Sprint To Your Ultimate Body

@Neil –
Interval training has been core to swimming competition training for very many years. It gives good results.

I think that Joel’s 20 seconds immense-output-on, 40s-off will make this hard to do in a pool. Also think it is incautious to try and get near max output in a sport that requires high coordination levels, you will stuff your stroke and learn to do this well.

If you have not interval trained in any way then go for it. You will see big improvements in fitness now matter how you approach this.

General comment: If you want to use Joel’s flat-out intervals then it may not fit in well with sports-specific training because of the intensity. Suggest finding other ways to get this down then integrate it back into your main training.

(Joel, this meant as supplementary info and not criticism. So time for me to go find if these OTT intensity intervals do me some good. :) )

I have found that doing my intervals on a bike really helped me to push the top end of the interval and it adjusts so much faster than the treadmill.

I don’t mean to be greedy but at 45 years old everytime I sprint I have pain in the lower glutes leven after stretching before and after. Maybe I need to be doing specific stretches? Could you include a complete warmup and cooldown? Or at least recommend a book on sprinting that would cover these stretches and specific warmups?

Hi Joel!
This is a good way to do cardio exercise. It seems to be a fun way to do cardio and get good shape.
I wish I saw your metabolic resistance training to combine with this interval training and looking for a better shape and health.
I practice Martial Arts, Swimming and Weight-lifting, perhaps you could help me to combine these activities with your trainings to get better results.
See you later!

Joel,

I have seen some say that they feel as if they do both lifting and interval training they achieve no results or negative results…..would you suggest only doing this 3 times a week max? Is it okay to do this on the same day which i lift? (i lift 4 times a week, i would do this in the morning, recover during the day, and then lift at night)

Thanks!

Hey Joel. Great info as always. Love HIIT. Been using it for several years. One additional thought for those who may not be up for the pounding that can result on the body from sprinting (especially running) — which can be tough on the knees, shins, back, etc. You can also simply increase the resistance of the exercise you are doing in order to achieve the target HR (RPE) for the given interval (even if speed of exercise remains the same). For some, walking may be more than adequate to achieve the desired results, as long as the incline is sufficient to achieve the desired amount of work during the interval. It should all be geared off of the HR and RPE. As you get stronger, you will need to push harder but something for folks to keep in mind who may be intimidated by all out sprinting or simply not in a position to handle the stress on the body.

Also, mixing up the interval ratios is great as you suggest, but you can also adjust the time within the same interval ratio. So even if doing 1:1, it can be very different doing for example 30 second intervals with 30 second recovery, than 2 minute intervals with 2 minute recovery. 2 minutes never seemed so long when doing them right! But what a great feeling.

Look forward to receiving the MRT report.

Jason

@Wesley –

I believe this is, as the forward paragraph indicated, the “build-up” to sprint shape. The slowly increasing, low intensity cardio is to condition the body before beginning the actual sprinting. Doing sprints, unless you’re <20 years of age, is quasi-traumatic due to the maximal intensity and full range of motion/use of both hip flexors/extensors and everything in between. Going straight into sprints is a recipe for injury and, voila’, the end of HIIT. So recap: before sprinting, unless you’re already in sprinting shape, build-up gradually by the three week steady-state and increasing intensity training. Then try sprinting.

@Joel Marion –
You gotta be joking? … So, err no? Hmmm, time to go get this dialed then. :)

OK. Makes shedloads of sense for both fitness and also (aka similar) calorie hammering. No recommended source of bravery supplements then?

Well Joel, you’ve done it again!!! It’s Mothers Day and I wasn’t going to exercise…but now I think I’ll get on my elliptical for a bit! lol

Thank you so much!

I much prefer intervals to anything else. BAM finished, its not that it is easy, in fact its brutally hard but you can get in get a good workout get out and have a life. Thanks for the post.

Originally Posted By Clayton@Wesley Hey Wesley,

Pretty sure Bob is on the money here from Joel’s introduction where he says is you are not in sprinting shape you can build your level of fitness by using the program he has outlined. This is to build a good platform of general cardiovascular fitness to then take it to the next level.

Weeks 5-7 then involve interval training/HIIT. Again, you can use ANY interval time period here, alternating between fast/slow or sprint/rest, etc. Could be 10/10, 20/20, 30/30 or whatever you like.

If you are just keen to get into it, you could try something like this:

Start with a 5 minute steady state warmup that is around 60-70% of maximum effort and then perform the following invervals; I will use the elliptical trainer and LifeFitness as an example as they are pretty unviversally used just for illustration purposes:

- 30 seconds fast/30 seconds recovery (fast is pretty close to flat out, recovery is slow!)
- repeat for 5 minutes in total
- cool down for 1-2 minutes letting the heart rate return to close to normal

Now, this is only ONE way and as you get fitter, go for a little longer. Week 1 do the same thing, Week 2 make it 6 Minutes of intervals, Week 3 7 Minutes, etc. up to around 15-20 minutes tops for the intervals, anymore and you will be stuffed as it’s pretty tough work.

