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Bodyweight Any advice to newbie veteran (in his mid 50s) re using sprinting to 'cut' ?

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John Smith

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Hello

Can anyone tell me about sprinting on my off days from the gym?

I understand that building muscle ('hypertrophy') and losing fat ('cut') are just about impossible to do during the same period.
For that reason I am just trying to cut for the next 4 weeks. (although both at once would be nice).

Can anyone point me to a reliable novice-friendly introduction to cutting, without drugs, for veterans (I am in my mid 50s).

So far I am:
A) I am still hitting the weights lifting fairly heavy loads at 6 to 8 repeats, so as to stop muscle loss.
B) I am cutting back on fast burn carbohydrates (although I am allowing myself a little fresh fruit e.g. berries to boost vitamins/nutrients)
C) On my off/non-gym days I am doing the following routine:
running 10 -15 mins, doing 10-15mins of some up-hill sprinting, and then running back.

I am particularly interested in what protocols of sprint training work best, as I understand sprinting is good for building up testosterone and human growth hormone (HGH). But given my age, I am keen not to get a heart attack and so am keeping my sprints fairly short 10-15 seconds and then resting (walking) for about 2.5 to 3 minutes. There is also the substantial risk of pulled muscles of course - particularly for longer sprints so I am stretching quite carefully first although I am not holding the stretches for more than a couple of seconds as I gather static stretches are frowned upon nowadays.

- Have any of you had much success with us sprinting to 'cut'?
- What protocols seem to have what effect - e.g. How many seconds rest are you taking?
- What else should I know about being in my 50s compared to being in my 20s?

Many thanks

J
 
John Smith said:
- What else should I know about being in my 50s compared to being in my 20s?
Click to expand...

Go to a doctor for this question. No one on this board, or anywhere else, can clear you for sprinting or give you the personalized information your looking for regarding your health.

To answer your other questions, I'm a big fan of hill sprinting. I don't really know what you're doing in your 10-15 minutes, but if you keep doing it I think you'll make the progress you want to see. Seems to me like you're doing the right things.

For what it's worth, here's how I work hills.

First training session:
Do about 1-10 single sprints up the hill, depending on the hill. Be sure to get a good full rest between sprints, such that you are no longer out of breath and feel ready. End your set at 10 singles, when you can't sprint the full hill anymore, or when it's taking you too long to rest.

Next training sessions:
Work up to ten singles. After that, start doing sets of twos, building up to five sets. Then do sets of three, building up to three sets.

Then, go back to singles, as you will be faster (and working yourself harder) and go through the routine again. Be sure to stay on any given step for a while if you didn't feel like you really owned the workout.

But first, talk to your doctor.

All the best,
Josh
 
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I lost about a pound a week doing S&S by the book with a 16 Kg bell year before last. Totally unexpected result. My wife said "you're looking skinny". I nearly fell off the scale when I stepped on it. I was enjoying the strength and fitness gains and not paying attention to anything else.
 
kodo kb said:
Work up to ten singles. After that, start doing sets of twos, building up to five sets. Then do sets of three, building up to three sets.
Click to expand...

Sorry I am a bit of a newbie. What exactly do yo mean by "ten singles"? Or "twos"?

Is this the number of seconds one is sprinting for?
Or is it more to do with the periods taken to rest?
Or is it about shuttle sprinting where one stops & starts (possibly changing direction at the same time)?


Re calories
Do you have any advice about the composition of diet (e.g. fat vs carb vs protein relative %ages) ? I forgot to mention that I do suffer slightly from hypoglycemia and my brain function does suffers somewhat if blood glucose gets too low. The point being that I do need to keep my brain functioning & be reasonably productive at work (!) Preferably do so without resorting to large doses of caffeine...

One more question, when trying to cut, is it important to do *something* every day. Or are rest days fine so long as you keep the calories down accordingly. I dont want to lose that hard won muscle...

J
 
PS My doctor is the most useless man on the planet. Seriously.
What are we looking for him to test. My blood pressure was "absolutely fine" last time I got it checked. Are we thinking he will do something more sophisticated?
 
Find a different Doc. ( I know... Easier said than done)
Someone said; and it might have been on this forum, words to the effect of... 'never trust a doctor who doesn't deadlift

Like others have said; please be sure you have medical clearance before attempting some if not most of the stuff discussed here.
As Whiskey_Fox said abs are made in the kitchen. (It's almost impossible to out-work poor diets)
As Mike E indicated S&S is solid gold.

Hill Sprints are a great tool and I'm a big fan of them. But you need to be sure that you are using the right too for the task at hand.
 
John Smith said:
Sorry I am a bit of a newbie. What exactly do yo mean by "ten singles"? Or "twos"? ...

Re calories
Do you have any advice about the composition of diet (e.g. fat vs carb vs protein relative %ages) ? I forgot to mention that I do suffer slightly from hypoglycemia and my brain function does suffers somewhat if blood glucose gets too low. The point being that I do need to keep my brain functioning & be reasonably productive at work (!) Preferably do so without resorting to large doses of caffeine...
Click to expand...

About the sprints, I was talking about it in terms of sets of reps.
A single rep is sprinting up the hill once, then relaxed but focused jogging down. Then you rest as needed for the next sprint repetition. End the session whenever it takes to long to recover for the next sprint rep. (That was intentionally vague. You can commit a certain amount of time to a session, you could have a set walking distance, or you could just feel it out. ALWAYS START A SPRINT IN GOOD FAITH. Know you can give it your all.) Try to build up to ten top quality hill sprints in one training session over the course of as many sessions as you need. After you can do ten single sprints, start doubles ("twos").

Doubles are sprinting up the hill once, jogging back down, and then immediately start sprinting up the hill again. That's two reps. These will be more exhausting because they're back to back, so build up to ten total sprints (five sets of doubles) again over the course of as many sessions as you need. Then go for triples, which I hope are clear now.

Re your hypoglycemia:
Did you talk to your doctor at all about talking up more exercise and your concerns for your blood sugar? This is a subject I really can't advise on. I strongly encourage you to re-consult your doctor, find a new one, or maybe even find a qualified nutritionist. I'm sorry your doctor is unhelpful, but there are lots of good ones out there.

All the best,
Josh
 
@John Smith, welcome to StrongFirst.

I would pair serious strength training with easy jogging or walking, not sprints. Or pair sprints with S & S (Pavel's Kettlebell: Simple & Sinister).

-S-
 
Hello,

@John Smith
If you want to cut, did you try IF (Intermittent Fasting) or Paleo diet ?

I tried both of them and IF seems to be the most efficient to lose weight, if you do some cardio at the same time. Paleo diet is more adpated if you want to gain muscle mass while losing fat. Nevertheless, paleo will cut you less than IF.

Regarding to the "sport part" of your problem, I would do jumping rope (3 - 4 times a week during 30 minutes) + a "finisher" (burpees, squats, moutain climbers) using either max rep per time or Tabata. If you have a kettlebell, massive amount of swings will also work very well.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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