| | |  | Loss Prevention | Home » » Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?: Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise | | | | | | | Description: | | There's plenty of conventional wisdom on health and fitness—but how much of it is scientifically sound? The truth is: less than you'd think. In Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?, physicist and award-winning journalist Alex Hutchinson tackles dozens of commonly held beliefs and looks at just what research science has—and has not—proven to be true: Should I exercise when I'm sick? • Do I get the same workout from the elliptical machine that I get from running? • What role does my brain play in fatigue? • Will running ruin my knees? • To lose weight, is it better to eat less or exercise more? • How should I adapt my workout routine as I get older? • Does it matter what I'm thinking about when I train? • Will drinking coffee help or hinder my performance? • Should I have sex the night before a competition? This myth-busting book covers the full spectrum of exercise science and offers the latest in research from around the globe, as well as helpful diagrams and plenty of practical tips on using proven science to improve fitness, reach weight loss goals, and achieve better competition results. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Alex Hutchinson | | Paperback:
| 336 pages | | Publisher:
| William Morrow Paperbacks | | Publication Date:
| May 24, 2011 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 006200753X | | Product Length:
| 8.54 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.56 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.89 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.97 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.43 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.43 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.02 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.93 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 17 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 17 customer reviews )
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24 of 24 found the following review helpful:
A must-have fitness bookJun 03, 2011
By Justin T
Whether you exercise to stay healthy or are a serious athlete in training, this book is a must-have reference book. It's the best book I've ever seen in answering the "practical" fitness questions you've ever wondered about in deciding how to exercise. If you're going to be spending hundreds or even thousands of hours in training, this book will help make sure you're not wasting it. It's organized in a practical way, and you can easily jump from question to question without needing to read each page that came before it. This makes it a good reference to come back to as you continue to change your workout routines over time.
While the book consults with sports doctors, physiologists and other experts, what's unique about it is that the author has looked for scientific studies which can help prove or disprove the conventional wisdom you hear in the gym. Though the author was a former competitive athlete, he leans more heavily on his PhD background to help you understand what scientific studies have shown about the best way to exercise. This helps you to cut through the marketing hype and locker room folklore so you can decide how best to exercise for what you want to accomplish. And, where the science isn't conclusive, he tells you that, which I like. I've already found two or three improvements in how I would exercise.
So what does the book cover? Well, just about every exercise question I've ever wondered about and a few dozen more. And there are as many topics for the serious athlete as there are for the casual exerciser so this would make a good reference for both. Good ones that come up for people often:
- Is running on a treadmill better or worse than running outside?
- Do I need strength training if I just want to be lean and fit? (or also: Why should I do cardio if I just want to build my muscles?)
- Does listening to music or watching TV help or hurt my workout?
- What are the benefits of yoga for physical fitness?
- To lose weight, is it better to eat less or exercise more?
- Will running on hard surfaces increase my risk of injuries?
- Do I need extra protein to build muscle?
Good ones for more serious athletes:
- Should I carbo-load by eating pasta the night before a competition?
- What is lactate threshold and should I have mine tested?
- What should I do with wobble boards and exercise balls?
- Is there any benefit in deliberately training with low energy stores?
- How should I adjust my training in the final days before a competition?
- Should I be taking probiotics?
With 270 pages of material, I can't list everything I found interesting but my wife is already bugging me to take the book after I'm done so I'm quite happy with the purchase.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 A breath of fresh air in an industry brimming with garbageMar 28, 2012
By Kynn
Whether you're new to the world of health and fitness or a veteran, you know how hard it is to sort the true, workable principles from the junk and "broscience" ("Bro, doing dumbbell presses on the exercise ball builds an awesome chest!").
Popular workout magazines are FULL of false, misleading advice, and their primary mission is to SELL PRODUCTS for the supplement companies that own them (yup)--not teach you sound, scientific principles of getting bigger, leaner, and stronger. The Internet forums are even worse, and very often, trainers don't have a clue what they're doing or talking about.
