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Comment by richardlblair | Hacker News Reader

I've never been one for strength training. I just like to run really hard for a short period of time... Guess I will need to change that.

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Well it depends on how hard and how long you run. Sprinting is one of the best muscle building activities you can do.

I thought it was crazy to try, but I swear it's added 50lbs to my deadlift with one sprint work out a week for 3 months.

Going from 475 to 525 is a pretty incredible increase in my deadlift considering I was adding about 5lbs a month before.

I'd just like to add that while running is great, one of the most effective forms of running is HIITs (High Intensity Interval Training). Basically, you run at maximum speed (80-100% of your capacity) for short bursts (10-15 seconds when you're starting out), and at about 50-60% for the warm-up and cool-down periods before and after (around 2 minutes) [1]. You do a total of about 20 minutes of this (and believe me, this will destroy you the first few times).

The results are drastic, and unlike with marathon running, you don't lose muscle, instead you gain it.

You lose fat FAST and gain strength in the process [2]. Can't recommend it enough!

Note: I thought that EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) meant you burnt calories for the next 24 hours, but that's possibly not as significant as it appears :( [3]

[1]: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=... [2]: http://greatist.com/fitness/complete-guide-interval-training... [3]: http://ca.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_900/962_popular-met...

Interestingly, this is what Bruce Lee advocated too.

I'm quite capable of running a half-marathon and decided to try the HIITs. They were terrible for me. My knees couldn't handle the added stress, and I had to give up HIIT and go back to 'regular' training. I'll certainly grant that it was an interesting training technique, though, and I can well see that it would be good for most people.

My knees couldn't handle the added stress

This. I didn't know what HIIT was, but I figured out something like it for my daily exercise. Result was repeated shin-splits and painful knee injuries

You may want to try and find specific excercises to improve your joint-stabilizing muscles - even something very simple like http://archive.mensjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/picture-81... should allow your body to do higher intensities safely.

Agreed, sprinting can be considered a form of HIIT if you squint enough:). It might not have the sustained 50% intervals but sprinting is definitely a 90% effort activity.

I've found the same thing, if you do a repetitive workout for too long you miss a lot of the other muscles that you need to train, so switching it up for a few months or adding complexity to a workout can help boost your gains.

Actually, you're doing it right

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_trainin...

Or just compare 100m competitors with marathon competitors for muscle mass

I love interval training. Whether it's a highly-structured protocol (maybe Tabata) or more of a Fartlek approach, it's a blast. The approach I find to be both a lot of fun, and very productive, is to do a sort of Fartlek approach (with, say, running, or working on the elliptical trainer) where I put my ogg player on "shuffle" and let the song dictate my intensity. Certain songs ("Kickstart my Heart" by Motley Crue for example) just demand extreme exertion... other times you get something a little more chill ("Lights" by Journey, maybe) where you just cruise for a while.

The body type of world class 100m competitors is due to genetics and steroids. Sprint workouts don't make people muscular. Muscular guys gravitate towards those events. Also, HIIT workouts are nothing like what 100m runners do to train.

You can be pretty sure that marathon runners are using PEDs too.

PED drugs yes, anabolic steroids no

The primary effect of anabolic steroids is to reduce recovery times. Bodybuilders get so big on them not because they magically make you bigger but because they let you train incredibly hard.

Long distance runners do use anabolic steroids amongst other PEDs. [1]

"For example, Lyubov Denisova tested positive for Prostanozol and Testosterone in 2007. She has won the Honolulu and Los Angeles marathons and has been 2nd place at New York."

Prostanozol is an anabolic steroid.

[1] http://www.runningahead.com/forums/post/d63143aa7f5246359388...

I am aware of the effects of AEs

In fact, the regimen of muscle fatigue/recovery is different between endurance sports and 'strength' sports

A marathonist is not limited by his/her muscle mass. A strength athlete is.

Yes, some marathonists may use AEs, but it's much rarer than other PED (like EPO, HGH - which also helps with recovery, blood doping, etc)

Prostanozol is actually a "prodrug" (yes, it is an AE). "Prodrug" usually means more liver damage and less results than a proper AE cycle (as it's called) and there are better alternatives.

This study includes aerobic work as part of strength training:

"These results highlight the importance of having at least moderate levels of both muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness to reduce risk of death from all causes and cancer in this population of men."

The feedback from this comment has been amazing. You are all awesome.

Thanks for sharing your sprinting knowledge.

My workout usually includes a 5 minute warm up period, followed by about 15 minutes of running as fast as I can that day. From there I usually hit the bike for a cool down and to burn extra calories.

I never did this on purpose. I did it because I love the feeling of having your heart in your throat. Apparently I am not the only one.

Thanks again!

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