Anyone see the post by Mark Wright yesterday about not doing too much cardio so it didn’t “burn muscle”?

Mark bloody Wright. Spouting fitness knowledge, which you can guarantee some people out there will believe, and getting it so wrong.
It’s frustrating because celebrities know that people follow them, hang on their every word and jump straight head first into a new celebrity trend before you can say “showbiz”.

According to Wright, he limits his cardio to 20 minutes because anything after that burns muscle. What absolute twaddle.
You can burn muscle through inadequate calorie consumption, coupled with too much cardio (much more than 20 minutes) or through over-training, but not by doing a 25 minute interval session on the treadmill.

This, in my opinion, the main problem with the internet. People read things and take them to be gospel – yes, I’m aware that this is a massive and sweeping generalisation and I’m also aware that I do this myself – without ever looking to see if the person is talking fact, or even sense.
There are plenty of websites out there with the correct information, but a celebrity endorsement is sometimes enough to start a new craze.

Cardio has had a rough deal for the past few years, but things like this are only going to make it worse.
Yes, just doing cardio might not be ideal, but you have to be doing something that you enjoy and something that can fit into your lifestyle. If that’s running then great; if it’s zumba, that’s also great – basically anything is great, as long as it gets your heart rate up and you do it.

If you’re ever in doubt about any aspect of exercise or training, seek out a trainer or professional and they’d be happy to advise.

Apologies for the rant! 🙂