Combine Sprints and Weight Training for Accelerated Gains
Sprinting is one of the most versatile forms of exercise, as it can be
utilized to build power and speed, increase muscle size, shred body fat,
and increase your cardiovascular capacity and muscular endurance. No other single exercise can effectively address all of those qualities.
Learning how to modulate the intensity, duration, and rest intervals
will allow you to target the appropriate energy systems and muscle fiber
types for the training effect you are after. Learning how to
appropriately fit them in with your strength training routine will
ensure that the workouts complement each other.
If you are a speed and strength junkie who is looking to squeeze every ounce of performance out of your body, some form of sprints should be a staple in your training program. If
you have been weight training for years with steady progress but you
feel like your training has been stagnant and your results could be
better, adding sprints into your routine will help you see results
faster.
Sprints blast the fast-twitch muscles of the posterior chain
(calves, hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors). The abdominals,
obliques, shoulder flexors, and extensors are also heavily involved.
Sprinting also trains the stretch-shortening cycle (a quick eccentric
contraction followed by powerful concentric contraction), which carries
over to improved jumping ability and other explosive plyometric
exercises.
Sprint Variations
It's best to run sprints outside on a field or track rather than on a treadmill.
On a treadmill, there is a reaching motion during the running stride
because the running surface is moved underneath your feet, which limits
hamstring involvement and overworks the hip flexors. Additionally, it is
harder to match the treadmill to your true sprinting speed. An
exception to this would be the non-motorized, self-powered treadmills,
but those are a second-best option. The running mechanics are still not
the same as sprinting on the ground, and there is no wind resistance.
If you are after speed, power, or muscle mass gains, stick to real
sprints. If you simply want to build up your lung capacity and increase
your caloric burn, a treadmill will work just fine.
Hill sprints are another variation that shift the emphasis of the movement because of the steeper angle of the hill.
They can be used in any of the programs we will discuss below, just be
aware that if you want to prioritize building top speed, it would be
better to spend more time sprinting on flat ground. Stair sprints are
also another great exercise, but the mechanics of that movement are
different than hill sprints. Still, they are great for building up your
lung capacity and muscular endurance.
Finally, sled pushing sprints, bicycle/stationary bike sprints, and
prowler sprints are great conditioning exercises, but they are more quad
dominant and don’t involve the stretch-shortening cycle to the degree
of flat-ground sprints. This limits their carryover to explosive
lower-body movements, making them less ideal if you are after speed and
power gains or increased muscle mass in the posterior chain. Again, however, for general endurance purposes and fat loss, they are great options.
3 Goal-Oriented Sprint Workout Formats
Sprinting for Speed and Power
When training for speed and power, focus on keeping the quality
of training high and limiting the accumulation of fatigue during your
workout. This means you will be sprinting relatively short
distances and taking longer rest periods between sets. The longer rest
periods are necessary to allow your body to replenish its
phosphocreatine stores, which are depleted after about 10 seconds of
high intensity effort, and for your fast-twitch muscle fibers and
central nervous system (CNS) to recover. A work-to-rest ratio of
1:15-1:20 is appropriate for this type of sprint, meaning that if you do
a 10 second all-out sprint, resting for 150-200 seconds would be
appropriate. If you are used to running sprints as a conditioning
exercise to enhance lung capacity and muscular endurance, this will seem
like a long time, but to make improvements to power and speed, it is
important to work at close to 100% capacity. Save the interval sprints
that get your legs burning for another day.
There are two ways you can incorporate these types of sprints into your current strength training routine:
perform them first in your workout followed by power or maximal
strength training for the lower body, or perform the sprints in a
separate training session on the same day that you do a strength/power
workout in the gym. If you separate the sessions, which one you do first
depends on what you want to prioritize. If you need to work on speed
and acceleration, then perform the sprints first. If you have deficits
in strength, then do the strength training first.
If it’s your first time combining the workouts and it’s been a
while since you’ve sprinted, cut back on the number of sets for both the
sprints and the strength training. It will take a few workouts
to build up to 100% effort sprints in order for the connective tissue
to adapt to the stress of sprinting.
