ADAPTATIONS TO SPRINT TRAINING
By VINCE DELMONTE
If you are looking to improve your physical conditioning, sprint
training is one of the best ways to go about doing so.
Many individuals prefer sprint training because
it takes a lot less time than traditional forms of cardio, that have you going for thirty to sixty minutes at a
time. There are a great number of benefits that will be seen when you do this more intense form of
sprint training workout.
Vince Delmonte, a marathon runner turned bodybuilder, knows all about the
importance of sprint training to help burn fat. For a good guide to musclebuilding, and how to incorporate sprints,
click on No Nonsense Musclebuilding.
Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC)
One of the biggest benefits you’ll get from sprinting, is
the EPOC effects it creates. This is known as excess
post-exercise oxygen consumption, and is where the body will expend a great deal of
calories, returning the body back to its former state after the workout.
Because sprint training is so intense, this will contribute to a
large calorie burn after you have finished the workout. To even further increase
the EPOC that is seen, consider doing hill sprint training. Since this is even more intense in nature, it
will further challenge your body.
Metabolic Adaptations
Next, when you perform a number of sprint training
workouts, the body will upregulate its ability to produce enzymes that increase the
storage capacity of the muscle for energy substrates, such as ATP.
This has the corresponding effect of allowing you to work out
harder, for a longer period of time, without fatigue setting in.
Note though, this occurs when you are working more on the aerobic side of things, so while it is intense, you are
still utilizing oxygen.
If no oxygen is present, you will only last 5-20
seconds, regardless of how well conditioned you are (the better conditioned you are, the harder
you will be able to work ).
Phosphate Metabolism
The next benefit you’ll get with sprint training
is its effect on phosphate metabolism. Phosphate creatine stores comprise a major component of the body’s fuel
source for muscular activity, so anything you do to increase this is going to be beneficial.
Myokinase is an enzyme that is responsible for resynthesizing the energy from
phosphate creatine, and with sprint training, it will increase its concentration
within the muscle tissue by up to 20%.
Glycolysis
The next adaptation that will occur after you’ve been doing sprint
training for a period of time is that of glycolysis. This is the primary form of
metabolism used during a 10 second all out sprint and contributes between 55 and 75% towards energy production
during exercise.
Phosphofructokinase (PFK), an enzyme that catalyses the
phosphorylation of the glycolytic intermediate fructose 6-phosphate), has been shown to increase when
sprint training is performed, along with the enzymes of lactate dehydrogenase and
glycogen phosphorylase (other enzymes responsible for the glycolysis system).
Intramuscular Buffering Capacity
Finally, the last adaptation that’s seen with sprint
training is the buffering capacity of the muscle. During glycoglysis, various byproducts are
created such as lactic acid, and when these accumulate, it causes the extreme feelings of fatigue in the muscle
tissues.
This forces you to stop exercising as fatigue sets
in, and often will be the end of your workout.
Overtime, sprint training will increase your ability to buffer these byproducts so
that you can then workout for a longer period of time while maintaining that intensity.
So, next time you’re debating about whether to do a sprint training
session or a moderate paced cardio session lasting for 40 minutes or so, opt for the sprint
session.The benefits you’ll receive are far more numerous, and fat loss will be
kicked up a notch as an added benefit. Keep in mind that for these benefits to occur, you want your sprints to last
somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 seconds to 40 seconds, with a work to rest ration of about 1:2. Repeat this
process a total of 6 to 8 times, and begin and end with a ive minute warm-up and
cool-down.
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Vince Delmonte is a Canadian bodybuilder and
former champon Marathon Runner. For a good exercise guide on how to use bodybuilding and
stretching to improve your health and physique check out No Nonsense
Musclebuilding. |
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