When that all gets too easy, start increasing the level. I use this method all the time rather than going for ages, just up the level so the 10 minutes of intervals are pretty hard.

Joel is just giving you some examples. Feel free to make up your own and customise them to suit and record your progress. You will see results pretty quickly with consistent effort.

Hope that makes sense mate.

Regards, Clayton
Personal Trainer | Adelaide, Australia

Thanks Clayton! These were great tips as well!

awesome!
i do hill-sprints since january – it’s great
20 hill-sprints are very tuff, but it works!

Joel,

Thanks for this info. I have been wanting to institute intervals for a while now but never quite understood how to go about doing it. This post is great!

I do have one question. I have limited resources ($$), no access to equipment or a pool and I can’t run outdoors this time of year b/c of allergies. Of your list of other acceptable modes, jumping rope is the only I can do…any other suggestions for someone in my situation? Thanks!

Joel, thanks for the great posts!
Regarding the posted interval training routine, can this be used as replacement to the MIT program you outline in the CYWT manual? The MIT in the manual is required 3 / week and is a total of 18 min., 2 min. hard/2 min. light intervals.
The above sprint routine is an ADDITION to that or can it be a SUBSTITUTE?
Please clarify….
Thank you!

@Duke –
Testing my views on the forum here:
Use the intervals to burn off body fat and use the weights to stimulate lean muscle growth (and also nutrition is fundamental to both).

The problem here is recovery times and the interrelationship from these two activities. Do hard intervals and you can’t keep the lifting plan in shape, go lift hard and you can’t do intervals of any worth. Think the problem is that many people just like to train too often. You have to use effective training methods and figure out what works for you…. (and it will very likely change over time).
Vague answer then.

Think if you add heavy intervals to a serious weights program you need to cut the weights back but you should see at least better body composition as a result, and are likely to see a lot more. Adding a new component to training means you have to do some integration and if you train hard then your original program needs some mods.

Thanks Joel, I’m looking forward to trying it tomorrow in the pool or on my bike..sprinting itself is no good for my knees, sadly! I hope after a month I can write and say: Wow! It’s working!

Joel. I am following your comments with interest, particularly with respect to interval training. I have recently discovered Tabata interval training, and have used it in my weight training. What are your thoughts on Tabata interval training and its application to resistance training?

@Rachel – Hi Rachel, Turbulence-Training—->>>>continuous motion. Is so much more enlightening(!!) LOL I hope more people than not read your offering. Good program to say so.

Quick question!I noticed last time I watched the Olympics that the women marathon runners were SOOO Thin and the women sprinters had HUGE legs. I understand we’re not training for the Olympics here but I like shape , not bulk.Just Got weird for a second and could you clarify? Just want to TORCH calories in the most efficient way possible to burn off the layer and reveal a lean,athletic bod. Thanks so much for your expertise!! Angela

@Rachel –
Good post, Excellent training. It is impossible that you are not seeing superb fitness results. Love the anti-indoors commitment too :)

@misledtoe –
Thanks for finally helping get my head around the ‘turbulence’ perspective.
I’d say that Rachel’s post should be obligatory reading both from approach and motivation standpoints (just to add a little weight to your understatement :) ).

Originally Posted By AngelaQuick question!I noticed last time I watched the Olympics that the women marathon runners were SOOO Thin and the women sprinters had HUGE legs. I understand we’re not training for the Olympics here but I like shape , not bulk.Just Got weird for a second and could you clarify? Just want to TORCH calories in the most efficient way possible to burn off the layer and reveal a lean,athletic bod. Thanks so much for your expertise!! Angela

HAHA! Don’t worry, you’re not going to develop legs like Olympic sprinters from doing a few sprints! They train with very heavy weights to get legs like that (A LOT heavier than the “average” persons poundages – upto 3 times their bodyweight if I remember correctly)!
They may also be taking the likes of HGH, etc, however they may not be as well so I’m not really going to comment on that.

Just remember, this isn’t going to give you massive leg muscles (hence the reason you hardly every see any “traditional bodybuilders” doing it).
;)

Originally Posted By Joel Marion

Originally Posted By JulianHey Joel… It’s really the best way to start the day. Turning on the computer to check the new info you just sent to our mail.. great :)
I’m not working out dieting atm, i can’t really find the time for it and so on (yeah excuses, there is enough of them :P) but i will in arround Ã�½ a year or something like that move out and live for myself (i live with my parents atm, that makes it hard for me to follow the diet (yeah, more excuses) )
But i’ll gather information and be 110% ready to start dieting, lifting weights, HIITs and so on, so that’s why i write now :)

I’m not the kind of guy who likes to run, i kinda hate it… I can’t get myself out running without there’s like a ball or something infront of me, but i like jumping ropes…
And that’s what my question is all about.. Do there exist some kinda “Jumpin Ropes Exercise Guides” or something like that… Would love to know..

Thanks alot for all the effort you’ve put into this, keep it up – great work ;)

Regards Julian.

Thanks, Julian!!