Speed and Power Session
Morning workout:
A. 12x10m sprint, 45 sec rest
B. 6x50m sprint, 2 min rest
Evening workout:
A. Clean pulls 6x4
B. Back squat 5x3-5
C1. Glute ham raise 4x4-6
C2. Hanging leg raises 4x8-10
Sprinting for Leg Size
Sprinting is arguably the best exercise for building the hamstrings, glutes, calves, and quads.
The primary difference between sprinting for increased muscle size and
sprinting purely for speed and power is that a greater variety in
training protocols can be used in hypertrophy training. If leg size is
your main concern, then full ATP-PC and CNS recovery is not as critical,
because performance gains are not the priority.
You still want to target the fast-twitch muscle fibers as they have a greater potential to gain in size. But a shift toward the endurance side of the spectrum will have a greater training effect on the Type IIa fast twitch muscle fibers,
which have higher endurance potential than the Type IIb fibers. It is
an oversimplification to say that there are only two types of fast
twitch muscle fibers, but the important concept to remember is that
short and intense sprints recruit more fast twitch muscle fibers and are
more demanding on the CNS. Longer, lower-intensity runs have a minimal
effect on fast twitch muscle fibers and are less demanding on the CNS.
Keep the majority of the sprints in the 10-30 second range with
a work-to-rest ratio of about 1:5-1:10 for the purposes of hypertrophy.
Also include some sprint sessions where full recovery between sets is
utilized, as discussed in the previous section on building speed and
power. Following this with a moderately heavy bodybuilding-type session
in the gym is a highly effective way of stimulating muscle growth in the
legs.
Hypertrophy Session
Morning workout:
A. 10x50m sprint, 1 min rest between sets
B. 2x200m sprint, 2 min rest between sets
Evening workout:
A. Clean grip deadlift 10,10,8,8,6,6
B1. Dumbbell lunge 4x10-12
B2. Single leg lying leg curl 4x6-10
C1. Leg press 4x12-15
C2. Kneeling leg curl 4x8-10
Sprinting for Fat Loss and VO2 max
Sprinting in high intensity interval training (HIIT) format is
the most commonly utilized type when paired with a traditional gym-based
strength training routine. Also known as wind sprints, tempo
runs, shuttle runs, or “suicides”, these types of sprints cause a large
metabolic response resulting in increased calorie expenditure and an
increase in the circulating levels of hGH and testosterone.1,2 These effects have a huge positive influence on reducing body fat.
The shortened rest periods for these sprints do not allow for
full recovery, so the body has to rely on heavily on the anaerobic
glycolysis energy pathway in order to produce ATP. This energy
pathway results in temporary acidosis due to an accumulation of hydrogen
ions, and it is theorized that this is what triggers the increase in
hGH.3 On the other hand, these workouts are not as taxing on the CNS because the average sprint intensity is lower.
The protocols for fat loss are similar to those for hypertrophy, with
the main differences being that the rest intervals are shortened and the
work periods are lengthened. For these sprints, the intensity of effort is more important than the actual velocity.
Remember that the more you “feel the burn”, the greater the subsequent
increase in hGH will be, so use that as motivation when you are wanting
to call it quits before you have completed all of your reps. I like
using a variety of sprint durations in the 10-60 second range and
keeping the work-to-rest ratio between 2:1-1:3.
These fat loss workouts should be fairly short, under the 20-minute
range including warm-up time, so they can be easily added onto the end
of a gym workout or they can be performed as a separate workout on their
own. Tacking on a short HIIT session at the end of your workout
2-4 times per week would be an effective addition to your routine that
wouldn’t compromise your gains in the weight room. Do not
perform these sprints immediately before a gym workout because you might
be fairly wiped out after, making the strength training work you do
following the sprints less effective.
Fat Loss and Endurance Session
A1. Back squat 4x12-15
A2. Lying leg curl 4x10-12
B1. Dumbbell split squats 3x15 each leg
B2. Horizontal back extensions 3x10-12
C. 6x100m sprint, 30 sec rest between sprints, 2 min rest after 6th set
D. 2x400m sprint, 2 min rest
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