The next Exposure cycle will feature strength biasing and if you have followed me through the years that means we hit the pavement… fast. Sprinting is part of my fall exposure cycle because of its benefits from strength and coordination. As much as we love to clang and bang all winter, there is some serious neurological-muscular development that needs to happen that will keep us adapting as optimal human beings. But there is a reason why you dont like to sprint… it Frickin hurts! To level up as an athlete you need to understand that there is a big difference between running fast and sprinting. Lets dive in.
Lets cover the benefits of sprinting, because even if you are cursing me right now… maybe I can sell it to your logical sense.
Fat Burning;
Strength training has been proven to burn more calories than any other cardio method out there. Pushing weight, holding weight, and pulling weight place demands on the metabolic system akin to starvation. After thoughtful sets of squats or cleans, your muscles are searching for any and all nutrients/calories. This consumption of calories through muscle development helps to lean the body out, create greater muscle density, and of course build muscle fiber. SPRINTING does the same thing. Just as squatting is a full body functional exercise, so is sprinting. Just as the olympic lifts demand balance and coordination, so does sprinting. And just as a max set of pull ups demands maximal effort, so does sprinting. And with all those demands, there goes the fat.
Optimizing Athleticism;
I take great care in making sure my athletes are properly stimulated for a sprinting session. The reasoning is that in very few efforts, your body is about to be pushed to its absolute limits not only physically, but mentally. To Use the Squatting analogy again, you know that when the weight starts to crush you at the bottom and you stall out, you can just dump the weight. This is an objective limit to your ability. Sprinting is purely subjective. Unless you have me observing you , (and I have a few keen eye) there is no-one that will say.. “Give me another 10% effort” . No-one knows just how fast you can run except YOU!!. The mental strength to not only warm up properly but also to be HONEST about pushing to your MAXIMAL POTENTIAL during an interval digs into what it truly means to be an athlete.
Sprint Training Boosts Cognitive Health:
Check out this LINK and the many more like it from Peer reviewed sources. Just as my sprinting warm up is a gradual dynamic system, so is the development of the BRAIN/BODY connection. Sprinting involves every system of the body, especially the mind. Because speed happens… well pretty damn fast… your brain needs to make calculations with amazing speed and actually has been shown to anticipate certain changes in body position and balance! The mind is incredible. Wen compared to other training modalities like isometric or single joint exercise routines, as well as your basic ‘Cardio’ programs, Sprinting requires the seen and unseen to be activated producing more neuromuscular recruitment. This translates into POST WORKOUT COGNITIVE BENEFITS. For the rest of the day your brain will be firing at an incredible rate. Eyesight will be sharper, thoughts clearer, reactions faster. And sleep… better. I promise that.
Sprinting Develops CORE Strength:
By now, you understand that getting not only a rock hard core but also a functional one is going to take much more than just sit ups. We need to push our Trunk to fight rotation and Sprinting does just that. Now I dont want to pick on the casual 5k runner but I challenge you to watch folks run next time you are out there. Sloppy form originates in an unsupported core. You will see tons of trunk rotation which is exemplified by arm swing that is completely out of control. Running ‘loosy-goosey’ like that means the hips are off balance and when the hips are off balance the feet strike the ground wrong…. and BAM…. you have knee and ankle issues…. You see where im going with this. Sprint Training will have you waking up in the morning in pain. Not in the legs so much as in the Stomach and Core. In only 100m at top speed, your core has to fight VERY HARD to keep everything in alignment or else you will literally fall over. If you are any sort of functional human, you want a strong core. Embrace the Sprint intervals and you will get what you work for!
Start slow and use my progressions. I do not expect everyone to back squat 400# on the first day of a cycle, and I dont expect you to be able to do 5X 100m either. We will begin the Exposure cycle with some middle distance sprints and variable recovery times. As with other cycles I will challenge you to quantify your recovery times, and also take some subjective notes on how well your recovery feels jumping between sprint days and normal training workouts.
I can’t wait to see you all make substantial change in your athleticism and health. I believe that you can find the extra gear and develop some incredible speed. Push hard through the burning muscles and come out of it a better human! I LOVE YOU ALL.
Eric
Programming Notes 10/15-10/19 **This is week 8 (last week) of the Unilateral/ Adductor Exposure cycle. We have now developed the strength and ability to hold our hips in the correct position. Hopefully you have noticed a better balance about the hip from Left to Right. We will do a dynamic ‘Depth Jump” On Monday and a final strength exposure on Friday. Mixed in a re some benchmark workouts and very valuable core work that is going to help us jump into the next cycle which will include strength development in the deadlift. Enjoy and train safe.
10/15
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
PVC Mobility:
Pass Thru
Trunk Twist
Sots Press
Overhead Squat
Snatch Balance
WOD:
“Nancy”
5X
400M Run
15 Overhead Squat 95/65
10/16
Baseline:
2X
30 High Knees
30 Hip Touches
30Butt Kickers
30 Squat Therapy
30 Jumping Pull Ups
*Spend 6 mins working the pull up modifications
-banded
-australian pull ups
-ring rows
-kipping
WOD:
“Cindy”
20 Min AMRAP
5 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
15 Air Squats
Cool Down:
Couch Stretch
Pigeon Stretch
Plank Hold 2:00
10/17
Baseline:
10@ Each W/ light KB
-KB Halos
-KB Press
-KB Windmills
-KB Goblet Good Mornings
-KB Russian Twist
-KB Sit Up
-KB Squat
-KB Side Lunge
KB Toe Touches X 30
Lunge Flow:
-Ankle Roll Outs
-Hamstring Pulses
-elbow to instep + reach
-samson lunge+ Stretch
-Pigeon Stretch
Skill Development:
3 Rounds Not For Time
200m Single Arm Overhead KB Carry
:40 Stone Cradle Hold
:40 Plank Hold On Rings
12 min AMRAP
8 DBL KB Squat Clean
16 DBL KB Lunge
32 Cal Bike
10/18
Baseline:
:40 @ Each :20 Rest X 2 Rounds
-Jump Rope Singles
- Plank Rotations
-Deadbug Ipsalateral Reaches
-Ring Row
Shoulder Primer:
W/ Light Dumbbells 5-15#
20 Reverse Flys
20 Bent Scare Crows
20 See-Saw Press
20 Front Raises
20 Lateral Raises
Gymnastic Skill Development:
15 MIN EMOM
A- :20 Ring SUpport Top
B- :20 Ring Support Bottom
C; 10 Low Ring Muscle Up Pull Through
D; Full Rest
E- 8 Hips To Rings Pull Up // Or 5-8 Ring Muscle Ups
WOD:
12-9-6-3
Stone To Shoulder
Burpee
2X Double Unders
10/19
Baseline:
Run 400m
3X
10 Barbell Good Mornings
10 Barbell Bent Row
10 Sit Ups
Run 400m
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
Unilateral Strength:
3X5 Each Leg
Bulgarian Split Squat
WOD:
4X 3:00 AMRAP
8 Sumo Deadlift 275/205
8 Chest TO Bar Pull Up
8 V Ups
Rest 1:00 Between Rounds
