Acute high intensity interval exercise reduces colon cancer cell growth(physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Acute high intensity interval exercise reduces colon cancer cell growth
https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP277648
27 comments
Wow, I'd never heard of rhabdomyolysis. I always thought the worst overtraining could do to you is force you to take an extended (weeks/months) break.
I'm pushing 40 now, and one thing I've learned is to recognize when my body is telling me "you need to back off now." I don't recover the way I used to (I can't lift 4 days a week anymore, for example, and squats and deadlifts are right out due to back problems), so I need to be careful not to overdo it. Because then I'll hurt myself and have to take a few weeks off -- and worse, I'll be hobbling in to work for a week or more like an old, broken man, and all the millennials will laugh at me :)
I'm pushing 40 now, and one thing I've learned is to recognize when my body is telling me "you need to back off now." I don't recover the way I used to (I can't lift 4 days a week anymore, for example, and squats and deadlifts are right out due to back problems), so I need to be careful not to overdo it. Because then I'll hurt myself and have to take a few weeks off -- and worse, I'll be hobbling in to work for a week or more like an old, broken man, and all the millennials will laugh at me :)
Can I ask what your back problems are and how they started? Were they from doing the squats and deadlifts themselves or other injuries? I see plenty of people past their 40s still doing squats and deadlifts so it's not like there is a general age limit it seems.
For the last five or so years, I've had more or less constant pain/stiffness in my lower back, which is definitely aggravated by lifts like squats or DLs. Heck, running too often aggravates it. At work, I have a sit/stand desk, and I have to alternate between sitting and standing throughout the day, because doing too much of one or the other starts to hurt.
It seemed to come on gradually. What initially caused it I don't know... I played football in high school, I've lifted weights since I was a teenager (only cutting out squats/DLs when they became too... risky), I was in the Army for a bit, who knows... should probably get a doctor to look at it.
My father started having problems with his lower back around the same age (30s), so maybe there's a genetic/hereditary issue. Though at least he still manages to do squats in his 60s. I wonder if having a longer spine (I'm about 5 inches taller than him) would make my issues worse?
It seemed to come on gradually. What initially caused it I don't know... I played football in high school, I've lifted weights since I was a teenager (only cutting out squats/DLs when they became too... risky), I was in the Army for a bit, who knows... should probably get a doctor to look at it.
My father started having problems with his lower back around the same age (30s), so maybe there's a genetic/hereditary issue. Though at least he still manages to do squats in his 60s. I wonder if having a longer spine (I'm about 5 inches taller than him) would make my issues worse?
As I mentioned in the other post, I'm not trying to scare any one with the rhabdo situation. It's rare. But I think the idea of "know thy limits" is not as common as it should be in our exercise culture. Sounds like you're on the same page.
While not directly related to HIIT: my girlfriends stepmother performs in the Iron Man competitions on the world level in the seniour class (presently seniour, anyway).
When designing workouts for my partner, she would schedule and recommend semi-regular rest weeks.
These were weeks were she wasn’t to do much exercise except maybe some light cardio and get extra sleep.
FWIW: my lats aren’t great myself (pull ups are not my strength!), but there are other lat exercises to build up strength and core you should do before going all out on those things. Or instead of pronate(pull up) form, go supine(chin up) as it let’s you get a little more out of your arms as you build up to it.
Never heard of that condition. That’s frightening. My first instinct is similar: “Ah, I’ll just rest it”
When designing workouts for my partner, she would schedule and recommend semi-regular rest weeks.
These were weeks were she wasn’t to do much exercise except maybe some light cardio and get extra sleep.
FWIW: my lats aren’t great myself (pull ups are not my strength!), but there are other lat exercises to build up strength and core you should do before going all out on those things. Or instead of pronate(pull up) form, go supine(chin up) as it let’s you get a little more out of your arms as you build up to it.
Never heard of that condition. That’s frightening. My first instinct is similar: “Ah, I’ll just rest it”
> there are other lat exercises to build up strength and core you should do before going all out
This was recommended to me as a good beginner exercise for building up strength to do full pull-ups. In hindsight it's obvious why it destroyed my biceps. My pull-up muscles were fatigued and I was essentially just dropping my full-body weight on exhausted muscles. To be fair I still thought I was in control. It would take a second or two to go from the top position down to the bottom. But now I realize that if you can't slowly lower yourself down at a very slow pace, say 5 to 10 seconds from top to bottom, then your muscles are exhausted.
This was recommended to me as a good beginner exercise for building up strength to do full pull-ups. In hindsight it's obvious why it destroyed my biceps. My pull-up muscles were fatigued and I was essentially just dropping my full-body weight on exhausted muscles. To be fair I still thought I was in control. It would take a second or two to go from the top position down to the bottom. But now I realize that if you can't slowly lower yourself down at a very slow pace, say 5 to 10 seconds from top to bottom, then your muscles are exhausted.
Yep, that's probably wise. Another queue is if you're quivering too much you might need to form some of the core for that exercise first—or you're just done. Lat pull-downs are a great start as you can set the weight while the movement is pretty near the same. Main difference being, you'll need some resistance bands or the equipment to do that one instead of just a mounted bar.
