Sprinting - Top 5 Benefits and Reasons
In my (Levi’s) previous post, I addressed 5 Sprinting Myths. In this post, I’m going to touch on what I think are the top 5 benefits and reasons to do sprints for health.
1) time efficiency
Since we’re all busy and looking for ways to be efficient, sprinting could be a good workout option. After a good 5-10 minute warm-up, you can do a handful of sprints and complete a good workout in 20 minutes total.
Example:
10 minute warm-up.
5 sets of 30-second sprint, 90-second rest.
That’s 20 minutes total. Badda-bing!
Sprints would be considered “high-intensity interval training,” so you get all the well-documented benefits of HIIT too in a short amount of time.
2) physique & lean muscle
Maybe I’m out of touch, but I think most people would prefer to look like a sprinter than a distance runner if they had a choice.
Having a lot of muscle mass is NOT conducive for distance runners, and therefore they tend to be skinnier.
On the other hand, it’s easier to preserve or build lean muscle as a sprinter.
3) fast-twitch fibers & power
“Use it or lose it”... this same principle applies to fast-twitch fibers. Sprinting helps maintain or prevent the loss of Type II fibers
As for power, muscle power declines earlier and more precipitously with advancing age compared with muscle strength. (pubmed)
Fast-twitch fiber is integral to the body’s ability to generate power, and power is important to reaction time, coordination, and neuromuscular function.
4) a ❤️ that is responsive, efficient, and resilient
Both distance running and sprinting help increase VO2 max but in different ways. (VO2 max is a strong and significant predictor of overall health and longevity)
Distance running helps train your heart to be efficient over longer durations.
Sprinting helps train your heart to be good at “ramping up and ramping down” – to meet the physical needs of sudden intense exertion followed by rest periods before doing it again.
5) mental toughness
Whether it is through cold tubbing, distance running, sprinting, or something else… I believe you should test your mental toughness in various ways.
For me since I’m a sprinter, I need to seek out distance running to be able to improve my mental toughness through the slower, longer, steady-state nature of it.
For MOST, they can sprinkle in sprints to see how their mind does when they are pushing their body at a higher intensity for multiple bouts.
If you want to watch a video on this topic – here you go!
What’s Next?
How to implement sprinting into your fitness routine
Then What?
A distance runner will roast sprinting/sprinters, and I’ll roast distance running/runners.