have to do things we enjoy and keep us sane! If that's the case then take the advice of Mark Rippetoe who says, "If you want to ride your bikes, don't be gone too long. In fact, be back before supper." However, many people find it mind-numbing but do it because they have been led to believe it is the best option for fitness and fat loss. Hopefully, having read the above points, you now realise that is not the case!

OK, you're convinced that your plan to start jogging, dust off the bike or do a few lengths of doggy paddle is a bad one. So what now?

The best bet would be to begin a weight training programme. (If you intend to keep up your aerobic training then a concurrent weight training programme would be a great idea too to prevent some of the inevitable muscle loss!). The benefits of weight training are too numerous to list here (that might have to be my next blog post), but suffice to say everyone should prioritise it in their exercise plan.

If you plan to run, cycle or swim in addition to weight training then interval training is a much better option than continuous work; the rest periods make it more manageable for beginners, while the high intensity intervals will provide anyone with a much more effective workout in a shorter time. A good starting point would be to do 45 seconds as hard as you can followed by around 90 seconds of easy recovery. Build up from 5 or 6 intervals to 12 over a few weeks, by which time your sessions will take around 30 minutes to complete including your warm up. This may seem like a very short time if you are used to long slow sessions, but if you get the intensity right on the work intervals you shouldn't feel like continuing regardless of your experience or fitness level!

So, in summary: forget the aerobic work, start an effective weight training programme and, if you still have a little time and enjoy 'cardio', finish with a short, sharp interval session. Just don't be sick on the floor!