Interval sprints (Running)

[gb155]

Yesterday, I went to the gym at lunch.

I ran interval sprints on the treadmill:

12.0 Speed

60 Seconds running

30 Seconds rest

.........Repeated the above the 10 times

After the 8th sprint.........I couldn't feel my legs.......Its a great cure for Happiness ...But.....

......How effective is the above for weight loss ? ( I Must add that before I did the above I ran 3k)

 

[jimboalee]

Running is effective for weight loss as it burns calories.

Don't eat anything in compensation.

Running tones the leg flexors and abs, with the obliques and spine providing rigidity. ie great for the midfiff.

Running also gets the bowels moving.

Performing sprints awakens the upper quads and shifts calories quicker.

Do some arm swinging with it.

Land your feet directly below your centre of gravity.

Put about 1.5 % gradient on the treadmill to simulate windage.

Achilles are worked too, so stretch hams, quads and calfs before and after.

 

[gb155]

Running is effective for weight loss as it burns calories.

Good News....

Don't eat anything in compensation.

I wont, theres no issues there mate

Running tones the leg flexors and abs, with the obliques and spine providing rigidity. ie great for the midfiff.

Running also gets the bowels moving.

Performing sprints awakens the upper quads and shifts calories quicker.

Do some arm swinging with it.

May I ask, what is the reason for that ?

Land your feet directly below your centre of gravity.

Put about 1.5 % gradient on the treadmill to simulate windage.

I had it on 1.0 %...As I get better i'll go higher

Achilles are worked too, so stretch hams, quads and calfs before and after.

Do you have a link to info for the best stretches to do mate ? Its the one area I am always lacking in....

I knew I could rely on you Jim mate, Thanks very much.

Gaz

 

[jimboalee]

I knew I could rely on you Jim mate, Thanks very much.

Gaz

Armswinging ( you will eventually be carrying a water bottle in each hand ) brings the Delts, Lats, Traps and Pecs into use. More energy used, more calories burned.

With some weight in the hands, the forearms and biceps are exercised.

 

[jimboalee]

With the treadmill at an incline of 2% or above, each stride is lifting the entire weight of your body upwards toward the top of the rubber belt.

When the incline gets to about 3%, there is more calorific expenditure CLIMBING than running. ie, the cals/min effectively doubles compared with running with a 0% incline.

8 km on a 0% incline might be 7 kcals/min, where 8km up a 3% incline might be 14 kCals/min.

Walking ( 5 kmh ) at a 15% incline beats running at 8 kmh on a 3% incline, but DON'T hang on the rails. This crucifies the Calfs, Glutes, and lower back.

 

[jimboalee]

When you get confident with sprinting on a treadmill and the sprint speed goes up, position a Crash Mat behind the machine.

One twinge of a leg muscle and you're mincemeat on the machine behind you.

 

[gb155]

Thanks Again Jim...Very informative indeed.

So , If I am limited to 45 mins, is the plan of Jogging 3k (More as I get faster of course)

and then 10 x 60 seconds sprints with 30 seconds rest .....a good weight loss plan ?


PS. My warm up is a 2-3 mins brisk walk at 15%

 

[jimboalee]

Thanks Again Jim...Very informative indeed.

So , If I am limited to 45 mins, is the plan of Jogging 3k (More as I get faster of course)

and then 10 x 60 seconds sprints with 30 seconds rest .....a good weight loss plan ?


PS. My warm up is a 2-3 mins brisk walk at 15%

Is your 'jogging' 9.5 kmh?

"Jogging" is a term that was dreamed up a long time ago and to my recollection, was more of a description of how the belly moves while the exercise was taking place.

The more enlightened call a fast walk/slow run of 6 mph a "Speed march".
4 miles in 40 minutes with a 21 lb backpack and a piece of timber the shape and same weight as a SLR.

Sprints get the HR accelerated.

 

[darkstar]

I run hill interval sprints, it's awesome! I'd personally recommend getting outside and doing it though, as the muscles used to scale the various terrain whilst outside make a large difference. I'm not sure on the weight loss front, as I'm not clued up on that sort of thing (though i'd say it's bound to be good for weight loss), but it'll get you bloody fit!

 

[ColinJ]

Good stuff Gaz. I used to enjoy sessions like that on the treadmill but I can't run now because of a dodgy hip. It doesn't stop me walking or cycling though.

I've been doing a regular 'power-walk' from Hebden Bridge to the old village of Heptonstall up a steep hill.

It starts off at about 20%, kicks up to 25% for a couple of short stretches then eases off a bit. 160 m is gained in 1 km. I started off taking about 16 minutes for the ascent but I've got it down to 13 minutes now. That gets my pulse rate up and has me breathing hard. It's definitely making my legs stronger as well because I notice that I'm able to use higher gears on the bike despite not having done a lot of cycling recently.

 

[Rob3rt]

Yesterday, I went to the gym at lunch.

I ran interval sprints on the treadmill:

12.0 Speed

60 Seconds running

30 Seconds rest

.........Repeated the above the 10 times

After the 8th sprint.........I couldn't feel my legs.......Its a great cure for Happiness ...But.....

......How effective is the above for weight loss ? ( I Must add that before I did the above I ran 3k)

IMO, whilst many people like Jimbo will dazzle you with the science of calorie burning and tell you what muscles etc get brought into action by this and the other nuance of form, which is excellent, if not partly impractical for a newby to running.

