Http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/entertainme......-nothing

Unhealthy structural changes in the heart, it claims. What say you?

Remember Jim Fixx...

I don't know. But I would not be surprised if excessive running did do that.

Also, a friend of mine took up running over a decade ago. Today, her resting heart rate is something like 32 beats a minute. Seriously. Certainly no higher, and maybe even a couple / few beats less! I mean, she is (relatively) close to having the world record for female with the lowest resting heart rate. She went to give blood a while back and they made her walk up and down stairs to try and get her heart to beat faster. I think they no longer accept her at the blood donor clinic. And fwiw I guess she would be classified as a "fast" jogger given her performance in various marathons etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx

"In 1986 exercise physiologist Kenneth Cooper published an inventory of the risk factors that might have contributed to Fixx's death. Granted access to his medical records and autopsy, and after interviewing his friends and family, Cooper concluded that Fixx was genetically predisposed (his father had a heart attack at 35 and died of another at 43, and Fixx himself had a congenitally enlarged heart), and had several lifestyle issues. Fixx was a heavy smoker prior to beginning running at age 36, he had a stressful occupation, he had undergone a second divorce, and his weight before he took up running had ballooned to 220 pounds (100 kg)."

"Too much jogging is as bad as doing nothing ?"

Well, that may be the title of the article but there are quite a few other qualifications within the article so no, I don't really buy what the article title is asking. But hey, you know me, I'm just your regular science denier.

As I understand exercise physiology long hard running enlarges the heart and is great while you are competing, but when you stop you have a large heart.

On the other hand intensive interval training thickens the walls of the heart, producing a stronger pump. This is less damaging in the long run.

The ideal is a mix - a bigish heart with thick walls. That leads to long life and health, and can be achieved by a mixed exercise program.