Working in Sprinting in Texas Method

[DirtyRed]

This is a simple question, but I couldn't find anything close enough to it through the search function to satisfy my nitpicking.

I don't have to play rugby until February, as such I want to use this break in constant goddamn running to focus on strength, particularly increasing my squat, as that was killed by the recovery issues caused by rugby activity four or five days per week. THAT is going smoothly, but I don't want to be any slower and winded than I already am, and to that end, I'm looking to sprint back and forth on Tuesdays and Thursdays, if I can do so without unduly hampering my squats.

What the sprinting consists of is typically done on one of the basketball courts in the gym, and is either one way down the court, there and back, a "gasser" (there and back twice), or a suicide, followed by a break to catch my breath.

Would it seem like ~20 minutes of this twice weekly would significantly interfere with strength training? Furthermore, if anyone has any tips on how to effectively "program" sprints to maintain speed and stamina, I'd love to hear it.

[tzanghi]

I have actually done nearly the exact protocol you speak about. I did HIIT(and will continue it when I get back to a gym with a basketball court) on Tues/Thurs, 3 consecutive gassers followed by 2 consecutive perimeters around the court walking. Repeated this to total 6-8 cycles. Just make sure you're eating enough carbs to fuel these sessions, and I found they helped recovery. If you can, try to do the Thursday session in the morning to give you more time to recover before trying your new 5RM on Friday.

[RussB]

I have actually done nearly the exact protocol you speak about. I did HIIT(and will continue it when I get back to a gym with a basketball court) on Tues/Thurs, 3 consecutive gassers followed by 2 consecutive perimeters around the court walking. Repeated this to total 6-8 cycles. Just make sure you're eating enough carbs to fuel these sessions, and I found they helped recovery. If you can, try to do the Thursday session in the morning to give you more time to recover before trying your new 5RM on Friday.

Might it be better to do Tues./Sat., or Fri. after intensity squats?

[DirtyRed]

Well, the gym is the WKU gym and it's closed on weekends over the winter break, which is laughably long.

God, I may have to actually go outside.

[gregconover]

Starr recommends sprinting some 40's on Fridays (or whatever your last lifting session of the week is) to maintain your stride and technique. I did this when I was playing college rugby last year and it worked well enough to keep me fast while adding body weight. Conditioning took care of itself once practices and team running started up again.

[tzanghi]

Might it be better to do Tues./Sat., or Fri. after intensity squats?

You're right. I'd suggest Tuesday-Saturday if you can. I'm just too lazy to do it on Saturdays!