The Great RUNNING Debate... Can Running Be Bad For You?

A friend saw this picture and thought of my blog (thank you!) ... what do you think? 

I know what I ORIGINALLY thought -- that this was an exaggeration of the truth.  To be fair, any form of exercise has some benefit, whether cleaning the house on a Saturday or running on a treadmill.  With that said, I think this illustration holds some validity.  I mean... running DOES put alot of stress on your knees and ankles.  But... I had to perform further research around the other claims.

What I found is an article published by NBC Today back in December 2012 about the dangers of long distance running (read article here).  According to Dr. James O'Keefe, head of preventive cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute and lead author of the British Heart Journal, evidence shows that endurance sports like running may actually hurt the heart in the long-term.  His claim is based on research studies showing subtle signs of heart damage in marathon runners tested right after the end of their races.  See, running increases the blood-pumping function of the heart and places extra stress on the muscle.  While the heart can heal from the damage if given breaks in between runs, continuous running year after year could cause irreparable damage and scarring.

The most frightening evidence in his study?  Marathon runners were found to have the same life expectancy as couch potatoes!  

So what's the answer?  Apparently, the best way to prolong your life is by vigorously exercising – but for no more than an hour a day.  While running may not be bad, running long distances may not be the best idea.  All the more reason to throw in ALOT of weight training.  Feel free to refer to the illustration above if you have forgotten my argument that quickly, it's my "juice" and I plan to use it when convincing others to lift weights from now on [insert evil laugh sound here].