I started doing sprints again today for the first time in almost 4 years, running 200s all out. I would like to say that I haven’t had that “my head is going to explode, followed by my quads and ass” feeling in a long time. If anyone has any ideas to help my progeression out, please let me know.
I’m trying to melt off a little bit of fat before school starts up in 2 weeks, so lets hear y’alls suggestions.
Check out CT’s Running Man article.
Aside from the Running Man, my recommendation would be to reduce sprinting distance to 20-40 yards. Most people will have a hard time sustaining top speed for 200 yards, and will wind up pacing themselves. 20-40 yards is a realistic sprinting distance for most people.
One of the workouts I use is the sprint and walk. I decide on either a workout time or distance, and then I will pick an object as my finish line; I like to do this because t make it easy for the voices in my head to scream, ?Come on push it, you are almost at the tree.? Once I reach the object, I decelerate and walk to a new starting line, or for until the egg timer goes off, depending on my mood. As I am walking to the starting line I pick a new finish line, and start focusing my mind and relaxing my body.
From experience my first suggestion would be to stick with the 200m sprints. Time your rest periods and try to reduce it by 5-10s each week.
Other cardio options would be Ian King (I think) High Intensity Cardio. It’s grueling but fun. Basically you run 50-60% a lap and then stop to do an exercise (push ups, burpees, star jumps, db snatch, push press, jump rope) Just make stuff up. I have an old tire that I sometimes use. I jog a lap (or a distance) and then I throw the tire 5-10x for height or distance.
Other things that might help you in conjunction with this is some GPP. Read the recent GPP ASAP article here on T-Nation. If you don’t have access to a sled and harness, push your car around. Do sprints pushing the car-- by this I mean try to get the car moving as quickly as you can as quickly as possible, then sustain the “sprint” for 10s or so, and then rest.
As far as lifting goes, if you know how to incorporate olympic lifts, try to do more of them. If you don’t, try to incorporate some of the “halfway” olympic lifts such as the push press (standing shoulder press with leg drive) and high pull.
Try and achieve a high velocity with your lifts.
Good luck and stay strong.
RIT Jared
200’s and 400 meter runs are great for shedding some extra stubborn body fat. You can also throw some short interval sprinting in also once you adapt to this type of running. 5-10 seconds sprint intervals are good and should only be 20-40 meters anymore than this and you will burn yourself out fast.
Beginner -
200’s 4-6 sets rest 2 mins after each set.
OR
400’s 3-5 sets rest 2 mins after each set.
Try this once a week for your first week twice a week for your second week and three times a week for your third and stick with three times a week frequency until desired fat amount is lost.
PPP
If your begining 400’s do them with around 5 minute breaks in between, and come in under a certain time. For 200’s a 3.5 minute break will be good as well.
Is good doing a protocol with Sled for fat-loss?
I’m going to stick to 200s as I can pretty much sustain an all out speed for about 150-180 meters of it. Thanks for everyone’s tips. Sadly though, I’m not masochistic and don’t think I have enough stamina yet to do King’s article.
Thanks for reminding me on CTs article, I had forgotten about that diamond in the rough!
I’ve used the format on JB’s website and seen good results. Basically it’s sprint for 30secs followed by jogging for 90secs. He gives more details of speeds and times on his website. It’s unbelievably exhausting but the feeling when you finish is awesome. It works best if you have a training partner to push you on.
CU,
I have used 200m sprint intervals successfully in the past; both for bodyfat reduction and cardiovascular effeciency.
I like to do anywhere from 6-10 sprints over the course of a workout. I’ll either jog 200/sprint 200 or walk 100/jog 100/sprint 200.
Either way, it’s an awesome workout physically and mentally.
I also did my first sprint at about 90% speed (fast run) to help warm up…it seemed to help with hamstring and lower back tightness.
Sprints are definately a “different animal” when it comes to cardio…probably because most people are pussies and don’t like to “hurt.” Then again, the people you see “getting a little sweat going” on the recumbent bike or walking on a treadmill generally don’t have the best physiques. Just an observation.
Stay hardcore.
Best wishes.
I started out with 200’s and gradually worked in one 400 per workout until I was doing 5X400. Now I alternate my 400’s workout with a stair sprint workout (each stair sprint lasts approx. 30 seconds). I’ve never been this hard in my life, and my cardio capacity has gone thru the roof. I forget which writer said that 400’s hardened up his hockey players to the max, but I’m a true believer now. Damn do they hurt!
