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A while back I read in the Bodybuilding Bible, that if you are able to read while doing cardio - You're doing it wrong!.
Now since then, I've always kinda smiled to myself at the gym, when seeing someone reading while doing cardio, thinking - "I'm probably doing much better than they are, losing more fat".
But today I saw a video of Kris Gething, where he actually promotes reading as a way to pass time.
So, what is it: Is reading good or bad for your cardio training?
Whoever said "You're doing it wrong!" is wrong.
"Cardio" is a very broad term and it's hard to do it wrong. You can train in the cardio range at a variety of intensities and in a variety of ways. If you goal is fat loss, it doesn't really matter how you perform you cardio as long as you are burning more calories than you are taking in. If train at a lower intesity that allows you to read then you have to go longer to burn as many calories as a high intensity session.
If you goal is performance than you should be doing cardio exercises that stress your cardiovascular system while training the aerobic fitness of the performance specific muscles. I suppose it could be said that if you are training for a swimming competition and you are reading while you train you probably are doing it wrong because either your pages are getting wet or you are riding an exercise bike which will have only marginal affects on you swimming ability.
If you are following a specific program and they say "if you're reading, you're doing it wrong" you are probably doing it wrong, eg. not training at a high enough intensity.
I'm going to assume that the point about reading during cardio is that you will be exercising at a lower intensity.
Low intensity cardio exercise is very effective at burning fat if you are doing cardio first thing in the morning, or if you are on a low carb diet.
If you are not on a low carb diet, which was not popular when the bodybuilding bible was written, then you will be more effective at fat loss with higher intensity cardio activities which would be inhibited by distractions like reading.
Different strokes for different folks.
I can't read while running. I can barely pay attention to TV while running. If I'm on a recumbent bike though, I can read a magazine and watch TV.
Whatever keeps you going, it's all good.
I quite often read while I'm on the cross-trainer. Reason is mainly that I find it hard to motivate myself to work on it otherwise and by reading I stay on it longer then if I am just focusing on training. Also by reading I feel that I have to work a bit harder to keep my balance and by doing so maintain a stronger core.
I have not read anything about this, neither good or bad but I have thought about it without coming to any conclusion. Looking forward to see what others think about this!
When I was dieting for a bodybuilding competition I tried reading whilst on the recumbent cycle, but I couldn't really do it as I was jiggling about too much and also I got too sweaty. So I used to watch tv instead. When I was doing early morning cardio I would watch tv which I had recorded the night before (cos I had to go to bed early so I could get up and do my cardio).
HOWEVER... when I have been doing slightly more gentle cardio not specifically aimed at competing I have quite often read and I think it's great. If you can do it then that's fine. Certainly you shouldn't be working too hard unless you are doing Tabata intervals or something...
The idea is that if your goal is to lose fat, you should be putting in a certain level of effort in order to burn fat. If you are able to read while doing your cardio, you are most likely not putting in the required level of effort.
I did not see anyone pointing it out that being present during your training affects the outcome.
You cannot, according to what I believe, let your mind wander to something else and hope to get the same benefits as if you were focussing on what you are doing. Being present, conscious of what you are doing, why you are doing it affects your nervous system, your proprioception and ultimately affects the adaptation you will get out of it.
Think of reading as going into a flight or freeze mode while subjecting your body to a physical stress. For your body, this equals to a losing situation and you won't adapt from that.
Reading in itself isn't helping/hurting (I know I'm stating the obvious) - I think the BB Bible was using it as an indicator to your intensity. I'm not a big fan of long cardio workouts for anything....but if you're seeing positive results than continue what you're doing (reading or not). Some people get on a treadmill, bike, etc. and read as a means to reduce stress as well as to burn some calories...SO, if you're happy with the results do it, if not and you're looking to reduce weight - you probably want to look into a more intense cardio OR weight program.
You should be breathing properly while doing cardio, in through the nose and out through the mouth. When you're reading you often forget to breath. That is the reason why you shouldn't read while doing cardio.
Of course if you can do those all at the same time, then go to it.
Seems to me like everyone here is thinking about the exercice as the main point. Doing cardio helps you focus, helps your brain to learn better. If your point is to understand better your study material than cardio will help you study and be more fucos
John, regarding source of aerobic exercise helping the brain learn better, one way it works is that in the process of forming memories:
While exercising, our nervous systems temporarily upregulate cyclic adenosine monophosphate. It stays elevated for around 45 minutes after exercising, then declines to sedentary level.
Makes sense we evolved to have it like this. Humans historically hiked around exploring for sources of food. Forming topographic memories while doing that enabled those people to find their way back home. Find their way back home to reproduce. So forming good topographic memories while aerobically active made them more likely to reproduce.
Well depends on your goal. Are you training for performance or running for general health?
I believe that getting to 70-80% of your max aerobic capacity (about 7-8 on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being maximal effort) can get you better progress in terms of overall fat loss compared to 40-60% (“fat burning zone”). If you hit that intensity, I don’t think you can read while running.
But I also do feel it is okay to read while running if you just want to get some exercise in, moving your joints and releasing some stress after work. Make sure you don’t injured yourself while doing that ya!