Edit: My big beef with Crossfit and like circuits are that they do similar things:
They recommend great methods for exercise, strength building, cardio, etc.
However, they often have next to zero form coaching and some of the things I've seen people doing with their bodies right beside coaches and trainers in programs like that ... they're just asking for injuries (either short term, or long term. How they teach rowing form is particularly bad).
It's less the exercise, and more the parameters—form and knowing your limits are core. In a coach, they should be able to judge what you're ready to be doing.
Edit: My big beef with Crossfit and like circuits are that they do similar things:
They recommend great methods for exercise, strength building, cardio, etc.
However, they often have next to zero form coaching and some of the things I've seen people doing with their bodies right beside coaches and trainers in programs like that ... they're just asking for injuries (either short term, or long term. How they teach rowing form is particularly bad).
It's less the exercise, and more the parameters—form and knowing your limits are core. In a coach, they should be able to judge what you're ready to be doing.
That seems very odd. Were you exercising regularly at the time?
> Were you exercising regularly at the time?
Yep. Running 2 or 3 days a week. Weightlifting once or twice a week. Routine was probably squats/deadlifts, pushups/BPs, and lat pulldowns/rows (just exercising all the major muscle groups, not trying to be Arnold). Very active all throughout my childhood and teen years. It's not like I'm a heavy guy, either: 6 feet, 170 pounds. The doctors themselves said that they were surprised at the diagnosis because I looked in-shape.
Yep. Running 2 or 3 days a week. Weightlifting once or twice a week. Routine was probably squats/deadlifts, pushups/BPs, and lat pulldowns/rows (just exercising all the major muscle groups, not trying to be Arnold). Very active all throughout my childhood and teen years. It's not like I'm a heavy guy, either: 6 feet, 170 pounds. The doctors themselves said that they were surprised at the diagnosis because I looked in-shape.
I've heard of people getting "rhabdo" but was under the impression it was sedentary people jumping right into HIT. Clearly that wasn't your case though. Thanks for sharing your story and I'm glad you were ok.
Glad you caught it in time! Eccentric-focused exercises like negative pull-ups can be especially dangerous since almost all exercise-induced muscle trauma occurs while a muscle is lengthening under load. The contraction phase doesn't actually induce much trauma. So, if you are allocating most of your available energy to the lengthening phase, you can induce significantly more trauma than if you evenly allocate effort to both phases.
After some intensive research several years ago, I concluded that HIIT was the most effective means of reaching and maintaining a high level of fitness. After injuring myself a couple times, I did more research on injury prevention and settled on the following rules, which have kept me injury-free ever since:
1) If I haven't exercised in the last 3 weeks, my first workout consists of merely going through the motions of each exercise with minimal exertion (no heavy breathing). Even this light exercise triggers the Repeated-Bout Effect which will protect skeletal muscles in the next workout.
2) Have two rest days between each workout. Muscles get stronger on rest days, not on workout days. Two rest days (versus one or three) appear to maximize my gains when my workouts are at a high intensity level.
3) Never increase intensity by more than approximately 20% above the last workout. This keeps me safely within the protective margins of the Repeated-Bout Effect.
After some intensive research several years ago, I concluded that HIIT was the most effective means of reaching and maintaining a high level of fitness. After injuring myself a couple times, I did more research on injury prevention and settled on the following rules, which have kept me injury-free ever since:
1) If I haven't exercised in the last 3 weeks, my first workout consists of merely going through the motions of each exercise with minimal exertion (no heavy breathing). Even this light exercise triggers the Repeated-Bout Effect which will protect skeletal muscles in the next workout.
2) Have two rest days between each workout. Muscles get stronger on rest days, not on workout days. Two rest days (versus one or three) appear to maximize my gains when my workouts are at a high intensity level.
3) Never increase intensity by more than approximately 20% above the last workout. This keeps me safely within the protective margins of the Repeated-Bout Effect.
I completely agree. As someone who competes in Judo, and needs as strong a grip and upper back/shoulders as possible, I have experienced problems with pushing my limits on pulling exercises as well.
It's easy to overtrain pullups/chipups/rows and end up with tennis or golfers elbow, which is not fun. Being a tendon overuse injury, it takes a long time to heal.
If it progresses to tendonitis, you're in for a lifetime of problems that are very debilitating. Think not being able to grab a dinner plate off a high shelf.
Don't treat pullups (even negatives) as something you can just grind. If you "grease the groove" by doing lots of small sets thruought the day, only do a quarter to a half to what you can comfortably do. Give yourself a maximum number of sets that you will do during the day. Progress slowly over many months, with proper form and slow reps and no kipping. Don't do anything silly like add "a rep a day", or try to "drain the tank" every time you hit the exercise.
It's surprisingly easy to override discomfort with willpower and actively destroy your own body
It's easy to overtrain pullups/chipups/rows and end up with tennis or golfers elbow, which is not fun. Being a tendon overuse injury, it takes a long time to heal.
