running vs. other cardio

Anybody else ever notice that running seems to vastly surpass any form of machine cardio? My knees had been really bad for a while due to low carbing and so on, and I had been sticking to the elliptical. Despite interval cardio (trust me, panting hard and dying intervals too), nothing was looking good until I started running again this last month. I swear to god, the first week of running my legs and abs started looking better almost instantly.
And on a side note…thank you Mr. Berardi for the eat your vegetables tips…once I started being anal about the veggies my joints started feeling a hundred percent better.

I do IBUM everyday.
There is no alternative for running in terms of staying lean and moderately ripped up.

NONE

I know I have read that on here before… Can someone remind me what the IBUM acronym stands for…

IBUM every day? Vain bro, lay off the cardio and put some beef on.

Intervals every day? You’re sick!

In adjunct to The Thunderous One’s post…Vain, I would chiggity check yo’ self before you wriggity wreck yo’ self.

Even elite athletes in track don’t/can’t perform intense interval/repetition work on a daily basis without drastically suffering the consequences.

Gentizzles,
before you go off your rockers…let me elaborate

The IBUM is a base 2.1mile run. At 3 different points during this run are seqeunced sprints of 50, 60, and 40 yards. I usually complete run in an average of 17:30 (best 15:59). On occasion there will be HIIT to follow at 6 25 yard sprints.

Now, my overall arching goal is not to get HYUGE. Obviously not. I want to stay lean at this juncture. Also, with once in a blue moon binges on cereal, the running has DEFINITELY seemed to keep my insulin sensitive as hell. Its alright broz. I have put on the meat before, and I do not look nearly as emaciated as in previous pics. But I like the deeply carved chin, rugged jaw look right now. Maybe I’ll thicken up come winter…I am deathly afraid of smoothing over. Deathly.

Vain

Please don’t regard what I am about to state as a flame; rather, it’s an observation/comment about some of the posts here-some people’s statements suggest highly unhealthy attitudes regarding body image, food, and exercise. Actually, they are reflective of someone on the border of an eating/body image disorder.

unhealthy how, exactly? Because we want to look good? Also, you obviously haven’t been reading the forums very long, or you might’ve thought to make this a separate post, rather than highjacking elveneyes’ legitimately on-topic post.

Elveneyes: The thing I’ve really noticed is that my over all sense of well-being seems to improve when I’ve been running regularly. But I still hate to do it.

I do MYBUM everyday. After i lift i sit on my bum the rest of the day. haha. I actually think stuff like pulling a sled, jumping rope, calisthentics are superior to cardio.

Actually, in my experience swimming beats the shit out of all other cardio. Nothing burns the calories like swimming. This requires you have pretty good skills to reap the benefit of the exercise (pretty much everyone at least knows how to run). Swimming is low\no impact, works the whole body at one time, is an unbelievable areobic blast, and requires that you hold your breath most of the time while you are doing it. When I was in college I worked for a while in the cafeteria at the athletic dorms. Those ladies used to laugh about how they had to prepare way more food for the little swimmers then the huge footballers. On the other hand (I was a competetive swimmer in my youth) there is no more boring exercise then swimming back and forth and looking at the same stripe on the bottom of the pool for an hour or so.

Goldberg, please get your BUM off of the high horse and stop thinking that you are better than everybody else. Thank you.

Yes goldberg, get off that high horse already… I mean actually trying to help other lifters with technique, sheesh that is just sooo snotty of you. :stuck_out_tongue:

Anyway, back on topic.

Swimming is a good one, and for me (a sinker) it really is a workout. Just staying afloat is a lot of work.
I find it incredibly hard to do in a shallow pool since my legs will sink pretty fast if I don’t keep em moving non stop. It is boring as hell also.
Running is nice. A bit of a hassle to find the grass field since they don’t have one at the club and my backyard isnt quite big enough.

I personally like to play various sports as HIIT, things like racquetball work for it, tennis, basketball.

Jogging is the way to go when you want to shed a few pounds and tighten up your abs. Throw in some sprints and watch out for sore legs.

I just played in a softball tournament on the weekend and my legs killed worst the next day then doing heavy squats. From all the sprinting.

Dave.

I’ve found 500m intervals on a Concept II rower are just as effective for fat loss and anaerobic endurance development. You have to have decent technique, though, and they’re not for the weak of heart.

Nephorm, my post was cut off and I did not mean to hijack elveneyes thread. I have been reading the forum and t-mag for the past year, when I first stumbled upon it. I’m also familiar with the “internet personalities” with the regular posters here. I’m all for looking great. I just thought that Vain’s post, and his many others, reflected a bit of extremitism in terms of fear of food and gaining fat. However, this is not to say that Vain is unintelligent or so; indeed, he’s highly knowledgeable in the areas of training and nutrition. I apologize if what I said earlier offended you or what not; that was not my intent. And yes, running or walking uphill is the best form of cardio for leaning out, IMO.

In regards to the post about body-image disorder.

The person (poster) is slightly onto an issue:

If someone asked me do I have a body image disorder, I would say the following:

By most people standards I do. I want something I never seem to have, even when others say I have it. I will be very committed to trying to achieve this goal, obsessively so.

All in a day’s thoughts.

Mr. Belvedere…I mean, bellereve (no shame, bro, no shame…all in good fun) brings up a great point.

See, I believe that the problem really takes hold and fully manifests itself when all the individual thinks about is this one thing. Whether it’s eating, his body, or whatever, if these thoughts encompass the individual’s mind and actions nearly all the time, then there’s a serious problem.

Obviously, this is a state that must be avoided at all costs. It doesn’t necessarily happen overnight, but progressively. In this case, it’s best to nip it in the bud at the earliest possible stage.

Whilst I see nothing wrong with setting high goals and standards for ourselves, I still think that a balance (i.e. mind, body, and soul; physical, social, and mental) need be the focus for real happiness and success in life.

so anyways, about that running…lol…
As long as we’re talking about “body dysmorphia” or however you care to term it, remember that to most normal people anyone who does anything out of the ordinary is deemed obsessive. Why else do we have psychologists coming up with the idea that people who meticulously plan their meals five times a day and measure their bodyfat are mentally ill??
Obsessive is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated. Over and over I’ve had friends start to work out with me and fall off, calling me an obsessed gym rat, Xena, or anything in between(and mind you, I’m not even anywhere near fitness competition quality).

bellereve: My issue wasn’t so much with what you said, but rather where you said it. It makes sense that your post was cut off, as it did seem a little terse. I’d be happy (and so would others) to discuss this in its own topic. But the usual suspects will probably turn this into the main discussion item, so:
My belief is that any psychological disorder, to be classified as such, must have negative consequences in the real world. This could mean depression, loss of function in other areas of one’s life, etc. As long as that isn’t the case, I don’t see any problem with being anally retentive.

I’ve been pick up basketball a few nights a week. Pretty good workout. I sweat and run around like crazy.