Looks like the answer is “yes.” But that’s okay for me. Sprinting on my bike is one of my favorite things. (Hills, not so much.)
- “Well, if you want to increase metabolic response, accrue lean muscle mass, gain speed and quickness, enhance rotational power, jump higher, lift heavier, dominate life and sports and have a greater chance of surviving a shot at running with the bulls, then YES, you should be sprinting!” That’s Kyle Arsenault at Fitocracy. Read more, especially about getting ready to sprint, here.
- “Scientists in Australia claim to have discovered the exercise technique that burns the maximum amount of fat with the least amount of work. Participants in the study put in three 20-minute stints on an exercise bike per week for 12 weeks. During the sessions, they would repeatedly sprint for eight seconds, then pedal slowly for 12. The researchers claim that the subjects lost as much weight with this single hour of exercise per week as they would have with five to seven hours of jogging. The group explained the results as such: Fast sprinting caused the body to release high levels of a specific group of hormones, called catecholamines, which drive the release of fat, especially abdominal and visceral fat, from fat stores so it can be burned by working muscles. ‘We don’t know why, but moving limbs very fast generates high levels of catecholamine,” Dr Boutcher, whose findings are published in the Journal of Obesity, said. Sprinting for eight seconds raised a person’s heart rate while keeping lactic acid release, which make muscles tire quicker, to a minimum, he said.” Read more at Lifehacker here.
- Supercharge Your Sprint from Chris Carmichael at Bicycling Magazine
- Technique: How to improve your sprinting by Gary Palmer at Bike Radar
