According to Noah Abbott, a CrossFit coach in Brooklyn, prolonged, steady-rate cardio can deplete our body's Triiodothyronine, or T3 hormone. This hormone is responsible for metabolism, and a depletion of this hormone can cause the body to go into a mode where it stores and gains more fat than usual.
When you exercise regularly, your body stores more glycogen to fuel that exercise. Stored in water, glycogen has to bind with water as part of the process to fuel the muscle. That water adds a small amount of weight, too.
Weight gain
Exercising too much without resting enough in between can lead to low testosterone levels and high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. These hormonal changes are often associated with loss of muscle tissue, weight gain, and excess belly fat.
Too much cardio makes you lose muscle mass and this makes your metabolism slow. As a result, the fat burning mechanism in your body slows down. Thus, your weight-loss results won't be as quick as they used to be.
Doing 30 minutes of cardio every day can do loads for your mental health. Not only will you get better sleep, your brain will release endorphins that can boost your mood and reduce stress. This, in turn, can help alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Too much cardio can burn your muscles. This can impact your metabolism and shedding fat becomes more difficult. Weakened immune system: Excess cortisol release, which not only contributes to catabolism (catabolic state is the one in which your tissue breaks down) but also chronic disease.
Yes, cardio burns calories and can help you lose weight, but there are other things to consider. You need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight, meaning you need to burn more calories than you consume. So, losing weight depends a lot on diet and how much you exercise each week to create this calorie deficit.
YOUR JOINTS HURT
If you continue to do it, then this can aggravate it which is something you should definitely avoid. If you're feeling it in your body (common areas are the knees, ankles, lower back and hips), then it's a sign that you're doing too much cardio or at least too much high-impact cardio.
If you really start pushing the limits, you'll experience symptoms of overtraining. Basically, if you are having trouble sleeping or waking up, getting sick easily, are sore all of the time or feel more irritable than usual, then your body is breaking down from too much cardio.
If your daily cardio lasts for more than 60 minutes, it may impact your health. Athletes who do more than 10 hours of intense cardio in a week can damage their heart, which may never get healed. Doing cardio is beneficial as it raises your heart rate which in turn raises the amount of oxygen in the blood.
“When you start exercising, your muscles start gobbling up fuel called glycogen,” says Krista Scott-Dixon, Ph. D., Director, Headspace Adjustment Bureau, Precision Nutrition. Since glycogen stores water, you could gain up to 10 pounds in water weight alone, says Scott-Dixon.
You've gained muscle.
And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. So as you gain more muscle and lose fat, you change your overall body composition, which can result in a higher weight, but a smaller figure and better health.
Most people who have difficulty losing weight are simply eating too many calories. An important factor in weight loss is how many calories you're eating versus how many calories you're burning. It may seem easy, but if you're not tracking your calories each day, you may be consuming more than you think.
For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines: Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity.
After prolonged exercise, such as a 25-mile run, the body changes its metabolism, with a resulting increase in free radicals, atoms that can cause permanent damage to your cells and can also speed up the ageing process.
Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefit.
Cardio's role in helping you shed pounds is burning calories. The more you exercise, the more calories you'll burn. If you're trying to lose weight, you should aim for doing cardio at least five days per week for a total of at least 250 minutes (4 hours, 10 minutes) each week.
Running is the winner for most calories burned per hour. Stationary bicycling, jogging, and swimming are excellent options as well. HIIT exercises are also great for burning calories.
Low-intensity cardio
If you're a beginner or have physical limitations, low-intensity cardio can also help you burn calories and drop pounds. These workouts include jogging, bicycling, power walking, swimming, and aerobics. Start slow and gradually up the intensity as you adjust to your new routine.
You'd think that going on a strict diet and exercise regimen would help you drop pounds quickly, but most people actually gain weight at first. If this has happened to you, don't give up on your goals just yet.
Consider Your Diet
If you have increased your walking and are still not seeing weight loss, it might be a good time to look at what you are eating. You may need to make a few swaps. There are many strategies for this, but the key is maintaining good nutrition.
You've Gained Muscle Mass
If you're exercising regularly and doing a mix of cardio and strength training, it's very likely your body composition (ratio of muscle to fat) is changing for the better. If you're gaining muscle while losing fat, the scale may not show any weight change.
Stick to two to three days of cardio per week. Focus on shorter, higher-intensity sessions, such as 25 minutes of HIIT.
Cardiovascular exercise (running, swimming, aerobics, walking) stimulates your metabolism, helps you burn calories and can even temporarily suppress your appetite post-workout.