Train Like a Sprinter and Get Ripped

They call him the fastest man on earth. A five time world champion, and four time Olympic gold medalist, Usain Bolt has conquered the Olympic stage once again, blazing the 100m Mens final for a time of 9.63 seconds, WOW! That is fast.

Usain Bolt is not only the fastest man on the planet, but him and other elite sprinters are surely a perfect example of what it looks like to be shredded in body fat.

So I saw the perfect opportunity after watching the 100m Men's final to explain why sprinters are one of the leanest people in the world with body's to die for! And how everyday people including me personally can adopt similar training styles into there fat loss program to brake plateaus and reach new heights with there bodies.

Why do sprinters have amazing bodies?

If you compare a sprinter to a marathon runner, sprinters not only have low overall body fat levels, but they have a considerable amount of lean, healthy, muscle tissue. Yet most marathon runners seem to look like they're deteriorating from the inside out. Marathon runners also seem to carry more body fat, especially around the midsection of the body. How can this be?

I mean you would think marathon runners would have the best bodies as they put in more work during there active sport, killing themselves with long bouts of continuous activity, and sprinters only have short bursts of activity lasting from 10 to 30 seconds. Well let me explain something, bursts of activity at near maximal output has a completely different metabolic response than long duration activity at low intensities.

Here's how it works

Because marathon and long distance runners are under non-stop activity for long bouts at a time, the body goes through a very potent stress reaction called the ‘fight or flight' response. I have mentioned this in many health and wellness blog articles, explaining that people who engage in a lot of low intensity aerobic training at the gym, such as cardio classes, jogging on the treadmill, and riding the elliptical bikes, are constantly firing this survival response at a low grade. From here the body is very quick to catabalise (break-down) lean muscle tissue and hold onto fat as the body thinks it's in ‘danger'. That's why a lot of people who do aerobic training think they're losing weight when actually they are losing muscle. That's why marathon and long distance runners look like stick figures. They may look skinny, but really there are just depleted in muscle mass, which by the way is not a good thing!

Yet if you take a look at a sprinters body composition, it tells quite a different story.

Sprinters and burst runners are shredded as hell, but they also have good looking muscle. This is because they do not put their bodies under long bouts of stressful activity, and in-return they dodge the fight or flight response, holding onto muscle and burning fat instead of the other way around.

Sprint and burst training also raises the body's oxygen debt post exercise. This response is called EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption). The EPOC reaction causes the body to burn up calories post exercise like an inferno eating up anything in its path. Sprinters and short distance runners literally eat up fat while they're sleeping!

Here are a few other reasons why sprinters have some of the leanest and best looking body's in the world.

• Sprinters and short distance runners have a much healthier hormonal profile that favors continuous fat burning compared to aerobic and long distance runners. Sprinters have much higher levels of testosterone, growth hormone, IGF-1, and glucagon, which all contribute exclusively to fat burning.
• Sprinters do not engage in long distance activity as it will actually make them considerably slower. That's because long distance running trains the slower type 1 muscle fibers, while wasting away the valuable and athletic type 2-B muscle fibers.
• Sprinters also do a more considerable amount of weight training compared to aerobic junkies, further positioning their body for sustained fat burning. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn!
• Sprinters have a much better cortisol-testosterone ratio compared to marathon and long distance runners. This allows them to recover from exercise much quicker, build and retain much more muscle, have a better sex life, have a stronger immune system, and avoid prolonged stress that is brought about during long distance running.

How do I train like a sprinter?

Now I certainly do not expect everyone to jump on the 100m track and start sprinting like a madman (although if you feel that you're fit and athletic enough to engage in track sprinting, do it!) but you can engage in short bouts of high intensity running on the treadmill. You can refer to this training as the ever so popular high-intensity-interval-training. It's quite simple. But remember, before you engage in any sort of vigorous exercise program; consult a physician to be safe.

High intensity interval training sample

This is a simple interval training sample for people who are just starting. But you can always adjust the difficulty by increasing the speed of your running, how long you run for, and shortening your rest periods in between.

1. Warm up (either with mobility work or bodyweight exercises)
2. Jump on a treadmill and engage in the following.
3. 30 sec running at near maximal speed-45 to 60 sec rest (jump to the side of the treadmill and wait till the rest period is up, then jump back on the treadmill)

Alternate between the 30 seconds of running with 45-60 seconds rest. If you're a beginner, start with 60 seconds rest, and to make it more difficult, shorten your rest period to 45 seconds, then eventually 30 seconds.