To avoid muscle loss as you age, consider picking up the pace
By Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
When was the last time you sprinted? I mean a full-blown, all-out sprint.
For many of us, it’s been a while. Possibly even as far back as high school. In nearly every city in Australia, you can find a five- or 10-kilometre race, half-marathon or full marathon to run. But it’s far less likely that you’ll find an organised event to run a 100-, 200- or 400-metre dash (though they do exist).
Start sprinting on grass, working your way to pavement and eventually an athletics track.Credit: Getty Images
One reason many adults avoid sprinting is that the thought of past injuries (or possible future ones) can be frightening. Another, of course, is that sprinting is hard, often leaving us doubled over gasping for air.
But hard is the idea. Sprinting puts an enormous amount of stress on our physical systems, which – when done safely – makes us stronger, more resilient and more fit.
Why sprint?
Put simply, sprinting is running at or near your top speed. “It is one of the movements that gives the biggest bang for buck,” says Matt Sanderson, a director at fitness brand SOFLETE.
Sprinting helps build and maintain fast-twitch muscle fibres. Maintaining these fibres can help prevent slips and falls, which are the leading cause of injury among older people.
Because sprinting engages so many muscles, “it’s going to do a better job of helping maintain your muscle mass and avoid muscle loss as you age,” says Christopher Lundstrom, a lecturer in kinesiology at the University of Minnesota who studies sports and exercise science.
Several small studies also suggest that sprinting is even better at maintaining and building bone density than endurance running.
However, running flat-out should be undertaken only after a thorough warm-up, regardless of your fitness level, as it can cause muscle pulls and strains as well as major injuries, like Achilles tears. If you have any concerns about injuries or health issues, talk with your doctor first.
If you have a larger body and are concerned about stress on your joints or bones, Sanderson recommends starting with lower-impact exercises such as sled pushes to build up strength and develop conditioning before trying to sprint.
“Spend some time preparing your tissues,” he said. “Jumping rope, even jumping or bouncing in a swimming pool.”
Lastly, remember that “top speed” is a relative term. If you ran a 12-second 100-metre race several decades ago, adjust your expectations. Every athlete is different, but here are a few general tips for sprinting safely.
Start slow
Even though the goal is to go fast, it’s important to start slow. Running 100 metres right away is probably a bad idea.
“If you haven’t sprinted recently, maybe go and run slightly faster than you’re used to,” Lundstrom says. Then “a little bit harder, and gradually getting up to a full sprint.”
Roll up the intensity
Experts also suggest “rolling sprints” during a standard jog to work into running at top speed. As you jog, pick a point to begin increasing the intensity of your running every 10 metres or so until you reach an effort where speaking would be hard. From there, decrease every 10 metres until you’re back to your regular jogging pace.
If you are not a jogger, you can do rolling sprints as a stand-alone workout, repeating each sprint a handful of times.
Set a baseline
Once you start sprinting, the first thing you should do is set a benchmark time over a certain distance. This is less about bragging rights and more about having a tool to structure later workouts.
Start with a distance between 40 and 60 metres long. Simply work into a sprint and note your best time.
Use your threshold
Once you have a benchmark time, use it to plan your workouts. One easy routine, Sanderson says, is to run repeated sprints at your chosen distance, trying to keep your efforts within a certain range of your benchmark time. He calls that range a “percentage threshold”.
Thresholds vary for each athlete, but for someone with a high fitness level, five per cent is good. Others may aim for 10 per cent.
At first, the number of sprints that you can run may be low. But as you gain strength and speed, you’ll find that your ability to maintain speed will grow.
The New York Times
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