All the advice on sprints here is pretty good, there are so many variations you can incorperate. However, if you are trying to shed some pounds, it is much more important to look into your diet. What is your current diet like?
I’ve been bulking and my diet is basically eat everything in sight, but not at once (many meals). I only usually ‘see’ whole foods. aka meats, cheeses, veggies, eggs, fruits, whole grain bread, oats, yogurt, cottage cheese… you know the drill. I don’t really plan on dropping calories since my metabolism is pretty high to begin with, if anything I’ll cut out non-fibrous carbs and eat more pro/fat meals.
[quote]RIT Jared wrote:
From experience my first suggestion would be to stick with the 200m sprints. Time your rest periods and try to reduce it by 5-10s each week.
Other cardio options would be Ian King (I think) High Intensity Cardio. It’s grueling but fun. Basically you run 50-60% a lap and then stop to do an exercise (push ups, burpees, star jumps, db snatch, push press, jump rope) Just make stuff up. I have an old tire that I sometimes use. I jog a lap (or a distance) and then I throw the tire 5-10x for height or distance.
Other things that might help you in conjunction with this is some GPP. Read the recent GPP ASAP article here on T-Nation. If you don’t have access to a sled and harness, push your car around. Do sprints pushing the car-- by this I mean try to get the car moving as quickly as you can as quickly as possible, then sustain the “sprint” for 10s or so, and then rest.
As far as lifting goes, if you know how to incorporate olympic lifts, try to do more of them. If you don’t, try to incorporate some of the “halfway” olympic lifts such as the push press (standing shoulder press with leg drive) and high pull.
Try and achieve a high velocity with your lifts.
Good luck and stay strong.
RIT Jared[/quote]
Why do you suggest Oly lifts for loosing fat? 'Cause they are explosive, need more power? Is that rationale based on absolute power required?
Also, what would be the differences between doing true Oly moves vs power variations (like power cleans, power snatches etc.)
Has anyone successfully used these in a program to cut? If so, what were the paramaters?
Thanks,
G
[quote]chints wrote:
Why do you suggest Oly lifts for loosing fat? 'Cause they are explosive, need more power? Is that rationale based on absolute power required?
[/quote]
There are several reasons to incorporate oly lifts into a fat loss cycle.
Probably first and foremost, to preserve muscle. When doing 3-4 sprint sessions a week, you probably won’t have the stamina to grind through a grueling high-volume workout. Instead, a low-volume high-intensity plan is what the doctor ordered to keep your hard-earned gains.
To stimulate more muscle growth. What happens when you change your routine-- more often than not, you experience gains in both size and strength. Provided that you can effectively do the olympic lifts with enough weight to stimulate muscle growth, switching from a bodybuilding or powerlifting split to an olympic routine would almost certainly net at least some benefit.
To lose fat! Oly lifts provide the most caloric expenditure per minute of work than any other strength training method.
Yes. I believe Chris Thibadeau incorportated oly lifting in his transformation a while ago. Look for the article “The Beast Evolves”.
Good luck,
RIT Jared
while flipping through the pages of a book today that discussed manipulation of hormone levels, it quoted a study that showed people who performed high intensity, 90-100% speed sprints, for 30 seconds, doing this 5 times, showed a substantial increase in GH and IGF-1 for the 4 weeks of the study.
We all know that increasing either of those is hella good for pretty much anything weight training related.
The study seems to echo what’s previously been mentioned on T-nation, wow…
Hi CU
I’m waiting for somebody to tell me to get out of JB’s backside in a minute but there’s an article on his website that lists lots of the science and benefits behind sprint training. I read it before going sprinting for motivation so at least I know that the suffering is in good cause!
Having read the info on this thread, I think I’ll go with 200 meter sprints, 3-4 per session with 30-45 sec rest intervals.
In the beginning, I’ll probably just do 1-2 sessions per week. That should be good enough to loose few pounds of fat over 3-4 weeks.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
G
Plan around your leg day if you haven’t been sprinting for a while. If you have proper sprint technique your hip flexors will probably be really sore for the first couple times.
Not to mention the rest of your legs.
I don’t know if it was from doing the hanging pikes, or sprinting the two days around my final day of ABBH, but my abs are killing me. not to mention my my legs… not just the thighs, but that and my calves… and my ass… Standing up and lowering when I sit down make the legs hurt like mad.
Anyone else get hella sore abs when they run 200m sprints? maybe it was the pikes, but they’ve never been sore from those before, feedback is welcome… sneezing hurts.