Sprinting alternatives? page

[Kelly Korg]

Good morning all,

I am fairly new to the program and am looking for alternatives to sprinting. I used to be an avid runner but suffered a knee injury awhile back. Now, the knee only bothers me if I run on it.

I work on the 9th floor of my building and have starting briskly walking up the stairs at least twice a day. (I can barely talk by the time I get to the top!)

Do you think this is a good substitute for sprinting?

Thanks!

Kelly

[RichMahogany]

No. 9 floors of brisk stair climbing is a cool thing to do, but doesn't really imitate a sprinting type protocol in any way.

[FlyingPig]

I do 20 minutes of kettlebell swings. 15 seconds swinging (alternating 16kg and 24kg, double and single handed), 15 seconds rest, until 20 minutes have passed. Great for conditioning and fat loss.

[primalrob]

using those stairs is perfect. climbing all 9 flights and being out of breath at the top is great, but as an alternative to a great sprint workout you need to really shorten the distance, up the intensity, and repeat it a few times. you should be taxing your body, and getting your heart rate way up. try speeding up one or two flights as fast as you can (max effort for about 20 seconds), rest until your breathing normal, and repeat for 6-10 runs.

[sarahelyse]

Try sprints on a bike. Or an indoor erg (if you have access to one).

[Gorbag]

Do you think this is a good substitute for sprinting?

Maybe, try to progress using a heavy backpack if you can, and see if your heart get pounding by walking up as as fast as you possible can! Walk down when resting and repeat at least six times. I hope you have a shower at your work though...

[mrhtower]

Swim, if you can. Do most of your "sprints" with whatever stroke you can go fastest with.
It can be a hassle for those of us without pools, but it's a real good thing to do even once a week.

[FiveX]

Kelly Korg you might also try jump roping on a wooden floor or rubber matted surface for low impact. You really don't even need a jump rope! Simulate movement with your arms and we all know the jump rope two step between swings. Speed it up to one hop per swing. You'll be amazed what 5 minutes of this does for your cardio! Heart rate goes way up, I've kept this in my routine after a knee injury that prevented me from sprinting for a while. Good luck! Peace...5x

[serenity]

I think in one of Mark's books he recommends doing intervals on a rowing machine if you have some kind of lower body injury that prevents you from running. I've tried to do it once or twice, but it never worked for me. Guess I'm just not that into rowing machines, but you could give it a shot.

I think swims would work well, as mrhtowers recommends, if you're a good swimmer. I can swim but just barely (it's more like flailing) so I could never do intervals swimming--just can't go fast enough. Plus, I bet I'd start choking on the water before the interval is up like 90% of the time.

[Kelly Korg]

Thanks everyone for all of the great ideas!