Sprint walking page

[Raiken3712]

I want to start doing some sprint type exercise without running because my right knee still hurts from and MCL sprain and I'm still a bit heavy at 259 6'1". I don't have a heart rate monitor so I figured I would just walk as fast as I can to do it.

What I'm not sure about is how to structure it since I've never done a sprinting workout. Should I just go look up the sprint exercise examples in the fitness e-book and replace the running with walking as fast as I can? Is it even possible to get to what you would call a sprint walking? My elliptical is broken and no gym membership so I can't do anything other than walking.

[Grumpycakes]

I'm trying to imagine walking as fast as I can and while it might get my heart rate up, it would be incredibly awkward. Sustained fast walking is a bizarre movement. Beyond a certain speed I think the body needs to jog and run. Maybe you just can't do any "sprints" until you heal completely. It's not the end of the world.

[Raiken3712]

You still think it wouldn't be beneficial to walk fast as a sprint workout rather than my normal 1 hour of walking? I can tell my muscles get a good deal more work when I'm trying to move fast. I think this could be beneficial for building my muscles. Maybe it wouldn't be a real sprint but maybe still useful? Any ideas for that besides just substituting fast walk for run in the ebook sprint descriptions? Do you know of any other good sites for sprint workouts. I could replace any mention of the word run with walking fast.

It may not be as good as a real jogging or running sprint but could be better than a normal walk?

[jhc]

How's your swimming? You could do lengths of front crawl as fast as you can, resting at each end.

My general structure for a sprinting workout is to go hard and stop when I'm about to fall over. If you're doing it right, reaching this point shouldn't take long at all.

[Raiken3712]

Don't have any pool access....might be moving to the Lewisville area soon and maybe a house that has one....but don't have one now.

[bcbcbc2]

simple keys to walking very fast:
> bend your elbows 90 degrees or a touch more
> DO NOT take long strides(it's the instinctive way to walk fast but wrong for exercise walking)
> keep stride length moderate while pushing stride RATE as high as you can go
> pumping the arms hard should actually help keep the stride rate up
> keep torso vertical(leaning forward is natural but wrong)

if you can walk yourself out of breath to the point where you HAVE to slow down to recover then
you'll have a useful interval workout.

At your weight you might want spandex shorts to prevent thigh chafing. That made a huge difference for me.

[FredFornicola]

Raiken,

Trying to walk very fast can change your gait and may end up bothering your hips or lower back or find yourself hyperextending an already "iffy" knee. Then again, I don't know how fast you can walk so sprint walking may be just fine for you - only you can tell through some experimentation. I would just look for signs of other muscles/joints and adjust accordingly.

I would suggest finding some hills/inclined areas to do your sprint walk if you need a greater challenge. You can also entertain going to the beach if you have access, maybe get an inexpensive bicycle to do sprints, put up a heavy bag or speed bag if your knee can't handle the forces, etc.

Running/sprinting was an important part of life way back when, but in today's environment, it isn't as critical. Understand that in "sprinting", you are trying to work an energy system more than being specific to a particular skill