Oly Lifting, HIIT, Jumping... Dangerous?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hey, all. As a weightlifting trainee, my main goals are good health and a good-looking body. To this end, I often perform intense activities as I feel these will give me the best results. These include HIIT (including Tabata protocol), olympic lifts, and jumping (this I do mostly because I enjoy it).

However, I’ve been questioning if this kind of intensity is good for me in the long run. Sure, compound and oly lifts and the tabata protocol have given me good results. But is physical activity at such a high level intensity harmful in the long run? Am I wearing out my heart and joints?

To reiterate, my main goals are health and a good body. I don’t want to sacrifice either to reach some kind of peak in strength or anaerobic ability.

Should I continue training as I do, or not? Comments, thoughts and links to evidence for/against the long-term health risks associated with any of the following would be greatly appreciated:
Tabata Protocol
HIIT
Olympic lifts
Jumping

Thanks for tuning in.

2

No

3

I got Eric Cressey’s the Art of the Deload today at work. The one thing with jumping and other reactive training methods is the are CNS intensive. He recommends dropping the work every fourth week of a program.

Personally, I think that is a good way to train, more for performance than size though, and I remember a quote from one of the articles I read on here that went something like, if you live life the wrong way, you will end up needing a cardiologist when you get older and if you live life the right way you will probably need a chiropractor.

I would just put as much planning into your recovery strategies and supplemental/prehab program as you do with your strength/conditioning/physique program.

Here is the link to Cressey’s the prehab deload:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1833663

4

[quote]theuofh wrote:
I got Eric Cressey’s the Art of the Deload today at work. The one thing with jumping and other reactive training methods is the are CNS intensive. He recommends dropping the work every fourth week of a program.

Personally, I think that is a good way to train, more for performance than size though, and I remember a quote from one of the articles I read on here that went something like, if you live life the wrong way, you will end up needing a cardiologist when you get older and if you live life the right way you will probably need a chiropractor.

I would just put as much planning into your recovery strategies and supplemental/prehab program as you do with your strength/conditioning/physique program.

Here is the link to Cressey’s the prehab deload:
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1833663[/quote]

Thank you; I checked out the article and appreciate the time and thought you put into your reply. Currently, I have a deload week every 3/4 weeks, and, as suggested by CoolColJ in another thread, am using a foam roller. I also do various prehab exercises, and will read the linked article, and the Injury Prevention Roundtable it links to, and add what I can to my workouts.

What I was thinking of in this case isn’t really injury prevention. I probably didn’t formulate my thoughts clearly enough in the opening post, but I’m wondering if there is a gradual damaging effect from high-power output lifts and anaerobic activity. i.e. overworking your heart with Tabata, or joints with oly lifts.

For all I know, the thought itself may be unfounded. However, a few of my relatives, and personal trainers at a gym I went to a couple of times, were horrified when they saw me do HIIT, heavy compound lifts, oly lifts, and ESPECIALLY when I told them about Tabata’s Protocol.

Stories of how I’ll ruin my long-term health abound, coupled with gruesome stories about how olympic lifters retire early, having wrecked their bodies. I’d be glad to chalk this off to outdated thinking, but the thing is, all of these relatives are doctors (almost everyone is a doctor of some sort on one side of my family).

So, I just wanted to make sure by asking at the only place I rely on for trustworthy info… T-Nation :slight_smile:

Perhaps, your comment about the chiropractor is right on the money. Still, I love lifting, and want to make sure I can do it for as long as possible, even if it means limiting myself to certain exercises.

5

Plyo’s will do a number on your joints (especially if doneon hard surfaces). As for the heavy compound lifts, you do have to watch for those regarding your joints (as Zane will attest), but there’s so many more benefits to doing them that out weigh the negatives.

You don’t need to worry about overworking your heart unless you’re absolutely training beyond your limits.

I’m not too sure about the olympic lifts.