For Best Results: Sprint!

As a guy who has spent more time inside a gym than anywhere else for the last 12 years (yes including sleep or home), I am a huge believer in the need for designated spaces, staff and equipment to get good results. I am also aware that a commercial gym has some limitations, and one of them is a big one - you can’t really sprint in a gym!

Treadmill sprints aren’t quite the same. You can’t really go that fast, and it’s just different having the machine propel you. Bicycle sprints are good, but still not quite the same mechanics for your hips and hamstrings. So let’s take advantage of this (forced) opportunity!

First, let’s define sprinting: For this purpose, I mean running on foot as fast as possible, for a sufficiently short distance that pace versus endurance is not considered. If at any point, gunshots or grizzly bear were introduced, you are already going that fast.

Also, let’s consider sprinting to be a type of High Intensity Intermittent Exercise, also known as HIIT, since: a) it is, the way we will use it and; b) many health-related may compare the effects based on maximum heart rate % but use various modes, like bicycle ergometer. Where the difference matters, we will point it out.

Here are the uniquely great results of sprinting:

Lose fat
Build muscle
Improve brain function
Reduce your risk of depression

How many of those would you like from one exercise? Also, side effects include better posture, low back health, extended life span and life quality, and reduction in many chronic disease risks.

Lose fat

Fit Women: A study published in a 2018 issue of Frontiers in Physiology compared more traditional high-intensity interval training (HIIT) versus sprint interval training (SIT) in young, active females. The difference between the two is that the sprint intervals were an all-out effort, while the HIIT efforts were (slightly) moderated to between 90 and 95 percent of peak heart rate.

Both groups saw significant improvement, but the study found that the Sprint Interval Training protocol produced greater reductions than the HIIT protocol in skinfold body fat measurement, weight and BMI, even in the absence of changes in dietary intake.

Another study, published in a 2017 issue of the Journal of Hepatology, found that sprint interval training can reduce subcutaneous abdominal fat and visceral fat, even when the subjects' overall body weight didn't change. That implies less fat and more muscle!

Build Muscle

According to a 2001 study in the Journal of Sports Medicine “adaptations to sprint training include changes in muscle fibre type... and fibre cross-sectional area”. Muscles not only grew bigger, but fiber types changed to contain more fast-twitch muscle fiber!

Several studies show that sprint training stimulates elevated testosterone and growth hormone levels. Testosterone is a primary hormone for building muscle in men, and growth hormone contributes to muscle growth, fat loss, skin elasticity and healing in both men and women. There’s a reason why people who exercise vigorously look younger.

Brain Function and Mental Health

Though the act of performing faster on a visual word puzzle, better memory, and improved depressive symptoms are very different in effect, they are all positively affected by increased Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF). BDNF plays an important role in nerve cell survival and growth, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory.

There is evidence that high intensity exercise like sprinting produces a more positive effect than medium intensity continuous exercise, though both help. One study showed a 16-week HIIT program elicited higher oxygen utilization and cerebral oxygenation than MICT in older people (Coetsee and Terblanche, 2017); similar results were found in younger adults (Robinson et al., 2018). In these studies, the BDNF’s response was dependent on the exercise intensity.

Beyond lab tests: Whether young, old, or middle-aged; fit or sedentary; healthy or not; sprint exercise protocols demonstrate good results. Participants perform better on cognitive function and memory tests, and report elevated mood and improved psychological evaluation results both immediately and over sustained periods of time.

So get out there and sprint!

How to Start Sprinting:

Beginner Workout

Perform 2-3 x week, with at least 48 hours between sessions.

I suggest doing sprinting after a full-body or leg-focused strength training workout. You’ll be thoroughly warmed up, and less likely to pull something. Just make sure you’re well-hydrated and not a completely empty stomach.

Sprint Warm-Up

After a general warm-up or workout:

20 yard high-knee jog (walk back)

20 yard heel-kick jog (walk back)

20 yard hurdler jog one leg (walk back)

20 yard hurdler jog other leg (walk back)

20 yard skipping (walk back)

20 yard 75% speed (walk back)

Sprints

As fast as possible:

20 yards; rest 2 minutes

30 yards; rest 2 minutes

40 yards; rest 2 minutes