People who engage in high-intensity interval training are at greater risk for injury, especially in the knees and shoulders, a Rutgers study found.
These workouts, which combine aerobic exercising, weight lifting and calisthenics at maximum capacity, followed by periods of recovery, have been growing in popularity over the past decade, driven by the efficiency of the exercise to deliver fitness goals in less time.
The study, which appears in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, acknowledged that while this type of training is effective in improving cardiorespiratory fitness, boosting energy and promoting lean muscle mass and fat loss, it also increases injury risk.
“These workouts are marketed as ‘one size fits all.’ However, many athletes, especially amateurs, do not have the flexibility, mobility, core strength and muscles to perform these exercises,” said Joseph Ippolito, a physician in the department of orthopaedics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.
Read more at Rutgers University
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