^^ also i find that kind of stuff more impressive than being able to lift a lot of weight
^^ also i find that kind of stuff more impressive than being able to lift a lot of weight
I respect endurance sports as a form of recreation, but the concept of "cardio" as exercise is archaic and needs to be debunked. It's somewhere between inadequate and counterproductive.
Idontevenknow wrote:
I realize this is an old post but bear with me for a minute...
The Human species was specifically formed for long-distance running and pretty much nothing else. Pound-for-pound, pretty much every animal on Earth is stronger and faster than Humans. The one thing we have over these other animals, though, is our ability to run extremely long distances and tire out our prey through the practice of persistence hunting. Therefore, the ideal human would appear very gaunt by our standards today. This leads me to believe that having large muscles is very unnatural and not best for overall fitness.
First, the human species evolved to THINK, not run. Intelligence, not long-distance running ability, is what separated our ancestors from the animals they preyed on.
Second, the goal of exercise is to maximize one's quality of life, not to conform with evolution regardless of whatever theory you subscribe to about what the species evolved to do.
The human species has been and is extremely plastic in adapting to different environments. The "runnerman hypothesis" is great for desert and Savannnah, but what about the heavy forests of the north or the tropics, not to mention Pacific Islands, etc.? Why do you think that West Africa(and their North American/Carribbean descendants) has such locus of fast-twitch dominated athletes? How many hours do you think Usain Bolt or his ancestors could chase down a sable antelope under the desert sun?In today's world, we can CHOOSE the type of fitness that is optimal for our lifestyle. If it's 5'6" and 114 lbs you want go for it man, your gazelle is waiting! I've got bigger game in mind :)
Idontevenknow wrote:
Crimea River wrote:If you are truly trying for overall fitness, your running should be the training for 800m, which is the ideal balance of speed, endurance and mental strength. Throw in some upper-body stuff (weights, climbing, swimming, whatever) and you are a balanced, healthy athlete on a fraction of the effort/training time required to plod a 3.5 hour marathon.
I realize this is an old post but bear with me for a minute...
The Human species was specifically formed for long-distance running and pretty much nothing else. Pound-for-pound, pretty much every animal on Earth is stronger and faster than Humans. The one thing we have over these other animals, though, is our ability to run extremely long distances and tire out our prey through the practice of persistence hunting. Therefore, the ideal human would appear very gaunt by our standards today. This leads me to believe that having large muscles is very unnatural and not best for overall fitness.
If you are young and light-weight and enjoy running ---it is the greatest...... That was me, but now I'm older and over-weight and don't enjoy it at all.... can't find that perpetual motion rhythym if you know what I mean, now its just plodding rather than gliding.