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You want huge wheels. Heck, you want cuts, too. You've been
pumping iron as though you're possessed, and you have the
results to prove that your approach works. But yon want more
you want to train differently. Ever thought of sprint training?
Sprinting can be exceptionally demanding and, despite what
some people say about running turning you into a pencil neck,
sprints can make you grow - if you do them right.
Consider this: When it comes to sprinting for building bigger
legs, size is created by volume of training, while load (amount
of speed or resistance) builds strength. If as a bodybuilder
you create different types of workouts using these principles,
you'll become stronger and continue to pack on quality mass.
This is where sprints come in. Beyond adding growth and strength
to your thighs, sprints can help you warm up, cross-train
and begin the recovery process when done before, during or
after your weight training.
Getting Started
No matter how you choose to incorporate sprints into your
regular training, you must still warm up, loosen up and build
up in order to train and not strain your body in your sprint
workout. Sprinting puts an unaccustomed load on your muscles,
so to avoid injury, you must build up your speed pattern.
Remember, if you don't have time to warm up, you don't have
time to work out.
Some type of warm-up, such as build-up (nonmoving) or dynamic
(moving) stretching should lead into build-up sprints, which
should start at 50% - 60% of your max speed and build in speed
with each sprint until you're sprinting at 80%-90% of your
max speed.
When you decide to sprint in your workout depends on two things
- your training goals and the availability of a sprinting
area. If you want to build size and strength, sprint after
your weight workout so you don't wear yourself out before
you lift. Another possibility is to break your workout into
two sessions in one day. For example, you could warm up and
sprint in the morning, then lift in the afternoon or evening
(after another warm-up). As a beginner, it won't make much
difference whether you lift first or sprint first. If you
sprint in the morning, however, allow yourself some extra
time to warm up. You could start your warm-up drills with
a variety of walking movements forward, backward and laterally,
then mix in some bodyweight lunges, squats and giant leg swings
to get really warm and loose.
A Word on Volume
Angel Spassov, former professor of weightlifting in Bulgaria
and now at the University of Texas at Austin, says volume
is the key to training. In other words, the more sprints you
can do, the fitter, stronger, faster, thicker, and more cut
and powerful you become. The requirement is to never, ever
miss a workout. If you miss one session, it takes two to catch
up. If you miss a week, it takes two weeks to catch up. If
you miss a month . . . well, you're retired. Now I know you
guys might look at this as being quite dogmatic, but I'm just
trying to make a point, and I may have exaggerated a little.
Suffice to say, missing scheduled training sessions ain't
cool. At the same time, it would he wise to leave the gym
with just a little hit left in your tank so you'll be ready
for your next workout.
Bodybuilders should sprint a total of around 600-1,200 meters
(660-1,320 yards) in a workout; a huge sprint day would total
1,500-1,700 meters (1,650-1,870 yards). Determine the day's
total volume by the number of sprints multiplied by the distance.
For example, if you do 24 50-yard sprints, you just did a
sprint workout of 1,200 yards. That's a big day.
Volume is typically increased by sprinting for a longer distance.
Over the course of the week, however, don't run for more than
about 2,000 total yards if your goal is to add mass. As you
approach this limit, you'll be less able to pack on mass,
depending on your fitness level. Yet if you're more interested
in cutting up, your maximum volume might be 2,500 yards. Once
you begin to exceed 2,500 yards, though, you'll hamper your
development once again.
As you begin your sprint program, do what feels good 2-3 days
a week and record that in your training log. After about 4-5
weeks, you can approximate your personal level of sprinting
fitness. From that point forward, says Vein Gamhetta, MA,
president of Gaiiibetta Sport Fitness in Sarasota, Florida,
add no more than about 10% to your volume in any one week.
So if you sprint for a total of 1,000 yards a week after the
first month, you can add about 100 yards to each week for
the next month.
A Word on Intensity
Do most of your sprinting at 80%-90% of full speed you don't
need to go all-out to make gains. Gary Winkler, women's track
coach at the University of Illinois at Champaign, allows his
sprinters to run at full speed for only about 5% of their
total training volume for the year. As a bodybuilder, you
can benefit from the same guidelines. A good rule of thumb
is to make it fun and not push the speed barrier on every
rep. Of course, wear quality running shoes that fit properly
and are laced up snugly, and run on a good, even surface with
plenty of room to stop.
A closer look at intensity reveals that in general, a shorter
distance merits a higher speed, and a longer distance warrants
a slower speed. Any way you cut it. if you run at 80% of your
best speed for a given distance, you're training fast. For
instance, if your best 100 yards is 13 seconds, then you'd
want to run at a pace no slower than 15.6 seconds for each
100 yards, or 80% of your best time. Your top training speed
would be 14.3 seconds, which is 90% of your fastest time.
In terms of distance, you may prefer to sprint 30-50 yards
rather than stride 100-110 yards. Run at a pace that feels
fast but doesn't require you to push yourself to the limit.
