Another Reason to Dump Low-Intensity Cardio

As I've noted many times before, I've feel better, enjoy my cardio more, save time and have lost body fat since switching to high-intensity intervals instead of going for a 30-minute run or something along those lines.

Super-trainer Craig Ballantyne recently wrote about a new study that backs up the benefits of high-intensity cardio.

Going Too Far?

I'm a deep believer that you make progress with your training only when you push yourself. All those people who go to the gym and simply go through the motions, using light weights or never boosting the speed on the treadmill, will never see their bodies change.

But can you go too far? A training program called Crossfit may do just that, at least according to a recent article in the New York Times Magazine.

I've wondered about Crossfit for a while now, because I love the idea of trying something that's a bit extreme. Plus, it uses many moves that I love, Olympic lifts that use almost every part of your body.

But any training plan that seems to encourage injuries definitely goes too far. Of course the only real way to find out if Crossfit is too extreme -- and possibly cult-like -- is to try it.

Better Decisions Come with Age

It happened again and again. I would tweak something in the gym but I would keep plowing ahead with my workout. The result all too often was that I'd hurt myself.

These days I try to not repeat those mistakes, though I can't say I'm perfect when it comes to this. But generally, if I feel pain, I back off. It just makes sense, which is exactly what super-trainer Jason Ferruggia pointed out recently.

One of the Best Exercises Ever

I love the deadlift, which says a lot considering what it did to me once.

It's one of the best exercises because it works nearly everything, especially the often-overlooked posterior chain, which includes the glutes and hamstrings. You get power for nearly every sport from the posterior chain. Some of the best trainers will tell you that the deadlift is a great move to include in your training -- but only if you do it right.

And that's what I once didn't do. Well, actually more than once. When I first started deadlifting, I didn't understand well enough how to do it. Looking back, it's fairly clear that my core wasn't strong enough either. So one night at the gym, with what most would consider a modest weight, I went to pull the bar up and could've sworn I heard a pop from the left side of my lower back. I could barely straighten up enough to put the plates up and walk out of the gym.

My biggest problem was that I was rounding my lower back on the pull, a common mistake.

But it didn't stop me from deadlifting, after a break, of course. Simply put, the benefits were too big to walk away from. So I worked with Marco Ferdinandi, the sports performance director at Velocity Sports Performance in Manhattan, on my form. With each pull, I concentrated not on how much I was lifting but on my form. I worked on my core more than I ever have, too.

Today, I felt great after my last deadlift. The weight I'm pulling is still awfully modest compared to many guys, but I'm moving up.

If you want to try it, wikipedia.org has a good explanation of the move, and at T-Nation.com Eric Cressey has a great article on it.