Sprint Intervals

FrnkLft

Alright, so I'm trying to incorporate some sprints into my routine for conditioning. Don't have any hills available, so it'll be all flats.

What's a good interval for this sort of thing? I've jogged, but never bothered with sprinting. 40m? 50m? 60m?

I want to work with an established interval so I'm not needlessly killing myself by sprinting for too long, and undercutting the ability to get more reps in.

Culmination of training ftw!

DeeDoy

Not distances but this is what I use:

Sprint for 1 minute
Rest for 1 minute
Sprint for 45 seconds
Rest for 45 seconds
Sprint for 30 seconds
Rest for 30 seconds
Sprint for 15 seconds
Rest for 1 to 2 minutes

Repeat the entire sequence 3 to 5 times.

I do this on the treadmill which allows you to add inclines and this one is worked out to allow steady state cardio afterward


Eta: sprint I equate to run as fast as you can lol

FrnkLft

Bro how do you sprint for an entire minute? I mean, it might take me 30 seconds to clear a football field, and I would be dead by the time I got to the end zone, nevermind resting for less than a minute and going back.

Are you sure that's right? Or do you mean just really brisk pace?

Edit: OOOH on a treadmill. That's different.

TheGymGypsy

I run 8mph when I sprint because it is a challenging pace for me but i can hold it for a minute or two and then recover. I COULD run faster, but then I would be too tired to do it again. :P It's all about that balance! As long as you are pushing out of your comfort zone you will see improvement.

girlie100

I sprint 40m and rest on the walk back to start and repeat 6x

donohoe4

I do 30 seconds as fast as I can, then 30 seconds at a slower pace. I don't stop moving and I do it for 10 minutes.

timeasterday

Vary it each time for best results. Don't just run the same fixed interval over and over.

jacksonpt

What are you trying to accomplish? Different intervals and different intensities do different things.

msf74

What are you hoping to achieve with the sprints? "Conditioning" is a rather broad term.

FrnkLft

What are you trying to accomplish? Different intervals and different intensities do different things.

Right, hadn't considered it like this really. Well I'm trying to incorporate some high intensity cardio into my training. Trying to follow Wendler's advice where he suggests sprints instead of steady state cardo.

Of course he recommends hill sprints, but I live in Florida so... also don't have access to a drag chute/prowler/etc...

My goal would be to run an interval with maximum intensity, so shorter distances are ideal. Gave it a shot at the nearest field yesterday with arbitrary markers for distance, and it turns out I was sprinting balls-to-the-wall for 60 yd. Only got 6 reps in, and I had to rest a good few minutes between to catch my breath.

Of course that will improve, but if I could get recommendations on shorter distances, that could be helpful.

I was also considering car pushes, but that's kinda dubious because, you know, rolling unmaned car on the street.

jacksonpt

What are you trying to accomplish? Different intervals and different intensities do different things.

Right, hadn't considered it like this really. Well I'm trying to incorporate some high intensity cardio into my training. Trying to follow Wendler's advice where he suggests sprints instead of steady state cardo.

Of course he recommends hill sprints, but I live in Florida so... also don't have access to a drag chute/prowler/etc...

My goal would be to run an interval with maximum intensity, so shorter distances are ideal. Gave it a shot at the nearest field yesterday with arbitrary markers for distance, and it turns out I was sprinting balls-to-the-wall for 60 yd. Only got 6 reps in, and I had to rest a good few minutes between to catch my breath.

Of course that will improve, but if I could get recommendations on shorter distances, that could be helpful.

I was also considering car pushes, but that's kinda dubious because, you know, rolling unmaned car on the street.

So, you're doing because he said you should?

DeeDoy

Bro how do you sprint for an entire minute? I mean, it might take me 30 seconds to clear a football field, and I would be dead by the time I got to the end zone, nevermind resting for less than a minute and going back.

Are you sure that's right? Or do you mean just really brisk pace?

Edit: OOOH on a treadmill. That's different.

I don't find it hard to sprint for a minute although it does make you realise how long a minute really is. You can do it outside if you have a decent stretch of road etc. i just tend to do it at the gym for ease of weather - it rains a lot in Scotland lol

sluggz

What are you trying to accomplish? Different intervals and different intensities do different things.

Right, hadn't considered it like this really. Well I'm trying to incorporate some high intensity cardio into my training. Trying to follow Wendler's advice where he suggests sprints instead of steady state cardo.

