The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

A Case Against Cardio, Part 27.

I'm mostly joking with the title, though considering how much I've written on this topic since starting this blog way back in 2006, it's probably not too far off.

And it's not just me. Endurance training has been getting the snot beaten out of it in recent years. A variety of medical outlets, TED Talks, other blogs, observational research, and clinical trials have all

sounded the alarm about the dangers of excessive chronic cardio. A new string of studies has found

evidence of higher arterial plaque levels in the most active

endurance athletes.

This is becoming a trend.

While endurance athletes tend to have more of the calcified kind of plaque, which is more

stable and theoretically less prone to dangerous ruptures than less calcified plaque, it remains worrying. I've spoken in the

past about the proclivity toward heart problems found in endurance athletes. I know many former

peers with arthroscoposis, cardiac arrhythmias, and other heart troubles. As disconcerting as that

is, that's not what today's post is about. Today I'm

asking, what's the point? The whole, this thing will kill you tactic is helpful from time to time,

but more effective is the utility argument. What works better? What gets you fitter, faster, stronger, and sexier? In recent years,

researchers have been running direct head-to-head comparisons between traditional endurance training

and more intense forms of exercise like strength training or sprint interval training.

They almost always end badly for cardio. How badly? Let's find out. A recent review

asked an important question. What's better for altering body composition? Resistance

training alone, endurance training alone, or endurance training with resistance training. Resistance training one, leading to greater

fat loss and retention of lean muscle mass. Furthermore, resistance training alone was better at

reducing fasting insulin levels and improving blood lipids. The only way the authors were able to find

...