You’re very welcome, pretty much me who thanks.. But it didn’t really answered my question mate :D

@Angela –
Hi Angela,
I’m not a trainer but I encourage all the girls I know to get involved in kettlebell training. Immediately I am faced with your questions.

Girls have subcutaneous fat as part of their makeup; this is what makes them curvy (…as a wannabe alpha male, well no problem here). Lean guys look muscular because than can strip body fat to a much lower level. Girls can carry a lot of muscle and it enhances shapely form if they keep body fat to around 12% (lower can be dangerous anyway). Muscle is well good as just maintaining it burns off body fat reserves.

The endurance specialists you have seen have high cardio capability but low muscle. Some people are naturally inclined this way. Fortunately Joel’s interval sets here will do more than a fair bit to redress that (combined with diet.)

The powerful sprint runners do not get that way by accident. Both male and female athletes work harder than you or I could ever envision to develop that physique. If you accidentally get there then you are unique (…do let us know though. :) ).
Because of body physiology people with a natural inclination to this type of makeup also naturally store body fat. I’m sure that it is the bane of their lives, and no training means a fat surplus problem.

All changes to physique are not that instant. If you watch what is happening then you can adjust things in both training and diet. The trick is to learn how
to train well and how nutrition affects you then you can modify things. Seriously doubt that you will need to though., this is more the domain of competition figure athletes and other specialisms.

So just go enjoy the training is my advice.

@Bob – Rachel, I, & yourself are I would say, obviously athletes/former athletes as well. Who value economy of motion primarily leading toward optimal end—>>results. Glad to hear from you. Thanks for your committment in knowing the effective difference Quality C.M. training delivers. Good on all your attainable goals. :)

Hey Joel,
Thanks for the new information. This is right up my ally. Thanks to Sean and Clayton for helping to explain things, too. That’s what I love about this site. I have a little bite of a problem. My wife and I love to walk together. We do a little joging, but not much. I want to start this workout, but there’s no way my wife will be able to keep up with me. Would it be too much for me to do my workout and wait a bit and walk fast with her (20/25 minutes.) I could walk with my wife and do the Interval training after. Any suggestions???? (If I’m not the only one with this problem. :>) Thanks!!!

very good idea i theory and the science is deffinetley there but I have to disagree slightly… When Itrain my clients I also do the Sprint/Rest workouts with the clients that can. Butwhat we are discussig really here is the Tabata Method so this is in no way a new concept… but at the sme time even in great conditioning such as world class sprinters are… it is nearly if not impossible to do these kind of sprints if all out effort is being put into them now maybe if one is only using 70% or so this would be possible but not withall out effort at a 20 second SPRINT and a 10 secod REST

hey Joel, thanks a lot for this article. I will start interval training tomorrow after my weight training. I was just looking to cut some time off of my workouts too! Perfect. ^^

@Wesley – No problem mate
@Jo – Glad to help
@Climmy – Thanks for the comment
@Bob – All good man, you pretty much had it covered.

Just to give you guys another example of how you can use MRT; use it for body part training also. This is similar to more traditional bodybuilding style workouts which is pretty much what a large number of people in gyms are doing, many ineffectively.

So instead of doing Chest and Shoulders for example and doing 3-4 exercises per body part and being sore for 2-4 days, here is a workout that I did this morning based on MRT/circuit style training:

1. Pushups – 12 Reps
2. Unassisted Dips for chest (just means you are leaning slightly forward) – 12 Reps
3. Dumbbell Chest Press 15kg – 12 Reps
4. One Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press 10kg – 10 Reps each side

All done back to back, no rest, but resting just enough to get your breath back and then repeat for 3 sets in total. This might only take 10-15 minutes but it can be tough if you are pushing it. You can use this format with any body part groups. Make up your own combination’s to suit your style.

Regards, Clayton
Personal Trainer | Adelaide, Australia

Excellent information here! I’ve personally been doing both interval and metabolic resistance training for several years now. I generally keep my body fat percentage between 8-11% because of the afterburn effect. I am also a personal trainer and elite martial artist that has been training my clients in these forms of exercise. Nothing works better. Plain and simple. You beat me to the punch in publishing this type of material on your website. I am in the process of doing the same. One quick thought for you to add a nice feature to your website is to make these article printable without having to print all the other stuff on the screen like the comments and advertisements. I think the information is worth printing for some folks and I know that personally when I print an article from the web I like to be able to just print the article and not all the other stuff on the screen. Good luck and take care.

How do you know if you are training at a certain % of your APMHR?

I already do intervals, a minute on, a minute off, usually on the elliptical BC I feel its harder than running. That being said, other than my strength training, this is all the cardio I do, BC I’ve been told steady state cardio is next to worthless and a time waster. Do you feel intervals only for cardio is ok or should it be in addition to or mixed in w some slow, steady state cardio? Thanks!

Hi Joel. Just wondered if you had any thoughts / information on GXP ( Graded Excercise Protocol) which is short and sweet like intervals but generally comprises a 3 minute warm up, 3 minutes of intense then 3 minutes cool down. I am using this right after weight training 3 days a week. I also add in extra days of standard interval training if I feel the need.

Cheers – James