Steady State vs Sprints

yes TK52, that pic was from a couple years ago, my boys will definitely have their hands full today!

Some of this advice is dumb. If your still basing your facts on sprinters vs marathon runners that is retarded as if you lift weights your neither. Both serve different purposes and have different effects on the body. If your dieting and are heavily carb depleted then sprints will probably not be the best option.

Date Tate successfully lost a good amount of weight and advocates SS. Pro bodybuilders get to 2-4% bf for contests with SS.

DeFranco trains athletes…conditioning is important.

[quote]RyanEnglebert wrote:
yes TK52, that pic was from a couple years ago[/quote]

Respect

[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
missinglink wrote:
I’ve seen plenty of fat people doing steady state work at the gym, but I haven’t seen many fat people doing sprints.

You have obviously never seen a high school sports team then![/quote]

Hahaha good point!

No one factoring in diet here? In my experience sprints, and other forms of HIIT, can be lethal on low carb diets. I have upped my carb intake during my current fat loss phase and have been able to incorporate sprints. In the past, while using ketosis to maximise fat loss, I’ve made myself ill using sprints and had to stick with steady state.

Regarding steady state, I agree with an earlier poster mentioned - a little after a form of HIIT, e.g. complexes, lactate training, is a good ‘finisher’.

[quote]JamesBrawn007 wrote:
No one factoring in diet here? In my experience sprints, and other forms of HIIT, can be lethal on low carb diets. I have upped my carb intake during my current fat loss phase and have been able to incorporate sprints. In the past, while using ketosis to maximise fat loss, I’ve made myself ill using sprints and had to stick with steady state.
[/quote]

I agree with this above, however you can still go low carb and perform sprints + HIIT effectively if you time some carbs before the work i.e. surge workout fuel. That being said, I really enjoy doing sprints for 10-15 minutes and be dead afterwards versus doing 30-45 minutes of SSC which I do as well. I also want to refer to something CC said a few weeks ago when this was brought up that made a lot of sense. Can you see someone who weighs 250+ lbs doing sprints without some form of complications? For the really big guys, sprints aren’t the best options, they’ll need something else like HIIT using a rower or bike. My vote for you is sprints and HIIT on your off days. If you feel like they’re interfering with your lifting sessions then you may want to reduce the number of HIIT sessions and replace them with SSC.

one thing not mentioned here is muscle fibers. if you start training with steady state aerobic cardio work you trigger type 1 muscle fibers. type 1 fibers lack power output and strength. with sprints and intervals you concentrate more on the anaerobic system, which triggers type 2 fibers. type 2 fibers is where your power output and strength comes from. too much steady state aerobic cardio work will actually hinder power and strength output.

[quote]Davinci.v2 wrote:
I agree with this above, however you can still go low carb and perform sprints + HIIT effectively if you time some carbs before the work i.e. surge workout fuel. That being said, I really enjoy doing sprints for 10-15 minutes and be dead afterwards versus doing 30-45 minutes of SSC which I do as well. I also want to refer to something CC said a few weeks ago when this was brought up that made a lot of sense. Can you see someone who weighs 250+ lbs doing sprints without some form of complications? For the really big guys, sprints aren’t the best options, they’ll need something else like HIIT using a rower or bike. My vote for you is sprints and HIIT on your off days. If you feel like they’re interfering with your lifting sessions then you may want to reduce the number of HIIT sessions and replace them with SSC.[/quote]

x2
I ingest 30-40g CHO as part of my para-workout regimen (all before working out) on HIIT, cardio days, and enjoy productive sessions (for strength sessions carbs are set at 100g). Around 25 mins steady state following this not only helps with recovery but taps into the fatty acid reserves for a bit of an extra fat loss kick.
I also previously followed this training regimen while in ketosis and, although it was very effective for fat loss, it greatly effected recovery. As a result my main strength sessions suffered a slight decrease in performance. At the moment the converse is true and I’m actually making progress in both strength and cardio sessions using the targeted carb approach.

Its going to depend on so many factors. (Diet, other training, muscle mass, etc.)

I’ve never liked SS, but some of the new info floating around seems to suggest that it’s not SS that sucks, but how it’s done in modern America.

This article has some interesting ideas, I think I’m going to pick up the book they mention.

a good article by CT. kind of on the topic.

