Theory of the Consumption Function: Stop Jogging, Part 11

Here is a very short, cogent argument against jogging ( long, slow, distance running) put forth by one of my fitness mentors, Charles Staley. I couldn't have said it better myself!

1. Jogging reduces or at least interferes with efforts to increase lean body mass, strength, and power. In other words, it has demonstrably feminizing effects.
2. Jogging, like all aerobic activities, is by definition, time consuming. Unlike resistance training, the only way to create progressive overload with jogging is to do more of it.
3. Dovetailing with the previous point, one serious downside to jogging is that the more you do it, the better you get at it, which in turn reduces the supposed benefits of the activity, requiring you to do more of it to compensate for the reduction in benefit. In other words, the more you do it, the less it does for you.
4. Jogging, particularly for those who tend to be drawn to it (overweight people), tends to have negative orthopedic consequences, especially for lower-body joints.
5. For many people, jogging is inherently unpleasant and viewed as an "unnecessary evil" (typically for the purpose of "losing weight.")

I'd like you to start thinking of your gym-time less like a strength coach and more like an economist. Don't simply look at the benefits of exercises – look at the costs as well. Be frugal. Only spend when you must, and even then, only for the best bargains.

Theory of the Consumption Function, Milton Friedman