I will offer a radical alternative opinion. You shouldnt bother with any sprint intervals at all right now. If you are new to running, the muscles and tendons used differ and/or are used differently in running than cycling and whilst your aerobic system may improve quickly, the tendons etc will not adjust at anywhere close to the same rate. Starting off running with sprint intervals, hill sprints etc is just asking for trouble.

Forget about your arms, bend them at rought 90 degree's at the elbow and let them swing naturally like a pendulum, the only thing you should really think about is making sure they do not cross your centre of gravity sideways whilst swinging.

Your plan is potentially a recipe for disaster if its done more than 1-2 times a week and not supplemented with other quality running sessions if I'm honest. 3km run followed by 10 x 60 second hill sprints, how many times a week are you planning on doing this? This is not a weight loss plan, its a middle distance runners speed session (As a side note: If I were going to do this session I'd run 1 mile warmup run, then do the sprint intervals, then 1 mile cooldown run, not run 3km then do an intense sprint interval workout as the closer).

I would suggest that you simply run at a comfortable pace 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes for couple of months (dont worry about speed, worry about your form and making sure you pick up good habits now so you dont have to unlearn bad form later, your speed will naturally increase over time but dont push for it) and increase your running distance by no more than 10% per week. You will still drop the pounds, maybe not as fast as with sprints, but at least you wont end up injured and unable to run for weeks/months and putting weight back on due to inactivity.


Also, consider popping down to one of your local parkruns for a no pressure 5km timed run, lots of friendly faces of all fitness levels from the nutcase finishing in less than 16 mins to the shufflers rolling in at 40+ minutes. There is a number of them around Manchester, every saturday morning. If you come to South Manchester (Platt Fields) I will be around doing the runner registration etc.

 

[jimboalee]

IMO, whilst many people like Jimbo will dazzle you with the science of calorie burning and tell you what muscles etc get brought into action by this and the other nuance of form, which is excellent, if not partly impractical for a newby to running.

I will offer a radical alternative opinion. You shouldnt bother with any sprint intervals at all right now. If you are new to running, the muscles and tendons used differ and/or are used differently in running than cycling and whilst your aerobic system may improve quickly, the tendons etc will not adjust at anywhere close to the same rate. Starting off running with sprint intervals, hill sprints etc is just asking for trouble.

Forget about your arms, bend them at rought 90 degree's at the elbow and let them swing naturally like a pendulum, the only thing you should really think about is making sure they do not cross your centre of gravity sideways whilst swinging.

Your plan is potentially a recipe for disaster if its done more than 1-2 times a week and not supplemented with other quality running sessions if I'm honest. 3km run followed by 10 x 60 second hill sprints, how many times a week are you planning on doing this? This is not a weight loss plan, its a middle distance runners speed session (As a side note: If I were going to do this session I'd run 1 mile warmup run, then do the sprint intervals, then 1 mile cooldown run, not run 3km then do an intense sprint interval workout as the closer).

I would suggest that you simply run at a comfortable pace 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes for couple of months (dont worry about speed, worry about your form and making sure you pick up good habits now so you dont have to unlearn bad form later, your speed will naturally increase over time but dont push for it) and increase your running distance by no more than 10% per week. You will still drop the pounds, maybe not as fast as with sprints, but at least you wont end up injured and unable to run for weeks/months and putting weight back on due to inactivity.


Also, consider popping down to one of your local parkruns for a no pressure 5km timed run, lots of friendly faces of all fitness levels from the nutcase finishing in less than 16 mins to the shufflers rolling in at 40+ minutes. There is a number of them around Manchester. If you come to South Manchester (Platt Fields) I will be around doing the runner registration etc.

I think you are underestimating Gaz's knowledge. He has lost 23 stone of bodyweight in three years. Three years is time enough to learn about exercising.
He's not a newbie to running.

His question was concerning sprint sessions and energy burn.
Of course he'll lose adipose if he works and doesn't put the energy back.

Carry on Gaz. Don't forget the crash mat.

BTW Gaz, did you get the letter about an M.B.E. ?

 

[Rob3rt]

I think you are underestimating Gaz's knowledge. He has lost 23 stone of bodyweight in three years. Three years is time enough to learn about exercising.
He's not a newbie to running.

His question was concerning sprint sessions and energy burn.
Of course he'll lose adipose if he works and doesn't put the energy back.

Carry on Gaz. Don't forget the crash mat.

BTW Gaz, did you get the letter about an M.B.E. ?

I know about Gaz's acheivements (I have commended him on the previously). However exercise knowledge for one sport differs to that of another. Good general knowledge and exceptional knowledge of one sport, doesnt mean that you are immune to making bad choices in another sport. However, I havent been around the forum for a while so I apologise if I have missed something regarding his running experience.

For people transitioning from sports such as swimming or cycling to running, whilst they may have exceptional aerobic fitness they often crumble to injury in a short few weeks/months. Being physically fit, doesnt mean that you can jump in at the deep end.

 

[jimboalee]

Yesterday, I went to the gym at lunch.

I ran interval sprints on the treadmill:

12.0 Speed

60 Seconds running

30 Seconds rest

.........Repeated the above the 10 times

After the 8th sprint.........I couldn't feel my legs.......Its a great cure for Happiness ...But.....

......How effective is the above for weight loss ? ( I Must add that before I did the above I ran 3k)

If that's 12.0 MPH, its a 2 hr 11 min Marathon pace, NOT 'sprinting'.

If its 12.0 KMH, its a 'Moderate run'.

If its 12.0 m/s, GOOD ON YA Gaz.

 

[Fiona N]

If it's 12 m/s we'll be seeing you giving Usain Bolt a run for his money