So this will be an interesting blog post for a number of reasons. One reason: I am firm with my belief that compound-closed kinetic chain movements are superior to developing athletes and general populations. Second reason: there are serious limitations when it comes to hitting certain zones of intensity and durations with compound-closed kinetic chain movements. 

A huge piece of compound-closed kinetic chain movements is the bang for your buck. They recruit a ton of motor units and therefore muscle fiber. This just simply brings more value from time invested. It has universal applicability to developing athletes to run faster, jump higher, overcome external body mass, and possibly increase capacity based on raising the force/velocity and force/length curves. 

With that being said, compound-closed kinetic chain movements are not good tools for direct capacity work. We know this. We have meta-analysis to support this with concepts like crossfit. Taking a movement that was designed to facilitate the above mentioned outcomes to physical exhaustion or extended durations comes with risk. It takes skill and coordination to execute movements. It takes discipline and locked in motor programming to preserve technical execution at threshold. When we push to threshold at shorter durations with higher intensities we are playing with smaller margins of error but within a shorter time frame. We simply see it get bad earlier, which is not the same for capacity work. This can lead to injury. 

The other issue, and probably the more important one, is compound-closed kinetic chain movements have much higher probability of compensation. We can shift our center of gravity altering mechanical advantage at will with compound-closed kinetic chain movements. With developing capacity, we want to directly target bioenergetic pathways which would be hard if we are constantly searching for paths of least resistance. This is why momentum is involved with so many crossfit movements. The duration or the demand supersedes the ability to execute without accommodating the stress in a given joint or muscular group. 

This creates a functional need for selectorized cardiovascular equipment depending on the goal. We need a tool to target a specific outcome without compromising safety or localized stress. Cardiovascular tools such as a bike, a treadmill, a rower, or climber can facilitate extended periods of time at targeted intensities without risk or diluting the intervention. 

Depending on the goal you can select certain tools such as  biking, rowing, running, or climbing. My point of view is less what facilitates a certain pattern or action but what intensities need to be hit at a given time. The intensity levels reached on one tool versus another are drastically different and need to have some appraisal before selecting the right options. 

For instance, if your goal was to increase recovery post game, a climber or treadmill might not be the best option. The intensity you can hit on a treadmill or climber is drastically higher than a bike or rower, but that is not the goal. We can still get intense on a bike or rower, but it is hard to not be intense on a treadmill or climber. But if the goal is to improve speed which we need to hit a certain level of intent with how hard we run, then a treadmill is a great choice. If you were looking to do high intensity intervals to increase lipolysis/fat burning a climber, bike, rower, or treadmill can easily hit high enough intestines to support that. 

The final aspect is the quality of the product. You will be doing high volumes/capacity/durations of work. These tools will take a beating. You get what you pay for, so if you plan on using these tools with a large body mass athlete or a large group of hard working athletes, there is a high probability that these tools will break down. Quality of the tool matters in regards to their function but their durability. 

You can create a metabolic workout using traditional barbells, dumbbells, cables, and kettlebells. With that comes a certain level of risk and possibly dilution of targeted effect from compensation. You could also not want to spend the money or save the space from certain cardiovascular, singular function tools. At a certain point you will have to answer the simple question of I need to do a job, do I have the right tools or not? If you do not want to improve cardiovascular fitness, endurance, or improving fat burning you may want to consider getting some cardiovascular machines.