It appears that quite a few Iowa football players have developed cases of Rhabdomyolisis. The condition develops due to overly intense workouts that breakdown skeletal muscle and injure muscle tissues. The rapid release of damaged muscle tissues are introduced into the bloodstream and can cause a tremendous amount of kidney damage.
An interesting aspect of rhabdo is the fact that it occurs not to unconditioned athletes, but more so in athletes who may be in a state of pseudo-fitness. Rhabdo is more likely to occur to someone who has decent muscle mass and is somewhat physically active than to someone who has not worked out in a long time. The main component is over-exertion, or too much intensity and too much volume to early into a workout program. Apparently the Iowa Hawkeye football players were subjected to an incredibly intense workout pretty early into their off-season conditioning.
This link is a pretty good resource from a former college and professional football player on the issue.
Iowa Football Rhabdo
The important take away is that there was some disconnect between the coaching staff and what the athletes should have been doing. College athletes, fit as they may be, coming off a winter break, with sub par diets at best, and probably a training layoff should not be pushed to the edge so early into their off season workouts. I acknowledge that training for college football requires intensity, but it should also incorporate responsibility and intelligence. If thirteen players are subject to a potentially life threatening condition someone should have checked up and recognized that although the workout may have been one to seperate those who "want it" from those who don't, the hospitalization of thirteen young athletes may have been too much of a cost.
I'll go back to balance because so many things seem to. You have to train smart and hard.
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