OT: Sprints - 8th Time Lucky

Just a sprint report:

That activity that seems sooo torturous can actually begin to feel good. After 6 sessions of trackwork and 2 sessions on the stationary bike, the sprints are still torturous, but 30 seconds later, I'm fine. Just a word of encouragement for anyone, like CF who also might be dabbling in HIIT or other interval work...

Dave

Dave, Is going better for me as well!  But it's taken some time... 3rd sprint session earlier in the week did not go well.  The first couple of sessions resulted in muscle soreness like I've never experienced before...plain and simple, my body was totally pi$$ed off at me!  My quads, gluts and groin we're screaming in agony...it hurt to sit, hurt to stand, hurt to lay down!    UGH!   Fast forward to yesterday...after full body and heavy leg work in the weight room, I did my sprints (8-100's) on the track...started slow, accelerating through first 25 yards and full-sprint the last 75 yards.  Then a slow jog back to start  with rest/stretch for 2 minutes and then repeated.   Now I don't know if what I'm doing is according to the gospel you're following Dave, but it's intense!  And the pump left over in the legs is long-lasting.  The first few sprints I was a little tight but in the final five I managed to loosen up, abe to stretch my legs out and lengthen my stride.   I'm going to keep working on this...if the burn and pump are any indicator of the results, I do believe it's going to be time well invested. Thanks Dave for the tips on this! Cards Fan "No More Excuses!  There is no tommorow!  The time is now!"

Hi CF,

It is intense, isn't it? Downright painful the first week.

There are all kinds of interval programs designed to get you close to your max on at least one of the intervals therein. One favorite, that is close to what I have been following is 30 seconds full effort, followed by 2-3 minutes of jogging (below aerobic range, if possible). Continuing exercise in between (as opposed to stopping or walking) is supposed to better clear lactic acid and prepare for the next 30 second interval.

I might actually double the sprint time one day, or maybe  shorten the rest time to only one minute another, just to try and access a variety of energy systems, but haven't decided yet.

Fortunately, at the end of the second week, this intense cardio doesn't feel any worse for the joints than long, slow cardio. Since the exertion time is relatively short, I think they say foot and leg impact are considerably less with HIIT. Then, if you do it on a bike, it's virtually impact free.

Best Wishes,

Dave