Once you've been sprinting for more than a month and have
established a good base, you'll better understand your general
range of training yardage and corresponding intensity.
At the Next Level
if sprinting starts to bore you factor in variety and overload,
You can add distance (volume) or resistance (load), or go
faster (speed). You can move laterally or begin to mix in
hills or stairs. Follow these guidelines as you begin to make
your workout more complex.
• Adding resistance - Using sleds,
Parachutes, steps or hills adds load for a variety of training
effects. Each will overload the glutes and hams if done running
forward, but the overload shifts more to the quads if done
backward. Lateral-movement overload affects the groin and
gluteus medius; groin involvement still be minor if you shuffle
and major if you use a crossover step. As you add overload
with vertical displacement (hills and steps), the calves will
overload. Hill training will load the calves more than stair
climbing because of the added stretch of the calf muscles
by the angle of the hill.
• Speed of movement - If your goal
is to maintain speed, we recommends overloading with no more
than 10% of your bodyweight during sprinting activities. If
you want to add mass or strength, add more resistance. You
could overload up to the point that your speed of movement
in 100 yards is almost the same as walking, as in pushing
or pulling a car. If the load is extremely heavy, make sure
you drive off the ground flat-footed, with your heels on the
ground, but realizing that at some point you'll need to get
up on your toes. This really burns your quads, glutes and
hams.
• External loads -You can increase
the training effect even more by adding external loads with
weight vests, sandbags or hand weights. Whether you run hills
or steps, your muscles will he affected in the same sequence
as described above but to a greater degree. Hand weights,
which add shoulder stress in tempo runs, enhance the importance
of hand and shoulder movement in sprinting. The load should
be very light, in the 1-5 pound range, and avoid jerking the
weights - this could add trauma to your shoulders. Stride
100 yards 10 times, alternating the use and nonuse of hand
weights on each sprint as you focus on how your hands and
shoulders move in your stride.
Goal-Specific Considerations
Over the course of a week, when should you simply sprint and
when should you do special strength (resisted/external load)
sprinting? In A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting,
former Soviet weightlifting expert Alexsei Medvedyev indicates
that if your goal is speed and power development, you should
do speed sprints early in the week, overload with light weight
midweek for power (remember not to exceed 10%) and overload
with volume (distance) or heavy resistance at the end of the
week. This will help enhance your speed, develop your power,
maintain your fitness and allow you to recover sufficiently
over the weekend for your next workout.
If your goal is to maximize strength and size as well as speed
and power, you can frame your program in three basic ways
as the week progresses. You can add volume (distance) and
drop the load, you can drop volume and add load, or you can
decrease the volume or load at each end of the week and do
your hardest sprint workouts (in terms of volume or load)
in the middle of the week.
If your goal is mass and strength, the key training variables
are volume (more is better here) and overload. Use high-rep,
multiple-set, medium low loads in the gym for mass/hypertrophy.
Out on the track, hill or stairs, do medium to long sprints
with bodyweight to light medium overload for medium to high
distances (1,000-1,600 yards). These workouts require a lot
of energy and willpower, so pay particularly close attention
to your food and supplement intake. Also make sure you get
enough water and electrolyte mineral restoration.
If your workout is strength-oriented, your gym training should
consist of medium to high loads with moderate to low volume.
On the track, hills or stairs, use medium to low volumes for
medium distances (1,000 1,400 yards) with bodyweight or light
loads. These workouts require moderate amounts of energy and
willpower, but you still need to facilitate your recovery
with nutritional aids, adequate water intake and electrolyte
replacement.
Recovery from most of your workouts will take 48-72 hours.
If you have difficulty warming up and feel 'heavy" when
you prepare to do speed work, you haven't recovered from your
previous workout and should take precautions to avoid injury.
Remember, speed, mass, strength and power are created by quality
training, not by cheating or partial work. The more quality
work you do, the closer you'll get to your goal. And never,
ever miss a scheduled workout. Stretch and supplement after
every session, chart your training and evaluate your workouts
each month. You should start to see results in about 3-5 weeks.
The better your nutrition, the more consistent your training
and the more intense your supplementation, the more spectacular
the results. All it takes is training hard, eating right,
resting and recovery every day! Now go out and grow.
SAMPLE TRAINING PROGRESSION
DAY 1
Goal: speed/strength
• Speed sprint drills
• Short-distance stairs, ramps
• 20-50 yards per rep 3-5 reps at 95% intensity
Rest: 1 minute between sprints
DAY 3
Goal: power/mass
• Power sprint drills
• Hills, weight vests, weighted long-distance sprints
• 20-80 yards per rep 5-8 reps at 90% intensity
Rest: 1-172 minutes between sprints
DAY 5
Goal: strength/mass
• Volume stride/overload drills
• Weighted
• 80-150 yards per rep 8-12 reps at 80% intensity
Rest: 2-272 minutes between sprints
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