Summer’s just around the corner. T-shirts will be coming off and bathing suits will be going on in just a few weeks. So I know that a lot of you are thinking of ways to get lean in a hurry. What you don’t want to do, however, is sacrifice any of your hard earned size or strength; right?
So how do you get ripped for summer, improve your athleticism for games of beach volleyball and football, while staying big and strong at the same time? Simple… you sprint. Flat ground sprints, hill sprints, sprints with a sled and sprints while pushing a Prowler.
Don’t waste your time jogging or doing any other traditional forms of slow, boring cardio. That will sap your strength and eat away muscle tissue. Just look at skinny, flabby, weak marathon runners for proof. Would you rather look like that or like a jacked and ripped Olympic sprinter?
Hugh Jackman was just on the radio recently talking about how he got in shape for Wolverine. He was discussing how he did sprints because he knew that jogging was bad news. Hugh told the interviewer, “Jogging wastes your muscles, you gotta run sprints.” While Hugh doesn’t have any degrees in exercise science he most certainly got shredded and is proof that sprinting is where it’s at.
For most of you I would recommend hill sprints, sprints with a sled or sprints with a Prowler. That’s because if you aren’t used to sprinting, doing so on flat ground can be quite tough on you and the risk of injury will be significantly higher. With the other methods the injury risk is essentially eliminated.
Start out with two sprint workouts per week. These should begin with a 10-15 minute dynamic warm up and you should ease into your first few sprints before you start letting it all hang out. Your total workout shouldn’t take more than 30-40 minutes, tops. These workouts can be done as a second session on lower body workout days, either 4-6 hours before lifting or 4-6 hours after lifting, or any other day of the week. It’s really up to you. Probably the only day I wouldn’t recommend sprinting would be the day right before an intense squat workout. But if that is your only option I wouldn’t get overly concerned. Eventually your body will adapt. The important thing is that you get it done.
Don’t wait till tomorrow. Get outside and start sprinting today. You will be at a pool party or on the beach before you know it. And you will regret what you didn’t do.
Do it now.
Jason Ferruggia
Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Chief Training Adviser, Men’s Fitness Magazine
Author, Media Spokesperson, Consultant
PS. For more killer info on how to get big and ripped, fast, please visit http://www.MuscleGainingSecrets.com/
Please leave your comments and questions below.
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04. May, 2009
at 9:11 am #
Right on the money! If your body senses you need to be fast, it will change your body, making it leaner and lighter, so you can be fast. That’s why cheetahs are lean and elephants are fat. One sprints, the other walks.
04. May, 2009
at 10:16 am #
Great stuff as always Jay….I am definitely seeing big changes thanks to MGS (Muscle Gaining Secrets), and sprints, prowler, etc. – high intensity stuff. In the three or four weeks since I changed over from straight jogging the results are tremendous…and I had been running/jogging for a good 10 months before that with little gains in terms of body fat, etc. Your advice was right on the money to mix sprints in with my strength training instead of running. Thanks again.
04. May, 2009
at 8:17 pm #
Glad to hear it, AC.
05. May, 2009
at 3:54 am #
Amazing timing on this post! I was just about to add sprints into my program.
What kind of weekly volume are you recommending here, Jason? 2–3x per week? More?
05. May, 2009
at 8:47 am #
Is there are more detailed guide/ebook you can recommend me using this training method?
05. May, 2009
at 6:24 pm #
No hills where i live, so I have been doing sprints on stairs, taking 2-3 steps each time i climb..I guess this should be as effective..
06. May, 2009
at 8:53 am #
Jason, that was messed up stuff that guy Nicholas was saying especially about the parents. I was raised to respect people. Who knows maybe that guy was just trying to be funny in his sick way. Anyway dont let it get to you, I appreciate your emails and help. Thanks Stay Strong
17. May, 2009
at 12:41 pm #
D-Rock,
Yes, two to three times per week. Start slow and assess your tolerance.
17. May, 2009
at 12:43 pm #
Harsh,
The stair climbing is good but not quite as good as hill sprints are. If there are no hills you could always get a sled or prowler or just do regular flat ground sprints.