Newsletter #28 – 7 Reasons I HATE Running

7 Reasons I HATE Running

Quote #27

“I know the key to making your kids lousy at sports: endurance training.” – Mike Boyle

Spotlight On Success

I would like to congratulate Brett T. for dropping over 5 inches off of his waist, and for arriving at his goal one week early!

For men, an inch off the waist is equal to 4 to 5 pounds of body fat. He did this with a VERY busy schedule as an entrepreneur, only about 3.5 hours of exercise per week, and no starvation.

Recipe #28 – Mock Mashed Potatoes

After I dropped my 45 pounds of body fat I thought that mashed potatoes would be off-limits to me. And they are. BUT, I have found a really, really good substitute for them made of cauliflower. Before you turn up your nose, give them a try. You won’t believe how good they actually taste. Click here for recipe.

7 Reasons Why I Hate Running

Yes, you read that title correctly. I think running (as most people do it) is stupid, dangerous, and counterproductive. Here’s why:

#1. Most distance runners look like crap.

I’ll be honest, the main reason that I work out is vanity. I know and have met a lot of amateur endurance athletes and most of them look like this guy: fat and kind of dumpy (I mean that in the nicest way possible). If long-distance running was a great way to look better naked, then if you ran 26.2 miles, you wouldn’t have man boobs or a spare tire right?

What’s that you say? “He’s not a professional runner. The pros are lean.”

What’s that you say? “He’s not a professional runner. The pros are lean.”

He might be lean, but I don’t think that any of the men reading this would want to look like him. They’d all much rather look like the guy who runs for 10 or 20 seconds at a time—the sprinter:

The ladies reading this probably don’t want to look like this triathlete.

They’d probably prefer the 10-second look to the 4-hour look.

#2. Running is bad for your hormones.

Lots of slow, long-distance running (or cycling or swimming) wreak havoc on your hormones. You end up with less of the stuff that burns fat and builds muscle and more of the stuff that makes you sick, destroys your muscle, and boosts fat storage.

#3. Running eats muscle and erodes metabolism.
The speed of your metabolism is mostly determined by how much muscle mass you have. Whether you are a man or a woman, you want more muscle. If you lose muscle, then your body needs fewer calories all of the time—needs fewer calories, so if you’re ingesting the same amount of calories, you’re storing those calories as body fat.

You have two types of muscle fibers: fast-twitch and slow-twitch. The fast-twitch ones make you run fast, jump high, and are the keys to getting a great body and a fast metabolism. The slow-twitch fibers are good for going at slow speeds for long periods of time, and do NOT increase metabolic activity as they are developed.

Endurance training stimulates the slow-twitch fibers at the expense of the fast-twitch fibers. Fast- and slow-twitch fibers are in a zero-sum competition with each other. If one group gets better, then the other one gets worse. The better you get at endurance training, the more your muscles (i.e., metabolism) shrink.

That’s not to say that endurance training is completely worthless. Not at all. It’s great for becoming a good long-distance runner, cyclist, and/or swimmer. But it is NOT a good fat-loss tool unless you have 20-30 hours per week to devote to it. Of course one of the downsides to training that much is you lose your sex drive…

For those of you who are worried about getting “too big,” breathe easy. Big muscles don’t happen by accident, and really big muscles often require the right genes and/or drugs. Big muscles are the result of years of conscious effort directed at making them grow. You will not wake up one day after sprinting or weight lifting and look like the Incredible Hulk.

#4. Running makes you WORSE at ALL sports.

We began this issue with my favorite quote from the legendary athletic coach, Mike Boyle, “I know the key to making your kids lousy at sports: endurance training.”

In all sports the object is to get from point A to point B faster than your opponent, not to be able to run at a steady pace for a longer period of time than him. Most sports are an interval workout—go really fast for a short burst, then slow down and/or stop, then go really fast again. The only situation where you run in a straight line for a long period of time is in a marathon, where you run slowly.

Speed is dependent on fast-twitch development. Endurance training de-conditions your fast-twitch fiber, making you a slower athlete.

#5. Running HURTS (in a bad way)!

Q: What is the worst thing that an overweight person can do for their joints?
A: Long-distance running.

When I do one of my 10-second sprints, my foot strikes the ground 30 times. I’m not ever going to repeat that more than 15 times in a row. So, my joints only have to endure about 450 reps. I’m also resting 50 to100 seconds in between sprints, so I do 30 reps, then rest enough for my muscles to be able to absorb the impact and then repeat. Each time my muscles recover enough to be able to handle the shock of hitting the ground.

However, if I were to go for a 3-mile jog, my feet, ankles, knees, and lower back would have to endure about 4,500 strikes to the ground at 5 times my body weight—over 1,000 pounds per step!

What’s worse is that my muscles never get a single break! My form is going to break down, especially if I have 20 to 40 pounds of extra fat to lug around, and my joints are going to start paying the price.

Most of my overweight clients are concerned when I give them sprinting- or very fast running-based intervals that these exercises will bother their knees. They are always surprised to find out that they don’t have a problem with running/sprinting; they have a problem with long-distance running. It’s usually not until 5 or 10 minutes into a run that people’s knees start hurting. I rarely have a client run or sprint longer than 30 seconds.

#6. Running is a waste of time.
Q: What is the worst thing that an overweight person can do for fat loss?
A: Endurance training (like long-distance running).

Aerobic exercise, such as distance running, is the least effective type of training for fat-loss. Period. If you want more info on this click here for a free article.

#7. Running is BORING.

Is there anything more boring than doing the same thing over and over and over again for 30, 45, or even 60 minutes at a time? Not in my opinion. Endurance training means just running in a straight line for ever and ever, poor results, and busted-up joints.

With sprint-based intervals I have to be fully engaged with what I am doing to go fast—there is no mental room for boredom. I can go forwards, backwards, sideways, sprint stairs, simple patterns, etc. I have limitless options, and I am done in 15 or 20 minutes. There isn’t enough time to get bored. Plus, I get great results!