[Infiseeenvelp]

Times staff
Posted : Thursday Sep 9, 2010 8:32:16 EDT

High-intensity fitness training programs like P90X and CrossFit are exploding in popularity in both the military community and the civilian world because they offer dramatic results with aggressive regimens, frequently timed and performed with high repetitive loads.

But anecdotal concerns have surfaced in both communities about injury rates, particularly muscle injuries such as exertional rhabdomyolysis — basically, too much intense exercise. Symptoms include ....

Read the rest of the story here ...

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What do you think about high-intensity fitness programs?

[L0KoxewQ]

You don't need extreme workout when you eat properly. Get rid of AAFES restaurants on base and get some healthier foods.

[k5wTvu9f]

You don't need extreme workout when you eat properly. Get rid of AAFES restaurants on base and get some healthier foods.

Every single AAFES food vendor on my base has healthy options on the menu. EVERY...SINGLE...ONE. Still don't like them even though no one is forcing you to order the unhealthy crap? Go to the chow hall. Don't like the chow hall? Go to the commissary.

It's not the lack of avaliable choices that hurts people. It's the poor choices they freely choose to make.

[lasadeykar]

Every single AAFES food vendor on my base has healthy options on the menu. EVERY...SINGLE...ONE. Still don't like them even though no one is forcing you to order the unhealthy crap? Go to the chow hall. Don't like the chow hall? Go to the commissary.

It's not the lack of avaliable choices that hurts people. It's the poor choices they freely choose to make.

I agree with you. But you put the coke dealer right next to the NA meetings, people are going to partake.

[CelexaNY]

Every single AAFES food vendor on my base has healthy options on the menu. EVERY...SINGLE...ONE. Still don't like them even though no one is forcing you to order the unhealthy crap? Go to the chow hall. Don't like the chow hall? Go to the commissary.

It's not the lack of avaliable choices that hurts people. It's the poor choices they freely choose to make.

Absolutely true; while not great choices, the food courts do offer healthier options but regardless, as Shrike says, we make the choices and nobody is cramming burger king down your throat. Try being a vegetarian fer crying out loud, but even vegetarianism is accommodated in MRE's so excuses for poor eating habits are about being undisciplined and uneducated about nutrition.

The PX-90 type exercise programs are intense but if done properly while adequately hydrated, it shouldn't be a problem. Anyone ask PT God about this?

[ayWCZ7VT]

I work out...so I can eat.

[Pelefaifs]

What they need to get for the gyms, the SHAKE WEIGHT for women. You get hoards of people in the gym then.

[Fausqueuego]

I agree with you. But you put the coke dealer right next to the NA meetings, people are going to partake.

Freedom; it's a wonderful thing.

[Gakeincidoniac]

Freedom; it's a wonderful thing.

Except when it comes to HOW you partake...

[rouletteroulette]

Gotta agree with Shrike on this one - there's a commissary nearby - protein shakes and bars, sandwich fixings, some even have sandwich prep at the deli and sushi, last resort is the healthy microwavable meals - pretty easy to get decent food and doesn't cost a lot either.

If you've got the money to blow on Popeye's (which I love, so I don't blame anyone for wanting to eat there) then you've got enough to buy food at the commissary and may even get farther with some good planning, i.e., if you've got three or four guys, throw money in together to make up a meal.

I know the commissary hours suck, but some pre-planning can mitigate that. I spent three years in Korea working mids for most of it and learned to make spaghetti, chili, etc in a microwave and electric wok.

Whatever happened to the flight kitchens? I get the impression that they've pretty much gone the way of the dodo, they generally had some not too bad options, salads and such.

[tefraxKedWere]

Exertional rhabdomyolysis and other exercise induced injuries are on the rise in every branches bootcamps. One could argue that this is due to an increased sedentary lifestyle (PS3, X-box, Facebook etc..) and poor eating habits. Folks having problems with P90X or Crossfit I would imagine are folks just realizing they have a fitness test coming up and over doing it or are currently on a remedial fitness plan and are using these programs to drop a "ton" of weight.

[ringtonesmannq]

60th Flight Kitchen Menu, open 24 hours.

[xjNo4zvD]

First off mentioning P90X and CrossFit in the same breath is a direct insult to CrossFit. P90X is an absolute joke unless you are coming off of several years sitting on the couch. But it makes sense that these program will come under review by a bunch of medical folks that wouldn't know an effective exercise plan if it slapped them in the face, because God forbid you actually have your members working out with any kind of intensity. However, no one, particularly in the Air Force has any qualms about running people to death. Most of the medical community believes long, slow distance training (i.e running) to be the gold standard of fitness. By the way, most of the injuries which result in profiles and being seen by physical therapy in the Air Force are directly related to too much running. Rhabdo is rare and will most likely be seen in severely deconditioned people who try to do too much too soon. CrossFit is perfectly safe if done correctly while realizing your personal limits. You can still give max effort in your workouts without trying to kill yourself and everything is scaleable to your abilities.

