Sprinting.... Does it matter what you do? page

[NourishedEm]

I ask this because I am not going to be running anytime soon. I'm too heavy still and I have dodgy ankles already, it's too much of an injury risk for me.

So, here's what I did. I used my kettlebell. I have a 16kg bell and I did KB swings for 60 seconds with 2 minutes of slow walking around in between. 60 seconds of swinging just about kills me and my HR was up at 90-95% max. I managed 4 sprints before I collapsed.

Is this ok or am I missing the point? I'm good with the 5+ hours of 55-75% intensity stuff. I lift 3 times a week, plus do push-up and pull-up practice, but till now I haven't done any sprinting because of the running thing (I don't go to a gym btw before anyone recommends stationery bikes or rowing machines).

So what do you guys think?

[Grumpycakes]

Hard to say.

Jon Gabriel has a story about his fat housecat who liked to lie in the neighbour's front yard while the dog inside the house went nuts. One day the neighbour let the dog out on the unsuspecting cat, who had to run for its life. Jon didn't see the cat for a couple of days. When the cat came back, it was scratched up and in bad shape. Jon let the cat recover and gave it all the food it could possibly want, and even though it ate all it wanted, it gradually dropped all the extra weight it was carrying around and became pretty lean.

The idea is that all-out sprints send certain signals to your body that say, "we need to be lighter, and fast, because all this extra fat is a liability!" Running as fast as you can from an imaginary predator or towards some kind of prey is the traditional way this is done, of course. With your kettlebell workout, your heart may be pounding and you may be exhausted, but who knows if your body is getting the same message? Your ability to perform those movements is much less hindered by being overweight in comparison to sprinting. It's probably still very good for you, but whether it's as effective as sprints is hard to tell.

[TigerLily]

Back when I was able to sprint, I was "sprinting" by powering up the steepest hill I could find (verrry steep, in the San Francisco Bay Area). It took all of maybe 2, 2-1/2 minutes to accomplish, but I was spent -- legs were like noodles and I could barely make it back to my place and I was gasping like a dying fish (and I was in the best shape of my life then). Even though I was doing it just once a week, fat was melting off me at such a rapid rate that it actually alarmed me. Nothing I had ever done (and I've done A LOT over the years) held a candle to that in terms of rapid body composition change. SO, Em, it's very worth your while to find something that approximates "sprinting." (And the great thing is you only have to do it once a week!!)

Do you have any steep hills there that you can speed walk up? (Or maybe you have a treadmill that you can crank up to the highest incline?) Another option is running (or more like thrash your way) across a swimming pool or lake while you pretend a shark is chasing you (which is what I'm doing right now). Got access to a pool or a lake? What about a high school stadium where you can walk the stairs, with a heavy backpack on? I'd say those 16-kg KB swings could be a sort of sprint. You're going heavier and longer than I am, and my legs are trembling when I'm done too! (I can't help it -- I end up grunting like a Russian weight lifter at about the 45-second mark.) How many days are you doing your KB swings? (just curious) I am twice a week on those.

[runnergal]

I cant do running sprints right now.

my favorite sprint workout right now is using an aerobics step. Facing a clock......go on the minute

If you are really out of shape start with no risers or 1 riser. up-up-down-down = 1

Do 20 reps as fast as you can. Rest until the end of the minute. The first set maybe your interval is 12-15 seconds and you rest for 45-48 seconds. So the faster you go the longer you rest. repeat. Every 3 sets add a riser (time to add the riser is included in your minute you do not get extra rest). Continue until you can not complete 20 steps in 30 seconds. (push yourself to do as much as you can) If you get beyond 12 sets, next time start with a higher step.

If this is still too hard on your ankles use an elliptical and pick an rpm to hit for 20 seconds.

[NourishedEm]

Thanks for the replies folks.

I guess I thought that the purpose of the sprints was to get you to do something to exhaustion, rest a bit, then do it again. That's why I thought KB swings would do it as they get my HR up so high. I'd never really thought about them in terms of the 'pretend something's chasing you' mindset.

So TigerLily and Grumpy, are you suggesting that the mental exercise of pretending you're running for your life is part of the reason sprints are effective? It's an interesting thought if that's the case.

I like the swimming idea and might give that a try, I know a 50m lap of all-out freestyle would have me gasping for air by the end of it!

Runnergirl, I have a good step I could use for that stepping up exercise, I might give that a try too.

So general consensus... KB swings are great but not for sprinting, right?

[js290]

Is this ok or am I missing the point?

There are other ways of engaging your fast twitch muscles and depleting their glycogen.

[NourishedEm]

There are other ways of engaging your fast twitch muscles and depleting their glycogen.

I'm not sure what your point is.

The article has several points that don't appear to be applicable to me (or anyone following primal to the letter)

1) Work out hard - I do that, with weight-lifting and body-weight exercises.
2) Do not eat a 'gluttonous' diet high in carbohydrates - I don't, I eat a primal/paleo diet.
3) Ensure you have adequate selenium intake - I do, I'm hypothyroid and have to watch this especially carefully.

I started this thread looking for alternatives to running that achieves the same effect as sprinting. Where in your link does it have suggestions for that?

[bokbadok]

I am not able to sprint due to a bad knee - it can't handle the impact; even when i run on my toes i am not able to reach full effort/speed due to pain. So I do stairmaster intervals: 30-40 seconds max effort (as in the maximum level the machine allows), then 60-90 seconds recovery on very low resistance level (level 2 or 3). Repeat 4-8 times. I usually get to 6, rarely to 8. All done. Repeat every ten days.

[Grumpycakes]

So TigerLily and Grumpy, are you suggesting that the mental exercise of pretending you're running for your life is part of the reason sprints are effective? It's an interesting thought if that's the case.

That might have something to do with it but it's hard to really simulate that in your mind. I think it has more to do with moving your whole body through space at speed, which excess fat hinders.

[aussieluke]

Please don't do kettlebell swings all-out to failure!

Kettlebell swings are one of the best things ever, but they should only be done to a comfortable stop. ...ie. when form breaks down/grip is failing/tension at the top of the swing is lost etc

Try this:

Get a clock/timer and do 10 swings at the top of each minute. For 10 minutes.

That's 10 good swings, which will probably take around 20 sec, then 'actively rest*' for the other 40 sec or so and go again.

*walk around/jog/skip rope/hit a punchbag/jumping jacks, planks, whatever. I personally like to do pushups


That's 100 swings ...not bad

next time, do 12 swings each minute ...that's 120

next time, do 15 swings a minute. (You'll notice swinging time increases and rest between sets decreases)

Then next time, do 15 swings a minute, but for 12 minutes.

Work up to 20 swings a minute for 12 minutes. That's 240 swings and not a bad workout!