Sprinting is the baddest conditioning exercise in the land. But without a proper warm-up it could end badly for you.
Apex Predator
Sprinting eats body fat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Sprints also build your body, your character, and your mental toughness.
Consistently sprinting will also allow you to develop the butt and hamstrings of a cot dang stallion.
And when you combine sprinting with a progressive weight lifting program, a great diet, and the proper recovery, you will build a comic book-like body.
There are no downsides to sprinting if you are healthy. But what you cannot do is just go outside and sprint at full speed.
You have to know how to warm-up for sprinting. Without this knowledge, you will be going down a dark road that only leads to you getting injured.
I do not want to see you in the ER with that torn hamstring.
What Happened?
One of the biggest time wasters in the fitness game is spending an hour (or hours) in the lame “cardio” section of a commercial gym.
Soul-draining devices like treadmills and ellipticals are set up to make you think that you are working out.
But in reality, the folks on these machines look like extras from the Walking Dead. There is no passion or pride in the “cardio” section.
Have you ever seen anyone doing an inspiring treadmill workout? Of course not!
What happened to real conditioning?
What happened to challenging yourself?
And what in the blue sky happened to honest, hard work?
You see, the human body was designed to move in space, not operate on a human hamster wheel.
When it comes to conditioning, the best exercise that you can do is sprinting.
But before you begin to sprint there are two things you must do. They are:
1) Warm-Up With Exercises Specific To Sprinting
The standard dance that happens in every commercial gym is the treadmill/elliptical/stair master warm-up.
If you are doing the typical, fake hustle workout that garners no true results, you should hop right on the treadmill with the rest of the herd.
But if you are doing a progressive, results-driven workout, you need to do a warm-up that prepares you for what you are about to do.
Are you about to push weight on the bench press? Then it’s time to get the bench press warmed up with movements specific to the bench press.
Are you about to move iron in the squat rack? Then it’s time to get your squat warmed up with movements specific to the squat.
Sprinting follows the same exact protocol.
The first thing you will do before you begin a sprinting workout is to warm-up with exercises that are specific to sprinting.
Some of those exercises are:
• A marches and skips
• Knee pulls
• B marches and skips
• C walks
• D marches and skips
• High knees
• Dynamic hamstring stretches
• PVC pipe rolling
Before you begin to sprint you need to perform these moves. The videos below will show you exactly how to do that.
2) Do A Few Reps Of Sub-Maximal Speed Sprints
After you have gotten your body warmed up with the exercises specific to sprinting, you are almost ready to get into the workout.
The sprints that you will do at this time will be at about 75-80 percent of your maximum speed.
The point of these sprints is not to set a world record.
The point of these sprints is to fine tune your nervous system for the workout and to test your body for any hidden injuries.
You may feel good during the first part of the warm-up. But you really don’t know what you have to offer until you begin to do the sub-maximal sprints.
You can never skip this part of your warm-up. It is critical in letting you know if your system is ready to rock.
Sample Workout
The sample sprint workout below is a can be used for fat loss. This is not a pure speed development workout.
1) Warm-Up
• Perform the first part of your warm-up by doing the exercises that improve your sprinting performance (see video above).
• Perform a few reps of sub-maximal sprinting. This will get your nervous system fine-tuned for action.
• Gauge how your body feels during those sprints. Specifically pay attention to your hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
• Also gauge how your Achilles tendon and feet feel.
2) Sprint Workout 6 x 50 yards
• Sprint 50 yards at 85-90 percent of your maximum speed.
• The rest is the walk back.
• To make this workout more challenging, you can add 2-4 reps onto the workout or add 30-50 yards onto the distance.
Conclusion
The lifter or athlete who warms up properly will dramatically lower their chances of getting injured while sprinting.
Don’t skimp on your warm-up, because I’m not coming to see you in the ER if you pull that hammy due to false pride.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer
Fitman