Sprint or Long distance?

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Which will burn more calories per workout? A bunch of sprinting (where I sprint, recover, sprint, recover) or one long run?

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  • jbucci1186
    jbucci1186 Posts: 440 Member
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    from my experience, the sprint-recover-sprint-recover burns more because you exert much more energy overall than running at a slower pace (if you're doing them for the same amount of time).
  • MysticMaiden22
    MysticMaiden22 Posts: 325 Member
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    ^^ agreed!
  • cheddarboy
    cheddarboy Posts: 124 Member
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    Thats the great debate. I'm doing more of the sprinting to try to retain some muscle. In the past I ran longer distances and lost weight but alot of it was muscle. Epoc studies suggest that hiit gives you afterburn for longer periods if you believe in that theory, but you expend less energy during the actual exercise. (Ex: 15 mins hiit vs 45 mins cardio) - not the same amount of time..
  • Sadie98072
    Sadie98072 Posts: 212 Member
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    Are you talking about HIIT training with the sprints? Id say that you would use more energy doing that.
  • LAXigent
    LAXigent Posts: 5
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    I was doing some research on that, I've read in various places and found out a work out known High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It supposed to burn fat much faster also the "intense intervals allow for the release of fatty acids into the bloodstream. Additionally, HIIT results in increased HGH levels. HGH is a hormone that burns fat while preserving muscle. Finally, and possibly most importantly, HIIT results in EPOC, an after-burn effect which causes you to burn calories for hours after your workout is completed."

    [Moderators sry if this not allow, delete if necessary]

    i started this routine today, I'm going to pace myself till i can complete the whole phase of this specific work out which consists of:
    I. 45 jog followed by 15 secs of your max sprint for10mins
    II. 25 min of paced jogging
    III. 30 sec jog followed by 30 sec sprint at max you can exert for 10mins
    Total mins of workout 45

    thats my grain of salt
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    Whether you run a mile or walk a mile, the caloric burn is the same. The difference is the duration of time it takes.
    Long distance running does end up burning more muscle tissue than sprinting. That's why the physiques of the 2 look different. I would rather look much more like a sprinter than a long distance runner so I do Tabata Protocol since I'm not an avid fan of cardio even though I'm a kickboxing instructor.