Sprinting: The ultimate fat burning exercise

Friday, May 25, 2012 by: John McKiernan
Tags: fat burning, exercise, sprinting

(NaturalNews) Sprinting is considered by many as the ultimate exercise. It not only increases athleticism by building fast twitch muscle fiber, it is highly effective for fat burning. Performing sprints a few times a week can replace long cardiovascular workouts on treadmills or ellipticals. The key to getting the most out of your sprinting sessions is to perform them at 100 percent intensity.

The numbers don't lie

When the body performs any explosive movement at a high intensity it releases growth hormone in the days to follow, to aid in recovery. One study showed that a 30 second all-out sprint increased HGH 530 percent over baseline levels. High growth hormone levels are ideal for keeping body fat low and building lean muscle.

Sprinting increases size of the mitochondria, the part of the cell which stores energy. This makes the body more efficient at releasing energy and thus it has less propensity to store body fat for energy. This means that sprinting not only oxidizes fat, it also prevents the body from storing new fat.

When compared to low intensity exercise, sprinting and other high intensity training burns far more fat and calories. A 20-minute workout session doing high-intensity sprints is roughly comparable to an hour-long cardio workout at a lower intensity.

Start with caution

When starting out with sprints you need to be very cautious because the body needs time to adjust to this type of intensity. To avoid injuring yourself, start out by stretching and doing a little jogging and then work up to moderate intensity sprints. After completing moderate intensity sprints for your first few sessions you can start doing full intensity sprints.

The only thing more effective than sprints

To get the very most out of your sprinting sessions find a hill to sprint up. The only thing more effective for fat loss than sprinting is sprinting uphill. Many professional athletes use this technique to reach peak physical form.

If you looking to get your body-fat percentage down into the single digits, sprinting is the answer. Combined with the proper diet you can achieve the very lean and sculpted look so many strive for. Sprinting in general is far more effective and efficient for burning calories, increasing athletic performance and burning fat than low intensity exercise. Not only that, but you can enjoy much shorter workout sessions!

Sources for this article include:

http://jasonferruggia.com/hill-sprints-for-fat-loss/

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mohr102.htm

About the author:
See more health news articles by John McKiernan at The Holistic Truth