questions, questions, questions

Hope ya'll can answer them. 1. Ran 1/2 mile in 4:40. Is this good? Probably not...damn sure won't make a 7 min. mile will it? What can I do to step this time up? This is only the second time I've been able to do a whole 1/2 mile at a time. 2. Sprinted 1 city block in 18 sec. Good? 3. What are wind sprints and how do you do them? 4. I thought the muscle in my upper leg (guess the quad) was gonna rip in half when I was sprinting. Hurt like hell. Lack of oxygen, stretching, what? Thanks guys. Know ya'll come through for me. -10days! Gisela

Nice job. The purpose of wind sprints is to get you winded!! I do them regularly with my workouts. I think it makes the treadmill work more interesting but really you can do them in any aerobic activity - biking, kayaking, etc. During the middle of your aerobic exercise, add several short bursts of intensity by going faster or increasing the resistance. Don't try to go as fast or as hard as you can. Just go fast enough so that after 20-40 seconds you are breathing harder.The real secret to increasing fitness with wind sprints is what you do AFTER the sprint. You must force your body to recuperate while it is still under stress! To get the maximum benefit from your sprint, you've got to return to the speed you were going prior to the sprint. Do not stop or go slower than pre-sprint speed. After you have recovered from the sprint, repeat this sprint/recover cycle. You can eventually add up to 5-10 sprints per workout. Here's a bonus: when you add sprints to your workout you can shorten the total exercise time. http://www.healthcentral.com/fitorfat/408/81076.html

The cramp in your quad could have been anything you suggested. See the other recent post about leg cramps.