Sprinting

Lately I have been sprinting a lot.  If you are an older athlete, you should be too.

Sprinting, and by sprinting I mean really hard running at 100% of your capacity for short distances, is a great exercise.  Sprinting is an explosive movement that demands max effort; you are generating every ounce of power you can for every step. Sprinting recruits the fast twitch muscle fibers you may not have used since high school sports.  As a maximal effort movement, it stimulates the production of natural hormones that build muscle and burn fat. Just take a look at how olympic sprinters are built.  They do a little weight lifting, but most of that is from sprinting.

In my opinion, sprinting is far superior to distance running for older athletes.  The biggest loss of physical capability due to age after 40 is loss of muscle mass.  Sprinting builds leg muscle, while distance running breaks it down.  Look at world class marathon runners: skinny legs, spindly calves.  Now look at world class sprinters:  legs like bullfrogs.  I rest my case.

My current sprinting workout is based on the New England Patriots fitness test.  The Patriots fitness test for linemen consists of two sets of ten forty-yard sprints.  Each sprint must be done in less than 6 seconds, with 30 seconds of rest between each sprint, and 3 minutes of rest between the two sets.  The linebackers and tight ends do 3 sets of 50 yard sprints in 7 seconds each, while the receivers and defensive backs do 3 sets of 60 yard sprints in 8 seconds each.

If you are like me, the first challenge you will face is running a 6 second 40.  We watch NFL players running sub-5 40's and we assume it must be easy.  Give it a shot, with a properly measured course and honest timing.  Unless you are a well trained athlete, you may be surprised at how hard it is to break 6 seconds consistently.  If you are a distance runner, you may still be surprised even though you consider yourself well trained.

Right now my best time is 5.8.  That is self-timed, on a paved course with running shoes.  I try to run on grass, which causes much less stress on the body, but even with cleats it is a slower surface.  My best time on grass was a 6.00, with 6.2-6.3 being common, especially in Florida when the ground is soggy.

While sprinting is a great workout for older athletes, you do have to be careful.  Sprinting is incredibly demanding on your body, and it is very easy to over-train.  Injuries, especially repetitive overuse injuries like tendinitis, are easy to get started and hard to control.  To avoid those problems, follow these 3 rules:

1. Ease into it.  Do NOT go out and do the NFL fitness test the first time you sprint.  Do a few sprints at medium effort with plenty of rest.  See how that feels.  A few days later, go out and do a few at max effort.  Once you can sprint 3-5 times at max effort without feeling sore for a few days, start doing intervals.  Start with one set, and once you can do that, graduate to 2 or more sets.
2. Warm up well.  Get your blood flowing, then stretch well, especially your hamstrings.  Do some mobility exercises to get your legs, hips, back, and shoulders limber.  Do a few half effort sprints, then ramp up to max effort over about 5 sprints will full rest.  Now you are ready for speed work or intervals.
3. Recover.  Don't sprint more than once a week initially.  Once you adapt, you can go to twice a week or once every 3-4 days.  Get plenty of sleep.  I find a little naproxen or motrin as a preventative measure before hard sessions can help avoid the onset of tendinitis.