Why Aren’t Marathon Runners Really Toned?

There are plenty of bodybuilders and people devoted entirely to strength training who are in a continuous sort of internecine war with the running community, and I don’t want to be one of those.

Running a marathon is tough, and there’s no need for me to beat up on people who choose to do it. You can lose lots of weight if you take up running, and people have really changed their lives once they laced on some shoes.

But I want to go into a few of the reasons why long distance cardio — especially running endlessly on a treadmill — won’t get you into toned, amazing shape.

I see too many people in the gym, thinking they have to be like a marathon runner, endlessly running cardio in order to shape up, when right next to the cardio machines you’ve got a squat cage and the free weights section, promising a full-body transformation in a far more efficient, fun, interesting, and satisfying fashion than running for hours upon end.

Here’s why.

Long Distance Cardio Doesn’t Build Muscles

There’s science to back this up, and but there are plenty of contrary studies, too — as with anything. Since my blog is all about getting you into the best shape you can possibly be in, I’m only going to take things this far — the general scientific consensus is that if you want to be in really lean, toned, fantastic shape, marathon running isn’t really for you.

You can’t build your upper body muscles while running, and it’s been proven that in order to actually strengthen and build your muscles, doing repetitive, long-distance, semi-low-intensity cardio isn’t really the way to do it.

The same applies to cardio machines, too — there’s just no way you’re going to get that toned, lean body you’re looking for (whether you’re a man or a woman) if you’re spending all day on the stationary bike. And if you’re a guy, shooting for the slightly vague goal of becoming strong? Cardio isn’t really the direction you should be heading.

Compare Marathon Runners and Sprinters

Just look at the average body of a marathoner vs. a sprinter. Which one would you rather have? If you’re looking for the lean, solid strength of a sprinter, you’re unlikely to find it among most marathon runners — all that muscle eventually slows you down, and makes it hard to run for such long distances — especially when we’re talking marathon distances of 42km and higher.

This is why interval training is taking off. If you’re really in love with running — more power to you. But at the same time, if you’re looking to increase your lung capacity big-time, really strengthen your leg muscles, and go for a sprinter’s body rather than a marathoner’s — you need to switch from running long distances to high intensity interval training, where you all-out sprint for short distances, followed by recovery periods. These bursts of intensity virtually force your body to develop in a better, more muscular fashion.

Marathon Running Isn’t Really About Muscles Anyway

If you talk to most marathon runners, at a certain point the amount of training becomes irrelevant. There are people of all different body types able to finish marathons in great times, and what’s really crucial is mental capacity, not the exact type of training you’ve done in the past.

The word “marathon” is used frequently as a metaphor in other walks of life because it’s not really something natural or sustainable — if we were capable of constantly running marathons, more people would be doing it. But we know it’s something you have to work up to, something that’s unnaturally long and weirdly demanding on the body, and something that doesn’t really represent the ideal way to get in shape.

So why do people do endless cardio as though that’s the best way to lose weight?

If I had the perfect answer for that, I’d tell you. Partially it’s just the “lifting weights doesn’t burn fat” myth. Or the idea that you have to sweat (in a cardio fashion) to lose weight — as though doing 12 squats won’t make you sweat like crazy!

So remember — you don’t need to imitate the marathon runners if you want to lose fat and get in great shape. In fact, you’re probably better off leaving all that marathon stuff to the people that really appreciate it — it’s not easy or natural to discipline your brain to run for 4-5 hours straight, and it’s not the fastest or smartest way to lose weight, either.