WOD
Tabata Intervals (20 Seconds of Max Intensity Work followed by 10 Seconds of Rest) of:
- 8 Rounds of Box Jumps
- 8 Rounds of Push Presses
- 8 Rounds of Knees to Elbows (scale as necessary)
Wednesday afternoon is our free day, so stop by for free instruction and try out CrossFit Charlottesville!
So you think endurance training is healthy (read Part 2)?
Marathoner Brian Maxwell, ranked #3 in the world at one time and founder of PowerBar died of a heart attack at age 51. Alberto Salazar, probably the greatest American distance runner ever had a heart attack at age 48 that left him clinically dead for 8 minutes (his heart stopped several more times on the way to the hospital). Greg Welch, one of the most versatile all-around triathletes ever (he won Ironman Hawaii, the ITU World Championships and the world Duathlon Championships) was forced to retire at age 37 due to severe heart problems. He has had over 10 open heart surgeries and wears a pace-maker. Mark Montgomery, who was a top pro triathlete for many years, had his pace-maker installed at age 46 as a result of V-tach issues. Johnny G, the developer of the popular “Spin” classes and a RAAM racer, has had severe cardiomyopathy and recently had a pacer-maker installed. Maddy Tormoen, 3-time world Duathlete-of-the-Year and 35-year old Emma Carney, twice ITU World Triathlon champion each now have defibrillators implanted in their chests to correct life-threatening arrhythmias. Chris Legh and Julianne White, both Ironman winners, have each had entire sections of their colon removed immediately after a race due to “ischemic conditions” where the blood supply to the GI tract was rerouted for so long (as the body diverted the blood to its periphery to cool itself) that whole sections of the colon literally died from lack of oxygen and nutrients. John Walker, one of the greatest milers of all-time was diagnosed with Parkinsons at age 46. Marty Liquori, another world-best miler was diagnosed with leukemia at age 43. Bruce Balch, Steve Scott and Lance Armstrong (all endurance athletes) all got testicular cancer after a few years of competing. Most of the top runners from the 80’s don’t run anymore; many can barely walk due to arthritic conditions. And we think endurance training is healthy?
You *do* realize that Parkinson’s has a genetic component, right?
This “article” about endurance sports is absolutely terrible, taking various single athletes with different diseases and implying that one causes the other. It’s just bad logic. Actual research shows that exercise is healthy, and I can’t see that a p!ssing contest about what’s the best type is useful for anyone. This guy’s website really gives it away – full of ads for his supplements and books. [citation needed] indeed – this isn’t information you can trust.
For an “evidence-based” fitness community, you sure do reference a lot of anecdotal evidence.
I would agree the article is a little hard to find sufficient evidence to support the claim. however, my take on endurnace training is it has more long term downsides regarding quality of life than we thought in the past. I dont know many endurance athletes that are pain free from overused parts of their body. Especially long term.
as well who has 2 hours to work out anymore???
Ditto! The ailments listed may hve been preexisting. Maybe you should watch that special they did on one of the news shows regarding endurance sports and the people who r pain free well into their 70’s.
While I agree this article is essentially a long list of anecdotal evidence, searching for “oxidative stress” in any online database of medical journals will reveal some pretty interesting results. And the evidence will not be anecdotal. For those looking for some more accessible information, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidative_stress Before you jump down my throat for linking to a wiki article, give it a quick read. The information is legitimate and the citations are as well.
The bottom line? High volume training in the oxidative pathway is going to produce a ton of reactive oxygen at a rate exceeding your body’s ability to detox, which will consequently flood your system with free radicals. This is called oxidative stress, and it’s been linked to many of the athletes’ diseases mentioned in the article, such as atherosclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, myocardial infarction, Alzheimer’s disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Indeed, while oxidative stress may not get much publicity, even the mainstream fitness and endurance communities acknowledge the danger of free radicals. Turn to the nutrition articles in almost any issue of Runner’s World and they’ll be touting foods high in antioxidants to deal with these free radicals. What they won’t mention is that their readers are flooding their bodies with free radicals by training for hours and hours, day after day, year after year, in the oxidative pathway.
Does that mean you should never train long? Hell no, especially if your job or sport require you to go long, or even if you just want the broad and inclusive fitness that CrossFit values above all else. (As a sidenote for the kool-aid sippers, don’t you think Jason Khalipa – manimal that he is – could probably have used some more long-distance training for the Games?) But there is a better approach to training for endurance that can save you time and help you avoid oxidative stress. You’ll still have to train long to go long, but not as much as conventional wisdom dictates. Intensity, strength, and work capacity will be your focus, not mileage on the road or laps in the pool. And you’ll be a stronger, more durable, healthier athlete as a result. Sound intriguing? Check out http://www.crossfitendurance.com or shoot me an email at dave@crossfitcharlottesville.com if you’re interested.
Check out the CFE site, give it a try, and you’ll see why we call it the “evidence-based fitness community.”
Cheers!
Dave
Unfortunately, the oxidative stress argument argues as much against crossfit than for it. Oxidative stress is a function of duration *and* intensity – so crossfit’s high-intensity focus works against it’s shorter duration. Whether a 3-hour leisurely run or a 10-minute xfit workout is “worse” for you is an open question.
You might find this article a good read: http://www.dynamic-med.com/content/8/1/1 – a 30-year summary of the studies connecting oxidative stress and exercise. Long story short: the jury is still out on the ideal duration and intensity of exercise. In the meantime do whatever you prefer, I would think.
What about the other hundred thousands of people that have run marathons and Ironman races? Did they all die of heart attacks, too?
Did you know that heart disease is the #1 cause of death? Guess what’s second. Yep, cancer. Nice statistic manipulation.
I’d be willing to bet there were an equal number of non-endurance athletes that had shortened lives as a result of being human.
Why you gotta hate on other athletes?
185 (24″ Box Jump & 72 lbs. PP)
It does seem more & more endurance athletes suffer from injuries due to over-usage but just like the sport-specific gains there are going to be sport-specific injuries. Or is it really an issue of over-use or poor mechanics? Maybe a little of both.
There is something to say for intensity vs. endurance training (i.e. sprints or tempo runs vs. LSD runs). By ramping up the intensity over a shorter distance will you reap the same rewards of training over a longer distance at a more sustainable speed? Will your overall pace increase? Most likely. What about cardiovascular endurance? Hmmm.
Also, please keep in mind this is citing another article and I’m going to hedge my bet one of the reasons this particular section of the article was posted is because it is so to the left. Food for thought or debate or both.
wow – great debate! i think a shift in focus here can go towards nutrition and less on the avenues training. undoubtedly, how an athlete trains for his/her specialty will always be up for grabs and intended for endless debate. everyone who’s interested should check out Rob Wolff’s site and hopefully that will spark an interest in how nutrition is greatly related to not only performance (regardless of training domain) but overall health.
research the paleo diet and hopefully that will peak your reading interest and give you “food for thought.” alot of these athletes mentioned had terrible diets that most probably let to their heart or auto-immune issues later on in life.
we are what we eat, literally. genetically we are all predisposed to any ailment or health issue but what we fuel our bodies with can adversely effect our overall health. bottom line.
242 rounds
45#
206, 24″ box and 37# pp
I was just trying to keep up with Francesco! haha
185 I think? 24 box and 35 PP. ow.
172, 24″ & 25#
190ish: 24″ box, 45″ pp .
260, 24″ box, 35# pp
248 18″box 25#