Sometimes our members ask if they should be doing additional cardio (longer duration workouts- spin classes/step classes/running etc.) than what they are doing at CrossFit Ballina. So we thought we would shed some light on this subject. Our answer is, unless you are specifically training for a long distance event such as a Marathon or Ironman etc. or unless you absolutely love your longer duration workouts/runs, then no! The reasons for this are as follows: 1) Shorter duration high intensity workouts burn more fat than long distance lower intensity workouts. (cbass/FATBURN.HTM and sportsmedicine.about/od/tipsandtricks/a/Intervals.htm). 2) Long duration low intensity workouts cause muscles to waste away. To see an example of this just have a look at the majority of the professional long distance runners. This does not mean that long distance is bad for you, it just means that training long distance doesnt necessarily help you achieve your fitness goals. 3) Short duration workouts performed at a high intensity produce virtually all of the cardiovascular benefits of low intensity long duration efforts. 4) How many hours do you have in a day? You can get the same results by training at a much higher intensity for a much shorter time so take advantage! :) If you are interested in learning more about what we do and why we do it then I highly suggest reading the attached article from the CrossFit Journal. I know its lengthy but you should know about why you are doing what you are doing! library.crossfit/free/pdf/CFJ_Trial_04_2012.pdf
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 05:54:17 +0000