Reply With QuoteDont discount the idea of simply cleaning up diet.
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Sprinting for fat loss?
Would sprinting for fat loss be a good idea while trying to also put on size on SS? I am putting on fat pretty easily and I need to loose some fat but still want to do SS?
Any suggestions on how far to run and how to go about it?
Last edited by MEbigUsmall; 10-14-2010 at 06:03 PM.
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Dont discount the idea of simply cleaning up diet.
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If you want to do some sprints, it will probably be wise to start gently. They are a very useful activity, but they can make you quite sore, which can mess with your squats. 400 m is a good distance to start with. It's neither too fast, nor too long. Warm up and go for three or four 400 m sprints on a track. If you like, you can time your recovery between sprints and keep it to around 2 or 3 minutes. CrossFit has a workout very much like this that I always liked. Saturdays are good day for sprints. A track is ideal, but you can run them around the block, too.
Diet is an important lever in the fat loss arena.
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Why do you think sprinting while eating enough to support muscle and strength gains will make you lose fat?
EDIT: Though sprints are, indeed, awesome and useful.
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I agree.Originally Posted by TomC
This is not starting gently!
Speaking as a former (and future, if I can just get rid of my annoying Achilles tendinopathy) sprinter with the 400 as my strongest distance, I'd say that three or four 400m sprints with only 2--3 minutes rest isn't humanly possible, even for elite athletes. A single 400 meter sprint is extremely taxing, and there is no way you can recover in just 3 minutes. If I had tried that back when I was in top shape, I doubt that I would even be able to finish the second 400. I think you would need at least 30 minutes between each sprint, and even that would be an immensely painful workout, and way too much for a beginner. I used to do 3x300m sprints with 20 minute breaks, and even that was extremely hard. I almost always puked after the second and third sprint.
In fact, I think most beginners wouldn't be able to sprint even a single 400. I need at least a couple of months of training before I can do it.
I would recommend starting with something like 2x5x100 meters with about 3 minutes between each sprint, and 15--20 minutes between each set. Try to run about half a second slower than top speed, and don't use spikes. After a while, gradually increase the speed and the length of the rests, and start using spikes.
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this reminds me of an article dave tate wrote where he said when he started personal training at a regular gym he wanted a client to bench press. Since at his current gym nobody ever benched less than 135 as their first set, he put 135 on the bar and told the guy (who had probably never benched before) to warm up...only to have the bar fall on the guys chest. What i'm trying to say is that while tate was an awesome powerlifter and great at intermediate-advanced training, he was woefully ignorant of the low strength levels of most common people. When TomC says "sprint" 400m with 2-3 min rest in between, for an untrained person that is more like "run a mile with a few breaks" with the goal of fat loss----not the same as elite level middle distance sprinting with the goal of shaving off a few tenths of a second off the time. The statement "isn't humanly possible, even for elite athletes" should be changed to "especially for elite athletes" I would totally agree however that the 400 is an absolutely brutal distance. I was a miler in high school (PR 4:46---considering how slow i am now i am depressed that this was shockingly average compared to what some kids were running). I always dreaded running 400-800 meter repeats in practice.
to get back to the original question, it seems a lot of people have had success with hill sprints, which force you to run with correct form due to the incline. The trick would be finding a place for them in a SS format, and making sure you aren't too sore for your next workout.
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Most people who aren't runners, when they say 4x400 sprints, really mean, "Run a pretty okay time for 400m" rather than "SPRINT 400m". The guy might be doing it at 2:00 apiece at first and never get below 1:30. Yeah, if they ease into it, doing 1:30 400s with a couple minutes rest in between is a pretty okay workout for somebody who isn't a runner and couldn't do an 8:00 mile right now.
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This strikes me as the best answer yet.
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the first step is getting on the field and trying something.
i recently started fooling around with sprints and i have no idea how to gauge my progress nor have i seen any weight-loss, but after each workout, i learn some new things.
find a distance you like, do some agility drills, mix things up, find out what you like and throw out the rest.
ive been doing 15-20 "sprints" on mondays and fridays after i lift with wednesday being a light lift day with no conditioning. i dont feel under-recovered and i feel much better about myself for getting it done.
my "sprints" are things like suicides, box drills, sprints of varying distances (~20m-70m), "football plays," and a little bit of backwards running.
the things i find to be the most sore from sprinting: feet/toes, anterior delts (pumping arms?), and abs.
good luck and let us know if you find something that works
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HILL SPRINTS
Again, not for fat loss, but just to feel like an athlete again,
I do TM + hill spints on saturdays, I am always recoverd for volume day on Monday, I also do hills on Tuesday after volume day, this is sometimes hard to accomplish
Saturday is 15-20 sprints of 50 yards
Tuesday is a little less 8-12 50 yards
FAT LOSS is about caloric restriction, if you want that start cutting...
Sprinting + lifting is about being a big strong scary person, I would say do sprints for that reason, you are now way more violent than a person who is just lifting heavy stuff
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