The following Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson

and is narrated by Tina Lehman.

Can endurance training ever really be primal?

For over a dozen years, I've rallied against what I call

chronic cardio, the excessive, unrelenting endurance training I did for the better part of three

decades. Most of my health issues cleared up when I stopped running and training for marathons

and triathlons, removed the refined grains and sugar

I ate to support my endurance training, and began taking it easy. Explore the MDA archives,

and you'll read about all the downsides of chronic endurance training as well as my experience

in that world. Next to primal living, most people probably know me best for being

against chronic cardio. It's kind of my thing. As a result, a lot of people have this idea that

any type of endurance training is foreboden and totally antithetical to the primal way of life.

That's a misconception, albeit an understandable one. But it's persistent. I have been

outspoken against chronic cardio. I've also released a book called Primal Endurance. How do I square my

distaste for chronic cardio with the fact that I wrote an entire book devoted to endurance training?

First, what am I talking about when I say chronic

cardio? Chronic cardio is excessive. The occasional big effort doesn't count. Even running a 10K

on the weekends isn't enough to qualify. Running a marathon once isn't chronic. Running marathons every

month and training for them three to five days a week,

making every workout a breakthrough one and running every single day are all examples of chronic

cardio. Chronic cardio exceeds the aerobic threshold. An easy run through your favorite

forest trail, a long hike, or a basic jog on the weekend with a buddy,

...