Do This! Not That! - First Installment: Sprinting V.S. Distance Running

We've all seen them. They're the ones who have been a member of the gym for who knows how many years, but never seem to make any progress. They come in, smile at the front desk, then go right to work slogging away on the treadmill. 3-5 miles later, they get off, wipe down their machine, and leave.

The dedication is quite clearly there. If only they had the right information to go with that dedication. Here's the real deal about cardio:

Running (I'll be using this as a blanket term here, to differentiate it from sprinting) seems to have become part of our culture. We see them all the time: joggers, runners, marathoners...and it works for many of them, to a point.

Here's the problem though:

1. They're setting themselves up for long-term injury. Hours upon hours of moving the same way, at the same or similar pace, pounding and pounding away at the ground causes long-term overuse injuries. If you do the same thing too often, no matter what it is, you risk injuring yourself from...well...just doing it too often. Tennis elbow is a perfect, and very well-known, example.

2. Running suppresses hormones such as growth hormone and testosterone, which regulate muscle preservation. On top of that, running more than a couple miles every great once in a while depletes glycogen in the muscles and (since there is no way to nosh a ton of carbs on a run), therefore, begins to cannibalize the muscles for energy. Which leads us to...

3. Running makes you hungry. Because of the depletion of glycogen stores, your body tells you it wants more carbs. So you get home and eat a bowl of pasta. Pasta goes into your stomach, digestion begins, and those carbs turn into glucose and go straight into your bloodstream. Insulin comes rushing in and takes care of all that glucose, but with so much glucose at one time more insulin is secreted than glucose for it to act on, leaving an excess of insulin in the bloodstream. All the while your energy levels feel like a roller coaster.

4. Running just isn't that fun. Especially for me. I just recently ran a mile and a half for my VO2 max assessment, and it was the worst experience I've had since my last one some 2 1/2 or so years ago.

Now, let's shift gears a bit here. Let's do a little comparison. Here is a nice little comparison picture of a marathoner versus an Olympic sprinter. Notice the marathoner's emaciated body, compared to the rippedness (yes, it's a word, or at least it is now...it is my blog, after all!) of the sprinter. Which would you rather look like?

Ladies, this one is for you!

So, here they are! The many benefits of sprinting!

1. Sprinting activates the metabolism and turns it into a fat incinerator.

2. Sprinting doesn't deplete glycogen to the point where you feel like you NEED carbs after your workout and, therefore, your body also doesn't cannibalize your muscles for energy.

3. Sprinting is a positive stressor on the Central Nervous System, stimulating muscle maintenance and growth.

4. Sprinting regulates hormone balance in both men and women. It releases growth hormone and regulates testosterone (men) and estrogen (women).

5. We were all evolved to respond to a threat by either fighting back or, more likely, run as fast as humanly possible. Not jog away.

All in all, I wholeheartedly believe sprinting is better for you. Of course, running does work for many people. If it works for you, more power to ya! It doesn't work for me, though. I get just as much cardio from my sprint sessions as I would spending over double the time running. Just something for you to think about =].

For more information on sprinting, check out these sites:

Mark's Daily Apple - by Mark Sisson
Health & Fitness Solutions - by Michael Paladin
That Paleo Guy - by Jamie Scott (also source of male sprinter/marathoner image)
Motor City Crossfit (source of female sprinter/marathoner image)