Of course, it will! Sprinting is one of the most powerful methods of burning fat known to man. It’s a pity that many people do not know about this and instead spend hours slogging it out on the treadmill.
If you have watched the Olympics on TV, you may have noticed that the Sprinters are muscular, ripped and look like they were chiseled from stone. The long-distance runners, however, look emaciated and weak.Of course, since they’re Olympians, they’re most probably not weak but it’s the appearance we’re concerned with. The average person who runs long distances daily as a method of keeping fit does not have the variety of training or coaches that the Olympian has.
Sprinting VS Long Distance Running
What the average person will probably have are a weak frame, a small paunch and a generally unimpressive physique. Even with years of long-distance running, they will never look like someone who has spent his or her time sprinting. There is a reason for this. Long-distance running is steady-state cardio whereas sprinting is high-intensity interval training. Countless studies have proven that high-intensity training is far more effective than steady-state cardio for weight loss.
The reason for this is that sprinting or any high-intensity interval workout creates a physiological condition known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Your body has faced a deficit in oxygen because it was being trained in an anaerobic state. To make up for this deficit, your heart rate will be accelerated, and your body will be demanding oxygen for up to 12 hours after your workout.
You will be in fat-burning mode for a long time after your workout ends. Even if you spent 10 minutes sprinting you would have created an oxygen deficit in your body that needs to be compensated. It will be much more effective than 60 minutes of steady running. You may not have burnt many calories during the 15 minutes of sprinting, but you will burn much more in the hours succeeding the workout.
If you just did 60 minutes of steady jogging, you would have burnt calories during the 60 minutes. However, once your workout ends, your fat burning will taper off very fast and will stop within a very short while. You will not be in fat-burning mode after your workout ends. This would be a waste. Since your goal is to lose as much fat as possible within the shortest possible time, sprinting seems far better than steady-state cardio.
Advantages
Sprinting causes the body to release lactic acid, and this is essential to countering the negative effects of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Cortisol is responsible for belly fat. So, if you are regularly sprinting, you will have less cortisol in your body and the effectiveness of sprinting will also shred away the stubborn belly fat that everyone struggles to lose.
Sprinting makes your body work at its anaerobic threshold and this is the zone you want to be in. It’s the zone where maximum fat is burned.
If you’re interested in sprinting, you may find sample workouts online and tailor them to suit your fitness level. The goal is to run as hard and fast as you can for a fixed time period followed by a short rest. For example, 60 seconds of sprinting followed by 30 seconds of rest. Repeat this 10 times for one hell of a workout.
You’ll be gasping, panting and cursing. But after 10 sprints, your body will be burning fat for hours and hours. Definitely worth the effort. Sprint twice or thrice a week and watch the fat melt off your body.
