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Hi, I’m Scotty: I’m a CrossFitter and I got Rhabdo Now, before you get the wrong idea, for me, the two concepts in the title are not related. Yes, I did get a mild case of Rhabdo when I was 20ish, but this had nothing to do with CrossFit. It had everything to do with me deciding that 6 quadruple drop sets of 12 preacher curls with an extremely short rest interval would be a good idea for building my guns. If you don’t know what type of training this is, basically picture me (with more hair on my head and less on my chin) doing so many bicep curls with so much fatigue that I could barely lift 5lbs when I was done for the day. I was doing what many wannabe meatheads do when they get their exercise training prescription from a magazine: I was going for the “pump” (don’t know this? Check out this clip from Pain & Gain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXBu3jhMVT4). What I ended up with was two elbows that wouldn’t bend for two weeks and a quizzical look every time I urinated brown. I didn’t know it at the time and thankfully didn’t need medical help, but looking back, it was pretty obvious what I did. |
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two weeks, you’re aware of the online blogger who decried CrossFit for being a common cause for Rhabdomyolysis (basically where your muscles explode and your body destroys itself trying to recover). I don’t want to talk about this condition or the debate, but I do want to talk about the culprit: inappropriate vs. appropriate intensity of training. If you want more information on the topic of Rhabdo and the perspective of a physician who’s also a CrossFitter, check this out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-ray-md/crossfit-rhabdo_b_4032866.html (it also includes a link to the original post). Minus the lack of an Oxford comma in the title, this post is pretty awesome. Also, here’s another one that talks about personal responsibility in training: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ericka-andersen/crossfit-rhabdomyolysis_b_3985231.html. I do agree with pretty much everything that these two articles discuss, so I’ll just let you read them.
So, to the topic of intensity. It probably won’t surprise you to hear that I’m a fan of high-intensity exercise training; but I’ll be the first to say that if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. That’s not to say that, sometimes, discomfort isn’t ‘right’, because it can be. In fact, with a HIIT model of training, discomfort from muscle acid accumulation is a necessary consequence. When you have 30 or 60 seconds to move quickly on a “fly-and-die” interval, the point is to move very quickly, without sacrificing technique, such that you’re gassed once the interval is done. In this case, however, we give you rest and recovery for at least three times the work time. We’re not asking you to do it again 30 seconds later and expect to stay healthy. That’s the purpose of HIIT: very intense work, with enough recovery. Think what would happen if you tried to do this with the 30s:30s aerobic intervals that are sometimes programmed. You simply can’t do these as fly-and-die and go all out. These intervals need to be paced such that you are maintaining the same intensity at the end of the workout as you are at the beginning. Be smart with the loads you select; they should be submaximal. You shouldn’t fatigue at the end of the first round of 30 seconds. The point with these is to get your heart rate up aerobically by using good quality functional exercise. Having said this, for ANY of the workouts you do, please take responsibility for your movement quality, your technique, and your intensity. If you’re not feeling great one day, don’t be afraid to back off a bit. If you feel pain that is kind of injury-like, that “kind of” will turn quickly into “very” if you keep going. If you feel generally unwell or under the weather, now is not the time for going for a PR. Finally, if you feel like your muscles are ripping apart or going to explode, I would suggest you stop before they actually do. Training does not need to be, and should not be, performed all out all of the time. Listen to your body; it will tell you when enough is enough. Do that and we can put this “rhabdo” crap to rest (and perhaps we might even start to give CrossFit a GOOD name in the health and fitness world).
Dr. Scotty
