Sprinting More Than Once A Week... page

[OptionJedi]

Hi all,
Been PB for almost 2 months now. I think I've got the PBF routine working now. Still early going but at least I've got a rhythm going.

I'd say my worst performers is pull ups. Still doing them under a table and only lifting my upper half. Next worse is sprints. Never been very good aerobically. I've finally gotten to the point on an elliptical trainer where I can sprint 20 seconds (with gradual ramp up in the first 10 seconds and all out in the second 10 seconds) and then rest 40 seconds and do it over again 6-8 times in a row. Using the elliptical helps me not put excessive strain on my knee.

My question for the group: is it ok to do the sprint twice a week? I feel like this is the area I need most improvement, the others I am seeing the gains (LHT and move slowly). But sprinting I think will help me the most and Mark's way of doing it is short and sweet so the suffering to benefit ratio seems very high.

Here's my thinking:

2 days sprint
2 days LHT
3 days move slowly

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[fusarium]

I think this is something to play with - nothing is set in stone. Just give it a go for a few weeks, maybe back-off for a week and see if the next week, after recovery, you're faster/fitter/stronger. I took 2 weeks pretty easy after hurting my knee a bit and found myself stronger. Just needed some time to recover from all the muscle building I was doing.

Go Art Devany-style -- Exercise to shock your body. Don't let it know that Monday's are IF days, Tuesdays you sprint, etc. Change it up, keep it guessing.

[primalrob]

it's fine to sprint twice a week. doing it on the elliptical is ok, but try to do some actual sprinting. get out on some grass or beach, or find a hill to run up...you don't need a whole lot of space. sprinting outside is going to beat anything you can do in a gym, both in terms of actually being able to run fast, but also in burning fat and building muscle. go chase some trolleys down the street.

also...you're pull ups...do them more. you want to get better at an exercise? do it. do it more often. and do it harder. try something called grease-the-groove to get better at pull ups.

[OptionJedi]

Thanks for the quick response guys. I'll give it a try and space it out a few days like I'm doing with the LHT.

Rob, I'll get a few weeks of 2x week sprinting on the elliptical and then try outside (hopefully it's warmer then). Why is doing it outside so much better in fat burning and building muscle than in a gym on an elliptical? Is it the balance element?

Lastly, I hear you about the pull ups. I have done some research on grease the groove but my issue is I can't even do one. So I can't do more of nothing I need to work my way up to even doing one right now. I've read in the forums using a gravitron like machine in the gym is not good. The setup in my gym has the benches very far away from where the pull-up bars are so the 2 legged pull-up setup is a little difficult (I belong to a crunch gym that is huge). I'll see if there's some other apparatus I can use to get my legs to help out. Any other suggestions? Is doing lat pull downs not an option?

[primalrob]

Thanks for the quick response guys. I'll give it a try and space it out a few days like I'm doing with the LHT.

Rob, I'll get a few weeks of 2x week sprinting on the elliptical and then try outside (hopefully it's warmer then). Why is doing it outside so much better in fat burning and building muscle than in a gym on an elliptical? Is it the balance element?

Lastly, I hear you about the pull ups. I have done some research on grease the groove but my issue is I can't even do one. So I can't do more of nothing I need to work my way up to even doing one right now. I've read in the forums using a gravitron like machine in the gym is not good. The setup in my gym has the benches very far away from where the pull-up bars are so the 2 legged pull-up setup is a little difficult (I belong to a crunch gym that is huge). I'll see if there's some other apparatus I can use to get my legs to help out. Any other suggestions? Is doing lat pull downs not an option?

with the whole elliptical versus sprinting...it's just that you're using more to actually sprint. you're going to push harder, work harder, deal with uneven ground, etc....it's just plain better.

you don't need a pull up bar to do pull ups. does your gym have a smith machine? smith machines are great for inverse rows (sounds like that's what you've been doing) and pull ups. set the bar up as high as it can go (load it with weight to keep it from moving if you would like) and use a bench to do the assisted pull ups.
also, the gravitron machine, while not ideal, is certainly better than nothing. consider getting a door frame pull up bar too...and you can do negatives and eventually a single pull up at home, whenever you walk by.

[OptionJedi]

Hey Rob. Thanks for the advice about the smith machine. Definitely got one of those and I can see how to make that work.

[Thor Falk]

Take it slowly. You dont seem to be super-fit, and you can get injured rather quickly if you get overexcited. There are some general thoughts on how to get back in shape safely here “The Road To Fitness” – The Book | Thor Falk.

As for the elliptical - it just constrains you too much, so many muscles dont get trained, so maybe try some treadmill as well (but there is an argument to be made to start slowly if you are overweight....). Also - hill-sprints (real one's, outside) are good to start with as they are less taxing on the joints.

As for pull-ups, I'd really suggest using a band. The force-your-way-to-the-first-one method is slightly injury prone IMHO. Have a look here for a protocol Building up to unsupported pull-ups | Thor Falk