
Lactic Acid Is Not Muscles' Foe, It's Fuel - ph0rque
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/health/nutrition/16run.html
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scotch_drinker
After doing crossfit for a year, I think I knew this semi-consciously but it's
interesting to read about it being backed by science. Short, highly intense
training sessions lead to very large gains in fitness because most of your
training is anaerobic.

~~~
mr_luc
Another crossfit hacker? Wow. (The first place I saw that article linked was
from crossfit.com, around the time it first came out. )

I got good results with crossfit (dropped 40 pounds, now I'm "athletic" -- I'd
never have imagined I could do 20 pullups before), but I'd do it even if it
was only average, because it doesn't _bore_ me.

Running? Unpleasant and _boring_. Weight lifting? Boring disciplinarian
bullcrap ...

Crossfit? I check the website, burst out laughing, grit my teeth, and then do
something that seems almost impossible yet takes 30 minutes or less. Awesome.

~~~
scotch_drinker
It's good to hear from other CrossFiters outside the community. I spent the
weekend at a level I cert and loved every minute of it. The highly intense
workouts are both always interesting (and always painful) and highly results
oriented.

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jimfl
Wow. This goes against everything I've ever been taught about how to manage
your muscles during endurance activities (In my case hiking, cycling, and
Nordic skiing), yet, jibes with my experience. And here I thought there was
something seriously wrong with me.

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mhb
What will you do differently after reading this?

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jimfl
Spend more time outside the aerobic zone without worrying that I'm damaging
muscle tissue.

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stse
It's strange that you hasn't done this before. Ever done interval training?
Maybe your training is recreational in which case the risk of getting injured
probably overshadows(?) the gains of intense interval training.

~~~
michaelneale
I mostly do interval training (when not just doing weights) - I wonder if it
is a bad thing - but I just find it so fun and non-boring...

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gruseom
_Its origins lie in a study by a Nobel laureate, Otto Meyerhof, who in the
early years of the 20th century cut a frog in half and put its bottom half in
a jar._

R.D. Laing once said (paraphrased): "I would hope that if someone wanted to
get to know me, they would not cut me in half and put me in a jar."

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wheels
This is pretty old -- 2006 -- and has been discussed here in the past:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=586114>

~~~
pradocchia
One comment does not a discussion make...

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sho
An excellent demonstration of how, sometimes, erroneous but entrenched beliefs
take decades, generations, to overturn.

Next up in the list of stubborn myths people grew up with and find hard to set
down: obesity is caused by excessive caloric intake.

~~~
tumult
So I can eat all the cheeseburgers I want now? Totally ready to start, just
give me the thumbs up.

~~~
sho
Sure you can. But you can't have the buns, fries, or non-diet drink ..

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jasonkester
Atkins? Seriously? 5 years later?

In theory, sure, we're with you. But in practice, Atkins is a diet for fat
people. If you're 250 pounds and you want to get down to 230 and stay there,
Atkins is your huckleberry. We all know plenty of fat people who are
noticeably less fat thanks to low-carb diets, but I can't think of anybody I
know who used to be fat and is now thin because of one.

If you're 250 pounds and you want to get down to 170 and stay there, it seems
that "eat less and exercise" is still your best bet.

~~~
Aevin1387
See Jimmy Moore: <http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/?page_id=2464> and there
are a lot more examples. Myself, I have gone down from 290 pounds to 225 low-
carbing, and I am still losing weight.

Also, Atkins is just one type of low-carb diet, and a rather strict one at
that. It is because of how strict it is that people tend to fail a little ways
in

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Isn't low-carb just a mechnism for creating a low-calorie diet though?

~~~
ahoyhere
No, it's not. Low calorie diets don't tend to create ketosis and if you start
eating too _few_ calories on Atkins, you will stop losing weight. (I speak
from experience. Had to make myself eat more. Funny, huh?)

