A RESEARCH UPDATE ON EXTREME CONDITIONING GOES HERE
VERY LONG ARTICLE TITLE PROGRAMS:
AND TAKES UP LOTS ANDWITH CROSSFIT?
WHERE ARE WE NOW LOTS OF ROOM
A third study from a different lab investigated lactate responses to
two ECP protocols (2). In this case, the popular CrossFit Workouts
of the Day (WOD) called “Fran” and “Donkey Kong” were
examined. The “Fran” WOD is a timed benchmark of performing
95 lb barbell thrusters and pull-ups consecutively for three sets
of varying repetitions (21, 15, and 9 repetitions per round) (2).
The “Donkey Kong” WOD uses the same pattern of three sets of
21, 15, and 9 repetitions but for burpees, kettlebell swings, and
box jumps, all while mixing stair-climbing between the exercises
(2). The study’s subjects consisted of 16 men/women between
the ages of 20 and 47. Prior to the study, all subjects completed
a maximal graded exercise treadmill test, where data on maximal
oxygen consumption (VO2max), maximal heart rate (HR), and
ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected. Besides plasma
lactate, HR and RPE were recorded during the WODs in order
to predict exercise intensity and caloric expenditure. The results
indicated that both WODs were very metabolically taxing, with
high lactate levels post-exercise. In addition, WOD HRs averaged
90% of maximal HR, and 80% of VO2max. Estimated caloric
expenditure was also very high. The high HRs seen in this study
are greater than recorded for a previous study from the same lab
testing another ECP known as P90X (13).
As has been noted elsewhere, the HRs measured during
discontinuous exercise appear to be higher than those recorded
during steady-state exercise, even when matched for VO2 (13).
Therefore, VO2/energy consumption values calculated from HRs
collected from ECPs like those in this study could overestimate
actual VO2/energy cost. The high lactate values, however, do
indicate that exercise intensity was high. The authors also noted
the potential injury risk of such programs by saying, “the thing
we’ve seen with a lot of these workouts is that you go flat-out as
fast as you can, but then your form falls apart. You really need to
be technically correct with a lot of these exercises or else you’re
going to get hurt,” (2).
PERFORMANCE EFFECTS
Several studies have compared various training adaptations seen
in ECP-trained subjects to those from more traditional training
methods, such as resistance/cardiovascular training. One study
compared the aerobic/anaerobic power of ECP-trained individuals
versus subjects who utilized traditional resistance training (RT).
Eight ECP subjects and six RT subjects participated in the study.
The tests for aerobic/anaerobic power were the Bruce Protocol
and the Wingate Anaerobic Test. Results of the study indicated no
significant differences in VO2max or Wingate peak power between
the ECP group and the RT group (19). Another study from the
same lab examined whether ECP-trained subjects differed from
RT-trained subjects in performance of one-repetiti