Of course he recommends hill sprints, but I live in Florida so... also don't have access to a drag chute/prowler/etc...

My goal would be to run an interval with maximum intensity, so shorter distances are ideal. Gave it a shot at the nearest field yesterday with arbitrary markers for distance, and it turns out I was sprinting balls-to-the-wall for 60 yd. Only got 6 reps in, and I had to rest a good few minutes between to catch my breath.

Of course that will improve, but if I could get recommendations on shorter distances, that could be helpful.

I was also considering car pushes, but that's kinda dubious because, you know, rolling unmaned car on the street.

I wouldn't worry about it. Your main goal is getting your lifts up right? If that's true, doing the 60 yard sprints is fine. you did 6 this time, treat it like a PR and try to do 7 next time, or get a weight vest, etc... whatever distance you have, make it work.

http://www.jimwendler.com/2011/12/hill-sprints/

msf74

Right, hadn't considered it like this really. Well I'm trying to incorporate some high intensity cardio into my training. Trying to follow Wendler's advice where he suggests sprints instead of steady state cardo.

And specifically what was the goal that was hoping to be achieved by doing this?

In the absence of a concrete answer find a park. Throw down some kind of marker. Run at a pace which you can manage for about a minute without killing yourself. Walk back slowly to the marker. Repeat for as many times as you feel comfortable.

Over the weeks increase the number of sprints. Once you get to a reasonable number (say 10) shorten the recovery period (so walk back to the starting position quicker or jog.)

FrnkLft

What are you trying to accomplish? Different intervals and different intensities do different things.

Right, hadn't considered it like this really. Well I'm trying to incorporate some high intensity cardio into my training. Trying to follow Wendler's advice where he suggests sprints instead of steady state cardo.

Of course he recommends hill sprints, but I live in Florida so... also don't have access to a drag chute/prowler/etc...

My goal would be to run an interval with maximum intensity, so shorter distances are ideal. Gave it a shot at the nearest field yesterday with arbitrary markers for distance, and it turns out I was sprinting balls-to-the-wall for 60 yd. Only got 6 reps in, and I had to rest a good few minutes between to catch my breath.

Of course that will improve, but if I could get recommendations on shorter distances, that could be helpful.

I was also considering car pushes, but that's kinda dubious because, you know, rolling unmaned car on the street.

So, you're doing because he said you should?

Yes. :drinker: The goal is to incorporate some some athletisism and cardiovascular conditioning in the strength training program, and to do it through anaerobic cardio, sprints.

Mr_Knight

What are you trying to accomplish? Different intervals and different intensities do different things.

Right, hadn't considered it like this really. Well I'm trying to incorporate some high intensity cardio into my training. Trying to follow Wendler's advice where he suggests sprints instead of steady state cardo.

Of course he recommends hill sprints, but I live in Florida so... also don't have access to a drag chute/prowler/etc...

My goal would be to run an interval with maximum intensity, so shorter distances are ideal. Gave it a shot at the nearest field yesterday with arbitrary markers for distance, and it turns out I was sprinting balls-to-the-wall for 60 yd. Only got 6 reps in, and I had to rest a good few minutes between to catch my breath.

Of course that will improve, but if I could get recommendations on shorter distances, that could be helpful.

I was also considering car pushes, but that's kinda dubious because, you know, rolling unmaned car on the street.

So, you're doing because he said you should?

Yes. :drinker: The goal is to incorporate some some athletisism and cardiovascular conditioning in the strength training program, and to do it through anaerobic cardio, sprints.

IMO, you'll get better results if you figure out an actual, specific fitness goal, as that will tell you what kind of interval training makes the most sense.

If what you want is specifically CV fitness, go run 5k 3x a week, no amount of sprinting will improve CV health as much as that.

DymonNdaRgh40

I always sprint when I run and was actually able to increase my sprinting speed this week. I usually run at 6.7 mph and then for every 6-10 minutes I run, depending on how long I'm running I'll sprint for 2 minutes at 7mph. Once I adjust to 7mph sprint speed I'll increase it again. Also to challenge myself, I'll fluctuate or fartlek as it's sometimes called my sprints. So, the first sprint will be 2 minutes and then the next sprint will be 3 minutes and I'll just repeat this until I finish my run.

