Drawbacks of Aerobic Exercise and How to Prevent Them, Part 2

In the first part of this story, I discussed the growing sentiment that the consistent schedule of aerobic exercise we've been conditioned to think is the key to health and fitness might actually be compromising your health. The risk of injury, burnout and increased overall stress levels often results from an indiscriminate training program. Observe the following tips to maximize the effectiveness of your endurance training program and avoid the adverse outcomes that arise when your program is ineffective and overly stressful.

1. Maintain Aerobic Heart Rates: Strictly limit your endurance training sessions to 75 percent of maximum heart rate or below (experienced athletes can bring it up to 80 percent). This intensity level will minimize the stress of the workout and allow your body to build fitness and resilience without interruption from the breakdown caused by a more stressful program.

2. Fluctuate Stress and Rest Cycles: Applying the concept of consistency to endurance training is deeply flawed. Your body does not require a daily struggle to get or stay fit. The best way to prepare for competitive goals and preserve your health is to conduct the occasional very difficult workout that approximates your competitive goals, and support these efforts with lots of rest, before and after. For a marathon runner, a long run of 15 to 25 miles typically forms the centerpiece of the training program. The incredibly high rate of injuries, illness and attrition found in the marathon population is less related to running long now and then, and more likely a result of trying to go out the next day for an "easy 5-miler".. .and the next and the next ... then coming back every single weekend with another long one. (As if one's success in a single-day event depends on never missing a workout over weeks and weeks.) To the average runner, there is no such thing as an easy 5-miler on the heels of such a strenuous training effort. There is no need to run long every single weekend; in fact, doing so can be counterproductive. Making your hard efforts harder and your easy efforts easier will help you avoid injuries, burnout and over-training, and will truly prepare you for peak performance.

3. Cross Train: Endurance represents a narrow and highly specialized form of fitness. All but the elite professionals can enjoy better health and possibly even faster race times if you mix up your workouts a little. Insert a yoga class into your weekly schedule in place of yet another run or spin. Try a Primal Blueprint-style sprint workout (check out the website Mark's Daily Apple) to develop different energy systems and hormonal responses than those associated with the typical, sustained cardio session. Schedule a couple of sessions with a trainer to devise a customized strength-training routine that will address weaknesses and imbalances that arise from an endurance-centric schedule.

4. Rest: The quintessential four-letter word for endurance athletes can actually be the key to your success. Rest is the time when your body actually becomes fit. Contrary to many books, magazine articles, coaches and fitness "experts," there is no perfect formula to ensure you get the proper rest. Taking a day off each week or following a "3 weeks hard, 1 week recovery" pattern means nothing to your body and the dynamic, fluctuating daily energy levels and performance progress that we all experience. Sometimes, that day off really should be a week off, and that week off really should be 2 months off. (Yes, endurance athletes invariably err on the side of too little rest, not too much rest!) If you making training decisions intuitively, you will fare far better than if you train robotically off a predetermined schedule that some expert deems effective. When you get to know and understand the training methods of some of the best athletes in the world, it's apparent that, even with the incredibly technical, scientific influence, the intuitive component is very relevant. (Think Lance Armstrong and his frequent blood-lactate-levels-to-wattage-production-ratio-at-anaerobic-threshold tests). When the great ones don't feel like training, they take it easy. It's as simple as that. Unfortunately, this simple lesson is lost on many novices and competitive amateurs.

Apply these simple tips to your training schedule, and you will do a great job steering clear of bad stuff mentioned in the previous Top 10 list.