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One of the first questions I get asked by people starting out is: “Mike, should I do cardio!?”

This all comes to what you want to achieve out of fitness.

If you want to be able to run far, well then yeah.. the best way to get better at something is to practice it; so if you wanna be able to run 10 miles in an hour then get on that treadmill and start training!

But.. if you care about overall fitness, and want general good health, typical cardio may actaully not be too good for  us, due to it causing unnecessary stress on limbs and releasing unfavourable hormones which break down muscle.

Instead, to satisfy your aerobic needs, walking and sprints may actually be better options if focusing on all-round athletic performance.

Now if you only care about building muscle and getting bigger, cardio is going to result in you having to eat more and make you more tired… what’s the point? I can see no reason to do cardio if aiming to get bigger and stronger – for me it just drains my energy which I should be using to lift weights and get stronger.
If you’re getting fatter, then you’re eating too much. Eat less.
If you just want to eat more, then I guess burning a few hundred calories with cardio could make sense – but it’s so much effort. Just control yourself and do some intermittent fasting or something, or just don’t eat that donut.

Now if you’re trying to lose weight, I’m still not a big fan of it.. as I said earlier, high-paced cardio releases a stress hormone called cortisol which breaks down muscle. Also, you’re already eating less – why make yourself more hungry!?
think about it this way, jogging for 45 mins burns about 300 calories. That is the same amount of calories as a donut. Now I don’t know about you but when I used to finish a run I could probably eat like 3 or 4, easily… so it just doesn’t make much sense for me.. just don’t eat that goddam sprinkled donut.

So yeah, the only time I would advise doing typical cardio is when you want to train for something which requires it.

If you just want all round fitness and health I personally think strength training, walking, and sprints are they way to go.

And if you just want to get huge, fuck that shit.

…and also, cardio is just boring…

-Mike

follow me on twitter @mikeyteey, and if you have any questions email me at mike@unigains.com. Would love to hear from you!