Sprinting: Being More Powerful

The Generalist

 Last week after a workout containing two 400m sprints one of our members asked:

 "How do we improve our sprint speed? Assuming our metcon is good, we're not overweight, is this then ordained by genetics?"

 So there are two questions here, which need to be reordered. First, can I improve my sprint speed? Second, how can I improve my sprinting speed?

 For most of us who are not specialized athletes (sprinters, olympic lifters, etc.) its unlikely that we will ever see our peak potential in a single exercise. Said differently, we won't be able to express our individual body's full potential for olympic lifts if we are also trying to be equally proficient at ring-dips, rowing 2000m, and 1 rep-max bench pressing. This is to say that the specialist will almost always be better at conducting his specialized activity than the generalist. (He gives it more practice than you do.)

 Crossfitters are generalists, athletes who strive to increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains.  Thus, the generalist has many areas which he can specialize and improve. So it seems sensible to believe that nursing one area, say sprinting, out of the generalized spectrum will improve performance in that area. Yes, we can improve our sprinting speed. And it is likely that we can make proportionately more significant improvements than specialists. 

Your Metabolic Engine

 The task of improving our sprint speed and times appears quite simple, but deserves a more thoroughgoing response than simply stating, "just sprint more". For example, your running technique could be abysmal. That will slow down your sprinting speed, and I would tell you to fix your technique before doing anything else. Maybe you only eat 100 calories per day. That would hurt your ability to sprint faster. There is a laundry list of possible obstacles between you and a faster 400m. So, let's assume that your running technique is "proficient enough", we are at an optimal sprinting body weight, and we are properly fueling our bodies. What is left? What would happen if we increase our body's ability to generate energy? The more energy we can draw from our body's energy systems, the more energy we have to perform a faster sprint.

 The three  major metabolic pathways in our body that provide us with energy are the: anaerobic energy pathway (ATP), anaerobic metabolism pathway (Glycolytic), and the aerobic pathway. The anaerobic energy pathway, the ATP pathway, creates the greatest amount of energy and therefore power, however it is only able to provide that energy for a very short period of time. And it is only activated if we perform a movement at maximum intensity--an all out effort. A 100m sprint is an excellent example of the ATP pathway at work--fast and powerful.  (The chart below reveals that the ATP pathway produces massive amounts of energy but, on average, lasts only for 10 seconds.) 

On the other hand the aerobic pathway lasts the longest but provides the least amount of energy and therefore power. A 5k run is a great example of the aerobic pathway at work.

 If you want to increase your sprinting speed you will greatly benefit from increasing your anaerobic capacity. Anaerobic capacity is our ability to utilize our body's most powerful energy system. Anaerobic energy is predominantly and most efficiently created in what is known as type II muscle fibers. Type I muscle fibers, on the other hand, are much better at utilizing energy from the aerobic system, but in turn are less powerful than their type II counterparts.

 Much undocumented literature and sports knowledge suggest that training at short intervals and high intensity (think a tabata session) will increase anaerobic capacity. Studies published in the Journal of Physiology during the late 1970's conclude that endurance training (the aerobic pathway) reduced the amount of capillaries that had provided blood to type II muscle fibers, thus suggesting that type II muscle fibers are not as critical to endurance performance. Moreover, studies in both the Journal of Physiology and the Journal of Applied Physiology suggest that high intensity interval training lasting from 6-90 seconds increased both the area of type I and type II muscle fibers. Other studies suggest that sprinters had muscle fiber compositions favorable to the high energy output required by sprinting; the same correlation could be identified for long distance runners. 

Create More Power-Be Practical

 In order to successfully increase your anaerobic capacity via training that uses anaerobic pathways, you need to perform movements that require the maximum amount of energy that you can produce. Tabata intervals provide a clear example of this. By maximizing our work capacity using our ATP system, an increase in our ability to create greater amounts of energy using our ATP system will occur. It will grow. In attempting to increase our sprinting speed practicing sprint repeats at intervals that last as from 10-60 seconds will be beneficial. But remember, every attempt  should be performed at our near the point of an all out effort. Rest periods for work periods of 10 seconds can last as long as 200 seconds (try ratios between 1:12 and 1:20). You might only rest 120 seconds for a work period lasting 60 seconds. 

