I got several comments after last weeks article on hill sprinting. Since I just got back from the hill this morning I’ll address the comments. And in case your wondering how this sprinting session went, I dropped my time from 30 seconds down to 29 for the first two sprints.
“I’m all about hill sprints but 6-8 reps of a REAL 30 second hill sprint would require the use of PCP or some kind of religious ritual”
Having never done PCP I can’t specifically comment on that. 🙂
Of course, you will not be able to attain and maintain full speed the entire time, especially as you get tired. At least not in the beginning. By why limit yourself to thinking you can’t improve up to that level?
An all out sprint for 30 seconds is doable. Where you are actually going as fast as you possibly can go the entire time. And if you can do one, provided you have excellent recovery between reps you could do more.
After all, isn’t the point of training to go beyond what people think is possible? And isn’t training in some regards, similar to a religious ritual?
Don’t limit yourself by thinking it can’t be done.
“I’ve recently started normal cardio (i.e., running, swimming, biking) compared to lifting at an aerobic pace or kettlebell. Sprinting up hill sounds pretty good. I’m treadmill bound for stuff like that since I am in SW Florida and we are a basin (below sea level). Thanks for the inspiration as always.
“Oh, here is a little food for thought. Since I am new to “normal” cardio. Isn’t it amazing how we can be good at one thing and another sport tires us out? Training in Capoeira for over five years now. I consider our discipline the most cardio/aerobic intense out of the other Martial Arts (in general). I can “play” for hours, yet put me on a treadmill and I am dead after two miles at a decent pace jog. Just the opposite, I have a friend who runs marathons, but she tried Capoeira one day and she was done after five minutes of the basic move, ginga.. …. Do you have thoughts on that to share with “the class”? :-)”
Nick
I’ve run into this happening many times. You think the man, a conditioning machine, from swinging and snatching kettlebells all the time.
But then you go and play a game of soccer, for example, and just a few minutes of running around gets you out of breath. You think to yourself ‘Why is this happening?’ since you know you are in good shape.
Its mostly because the body is just efficient at one form of movement over another which is why even if you’re conditioning is good, something new can throw you off. While you can swing around kettlebells like a champ, your body may not be adapted to running. So it takes much more energy to do so.
Once you get into the groove of the new movement though you should find you’ll be doing much better. And your conditioning from one exercise will transfer over.
For this reason it would be best to practice a variety of conditioning methods if you wanted to be the best all-around athlete you could be.
That just about wraps it up for today. But before I go I wanted to let you know about a certain project in the works.
It’s unlike anything that has been seen in the strength training arena before. If you’ve ever felt like you’re just spinning your wheels in your training, not making progress, or not making enough progress, this is something you’ll want to pay attention too.
And because of the format you’ll ‘get it’ 100 times better than you would just reading a book or watching a video.
I know those are some bold claims, but I plan on backing them up. And if everything goes to plan it’ll be ready sometime late June or early July.
In strength,
Logan Christopher