Amy Jones used to think of a strenuous workout as a long run on the treadmill. Then she joined her husband at CrossFit, a gym he belongs to that stresses Olympic-style weightlifting and other strength moves over cardio.
Within a few sessions, she was hooked. “I’m more toned, I have more energy and more endurance,” she said. “I’ve turned fat into muscle, and my clothes fit better.”
She has no intention of returning to the treadmill.
Almost 40 years after Dr. Kenneth Cooper coined the term “aerobics,” a concept that would later spawn a generation of spandex-clad cardio junkies, some trainers are steering their clients away from traditional cardio-intensive workouts and toward mostly strength moves.
The reasons: Many exercises that are good for the heart are hard on the joints. And cardio training without muscle conditioning can lead to loss of muscle and bone density, experts say.
Even Cooper now believes strength training is important. Some people — those fighting aging and those with injuries — benefit from more time on muscle conditioning than cardiovascular exercise, he said in an interview from his Texas clinic.
He cites Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, a onetime cardio king who shifted to more intense weight training. (Aikman said through a spokesman he does not think cardio is overrated, but he cut way back on his once daily 4-mile runs because he didn’t want to further tax his body. He dropped body fat when he made the change, he said.)
Cooper does not believe cardio is a bad habit to be kicked. “If you go strictly muscular-skeletal conditioning, it’s a major mistake,” he said. “You’ll wear out.”
Cooper’s belief is not shared by Jim Karas, author of “The Cardio-Free Diet.” Karas believes cardio workouts overstress the body and work against those trying to lose weight.
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Karas, who helped Diane Sawyer get svelte, experienced a revelation in the ’80s when he was an aerobics instructor. He saw shocking amounts of excess flesh, even on those who came to class religiously. Then he looked in the sparsely populated weight room. “Everyone was so lean!” he said in an interview from his Chicago studio. Karas changed his approach and found he and his clients could keep weight off more easily with strength training rather than aerobics.
The book jacket of “The Cardio-Free Diet” promises “real results” with just 60 minutes of exercise a week. But Karas said he works out 40 minutes, five days a week. The added time in the gym is to relieve stress, he said. Karas walks most everywhere — a form of cardiovascular exercise, he acknowledged, adding that he encourages clients to take stairs instead of elevators and park farther away to build activity into daily life.
For those who love cardio workouts, Karas recommends no more than 30 minutes at a time, because of potential joint damage and his belief that cardio stimulates the appetite.
He favors “compound exercises” that combine upper and lower body moves and get the heart pumping.
“My whole goal is I just want people to stop pounding their bodies,” he said. “When people hear ‘exercise,’ I want them to think of strength training.”
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Tips on mixing cardio, strength training
Cardio and strength training each have a place in a fit lifestyle. Even Jim Karas, author of “The Cardio-Free Diet,” is an avid walker. Experts disagree on just how much of each a person needs.
“There’s an unfortunate trend to emphasize one over the other,” said J. Andrew Doyle, an associate professor of kinesiology and health at Georgia State University, adding that flexibility is a third component of a balanced workout.
Here’s what Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the Texas doctor who coined the term “aerobics” in the late 1960s, advises his patients:
* In your 30s: 80 percent aerobic/20 percent muscular conditioning.
* 40s: 70 percent aerobics/30 percent muscular conditioning.
* 50s: 60 percent aerobics/40 percent muscular conditioning.
* 60s: 55 percent aerobics/45 percent muscular conditioning.
Cooper, 76, suggests shifting to even more strength work as you age. His advice is based on his experience. As he aged, he had endurance but he lacked strength. He started lifting weights. Some younger athletes need to shift away from cardio because of injuries, he said. “If your body starts breaking down, listen to it.”
— Cox News Service