Not the Only Problem

 I mentioned above that there may be many other problems that will make us slower sprinters. I've assumed that the hypothetical athlete above doesn't have any outstanding, strength, coordination, or technique issues. Nonetheless, in the presence of limiting factors, high intensity training utilizing our anaerobic pathway will likely provide the greatest benefit for the performance of high-powered exercises (including sprinting and many other movements that require maximum energy output over a short duration of time). 

Goats Outside My Comfort Zone.

Comfort Zone. 

I don't like going out of it. Period. Crossfit then is terribly problematic, because Crossfit's hallmark is uncomfortable. Its logic is at least sound; systematically shoring up weak links makes for a strong chain. And it isn't the frothy-mouthed-spitten'-buttermilk-my-lungs-will-collapse-I-can't-breathe terror that is uncomfortable for me. I enjoy the metabolic apocalypse that Crossfit typically brings. But I don't enjoy--I dislike--I really despise movements that I am not good at. Inevitably I end up avoiding them. Then it gets worse. 

These movements we suck at (also known as goats) are hard to wrangle (excuse the puns). On one hand we may really need the practice to get better, but on the other hand it's a dreary and disappointing task to overwhelm our programing with goats. It probably isn't worth your happiness. 


So how do I kill my goat? I don't. Don't kill your goat; make your goat your friend. Last week I taught a small noon class involving a nasty little wod: running, thrusters, and pull-ups. After the wod I asked one of the unlucky contestants what she thought of it. She said it was hard, awful. I had to ask her why then was she smiling during the run. She told me she loves running. Alright, so step one is to start liking my goat--"All you've got to do is try a little tenderness". 

Step two: the buddy system. Get a goat-pal. Try to find someone who also wants to work on a goat. Or someone who can give you advice about your goat. I know of at least one 2009 tenth place Crossfit Games finisher who had a whole herd of handstand push-up goats. By luck or pure genius (luck) she found a buddy who can't get enough of those awful HSPUs. And after watching her chase her buddy through some 40 last week, I think we can chalk up another victory for the good guys--sorry goats.

Grease the groove, step three: nurture your goat. Goats require practice. The constantly varied part of Crossfit can make this difficult; how the hell can I get better at ring-dips when they appear in 1 out of 20 wods? Bring your goat to the warm-up. Practice your goats after the wod. If your olympic lifts are lackluster then try doing the Burgener Warm-up three times a week before you wod. Whatever your goat, simply try to practice it more, and consistently. Two sets of 20 extra push-ups a week won't kill you, or hurt your wod times. But I bet you will get better at doing push-ups.

The Final Step: Get competitive with your goat. Sometimes getting better requires a push, a jolt, an extra bit of motivation. When I run, I try to run with people who are better than me. That way I have someone to chase, and someone to chase me. This spring before the NE Qualifiers I tried a deadlift running wod--Diane+800m runs. I was the first person off the deads. But I was barely the first person back in the door after the run. On the final 100m of the last 800m run I heard eager footsteps behind me. I wanted to slow down, running doesn't come easy to me. The footsteps, they wanted to catch up. But I didn't want to lose. So I ran harder. The footsteps got quieter, and my goat, running, if only a little, became more tame. 

"I am taking a rest week."

 When I asked Alex if he wanted to workout today he told me he was taking a rest week. (In the back of my mind: "What the hell is a rest week!") Later in the day I asked Alex if he planned on doing a team-WoD on Friday. He gave me the same answer. 