If it progresses to tendonitis, you're in for a lifetime of problems that are very debilitating. Think not being able to grab a dinner plate off a high shelf.
Don't treat pullups (even negatives) as something you can just grind. If you "grease the groove" by doing lots of small sets thruought the day, only do a quarter to a half to what you can comfortably do. Give yourself a maximum number of sets that you will do during the day. Progress slowly over many months, with proper form and slow reps and no kipping. Don't do anything silly like add "a rep a day", or try to "drain the tank" every time you hit the exercise.
It's surprisingly easy to override discomfort with willpower and actively destroy your own body
A few years ago I returned to the gym after doing no exercise for the previous six months or so, had a particularly intense session, and, upon waking the next day, couldn't open my arms past 45 degrees. The pain lasted about a week.
I've been able to prevent this from happening again after any sort of hiatus by making sure to build from low to high intensity over two or three sessions. Something about doing a couple of low intensity workouts primes your body to respond better to any proceeding exercise in the coming weeks. I haven't had any crippling delayed-onset muscle soreness since using this trick.
I've been able to prevent this from happening again after any sort of hiatus by making sure to build from low to high intensity over two or three sessions. Something about doing a couple of low intensity workouts primes your body to respond better to any proceeding exercise in the coming weeks. I haven't had any crippling delayed-onset muscle soreness since using this trick.
Another data point that shows what we all know. Daily exercise is good for you. HIIT is an effective way to exercise, and appears to provide additional benefits.
I am not disputing the benefit of daily exercise, but the sample size seemed awfully small.
Am I mistaken or was it a study of 20 people (two slightly different groups of ten, at that)?
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Sincere question- assuming that '7 minute workout' is an HIIT - what kind of warm up does something like that require and how long? I want to do the 7 minute workout but I'm worried it needs a warm up.
Initially go light at 7m workout, that would serve you as a warm up. Once you are able to push, add one more session right after (maybe 5 minute break in-between). Your first session stays warm up session. Once 2nd session is not enough (in like 3-4 months), add a third one. Then you can increase intensity of all exercises a bit (still keep the first session lighter). In 1 year you'll be in best shape of your life (given proper food & sleep). Good luck! ;-)
Another way to do HIIT is to grab a stationary bike and do intervals there, e.g. 3 minute warmup at low level then increase difficulty or start pedaling faster for a minute. At some point you'd start reducing breaks in between, maybe in 1-2 years you'd do at most 10s low-intensity in-between.
Another way to do HIIT is to grab a stationary bike and do intervals there, e.g. 3 minute warmup at low level then increase difficulty or start pedaling faster for a minute. At some point you'd start reducing breaks in between, maybe in 1-2 years you'd do at most 10s low-intensity in-between.
The short description of the study in the link indicates 4x4 minute intervals at 85-95 percent with rest between sets which seems more like VO2Max intervals than HIIT and is described as High Intensity Interval Exercise, your description is closer to ballpark what I know of as HIIT, sometimes called Tabata intervals, which definitely need a warmup that depends upon you but 20-30 minutes is the minimum I strive for.
7-minute workout is mostly a myth. You can do a very intense and thorough workout using the 7-minute routine but all the reported benefits involve working yourself up to 3 repetitions of the 7-minute routine so it really takes 21 minutes.
Some of the research showed significant health improvements from 3 days a week of 3 reps of 20 second standing bike sprints. So only 3 minutes per week.
A far cry from its enticing title.
A few months back I did a bunch of negative pull-ups [1] in an attempt to strengthen my pull-up muscles. The next day I was the most sore I've ever been in my life. Two days later the soreness increased. My arms were stuck in a 50 degree angle. I couldn't bend them straight or curl them up all the way. I had an intuition that something was wrong, checked the symptoms on Google, and saw something about a weird condition called rhabdomyolysis [2] where your muscles are so damaged that they start releasing damaging proteins into your blood that can damage your kidneys. Again, my intuition told me to go to the ER right away, which was unlike me because I'm your typical guy that usually trusts that my body will heal on its own. The doctors thought it was highly unlikely that I had rhabdo, but they ran the blood tests anyway, and were surprised to find out that I had diagnosed it correctly. I was hooked up to IV for 4 days after that, 24/7, pissing huge amounts of water every hour or so, because the only treatment is to just flush the proteins out of your system. If I hadn't gone to the ER that night, and had slept through it, I very well could have destroyed my kidneys.
At the ER the doctors told me that rhabdo cases were on the rise because of HIIT classes pushing people past their limits. From what I understand it's a rare condition, I think only 1-5% of the population at risk of it, but it doesn't hurt to know. The bigger lesson from this experience for me was to be more careful about pushing myself past my limits. I'm only 29 and I already see that my body can't take the beatings that I used to give it. Ironically I'm exercising every day now but am much more mindful of putting extreme strain on my body. I support high-intensity exercise, but I stop if I'm at the point where my muscles are exhausted and I no longer am doing the exercises with good form.
[1] https://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/negative-pull-up
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhabdomyolysis