How to Use Bodyweight Sprints

trainwithfinishers

Guest Post from Dennis Heenan, CTT
Creator of SuperHero Sprints 

Ah, the power of sprints. You know the feeling… That sensation in your body that feels as though you just worked out hard for an hour straight yet when reality sets in, you realize you’ve only been going for good 10-minutes.

Yet, here’s the thing…

Although your body may have that similar “tired” feeling… short, very high intensity workouts actually allow your body to recover much faster compared to longer slow workouts.

PLUS, multiple studies have shown that sprints will help you burn far more fat while letting you retaining your hard earned lean muscle. Now before I go any further, I have a confession to make…

I have actually created my own definition for the word “sprints.” See, the problem with the word sprints is that when people hear it, their first thought is this:

“Oh gosh, I have to go out to a track or park and run as fast as I can for 100 yards… I can’t do that.”

Although this is most definitely a form of sprinting, there are WAY more options for you to choose from. Take a look at my definition:

“Certain exercises done at your highest intensity for a short period of time, followed by a short rest and repeat.”

Yes, this means certain bodyweight exercises or even some weighted exercises can be turned into sprints. Let me explain:

Let’s say you want to complete a full bodyweight sprinting workout but don’t feel like going to the park to do actual sprints. Here’s what you could do:

Choose a bodyweight sprinting exercise: My favorite options are sprints in place, burpees, squat jumps, and mountain climbers.

After you have chosen your sprint, choose a circuit to do and then simply get it done. For example:

Bodyweight Sprint:

45 seconds of burpees

Circuit:

Squat Jumps: 15 reps
Clapping Pushups: 12 reps
Alternating Lunges or Jump Lunges: 10 reps each leg
Decline Pushups: 12 reps

**Rest as long as you need to and repeat 4 times!

Seems pretty simple, right? That’s because it is. Listen, there is a reason sprints are so powerful and why certain bodyweight exercises will help bring you an incredible amount of fat burning.

According to a study done by Experimental Biology, researchers tested 11 men and 11 women, all who were working out at different levels of intensity. What researchers found was that the group of individuals working out closest to their anaerobic threshold, they experienced maximal fat utilization.

What this means is that those who performed sprints, burned far more fat than those who worked out at a lower intensity.

That is the key my friends, working out at or near your anaerobic threshold for as long as possible, resting and repeating.

And remember earlier when I told you that sprints allow for maximal fat burn while letting you maintain your lean muscle? Well check this out:

In another study, researchers found that the combination of diet and traditional long cardio caused participants to lose up to 22% of their lean muscle.

In comparison, participants who combined diet and resistance training and sprints saw 97% fat loss and only 3% lean muscle loss. 

That’s a 19% difference!

Yes, you can retain up to 19% more lean muscle when doing sprints and resistance training… Pretty sweet deal!

My love for sprinting runs pretty deep… It’s what I used to get wedding day ready in just six-weeks. It was my go-to conditioning all throughout my college basketball career thanks to my brilliant coach who commanded me to never run over one mile ever again.

Listen, I know that sprints are hard. I get that. Yet the rewards and the results they bring are worth the 10-15 minutes of work that you spend doing them.

In closing, I’d like to share a little workout I put together a few months ago when I still had my mini afro (what looks like a mullet in this video) that can be done right at home.

Although you may not think of this workout as a “sprint”, I can promise you that if you push hard through the entire workout, you will be working near that anaerobic threshold the entire time… Which is exactly what we want:

As I like to tell my readers, keep your workouts short and fast (intense) and your results will be short and fast. 

And I know you like the sound of that!

Dennis Heenan, CTT

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Good stuff from Dennis – that’s the PERFECT workout to do this weekend because on the weekends, it’s time to relax and eat pancakes.

Next…

==> Get all of the SuperHero Sprint Workouts here 

Leave A Reply (5 comments so far)


  1. Esther
    10 years ago

    Nice info. Hey mike, got a question; how can i incorporate finishers in my off days?

    I am asking because i want to increase my endurance and sthenght and i know finisher can help. My sister is in crossfit, i don’t like crossfit, but i got to admit that it develop endurance and strong mind. I have use finishers in off days but i want to level up. Want to use more than one finisher, if it can be done, using db. Hope i was clear with my question, looking forward with the answer.

    🙂


  2. Gary Taggart
    10 years ago

    Hi Mike.
    This really works !!!!!. Ive just completed a six week superhero sprint programme of Dennis’s. It was awesome. I have lost 16lbs. 3 inches of my waist, 3 inches on my chest and2″ inches on my arms. Also have some ab definition. But most of all i feel so energetic and revitalised. I thoroughly reccomend this programme


  3. Jeff
    10 years ago

    The information in this article may be correct and work great but like most articles posted on sites like this, the use of science to validate it is wrong. First of all, there’s no references for any of the studies mentioned. Second, it’s very easy to find studies to prove basically any point. A 5 minute PubMed search found studies saying that moderate intensity exercise is adequate for maintaining fat free mass and that coherence to high intensity exercise programs is lower than than lower intensity programs. Science can be easily manipulated based on what information you do and do not quote.

    The use of the article referencing anaerobic threshold is wrong. Anaerobic threshold is the exercise intensity at which blood lactate starts to accumulate, the intensity just below this point being referred to as critical power. Critical power is the intensity that one could theoretically exercise indefinitely at. High intensity sprints do not fit this definition.

    Not saying that this program isn’t good or doesn’t work but I wouldn’t trust it based on the science presented. But this can be said of most articles posted on the internet.


  4. Mikey
    10 years ago

    Hey Esther, I wouldn’t do any more than 1 finisher on your off day. If you do want to level up your training, you could aim to improve your lifts/reps. Focus on quality, not quantity. Remember, your strength will improve when you recover.

    Hope that helps!
    Mikey


  5. Esther
    10 years ago

    Thank You 🙂