I hate long distance running.
There are a couple reasons why, but most importantly is that it's antithetical maintaining lean body mass and is largely inefficient compared to HIIT (High intensity interval training).
HIIT can give a more effective workout in less than 10 minutes. I define more effective as vastly increased fat burning and increased muscle preservation or hypertrophy per unit time. This has been supported by a number of scientific studies.
It's so simple. You can just go outside or stay in if you have an elliptical with resistance settings. What you do is run or pedal at your absolute maximum capacity for 20-30 seconds, stop for 1-2 minutes, and then repeat 3-4 times.
The reason this is far more efficient is essentially this: the net effect of long distance running is actually catabolism. After muscular adaptation to your current running pace happens, microtrauma to the muscle actually stops and the only thing that running long distances does to your muscles is burn fuel. This type of training has a net catabolic effect because smaller muscles are more energy efficient, and with no demand for level of intensity, a smaller muscle is desirable. That's why marathon runners look like they're from Ethiopia.
Contrast with HIIT. Performing at maximum intensity over short intervals has a net anabolic effect. The muscle becomes more efficient by increasing the maximum intensity of performance, which equates to muscular hypertrophy and increased lean body mass to fat ratio. It also tends to produce all of the other benefits of long distance running too, such as increased VO2 max, decreased resting heart rate etc. That's also (part of) the reason why sprinters look like they're from swoletown.
I guess in the end it depends on what you're looking for, but I much prefer HIIT. The ONLY downside to HIIT IMO is increased recovery time. Because HIIT is basically the same as weight training, it needs to be followed by a sufficiently large recovery period. So, I only do it every 10-14 days or so.
But yeah:
