Many years ago, Dr. Kenneth Cooper published a book called, "Aerobics," which promoted a new form of fitness training, a method that quickly captured the imagination of a public hungry for new health "solutions." The country was flooded with "joggers," who were convinced that they had discovered the Fountain of Eternal Youth.
Very long story short, the Aerobic Code was that if you engage in extended periods of exercise that raise your heart rate to a continuous 70-85% of its theoretical maximum rate (the "Aerobic Range") for 20 minutes or more, three times a week, then you will reach fitness Nirvanna. (The theoretical max rate is 220 minus your age). So to be specific, a 40 year old woman would run at a speed that brought her heart rate to about 125bpm for at least 20 minutes, three times a week.
The Aerobic Code (my expression, not Cooper's) was adopted by makers of exercise equipment, fitness centers, trainers, and so on. In fact, just about every treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical machine, or similar self-torture device sold in the past 40 years will have some sort of a chart on it that either shows you how, or encourages you to get into the Aerobic Range for 20 minutes or more, so you can be a disciple of Dr Cooper, whether you ever heard of him or not.
But then a funny thing happened. Dr. Cooper and everyone else who took a close look at "Aerobic Exercise" came to realize that it's just not very good at...well...making you physically fit. It does burn some calories, but it actually retards muscle growth. Look at the first hundred finishers of that 10k run next time you are out there. They all look like weenies - no muscle development at all, even in their legs and butt. And when you get back to the rear of the finishers, a LOT of them are a little bit Porky, particularly when you consider that most of them probably run at least 10 miles a week in their regular training routine. Any thought that you might be able to lose weight by running should be quickly dispelled, because it just ain't happening.
One might also notice that NO professional trainers in any professional or big-time college sport recommends distance running as a regular training method for their athletes. Except of course distance running coaches - but they recommend "fartlek" running and intervals for best results. Regardless of what sport you play, interval training is the superior way to go for training. It takes a fraction of the time of "jogging," and gives you much better results.
The supposed benefit of Aerobic Conditioning for heart and lungs is grossly oversold, and again, it is nowhere near as beneficial as interval training (high, short-term exertion, followed by short rest period, then more high, short-term exertion, with 4-8 intervals in a session).
The actual negatives of running are also worth mentioning. Most people who attempt to run for a program of "lifetime fitness" (as I did for 35 years) have to stop at some point due to knee, hip, or foot injuries. I had all three by the time I wised up and switched to (mainly bicycle) intervals. (I run a mile or two just for fun a couple times a month).
So when I see hordes of people "jogging' around the neighborhood and in my local parks, I am hard-pressed to avoid thinking, "What an idjit." The only saving grace of jogging in my part of the country is that there is no place flat to run, so in spite of yourself you are getting some aspects of interval training due to the hills you have to run. But running at a slow speed on level terrain for hours on end is only slightly more beneficial than drinking beer while watching a football game on TV.
Very long story short, the Aerobic Code was that if you engage in extended periods of exercise that raise your heart rate to a continuous 70-85% of its theoretical maximum rate (the "Aerobic Range") for 20 minutes or more, three times a week, then you will reach fitness Nirvanna. (The theoretical max rate is 220 minus your age). So to be specific, a 40 year old woman would run at a speed that brought her heart rate to about 125bpm for at least 20 minutes, three times a week.
The Aerobic Code (my expression, not Cooper's) was adopted by makers of exercise equipment, fitness centers, trainers, and so on. In fact, just about every treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical machine, or similar self-torture device sold in the past 40 years will have some sort of a chart on it that either shows you how, or encourages you to get into the Aerobic Range for 20 minutes or more, so you can be a disciple of Dr Cooper, whether you ever heard of him or not.
But then a funny thing happened. Dr. Cooper and everyone else who took a close look at "Aerobic Exercise" came to realize that it's just not very good at...well...making you physically fit. It does burn some calories, but it actually retards muscle growth. Look at the first hundred finishers of that 10k run next time you are out there. They all look like weenies - no muscle development at all, even in their legs and butt. And when you get back to the rear of the finishers, a LOT of them are a little bit Porky, particularly when you consider that most of them probably run at least 10 miles a week in their regular training routine. Any thought that you might be able to lose weight by running should be quickly dispelled, because it just ain't happening.
One might also notice that NO professional trainers in any professional or big-time college sport recommends distance running as a regular training method for their athletes. Except of course distance running coaches - but they recommend "fartlek" running and intervals for best results. Regardless of what sport you play, interval training is the superior way to go for training. It takes a fraction of the time of "jogging," and gives you much better results.
The supposed benefit of Aerobic Conditioning for heart and lungs is grossly oversold, and again, it is nowhere near as beneficial as interval training (high, short-term exertion, followed by short rest period, then more high, short-term exertion, with 4-8 intervals in a session).
The actual negatives of running are also worth mentioning. Most people who attempt to run for a program of "lifetime fitness" (as I did for 35 years) have to stop at some point due to knee, hip, or foot injuries. I had all three by the time I wised up and switched to (mainly bicycle) intervals. (I run a mile or two just for fun a couple times a month).
So when I see hordes of people "jogging' around the neighborhood and in my local parks, I am hard-pressed to avoid thinking, "What an idjit." The only saving grace of jogging in my part of the country is that there is no place flat to run, so in spite of yourself you are getting some aspects of interval training due to the hills you have to run. But running at a slow speed on level terrain for hours on end is only slightly more beneficial than drinking beer while watching a football game on TV.