With so much confusion abound, what are you to do?
There's where books like Cardio or Weights come in. The author was a competitive athlete with a PhD in physics, and he uses logical, fact-based reasoning to address many common questions and issues that athletes face. Things such as...
How effective is High Intensity Interval Training, really? Is the hype justified?
Can exercise increase risk of a heart attack?
How much is "enough" exercise?
How long does it take before I'll start seeing results from weight lifting?
What times are the day are best for training?
And more...
Mr. Hutchinson calls in the wisdom of many recognized, accredited experts in training, medicine, and physiology, and shares a wealth of scientific studies to help shed light on the various issues addressed in the book. In some cases, the findings are absolutely clear. In others, however, scientists aren't sure exactly why certain phenomena occur, and the author doesn't try to pretend he knows all the answers.
This is a quick read and all the information is presented in a very accessible way for us laymen. It's not thesis paper that whumps you over the head with a sledgehammer of technical jargon that you can't make heads or tails of. I learned quite a bit from this book and have already picked up a few tips that I will use to improve my exercise routine.
Getting in shape takes quite a bit of time, effort, and dedication, and I recommend that you read books like this to help you get the most out of what you put into it. This book will help steer you in the right direction and avoid pitfalls that cause so many others all kinds of problems and frustrations.
P.S. I also really liked Muscle Myths: 50 Health & Fitness Mistakes You Don't Know You're Making (The Lean Muscle Series), which takes the same approach as Cardio or Weights. It debunks some really commonly accepted training, diet, and lifestyle myths, and it taught me quite a bit about how to achieve my health and fitness goals quicker and easier.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Dispelling the Myths....Jul 03, 2011
By Mark J. Domme
An excellent book that sheds some light on what is true or not in the fitness world. Alex obviously spent a lot of time studying all of the known research available on many topics, and, used that information to debunk a lot of what is taken as truth in in all forms of physical training. The best thing about this book is that it is not the authors opinion--it is the opinion of actual research, studies, and real world experience. I am a competitive athlete, personal trainer, and have been involved in the fitness community for many years, and this book opened my eyes to a lot of new information. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to optimize their training or who is involved in training others.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Like having an elite trainer on speed-dialJun 05, 2011
By Shannon Proudfoot
This book is easily digestible in entertaining bite-sized chunks, but it contains the kind of fascinating, myth-busting fitness information you'll find yourself referring back to again and again - when planning your workouts or in bar-stool debates.
I'm a *very* beginner runner but I've been ploughing through this book at a rapid pace, and it's given a sense of coherence and confidence to my workouts. At the same time, the information is robust enough that it would satisfy more hardcore athletes - probably a result of the author's background as an elite runner himself.
The Q & A format makes it a perfect read to dip into on public transit commutes or just before bed, and it's easy to flip back to a given subject when you want to remind yourself how much you really need to drink when you're exercising or whether to work out when you're sick.
Hutchinson manages to distill hundreds of the latest scientific research papers into clear, smart answers to the most common fitness condundrums. The reality often runs counter to common "wisdom," and the science behind the findings is fascinating on its own.
The conversational tone of the book is maybe the best feature of all - it reads like having an elite trainer at your fingertips to personally answer all your fitness questions.
Highly recommended for weekend warriors and hardcores alike.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
If you want to be smarter about your exercise...Jun 05, 2011
By vcy
... you should check out this book. Since I started it, I've realised how often exercise and training come up in conversation - it seems like everyone's interested in changing and improving their health and their fitness routines. I've recommended the book to my friends because:
- assuming people exercise/train to achieve goals like improving performance or health, why wouldn't they want to do it more effectively? This book will give them insight into how.
- the question and answer format makes for digestible, yet substantial, chunks.
- the references to studies and conclusions are helpful - evidence and details are good!
- what I've learned so far has triggered and empowered real changes in my exercise program. It's still early, but I'm feeling good!
See all 17 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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