I've been running uphill on the treadmill for a couple of weeks now. I usually run for a half hour with a 5 minute cool down. I came home from a run today and my mom said that running uphill can be bad for your heart. I feel fine when I run; is there any evidence to support this claim?
You mom likes to scare dogs. I wouldn't listen to her. It might be stressful on your feet/ankle/calf but other than that, I've never been told it was bad for the heart.
well, i was climbing a real steep hill with a 60lb pack on yesterday, and i felt like my heart was gonna explode. but that coulda been the speed. or the sleep deprivation. or the fasting. i'm not really sure.
There are several things to consider when running, and most of them are subject to the individual. What one person can easily get away with could be dangerous to another. Overall though, to address your mothers concerns, incline running can be a bit harder on your joints, but running in general can be hard on your joints, no matter what incline or decline you're on. It does increase the heart rate faster since your muscles are working that much harder to run the same distance, but again, pushing your heart muscle is part of the overall workout. Just pay attention to your overall heart rate and keep it in a reasonable comfort zone. If I were to recommend anything to you, I'd say to mix things up a little, combine some flat running with some incline jogging or fast-walking at a slower rate to ease up on the joint impact. That's kind of what I do, and it helps keep the routine from not being so boring.
Let me tell you something. You didn't contribute to this thread; you insulted my mother. You don't know how she said it, because you weren't here. How do you know she was confident in saying that? You come off like you're an intellect whose dignity has been jeopardized... but really, you sound immature. Take the Gulf of Texaco, for example. That is some stupid shit. My mother said it CAN be bad for your heart, if you overdo it - she never said it was an absolute. To top it off, you mention some higher power bullshit. Well, that makes you look awesome. There are some idiots on this planet, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were one of them, solely basing my opinion of you off of this post, like you judged my mother from mine. Good day.
Wow. Congrats. I really didn't think that your first post here could have made you look any more like an ignorant babbling idiot, but apparently I was dead fucking wrong. Run along now...off you go, back to your world.
complete opposite imo. the said most intense fat buring cardio exersize is up-hill sprints, the only cardio i do, and boy do they get you in shape and dont eat away muscle like long distance cardio. extreme body wieght exersizes ftw!
i never heard that. running on a slight incline on a treadmill is similar to running on flat ground outside
What's hilarious is how seriously you took TheNung's trolling. The guy was merely expressing how ludicrous the question is... what happens when you live in gently rolling hills? Kids run up and down hills all the time, and so did/do old fashioned hunters, etc.. Animals do it and have to, and they're not very anatomically different. How anyone could possibly believe something like "running uphill is bad for your heart," I do not know. tl;dr answer to topic = no
The feeling that an out of shape person feels when they run up a hill for the first time most likely feels like a heart attack. I can see where this myth started.
Dude, drop it... What kind of fucking analogy is that? Old fashioned hunters, like hunter-gatherer societies? I doubt they had any reason to sprint steeply uphill for extended periods of time... What do you mean animals are not that anatomically different? I'm in good enough shape to handle myself on the hill. I suppose my mother doesn't realize the extent of my physical capabilities and was merely concerned for my well-being... but then No Fun Nung came in and started insulting her when he didn't know what happened. Most people would collapse running uphill, because there are so many FAT people who can't handle it. For them, I believe it would be strenuous.
I'm not trying to offend you, sorry if I came off completely contemptuous. I'll drop it. The topic question's answered anyways.
To answer the question, it is completely dependent on person to person - for an athlete or someone who does regular exercise i would say that this is definitely not damaging for the heart - and highly beneficial as it will make the heart work harder making you in the long run, fitter. However on the other hand, if you consider your most athletic sports snooker and darts and you sweat when taking a dump, any acute strenuous exercise can be damaging as it can shock your body and exert too much force on your heart, and possibly damage walls of your arteries.
On the contrary man, running uphill is excellent for your heart, provided that it's not unhealthy, and by that I mean genetically fucked up or diseased. In fact, any cardio excersise will strengthen your heart, and you're whole cardiovascular system. The harder you push yourself, the stronger your heart will become to keep up. You can't really "overdo" it, you'll just exhaust yourself, which is the point.
This is just one of those things that you need to think about. Running uphill will work your heart a lot more than flat ground. So no, it is not "bad" for your heart, it makes it pump faster and harder. no homo.
Running uphill loads the quads and glutes more as well as increases contraction time. This can increase your peripheral resistance (resistance of blood flow) and decrease your end diastolic volume (amount of blood that fills your heart before contracting). This results in greatly elevated blood pressure and decrease of blood returning to your heart which causes it to beat faster with less efficiency. Shouldnt be a problem at all if you are healthy. People with cardiac myopathies or very high blood pressure may be at risk running significant inclines. Likewise ppl with high blood pressure should never do isometric training as it causes an even greater increase in TPR and EDV than running on inclines or lifting weights
Well, it's great for your ass. Which do you want more, a good heart or a great ass? But seriously, I've never heard that it's bad for your heart.
You burn more calories going uphill, so it is definitely harder on your body to do, but as long as you don't feel any chest pain or anything like that, go for it.