Surprised the article didn't mention the movie "Yes Man" which was exactly this premise.<p>Synopsis - man going through a hard time goes to motivational speaker/semi-cult meeting who's followers have to say 'Yes' or perform in the affirmative to whatever is asked of them.
Un-athletic person jumping into a high rep workout done for time? The author is lucky they didn't suffer kidney failure or die.<p>From an article [1] on rhabdomyolysis:<p><i>What movements cause rhabdo?</i><p>> Well, there’s no magic movement that always causes rhabdo. But some movements are higher risk than others when performed by new athletes or when performed to excess repetition. These are usually movements with a demanding eccentric motion. Stay with me. This really isn’t too complicated. Most movements have two parts: an eccentric part and a concentric part. Eccentric means that muscles are stretched under load. As you lower into the bottom of a squat, you are performing the eccentric portion of the squat. Your hamstrings are lengthening under load. Concentric means that muscles contract under load. As you drive out of the bottom of the squat you are performing the concentric portion. After being stretched, your hamstrings are now contracting and driving the load upwards. Eccentric motion is very demanding on muscles. <i>Stretching muscles under a load with lots of repetition can cause the muscle breakdown that triggers rhabdo.</i> Here are a few examples of movements with a strong eccentric portion: jumping pullups, GHD situps, walking lunges. Now these are all excellent movements that have their uses in building a strong and healthy body. <i>Just don’t jump into doing hundreds of them, unless you’re a strong and experienced athlete that has worked up to that level of ability.</i> [emphasis added]<p>[1] <a href="http://crossfitimpulse.com/rhabdo-and-crossfit/" rel="nofollow">http://crossfitimpulse.com/rhabdo-and-crossfit/</a>