Comments for Mark Young Training Systems

Comment on Dissecting the Spine Part III – Dangers of Squatting by anders

anders — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:39:49 +0000

Hello.I wonder if i have had an MR which shows low disc, and some degeneration after a lot of squatting..I am also familiar with the “popping” during training which cause pain. I have now been forced to stop squatting, will my disc recover to some degree like herniations recovering, or is it too late?

Comment on Cardio is Bad for You? by Caitlin Burke

Caitlin Burke — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:06:09 +0000

“The girls themselves telling their own stories are proof enough, as are the coach’s observations.”

What? No, they’re not. Unless the “girls” are randomised to well-characterised groups and the coaches are blinded evaluators performing a set of outcomes measures validated for inter-rater repeatability. And that doesn’t even get into how big the groups are and how long the study goes.

There’s two phenomena here: for a low to moderate level of effort, a trained athlete is more efficient than a novice, AND a trained athlete can put out more effort than a novice.

Comment on Cardio is Bad for You? by Chasingboston

Chasingboston — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:37:14 +0000

Erik Ledin clearly doesn’t understand the difference between training for fat loss and training for competition. Chek was talking about caloric burn, not how much time you have to put in to improve. If you’re putting in 14+ hours a week of cardio, you’re not going to lose much fat… because you probably don’t have much on your body to begin with, and you’re probably going to be consuming close to4000 calories a day.

Comment on Cardio is Bad for You? by markyoung

markyoung — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:27:08 +0000

Erik – I have seen this with clients before as well, but I would say that this is largely due to changes due to the combination of both cardio and caloric restriction as opposed to the use of cardio alone. As I said in the post, I don’t think cardio offers great advantages (in terms of fat loss) over and above diet alone. I generally limit the use of steady state (and even other forms of cardio) in those who are dieting for solely aesthetic purposes.

That said, I think some cardio has excellent value (above using just diet) for those pursuing general fitness to improve health.

Comment on Cardio is Bad for You? by Steven Rice Fitness

Steven Rice Fitness — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:52:53 +0000

Great points. Especially like the ‘Dose’ graphic- a point usually left out of lay articles. Also agree with your final conclusion on ‘long term steady state activity’, probably even more strongly than you put it.

Comment on Cardio is Bad for You? by Erik Ledin

Erik Ledin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:50:41 +0000

To just this quote:

“He later concludes that your body will adjust to cardiovascular exercise and that the number of calories you can burn will ultimately go down over time and prevent you from being able to lose fat.”

Actually there is a STAGGERING amount of evidence of this happening in competitor circles – it’s essentially a change in metabolic efficiency, and whether or not there is any documented scientific literature on it, in this case isn’t relevant because the proof is in the 100s upon 100s of competitors where this exact thing happens.

It’s why a first timer can get by on 30 minutes a day a few times a week and get contest ready. Yet oddly, the next season that same protocol, her entire protocol, does not yield the same results or in some cases, any. Clearly something negative has occurred in her body for what used to work, to no longer work. Then it’s 60 minutes, and the same thing happens, and then it’s 90 and then 120. There are people who are no longer losing fat on 14 hours of cardio a week. To say that this something isn’t happening physiologically, is myopic at best and ridiculous at worst. Happens with the staggering majority of competitors that relies heavily on SS cardio for fat loss.

Is it this coupled with a caloric deficit? Differences in metabolic resiliency? Combination? Who knows, but anyone who says otherwise is not paying attention. The girls themselves telling their own stories are proof enough, as are the coach’s observations.

Comment on Metabolic Workouts for Fat Loss – A Waste of Time? by Mark Young Training Systems » » Cardio is Bad for You?

Mark Young Training Systems » » Cardio is Bad for You? — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:05:58 +0000

[...] contribute to weight loss with around 200 minutes per week making a pretty meaningful difference in some studies. But if you’re familiar with my blog you’ll know (via the link in the previous [...]

Comment on Willpower, Fat Loss, and What to Do About It by Tania

Tania — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:30:24 +0000

Mark, this is great!

Comment on Metabolic Workouts for Fat Loss – A Waste of Time? by marymary

marymary — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:47:37 +0000

Probably most of your readers are fitness junkies, but if you included a brief definition in the article of what you mean by “metabolic conditioning,” it would help newbies like me. Google to the rescue.

Comment on No More Diet Plans! by marymary

marymary — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:12:18 +0000

I’m interested in the video, but the link doesn’t seem to be working. Guess that means it’s been taken down? Do you know if it’s available anywhere?