HitchFit Sprinting For Fat Loss

I (Micah Lacerte) was featured in  Feb 2011 Muscle and Fitness issue with a killer 4 week Sprinting for Fat Loss Routine. I am a huge believer in sprinting when trying to decrease fat while still maintaining muscle.  If you do have more then 15-20 lbs to lose then you need start with duration style cardio first.   A easy way of looking at it is look at the body of a marathon runner, typically they are thin and do not carry much muscle.  These athletes are running 60-100 miles weekly at times.  On average with 10 minute miles they would burn around 120 calories at a 6 mph speed.  If the runner did 100 miles per week your looking at 12,000 calories just burned from running, if the runner is not spending time working out and eating enormous amounts of food to off set the deficit they will start burning muscle as fuel.  This is not good.  Now look at a body of a Sprinter, very lean and muscular. The difference in the bodies come down to the type of training they are doing.  Not every marathon runner out there is thin and not every sprinter out then is super muscular but you rarely see super thin sprinters or overly muscular marathon runners.  There is a reason for this and it comes down to the type of training the are doing.

Sprinting is considered a Anaerobic Exercise. It is a short-term, high intensity activity. Anaerobic exercise means “exercise without oxygen.” During an intense physical activity, there is a shortage of oxygen because the amount of oxygen needed exceeds the oxygen that is available. This temporary shortage triggers lactic acid. Lactic acid is a by product of producing anaerobic exercise.

When you engage in anaerobic exercise, you are exercising at an intensity that can only be sustained for a short time. The limit for this short burst of activity is usually 10 seconds to 2 minutes, such as sprinting and weight lifting!!  To add some intensity to your workout play some of your favorite music.

Anaerobic exercise is excellent for building strength and creating muscle mass, and, like aerobic exercise, it still benefits the heart and lungs. It burns less calories than aerobic exercise and is less beneficial than cardiovascular activity; however, it is still very good for you and a key component when trying to get that ripped Fitness Model Body you are trying to achieve......read the full article......