 Over the past two months I have changed two things regarding my training. The more important change is simple. I started sleeping more. A lot more. Since I started Crossfit two years ago I shunned sleep. I  relied on two main excuses. One, sleeping wastes time. Two, I was still producing personal-bests with less than optimal sleeping patterns. This isn't a brag, its just the little data I have. But I neglected one important possibility. My performance could have been better. Also, I blatantly ignored any long term affects that would be caused by my insufficient sleep.  Since August I have routinely slept for 9 (not 8) or more hours a night. Since August I have felt more energetic and been able to tolerate much higher exercise volumes. Unfortunately I don't have a more accurate metric. Nonetheless, after two weeks of experimenting with two-a-day WoDs interspersed throughout a 3 days on and 1 day off schedule, I have yet to see any retrograde performance. I have never been able to maintain this level of volume in the past. 

 What about Alex's rest week?  Alex is adapting his schedule to allow him more rest becase he is losing sleep elsewhere. We would be better Crossfitters if we didn't have to teach Crossfit, balance budgets, fight fires, feed children, or intubate some poor slob found nigh-dead at Downtown Crossing. Unfortunately, our modern lives aggressively impede most attempts toward better fitness. That said, many of us can't achieve the meager standard of 8 hours of sleep. The mention of 9 or more causes frowns and cringes across the room. When will we have time to do everything else if spend all our time sleeping? The answer is simple. If you are not consistently sleeping 8 or more hours every night of the week try taking a rest week one week out of every month. Or try significantly reducing the exercise volume for one week every month. For example, in a five day period only work out three days and alternate the rest days (day on, day off, day on, day off, day on). You will notice increased performance and decreased soreness. Most importantly you will be improving your health. 

 Doing Crossfit is not enough; it isn't a golden panacea. I am aware the temptation and comfort of routine. But heed the suggestion that Crossfit can become less effective at making us better Crossfitters and healthier people (the more important goal I think) if we do not let ourselves rest properly. 

Aromas

After the Games in Aromas I took a break from Crossfit. For many reasons, competing wore me out. I stopped worrying about paleo. (No matter how you try to fudge it Summerfest and Phish Food ice-cream cannot be zoned and are not paleo). And I disregarded the scheduled wod; it happened only if I wanted it to happen. I learned some things about beach volleyball, stretching, kiwis (the people), and I realized I wanted to sabotage my law career via Chico, Ca. And finally, seven days later I waived  goodbye to the sunnier shores of the west coast and came home. 

My mom picked me up at the airport.  My dog, Jackson, barked at me, licked my face, pounced twice, and then jumped back in the car. She told me good job. Once I got home I forgot about my garage gym and what ".com" meant. I made myself believe that fitness was better served by watching Jackson chase squirrels. And the infomercials convinced that my life would be materially better if I had "ShamWow" towels. Slowly, after realizing that I despise infomercials and that Jackson would have a better chance of mauling me to death than catching squirrels, one little question crept back into my mind. What the hell had happened in Aromas? A lot happened and not enough happened. Pairing down the words, I wasn't strong enough; I was too slow. 

I performed well. Despite the torturous persistence of the 7k cliff run--calling it a hill is foolish--I placed where I had planned. I even enjoyed the majority of the 7k run, sprint, crawl, walk, slide, jog. During the second event my performance resulted in a pr deadlift. 110% isn't bad, but it wasn't good enough. Not by a long shot. I couldn't hide behind the excuses. The point was that I failed to excel at two very basic functions of a fit human being. First, I couldn't move a large load, 415+ lbs, long distances quickly (in 30 sec intervals). Second, I couldn't move a large load, my fleshy white body, long distances (7 kilometers) quickly. There it was, my Crossfit Games experience ended at the second event, just before noon. And for that I largely credit myself for a lack preparation. 

Truly, I can't stop feeling like I missed a rare chance. What about next year? I am not sure if I will compete at the Northeast Regional Qualifier again.  Some chatter of a CFB affiliate team has caught my ear. But for now I won't remain too preoccupied with the wild nonsense that might show up at the qualifiers, or even the games. In fact I am not that concerned about being the fastest, the strongest, or the most intense. My current goals are simple: settle in and be consistent; remember that crossfit is fun and not a job; and learn that failures aren't for blaming, they are for learning.