[quote]duke15CML wrote:
one thing not mentioned here is muscle fibers. if you start training with steady state aerobic cardio work you trigger type 1 muscle fibers. type 1 fibers lack power output and strength. with sprints and intervals you concentrate more on the anaerobic system, which triggers type 2 fibers. type 2 fibers is where your power output and strength comes from. too much steady state aerobic cardio work will actually hinder power and strength output.[/quote]

Can someone comment on this? I’ve heard conflicting ideas about different types of muscle fibers… fast twitch/slow twitch, type 1, type 2…

Anyone?

[quote]Spartiates wrote:
duke15CML wrote:
one thing not mentioned here is muscle fibers. if you start training with steady state aerobic cardio work you trigger type 1 muscle fibers. type 1 fibers lack power output and strength. with sprints and intervals you concentrate more on the anaerobic system, which triggers type 2 fibers. type 2 fibers is where your power output and strength comes from. too much steady state aerobic cardio work will actually hinder power and strength output.

Can someone comment on this? I’ve heard conflicting ideas about different types of muscle fibers… fast twitch/slow twitch, type 1, type 2…

Anyone?[/quote]

The comment you quoted borders between “over-generalization” to “outright incorrect.”

Doing 1-2 hours of steady state cardio per week, particularly if it is non-impact (ie, not jogging) will not kill your fast twitch strength and power. Numerous examples abound.

Great thread.

I’m 38, and I’ve been running sprints for years. But just in the last 8 months, I’ve really picked it up to where I’ve consistently done sprint workouts 3x a week. Since I’ve started this I’ve been told I look leaner, fitter, etc.

I do know I feel MUCH stronger when running sprints than when I run long slow distance.

I also play flag football on Saturdays. Obviously running sprints has been much more effective for me than running on the treadmill for 45 minutes at 7.0mph.

So bottom line…I feel better, I play sports at a higher level, and I’m told I look better.

Here’s a sample workout I do:

4x300m…tempo runs at 75%.
8X100M at 100%.
8 x 50m at 100%.

Total distance: 2400m in around 30 minutes.

Good luck. I highly recommend them!

BTW- notice I start with the longer distances first, the 300m runs. Then I transition to the 100m sprints, and finish with the 50’s. That’s because at my age, 38, it takes me a bit longer to warm up and get loose, so I’ve found it’s a little easier to actually start with the 300’s and get loose, and then finish full blast with the shorter sprints.

[quote]dnlcdstn wrote:
Steady rate cardio burns some fat some glycogen while exercising. Sprints use glycogen. Sprints give you the EPOC effect long after you leave the gym though. Steady rate pretty much just burns fat in the here and now with little to no EPOC.[/quote]

That pretty much sums it up right there as far as the differences are concerned. Other than the EPOC effect, I have found that one can build there legs up pretty well doing sprints on a regular basis. If you have never incorporated sprints into your workout, prepare to be very sore the next day. I also don’t think being on a low carb diet will hinder your recovery or progress if you supplement correctly before and after.

[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
I’ve never liked SS, but some of the new info floating around seems to suggest that it’s not SS that sucks, but how it’s done in modern America.

This article has some interesting ideas, I think I’m going to pick up the book they mention.[/quote]

Born to Run is an awesome book, very informative & also entertaining. I highly recommend it.

[quote]ProRaven wrote:
Great thread.

I’m 38, and I’ve been running sprints for years. But just in the last 8 months, I’ve really picked it up to where I’ve consistently done sprint workouts 3x a week. Since I’ve started this I’ve been told I look leaner, fitter, etc.

I do know I feel MUCH stronger when running sprints than when I run long slow distance.

I also play flag football on Saturdays. Obviously running sprints has been much more effective for me than running on the treadmill for 45 minutes at 7.0mph.

So bottom line…I feel better, I play sports at a higher level, and I’m told I look better.

Here’s a sample workout I do:

4x300m…tempo runs at 75%.
8X100M at 100%.
8 x 50m at 100%.

Total distance: 2400m in around 30 minutes.

Good luck. I highly recommend them![/quote]

You do all of these runs in one session?

Do you wait for a full recovery before starting an other sprint or do you do timed rests?

Mike Boyle has a nice little 5min video of himself speaking at a seminar, he is all for interval style training. Even if you dont agree with what he says, its worth it just to hear him talk as he is a very intelligent guy. Also very funny is his complete disgust for steady state cardio, he uses several analogies to demonstrate how much he hates steady state. I would post the link but T-Nation gestapo has threatened to curb stomp me if I dont follow their rules.

I think both can be effective for cutting, however it depends on your diet. For low carb, steady state will be less catabolic. However if your carbs are not very low then sprints can be effective form of training as well as being excellent for fitness and speed. It comes down to what works best for you.