[pGJLweEw]

I'm just waiting for the military to actually define fitness.

Also - I don't know how the military will be able to say anything bad about crossfit - its not like all the special force type people are now using it and are getting stronger / faster because of it.

[Roorseprate]

CrossFit is perfectly safe if done correctly while realizing your personal limits. You can still give max effort in your workouts without trying to kill yourself and everything is scaleable to your abilities.

The key is a trainer that knows their stuff - I trained with our PJs in Afghanistan, these guys are trainers themselves (several of them work at a CF facility as civilians).

I wasn't in in bad shape but I certainly wasn't up at their level either and they recognized that, scaled the training appropriately, were patient, thorough and didn't give anybody an ounce of crap if they weren't up at their level.

A lot of the movements appear to be simple, but you can seriously screw yourself up if you do it wrong and they were absolutely careful about ensuring that we were doing the exercises using the proper form with a mop handle before we used any weights.

I learned a lot from those guys, particularly on backing off on the weights and different training techniques and a lot of it actually makes for better overall training with less equipment and less time.

I would guess that most injuries can be traced to bad trainers or do-it-yourselfers that get over-zealous - for any gym rat, the temptation to throw a bunch of weight on quickly is going to be there if somebody doesn't convince them otherwise.

[EspnaConCam]

Is Crossfit unsafe? As compared to what, not being physically competent in a combat environment?

Will a Marine or soldier who lacks the discipline to maintain a physical capacity to handle the rigors of high intensity exercise methodology be at a higher risk for acute injury or possibly even systemic failure? The answer is yes, but it is an unreliable question.

The question that needs to be answered is; to what degree are we risking the safety of our combat troops by deploying them with a contingent that can’t be relied upon to make it through a twenty minute workout because of a lack of acclimation and physical capacity.

The question should not be can our Marines handle the rigors of Crossfit, but rather, should those who cannot handle the rigors of Crossfit be our Marines?!

[adariseediups]

The problem is when people go from "no-intensity" straight to "high-intensity". That's just begging for injuries.

I'm on my last week of Insanity and I lost an inch off my waist and 6 pounds, WITHOUT changing my diet. Not much, but results are results and my cardio has improved significantly. If I actually ate healthier, I don't doubt I would've gotten better results. It's practically impossible to out-work a bad diet. I'm def going to repeat another cycle. To those of you that are already somewhat fit and want to cut down a little, I definitely recommend it.

[GrileVege]

Crossfit is dangerous if you are unprepared and unsupervised. So is firing a weapon, driving a car, or swimming. Unfortunately, while most people understand the inherent dangers to shooting, driving, and/or swimming without being properly trained, many attempt to start crossfit "cold turkey". You cannot, however, blame crossfit for this. It posts videos online. It donates equipment, money (discounts), and time (seminars) to the military. I have spoken to several people at work who say that "crossfit injures people". When I asked them "why?", most said they read about it or heard about it but don't remember who exactly from. Two of them were personnally injured. Both had never been to a crossfit seminar, never bothered to look up how to do an exercise online (using the helpful videos that are posted on the crossfit main site), and weren't even doing a crossfit workout.

I see people all the time who are "doing crossfit" because they combined a random assortment of exercises with kettlebells, pull-ups, and running. This is not crossfit, anymore then having a steak means that you are now on the atkins diet.

Crossfit has a very specific programming pattern, a balanced emphasis on form and intensity, and, most importantly, an emphasis on scaling. Main-site crossfit workouts are created for 170lb elite Olympic athlete types. Very few people out there can perform every single workout as prescribed in the goal timeframe. A proper crossfit trainer will scale down the weight or duration of the exercise to meet the physical condition of each person. Problems arise when groups or individuals decide to "crossfit" for one workout (like dieting for one meal) and lift weights or perform movements that they are either untrained on or use excessive weight/duration.

Please feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this further.

[autoloanexpert]

You don't need extreme workout when you eat properly. Get rid of AAFES restaurants on base and get some healthier foods.

First, eating healthy and working out go hand in hand. AAFES might have "healthy options" restaurants but sometimes, like BK for example is something plain and not very desirable.

[IodinkBoilk]

I believe you could have the worst workout in the world and if you did it every day you'd get bigger/faster/stronger. Consistency is the only way you'll get anywhere. You need to get enough effort, duration, nutrition, and rest...and then you need to do it again. You could have a workout where you throw a hammer as far as you can, run over to it, pick it up, and throw it again. If you did that for 30 minutes, 5 times a week, you'd see results.

I personally don't like weightless workouts, but I also don't like to move very fast. That being said, I don't like most machines either. I do heavy, compound movements, followed by concentration exercises. Whatever works is what you should do.