No Pain, No Gain Is The Worst Approach To Exercise
Here is a great article written by Anthony Diluglio of www.artofstrength.com
Anthony DiLuglio is one of America's top trainer's, known for his unique approach to fitness. His corporation, Art of Strength, embodies the timeless concept of physical culture: how to train for maximum functional strength, making your body more durable.
ABC News Vanessa Weber reports:
CrossFit is one of the most extreme workouts on the market, but one physical therapist is raising questions about the exercise program that has an almost cult-like following.
Eric Robertson, an assistant professor of physical therapy at Regis University in Denver, wrote an article this week highlighting rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal condition that can be caused by several factors, including severe exertion. Skeletal muscle is damaged, rapidly releasing proteins into the blood. It results in harm to the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure. In his article, titled CrossFits Dirty Little Secret, Robertson wrote: Rhabdomyolysis isn't a common condition, yet it is so commonly encountered in CrossFit that they have a cartoon about it, nonchalantly casting humor on something that should never happen.
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Jill Kloesel, a former college athlete who is now a physical therapist, says it happened to her. Kloesel said she didnât have any warning signs that she was suffering from the condition. Yes, my arms felt tired, but nothing that I hadnât experienced before when I had worked out several times,â Kloesel told ABC News. Kloesel says that after experiencing swelling from her elbows to her shoulder a few days later, she went to a hospital emergency room. They drew my blood, and sure enough, doctors told me âyour CPK (creatine kinase) levels, which are supposed to (be) less than 100 were greater than 40k. Like not even reading on the charts, she said.
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Russell Berger, a course supervisor and spokesperson for CrossFit, says rhabdomyolysis is not unique to CrossFit. There are cases of rhabdo from football players, people who run triathlons, marathon runners to military trainees to body building communities, Berger told ABC News. Berger says one of CrossFitâs main goals is to raise awareness about rhabdo. We have articles in CrossFit journal when we first learned about exercise induced rhabdo, Berger said. We had articles written by physicians in our journal who did overviews of rhabdo and gave examples on how to prevent it and identify it. Asked about the not-so pleasant cartoon which depicts a seemingly exhausted clown connected to dialysis machine, while some of his organs and blood are on the ground Berger said: My response when I hear people say that is, Ahh, but you have heard him and thatâs exactly the point.
Kloesel no longer does CrossFit, and she says she now finds it extremely difficult to perform push-ups.
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In some instances, if this isnt taken care of, this could kill you, she said of rhabdo. Dr. Richard Besser, chief health and medical editor for ABC News, says cases of rhabdo, which he describes as a âdeath of muscle cells, occur only after you ask your muscles, âto keep working after they have stopped getting any energy to get the job done. That's really dangerous, Besser said today on Good Morning America, adding that the condition can be prevented. If youâre listening to your body and you are getting that burn and you say, Okay I've reached my limit, and you stop, you are never going to see this happen, he said. One of the warning signs is your muscles are saying, I need to stop now.
To prevent rhabdo, Besser recommends staying hydrated both before and during exercise, taking breaks and listening to your body. "No pain, no gain is the worst approach to exercise", he said.