How does one do sprinting? I am not for sure how to do that or how long to sprint then rest, sprint then rest.  If you wouldn't mind to give me yoru opinion I would so appreciate it. 

Hi Cristin: First let's be clear about what fitness pros are talking about when they bring up 'sprint' training: most of them are talking about interval training, a style of workout (not unlike strength training) that involves short periods of max-effort work alternated with set rest periods.

Although running 200 meter repeats at your local track, for example, is an excellent application of interval training, you don't have to run at all to achieve all the benefits of sprint training. You can swim, bike, climb, run obstacle courses, use an Elliptical trainer, run stadiums, skip rope, do strength-training circuits with barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells, or do any activity that allows you to work at or near your maximum effort for a controlled period (so golf, tennis, and gardening wouldn't work as well.)

Essentially, sprint workouts have been getting press over the last ten years or so because they torch fat: it's been proven that alternating periods of short, intense effort (like running uphill at full tilt) with periods of lower effort (or even full rest) is actually much more time-effective than your typical steady-state, half-hour jog around the neighborhood when it comes to burning fat.

Basically that's because your metabolism stays elevated for an extended period (sometimes up to two days!) following a sprint workout (this is called "EPOC" or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), whereas it falls back to normal shortly after a steady-state workout.

There's also some indication that long, slow distance workouts (called LSD by endurance athletes) may be catabolic--meaning that they cost you precious muscle tissue--and that sprint workouts, due to their brevity and intensity, may actually help build muscle. I don't put too much stock in this, but as a loose example you can check out the very muscular physiques of sprinters as compared to the lean, waiflike appearance of distance runners.

I've been guilty in the past of making the leap that sprinting is therefore muscle-building and that long-distance running is muscle-wasting, but the only real conclusion you can safely draw is that sprinting probably doesn't cause muscle loss and that long-distance running probably doesn't promote muscle gain.

Functionally speaking, I like sprints because they feel more 'lifelike'--more applicable to sport and to any possible emergency that is likely to arise in life. I feel great after sprinting, whereas I usually feel pretty beat up after a long run. The workouts are over quickly, and you can progress them fairly easily (increase repetitions, grade of incline, weight of kettlebells, distance covered in a given time interval). This is not true of LSD workouts, which require that you run further and further each time out--presumably until you're running or cycling or swimming all day, every day.

These workouts make a great complement to strength-training, in part because the maximal acceleration associated with sprinting activates the same high-threshold muscle units as intense strength training. It's also less likely that interval work interferes with muscle-building efforts the way that LSD training (some studies have indicated) can.

I like doing some kind of sprint work two or three times a week in addition to my work in the weight room. It helps with body composition, certainly, but I also think it improves general athleticism, particularly if you're able to incorporate a variety of full-speed upper- and lower-body movements, directional changes and/or climbing movements into the workouts.

Here's how to put together a garden-variety interval-training workout:

1) choose a modality, then

2) choose a work-rest interval and repetitions.

As ever, you want to choose your modality based on your goals: if you're concerned about lower-body strength and appearance, you might want to choose running or stair climbing or hill sprints; if you compete in a sport, you might consider an interval workout that resembles something you do on the playing field, like shuttle running or agility drills with cones. If you swim, bike, or run competitively, interval training will make you faster and stronger in races.

For general fitness, I'd suggest mixing it up: run one day, swim another, go to a park and design yourself a mini-agility/obstacle course on another. If you're not trying to master one particular sport, it's better to stay general and not focus in on one type of workout. You'll also stave off boredom (Jason Ferrugia has some great options here).

Finally, figure out your work/rest interval. Sport gurus will give you exacting numbers based on measures of VO2-max, target energy system, and so on, but I like to keep it pretty simple: generally speaking, rest twice as long as you work, and don't work for so long that you can't work at close to maximal effort the whole time. For most people, this means you don't work for more than a minute before taking a rest. So if you sprint for a minute, rest for two; if you go all-out for 30 seconds, rest for a minute, and so on.

This is a general rule: sometimes I do 30-second sprints up an ungodly hill in my neighborhood and I can't even contemplate doing it again for at least 90 seconds; conversely, I can often swim hard for 45 seconds or so and be ready to go out just as hard with just 15 seconds' rest. When I bike, the rest I require is somewhere in between. So the work-rest interval will depend in part on the activity you choose.

Once you've played around with sprint work for a few weeks, you might try reversing the work-rest ratio, running for 20 seconds, resting for ten, for instance (this particular interval is called the Tabata method, named for the Japanese exercise physiologist who researched and popularized it). This is an even more intense way of working; four minutes of 20-seconds-on, ten-seconds-off can be very, very tough, and some folks base their entire workout around these little four-minute work sessions.

Naturally, when you're starting out, go easy: four or 30-second sprints will tax just about anyone, and 8-10 is probably the upper limit. Once you find yourself hobbling, rather than working at maximum speed with maximum effort, you're probably cooked for the day.

Fair warning: this work can make you very sore if you jump into it too quickly. It's also not unusual to feel a little woozy or nauseated when you're first starting out. I recommend working up to no more than three sprint workouts a week, of a half-hour or less in duration.  And take a day off between sessions.

Have fun, and thanks for your question!

Andrew