Sprinting! page 3

[PHaselow]

I can relate to your fire access road experience. Some of the best times to sprint are when the spirit strikes and you just feel like sprinting for the sure joy of it.

I actually started sprinting because it was getting dark and the woods were looking creepy.

[PHaselow]

You look so healthy, canuck416

[froggie]

How many of you have truly incorporated sprinting into your Paleo fitness routines? If so how often, what distances etc. The attached article is great and relates to men and women, not just men as indicated in the title.

T NATION | Train Like a Man 5: The Real Paleo Exercise

Very good read, this part really made me pause and think:

" When I address groups of people, I ask them if they think ingesting 1000 calories of junk food has the same effect on the body as ingesting 1000 calories of fruits and vegetables. Without fail, according to the Paleo dogma, every attendee answers the same way – they believe that a calorie isn't just a calorie. [...]
Well if we can all agree on energy intake, I'm confused why people rarely discuss caloric output in the same manner? If there's an optimal input mechanism of calories to achieve optimal health, what about an optimal output mechanism? "

[canuck416]

You look so healthy, canuck416

Thanks PHaselow! I started embracing a Paleo diet and exercise lifestyle on March 4th of this year at 213 lbs. I currently weigh 165 lbs, so I've lost 48 lbs in 6 months. I have to say I've never felt better.

[canuck416]

Very good read, this part really made me pause and think:

" When I address groups of people, I ask them if they think ingesting 1000 calories of junk food has the same effect on the body as ingesting 1000 calories of fruits and vegetables. Without fail, according to the Paleo dogma, every attendee answers the same way – they believe that a calorie isn't just a calorie. [...]
Well if we can all agree on energy intake, I'm confused why people rarely discuss caloric output in the same manner? If there's an optimal input mechanism of calories to achieve optimal health, what about an optimal output mechanism? "

Very good point! Definitely agree this should be the approach when considering what type of exercise to consider. What happens physiologically and bio chemically as a result of the chosen exercise is incredibly important (IMO).

[sbhikes]

I've read about the benefits you are supposed to get. I had really great energy and felt like it flattened my stomach--for the first month anyway. Then it seemed to go backwards for me. It made me feel just a little bit short of injured. It took too long to recover from the sore muscles. I no longer got a flat stomach afterwards. I no longer got a buzz of energy. I never actually lost any weight. I thought it was probably helpful to some extent, but not as much as the hype. Maybe it's just a man thing.

[canuck416]

Good article.
I do sprints 3 times a week. 30 second sprint, 90 seconds at a slower recovery pace, repeated 8 times.
Then I don't eat anything for at least an hour afterwards. Works well.
Funny thing is, when I finally do eat an hour or so after sprints, I don't seem as hungry, for some reason, and I fill up quicker.
Then again, I stay away from fruits at that point, and eat tubers and veggies as my carbs. (along with a protein source). Maybe that's the reason that I don't want to eat everything in the house after sprinting.

Interesting, thanks for sharing your experience!

[Paleobird]

I love doing sprints as long as I don't feel like I have to do sprints. I just sort of do unstructured ones like while walking my dog in the park, we will take off together after a squirrel or on the beach we will try to run down the seagulls. When I really want to push myself I use my street which is a little dead end at a pretty steep incline and do uphill sprints.

[counterpuncher]

Sprinting seems like a totally natural exercise to me.
I always think back to when I was a kid. We ran as fast as we could, panted, then ran again.
And we always had races to see who was the fastest.
Nobody told us to do it. We just did it on our own.
I don't recall ever jogging at a slow pace for an hour as a kid, like most people at my gym do these days, until I got involved with organized sports, and was told to do so.
I had a basketball coach as a kid who was a complete psycho. He would have us doing suicide sprints until we were gasping for air. I was in the best shape of my life back then. We wouldn't win every game, but no team ever outran us.
These days, I do my sprints on an elliptical machine because it's easier on my knees. I always get strange looks from the steady state crowd when I crank up for my 30 second sprint and start smoking that machine.
And I get more strange looks when I'm dripping sweat all over everything after 20 minutes of sprint intervals, and it takes lots of alcohol wipes to wipe down the machine after I'm done.
I had soreness when I first started doing them, but that only lasted for a week or so.
I do a 10 minute warmup, and a 5 minute cooldown, then stretch for a few minutes.
Once you work past the soreness for the first week, you'll start to feel great afterwards.

[sbhikes]

I guess I'm just different because I've always seen running as the most normal human way to travel. I'm sure people think I'm weird or always late for a bus or something but I'll just start running even if I'm in my regular street clothes. Just running to get somewhere feels like the way humans are supposed to get somewhere. It's faster than walking, more exuberant and yet if you do it slow enough it's not tiring.