For those that have tried and stopped CrossFit - What Else Did you Do? page 3

[jfreaksho]

Seriously? 45 minutes doesn't come remotely close to "chronic cardio." You could jog at a steady state for 45 minutes and it's not chronic cardio. My lifting in the gym takes about 45 minutes to an hour and it's not chronic cardio (in fact, it's not cardio at all). PB isn't an excuse for laziness. Exercising can take an hour and it's fine. What Mark decries is extended periods of steady state cardio where you keep your heart rate above 85% of max. A slow jog for 45 minutes (assuming you're reasonably in shape) isn't chronic cardio. And Crossfit is anything but steady state. If anything, it's intervals, maybe some sprinting, etc.

That said, to answer your original question: Starting Strength. Work that for a few months until you have decent strength, then go from there.

Sure it does- 45 minutes is about the lower end of what could be considered chronic cardio, but the other factors are more relevant:
Are you recovering properly before your next workout?/How often are you doing these workouts?
Is your heart rate maintained above 75% or so for the duration of the workout?

I feel that the main concern is lack of recovery time when it comes to "chronic" cardio. A 45-minute run every day at a 7-8 minute pace would be chronic cardio for me. Once a week isn't a big deal at all. Other people have different numbers, different recovery rates, different speeds that they can run at.

[Abu Reena]

Sure it does- 45 minutes is about the lower end of what could be considered chronic cardio, but the other factors are more relevant:
Are you recovering properly before your next workout?/How often are you doing these workouts?
Is your heart rate maintained above 75% or so for the duration of the workout?

I feel that the main concern is lack of recovery time when it comes to "chronic" cardio. A 45-minute run every day at a 7-8 minute pace would be chronic cardio for me. Once a week isn't a big deal at all. Other people have different numbers, different recovery rates, different speeds that they can run at.

Fine, but there's this fear that's pervasive on this board of "ooh, I ran a mile, chronic cardio." 45 minutes of interval work that CF provides is not steady state chronic cardio.

A 45 minute run every day at a 7-8 minute pace would be chronic cardio for me, but a 45 minute jog at an 11 minute pace would not be. I wouldn't do it, but not because it's "chronic cardio." I wouldn't do it because it's boring. I'd rather swing a kettlebell around, do deadlifts or play hockey.