You are hereFacts and Fallacies of Fitness: Cardiovascular Fundamentals
Facts and Fallacies of Fitness: Cardiovascular Fundamentals
I'm in the middle of reading Facts and Fallacies of Fitness by Mel Siff. It was first published about a decade ago and still stands as a masterwork in terms of debunking just about every pop fitness myth or half-truth out there.
Many of the fallacies Siff exposes will be familiar to most of you who train with us, but nonetheless bear repeating.
So without further adieu, here are the fallacies that Siff lists (and builds a case against with solid data and logic) related to cardiovascular fundamentals (these all appear on page 6):
* A major cause of heart disease is lack of adequate aerobic exercise.
* Aerobic exercise is the most effective form of cardiovascular training.
* Cardiovascular exercise is the most effective way of reducing bodyfat.
* Aerobic training is excellent for reducing overall stress in the body.
* Aerobic exercise is an excellent form of cross-training for all sport.
* Exercising above the aerobic threshold causes oxygen debt.
* One should never exercise above a training heart rate of about 80% of one's maximum.
* Continuous long duration exercise offers the best form of cardiovascular conditioning.
* Cardiovascular training is the only form of exercise that produces endorphins.
* Cardiovascular training plays a major role in determining performance in most sports.
* Anaerobic training plays no significant role in improving cardiovascular performance.
Post any bones of contention you have with these fallacies to comments.
My favorite fallacy that Siff argues against, though, is that Pilates is the most balanced and complete training system of all (page 9 of FFF). Shocking!
Damn, I was hoping I could just quit this CrossFit stuff and take up Pilates. But I guess I'm gonna have to stick with good ol' CF.
I find all of Mel Stiff's books great... Supertraining is a good book imo.
Supertraining is, by far, the most comprehensive manual to date on training theory and application.
Topics covered in the book include, plyometrics, the different types of strength and their applications in sports and strength training. Isometric, eccentric, flexibility training (maybe I should apply it to myself) and many other topics are covered in detail as well.
this is what you were talking about.. interesting and completely counter to everything i believed pre-crossfit.
a lot of mis-information out there.
so i guess the double murph is a bad idea, huh.
So I guess that running and rowing stuff - we can just stop doing that? What a relief!
* "Cardiovascular training is the only form of exercise that produces endorphins."
"Not all researchers have jumped on the endorphin bandwagon. Some scientists claim that endorphins are too large to pass through the blood-brain barrier - and if something can’t get into your brain you can pretty much guarantee it can’t make you high either. So if it’s not endorphins that give you that happy feeling inside after exercise, what is the underlying factor?
One possibility is the production of anandamide, a messenger molecule naturally produced in our bodies that plays a role in pain, depression, appetite, memory, and fertility. As reported by CNN, anandamide is known to produce sensations similar to those of THC, which is the psychoactive property in marijuana. And according to a study published in the journal NeuroReport, high levels of these molecules were found in young men who ran or cycled for about an hour at a moderate pace. Like endorphins, it appears that anandamides are released when the body is under prolonged stress, such as in instances of strenuous exercise. Dr. Arne Dietrich from University of Beirut has also determined that anandamides also dilate your blood vessels and bronchial tubes, which are effects that should allow individuals to run longer and harder." - From: http://www.hesfit.com/men/comment/the-final-sprint-runners-high-revisited/
yeah after doing a little digging i found the existence of exercise induced endorphin release is pretty debatable
* when an antagonist (pharmacological agent that blocks the action for the substance under study) was infused (eg naloxone) or ingested (naltrexone) the same changes in mood state occurred that happened when the person exercised with no blocker.
* scientists cannot make a runner's high occur in the lab with any certainty. This makes it very difficult to study, much less prove that endorphins cause the runner's high
just curious, what is it that he means exactly by "cardiovascular training"? is he equating cardiovascular training with LSD (long slow distance) workouts? technically it seems like any stress that causes your heart to work harder is cardiovascular training, in some dimension.
pretty fascinating on the whole
Casey:
I've been trying to tell you...
Double Murph = Cortisol Fest and retrograde performance. However I still want to watch you do it.
A side note for all the 5 and 10K haters out there: try running these distances shoot'ing for an 18-21 min 5K and a 39-44 min 10K and see if they are not, in fact, "intense".
Casey,
is the study you are referring to implying that since naloxone is an opiate antagonist it should neutralize affects of an endogenous opioid such as Endorphin? And since there is no affect anandamines, a cannabinoid neurotransmitter and unaffected by narcan, indicate that anadamines are in fact the key ingredient in runners high?