Shows such as "Surviving the Cut" and "Class 234" are a good examples. The beginning of every selection always seems to be an insane and prolonged physical activity period meant to have the candidates start to question their commitment to the process and to weed out those who are truly not physically prepared.

This is not a workout.

This is not something to be done regularly.

Yet many Crossfit and bootcamp type programs subject their clients to this constantly and then seem surprised that people are getting hurt.

No one threw up.

The reason is because we were CYCLED. no single exercise was overdone. we might do pushups for fifteen minutes straight and then made to wait 'halfway up' for fife minutes, but then we were doing 5 point bodybuilders, and then from there into situps. Each exercise was DISTINCTLY seperate, because that way we could get a continuous long workout without destroying our bodies.

It trained our endurance while building our strength.

From what I understand of crossfit, it attempts to build endurance AND strength 'in the same exercises'. This is wrong, it is dangerous, and it can be absolutely deadly. There is no rest down-time from one set of abused muscles to the next. You abuse the same muscles, again and again… this destroys muscles rather than building them and increasing endurance.

Boot camp may have seemed cruel, but what they did was very, very carefully designed to turn out the healthiest youngsters it possibly could. and frankly, human bodies have not changed… the workout rules tyhat worked a century ago still work now.. Joe Weider's revised workout is just as effective for turning out mister universe contestants as they ever were. In the world of personal health, 'new' is not 'good', and in fact is almost always synonymous with 'bad'.

Say it with me. NEW is BAD when it comes to health. The paleos know this. the mister universe contestants know this. the military knows this.

the only thing 'new' is good for in fitness is for lining the pockets of snake oil salesmen.