The next Exposure cycle will feature strength biasing and if you have followed me through the years that means we hit the pavement… fast. Sprinting is part of this exposure cycle because of its benefits from strength and coordination. As much as we love to clang and bang, there is some serious neurological-muscular development that needs to happen that will keep us adapting as optimal human beings. But there is a reason why you dont like to sprint… it Frickin hurts! To level up as an athlete you need to understand that there is a big difference between running fast and sprinting. Lets dive in.
Lets cover the benefits of sprinting, because even if you are cursing me right now… maybe I can sell it to your logical sense.
Fat Burning;
Strength training has been proven to burn more calories than any other cardio method out there. Pushing weight, holding weight, and pulling weight place demands on the metabolic system akin to starvation. After thoughtful sets of squats or cleans, your muscles are searching for any and all nutrients/calories. This consumption of calories through muscle development helps to lean the body out, create greater muscle density, and of course build muscle fiber. SPRINTING does the same thing. Just as squatting is a full body functional exercise, so is sprinting. Just as the olympic lifts demand balance and coordination, so does sprinting. And just as a max set of pull ups demands maximal effort, so does sprinting. And with all those demands, there goes the fat.
Optimizing Athleticism;
I take great care in making sure my athletes are properly stimulated for a sprinting session. The reasoning is that in very few efforts, your body is about to be pushed to its absolute limits not only physically, but mentally. To Use the Squatting analogy again, you know that when the weight starts to crush you at the bottom and you stall out, you can just dump the weight. This is an objective limit to your ability. Sprinting is purely subjective. Unless you have me observing you , (and I have a few keen eye) there is no-one that will say.. “Give me another 10% effort” . No-one knows just how fast you can run except YOU!!. The mental strength to not only warm up properly but also to be HONEST about pushing to your MAXIMAL POTENTIAL during an interval digs into what it truly means to be an athlete.
Sprint Training Boosts Cognitive Health:
Check out this LINK and the many more like it from Peer reviewed sources. Just as my sprinting warm up is a gradual dynamic system, so is the development of the BRAIN/BODY connection. Sprinting involves every system of the body, especially the mind. Because speed happens… well pretty damn fast… your brain needs to make calculations with amazing speed and actually has been shown to anticipate certain changes in body position and balance! The mind is incredible. Wen compared to other training modalities like isometric or single joint exercise routines, as well as your basic ‘Cardio’ programs, Sprinting requires the seen and unseen to be activated producing more neuromuscular recruitment. This translates into POST WORKOUT COGNITIVE BENEFITS. For the rest of the day your brain will be firing at an incredible rate. Eyesight will be sharper, thoughts clearer, reactions faster. And sleep… better. I promise that.
Sprinting Develops CORE Strength:
By now, you understand that getting not only a rock hard core but also a functional one is going to take much more than just sit ups. We need to push our Trunk to fight rotation and Sprinting does just that. Now I dont want to pick on the casual 5k runner but I challenge you to watch folks run next time you are out there. Sloppy form originates in an unsupported core. You will see tons of trunk rotation which is exemplified by arm swing that is completely out of control. Running ‘loosy-goosey’ like that means the hips are off balance and when the hips are off balance the feet strike the ground wrong…. and BAM…. you have knee and ankle issues…. You see where im going with this. Sprint Training will have you waking up in the morning in pain. Not in the legs so much as in the Stomach and Core. In only 100m at top speed, your core has to fight VERY HARD to keep everything in alignment or else you will literally fall over. If you are any sort of functional human, you want a strong core. Embrace the Sprint intervals and you will get what you work for!
Start slow and use my progressions. I do not expect everyone to back squat 400# on the first day of a cycle, and I dont expect you to be able to do 8X 100m either. We will begin the Exposure cycle with some middle distance sprints and variable recovery times. As with other cycles I will challenge you to quantify your recovery times, and also take some subjective notes on how well your recovery feels jumping between sprint days and normal training workouts.
I can’t wait to see you all make substantial change in your athleticism and health. I believe that you can find the extra gear and develop some incredible speed. Push hard through the burning muscles and come out of it a better human! I LOVE YOU ALL.
Eric
Programming Notes 6/1-6/5 *** This is Week 1 of the Sprint Cycle. We also have 2 Hero workouts this week , Wednesday and Thursday. The intervals I programmed are meant to re-enforce the metabolic flexibility and performance output. Warm up correctly and hit each hard.
6/1
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
A Skip
B Skip
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
Front Squat:
2 Rounds
8 @70%
7 @75%
6 @80%
5 @85%
1 @ 90%
Sprint Work:
Alternating Every 3 Minutes for 8 Rounds.
A- 100m Sprint
B- 200m Shuttle Sprint (100 out and back)
6/2
Baseline:
3X
250m Row
10 Kip Swing
10 Squat Jumps
8 Divebomber Push Up
8 Iron Cross Stretch
Clean Warm Up:
7 @ Each
-Barbell Good Mornings
-Barbell Romanian Deadlift
-Barbell Muscle Clean
-Hang Power Clean + Press
-Front Squat + Push Press
-Pausing Squat Clean + Jerk
Conditioning:
A) Every 3 Minutes X 4 Rounds;
12 Cal Row
40 Double Unders
Max Rep Set of Bar Muscle Ups
-Rest 3:00-
B) Every 5 Minutes X 4 Rounds
15 Toes TO bar
12 Burpee Over Bar
9 Hang Clean 225/135
6 Push Jerks
6/3
Baseline:
400m Run
4X
8 Banded Pass Thru
16 Banded Pull Aparts
8 Banded Squats
16 Lateral Monster Walks
8 Banded Good Mornings
Barbell Primer:
3X
5 Strict Press
7 Front Squats
9 Sumo Deadlift
*Building Each Round
WOD:
“Air Force 20”
For Time;
20 Thrusters 95/65
20 Sumo Deadlift High Pull
20 Push Press
20 Overhead Squat
20 Front Squat
-4 Burpees at the top of each minute-
6/4
Baseline:
5:00 Easy Biking
3X
10 Scapula Push Ups
8 Elbow To Instep Lunge
6 Med Ball Devils Press
4 Divebomber Push Ups
Horizontal Pulling Primal:
Supine Ring Rows
3 Rounds of Max Reps
*Super Set with 100 Flutter Kicks
WOD:
“WILMOT”
6 Rounds for Time
50 Air Squats
25 Ring Dips
6/5
Baseline:
3X
200m Run
8 Bow/Bend
8 Leg Swings
8 Scorpion Stretch
8 Divebomber Push Ups
Strength:
Deadlift
5X5
*Across All sets
Conditioning:
5 Rounds
1:00 Biking
15 Deadlift 225/135
1:00 Biking
15 Box Jumps
-Rest 1:00 Between Sets-
*Biking should be at steady state pace.