MissingMinnesota

You could also try doing suicides

kristarablue2

I have found sprint intervals have increased my cardio vascular health ALOT, more so than low intensity steady state (LISS). My favorite intervals are Tabata's ..20 second balls out as hard as you can go, 10 second break repeat for 8 rounds (this is a 4 min. cycle), rest for about a minute. I usually do 4 to 5 rounds of that and it really is a great workout. Great thing about tabata's is that you can run stairs, hills, straight or you can use different exercises with it as well....Lots of tabata timer apps you can download free as well.

As for hill intervals if you belong to a gym you could do it on a treadmill, not as much fun I grant you, but I have had luck doing a min running on hills...min. walking...ect. At my gym they have a hill setting on the treadmill.

I have also done the 60 second sprint then 60 seconds off ect. However when I first started I believe I did 30 sec sprint then 90 second off and gradually moved up.

I have played alot with interval training because I enjoy it much more than LISS and I find that the cardio vascular are better for me.

Good luck:) Enjoy!

JoRocka

I mix them up- I tend to do all variations of 100 yard sprints- or if I'm using a soccer/football field I run either a box or an X configuration.

Bear with me... let's letter the sides of the box. A, B, C, and D.

Each one comes right after the other.

Sprint side A: Jog B, C and D
Sprint A and B: jog C and D
Sprint A, B and C: jog D
Spring A, B, C and D.

That is 1 round/rep.

Do 5.

X (I do these on foot ball fields- or a shape that's more rectangular than square.
Spring cross distance- jog to other side.
Sprint other Diagonal- job back to start.

That's 1 round/rep- do 5.

These are pretty brutal- the boxes were AWFUL. I did them on college on our make shift soccer field- we wanted to DIE.

I played my new DL game- DL your 60-70% 1 RMP (for me it's close to 185- so I rolled with that- in retrospect- 225 would have been wiser!!!)

So DL as many as you can. X reps
Go sprint X 100 yard sprints.

Come back- DL as many as you can - Y reps
Sprint Y 100 yard sprints.

I did it 5 times- (can you see I like sets of 5 LOL) and it took me about 34 minutes. it was killer- but great. HELLO HAMMY'S.

I do a lot of plyo's/calisthenics in my HIIT workouts- it's less than sprinting but worth it to me because I don't run much LOL

Safiyandi

IMO, you'll get better results if you figure out an actual, specific fitness goal, as that will tell you what kind of interval training makes the most sense.

What's recommended for a lifter who's endurance sucks and who hates steady-state cardio? I've been doing sprints simply because they're more tolerable, but I don't know the first thing about programming for endurance.

JoRocka

rock climbing
boxing
spin class
fencing
swimming

getsmarter82

Sorry for hitting an old thread, but I'm new here. How do you add an interval workout like these to your myfitnesspal account?

charlesmauch

I alternate sprint distances (I sprint twice a week after squatting & deadlifting). 40yds and 100yds has worked for me.

I don't bother timing it. But if your going to time intervals, 7 seconds for 40yards, and maybe 15-18 seconds for 100 yards seem like reasonable goals at those distances. Getting under those numbers will require some serious dedication. My numbers are a lot worse than that, but I'm going up a hill too.

If your going to sprint, then do it like you mean it and hold nothing back the entire time your moving. Walk back to your starting point, do it again, no resting (your rest was walking back!). When you no longer feel explosive/fluid stop and call it a day. If your wobbling around and generally looking like gumby on your way back, you've been going at it for too long.

If the weather sucks, there are a ton of things you can do for "hard conditioning" besides sprints, prowler work, and shoving cars around parking lots. You can try:

• 200 Jump Squats in a row, (make it more fun with a sandbag or weight vest)
• ( 5 Mountain Climbers + 1 Burpee ) x 75
• 200 Kettleball Swings at 50lbs or more, in a row.
• ( 15 Tuck Jumps / 15 Situps ) x 10
• Font Squat 20 sec as fast as possible, rest 10 seconds, repeat (tabata style), never load more than 75lbs or so.
• ( Sprint the length of the basketball court, 25 Tuck Jumps, Bear Crawl back ) x 6
• 13 Kettleball Swings, 13 Burpees, 12 Kettleball Swings, 12 Burpees, etc until none left

If you don't get the proscribed number, just do the routine for 20 minutes (and/or puke). Shoot to improve and get further until you finish. Then try something else.

With this kind of work, I don't bother to time anything other than to set an alarm for 20 minutes. If I survive the experience, the session was a rousing success!