MEN WHO RUN… And Why They Should Stop

You have plenty of company

You, and countless other men like you, run on that treadmill, often and hard, for a variety of reasons. You want to get in your cardio, NO you “need” to get in your cardio.

You’re training for a competition (which is the only real reason anyone should do hours of steady state cardio). You want to lose weight. You want to feel better. You want long-term health.

If you’re a man, and you run for any reason besides competition preparation, you may have been told (wrongly!) that a lot of running is the way to achieve your health goals.

But it is highly unlikely you will reach any fitness goal by endless running. Worse, it is likely to harm your health, perhaps sooner than later. And there’s plenty of supporting medical evidence.

How come this isn’t working anymore?

You may have already noticed the downturn. Perhaps you’ve started to gain weight, maybe rapidly. You could eat anything before without it showing on the scale, but not now.

Perhaps your energy is down, way down. Perhaps your doctor has told you that you have low testosterone.

Perhaps you’ve increased the amount of time you spend on your cardio workout, but do not see or feel the benefits.

David endless run to nowhere

My client, David, is a case in point. He began running on a treadmill or elliptical, hard and often, and saw the results he wanted.

He lost weight, his energy was great and he liked the way she looked. Then the great results started to diminish.

What could be wrong? David panicked, and thought the answer was to increase the length and intensity of his runs. But no matter how much time he added to his work out, he saw his initial results diminishing.

For David, and countless others just like him, his metabolism was likely becoming damaged by overdoing the cardio. Not by walking, or by HIIT cardio (High Intensity Interval Training, which alternates between high and low-intensity exercise), but by running nowhere fast – except to the doctor’s office.

His metabolism was slowing down because David was spending too much time running, cycling, or using a stair-climber or elliptical, for hours on end.

Survival is the name of the game

Although David didn’t understand it at first, it all made perfect sense to his body. His body was doing its best to keep him alive. His body responded as if his very survival was being threatened and acted accordingly.

If you are wasting your energy in these excessive workouts, your body slows your metabolism to attempt to conserve your energy. Fat cells stop releasing fat. Energy from fat stores decreases. And you can even begin to lose muscle mass and bone density.

Not to be the bearer of bad news but to make matters worse, you begin to restrict your calories too drastically thinking “maybe I need to eat less.” This will put fat on fast and send your metabolism on what will feel like a permanent vacation.

Get off the treadmill, literally

After several discussions with David he was challenged to end her one sided relationship with the treadmill. He decided on a simple and effective course of action.

David stopped the excessive cardio and begin to train more safely and effectively. In a matter of weeks, his metabolism levels had returned to a normal range, and he stopped packing on the pounds. His energy improved, and David began a new, safer and more effective workout regimen.

Work with a knowledgeable trainer. Most of all, understand how your body works and make healthy decisions that will support you in reaching your goals.

If found this post helpful and realize you are just like David, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to register for Beat the Dad Bod and learn how to get your metabolism working for you in a sustainable and holistic way.

1.) Talk with my team about your struggles and we'll diagnose your problem by scheduling a discovery call. Use the link below to book a time.

https://app.beatthedadbodusa.com/triage-call-calendar

2.) Join our FREE Metabolic Melt Facebook Group for middle aged Men and begin your journey to a better and healthier you.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/beatthedadbodusa

- Coach Donny

"Committed to transforming your mind, body, and soul"