Speed Training for Fat Loss

I'm gonna start this article with a few pretty basic assumptions. The first is that, to at least to some extent, improving your body composition is one of your goals. Secondly, though you may compete from time to time, I'm assuming that you're not competing either for a living or an athletic scholarship, and finally, third, that you're healthy enough to run and sprint for a few seconds at a time without feeling like every joint in your body is on the brink of painful and immediate destruction. Basically, I assume that you're an adult looking to improve your fitness and performance without a ton of equipment or spare time that may or may not have a desire to show their buddies up at noon ball or on your occasional weekend touch football game. Now that we've got that covered, let's get moving. 

Why you need minimalist speed training

 If you're the average consumer of this article, you've probably resigned yourself to the fact that you'll need to make some changes in your eating habits and find a way to exercise a little more, but the idea of sprinting or speed training may sound a bit too far along the curve of "hardcore athletic training" for somebody looking to lose a few pounds. That's fair, and I get it, but here's the deal: I'm writing articles in order to help YOU be awesome at life; I want to give you the freedom to use your body the way it was intended to be used. I want you to look and feel amazing, and to be able to do amazing things. Being able to really run and sprint (rather than "plod" along like most of your everyday jogger types) is a huge piece of acquiring that freedom. It'll also make you drop fat faster than you can say "Atkin's…"

Speed training and fat loss

If you've poked around for fitness or training information at all, you've probably seen the photo comparing the muscular, ripped-to-shreds Olympic sprinter with the emaciated looking marathoner. You probably saw it in conjunction with a blog post or article explaining the benefits of sprinting or other higher intensity movements versus the long distance "strength-a-phobic" training practices of marathoners and the like (heck, I had a post just like it, back in the day). Although not altogether a perfect or fair comparison, the information isn't too far off: how many of you know somebody who can run for 5+ miles at a time multiple times per week and is still "soft", pudgy, or "skinny-fat"? I can't tell you how many people I've had come into my adult training programs that are 20+ pounds overweight but "run (insert number over 10) miles a week." In addition to being overweight, these people tend to have severe flexibility and overuse injury issues along with very low levels of strength. Sprint#3015;ing, or even just performing the tempo workouts I’ll share with you, can help you solve all of these problems in a FRACTION of the time it would take you to do otherwise. Here’s the deal, sprinting and speed training is a lot like other high-intensity training methods you probably already know the merits of. It utilizes the entire body and does so in a highly intense fashion, so it doesn’t take long to get your body to respond—your heart rate will go up in a hurry, and your body will burn a LOT of calories in a VERY short period of time… without putting your feet, knees, and ankles through the hell (and boredom) of mile after mile. Also, if you want to get a little more “science-y” (yup, just said “science-y,” the sprinting and tempo workouts I’ll share with you also help you develop all of the body’s energy systems—you’ll be improving the efficiency of  your “high power” anaerobic system (both alactic and lactic pathways) as well as beefing up your aerobic capacity along the way. (Those were a few big words explaining that sprinting and tempo work will basically make you better at everything.) You’ll also burn calories long after you’re done with your training because of the oxygen deficit you’ll put your body in (don’t worry, this is a good thing and is what makes high intensity interval training so effective – more calories burned with less work = awesome!) There, now that wasn’t too scary was it?

Speed training and the weekend warrior

For those of you looking to do more than just look and feel (a LOT) better, speed training is even more vital as a tool in your training toolbox. Personally, I don’t like to get out on the basketball court, the football field, or whatever “weekend warrior arena” it may be at the time and feel like I can’t hang. I’m the farthest thing from an advocate of “Mr. Way-too-competitive-touch-football-douche,” but I’ll be damned if I’m not at least holding my own with the other guys my age. Side note: That being said, if you happen have a “way-too-competitive-douche” in your casual weekend warrior outings, I’m absolutely an advocate of you being able to embarrass them… All jokes aside, thousands of guys and gals get a ton of enjoyment out of adult rec leagues, and minimalist speed training is the ultimate way to make sure you can stay out on the field (and thrive while you’re out there) for years and years to come without committing to any more than a few minutes a week to these simple workouts. Convinced? I thought so.

Speed training and aging: Staying fast = Staying young 

You see any 50 year olds in the 100 meter final in the last Olympics? Me neither. All jokes aside, speed is one of the first physical qualities to deteriorate as you age. The reason your favorite aging stars in the NFL or NBA leave the game isn’t because of strength or size, it’s because they’ve lost a step (notwithstanding any financial, family, lost the love of the game, or too many hits to the head/injury explanations). Part of this loss of speed is unavoidable, it’s a fact of life and a way of the world – your motor units just can’t function like the well-oiled machine they were in your early twenties forever.. There is a reason why. 2G The other, and HIGHLY more prevalent reason in the general (AKA not-a-professional-athlete) population, is simply the old “if you don’t use it, you lose it!” It’s true! If you don’t give your high-threshold (or, doesn’t “wake up” unless called upon for a highly intense, AKA high threshold, task like sprinting or lifting near maximal weights) motor units a reason to work, the “fast twitch” muscle fibers those motor units are connected to won’t have a reason to contract or adapt, and those fibers will literally waste away until your jeans are sagging straight down from the waist band and you have a bona fide case of severe “old man ass.” Don’t believe me yet? The glutes are a power center for the body and one of the highest concentrations of fast twitch muscle fibers we have. Those fast twitch muscle fibers don’t have a reason to stick around unless they are USED. The only way to USE those muscles is through high intensity work like sprinting or a maximal (or near-maximal) lower body lift like squats or deadlifts. If they aren’t used, they start to lose size. When the muscles in your glutes lose size, not only are you losing valuable muscle size, strength, and benefits to your metabolism, but your ass will also start to resemble that of a 70 year man. Do your significant other a favor and join in the fight against dreadful old man ass! Sprint, stay fast, and stay YOUNG!

How speed training IS, and makes YOU, more awesome

So what makes speed training so great compared to the thousands of other training options out there? We’ve already talked about some of the things sprinting and speed training can do for you, but I haven’t given you the how just yet.

No Gym, No Time, No Problem

You’re dang right! You can sprint just about anywhere – a park, a field, a public track, a sidewalk, a yard, basketball court, a hallway… anywhere! All you need is a decent pair of shoes and a relatively smooth surface and you’re golden. The only real concern for those of you forced to sprint somewhere indoors with a little more limited space will be with some of the workouts that contain some longer sprints. If you can find somewhere with 15 to 20 yards of sprinting area, you can reap the benefits of  minimalist speed training. That said, I really do recommend that you get outside as much as you can with these, it’s a great excuse to get some sun and enjoy some of that freedom I mentioned earlier. Time-wise, if you have 20 minutes, you have plenty of time to get a GREAT, quality workout in that will get you closer to whatever your goals may be. If you have 30, even better.