Building & Fueling High-Performance

Sign In | Sign Up

Muscle
Share Share Share Share Share

The 6-Week Sprinting Solution

Previous | Pages 1 2

The Triple 6 Workouts

The number in the work column of the tables below represents your work time, and the number in the rest column is your rest time. If you see "10" and "20" in those columns respectively, that means sprint for 10 seconds and rest for 20 seconds. These workouts are done on a treadmill, which allows for convenience with both performance and timing. While you can do these as outdoor sprints, you'll run into the issue of clock-watching. Sprinting on a treadmill is a bit tricky. Be careful, and be sure to use the handrails as you jump on and off. When you're resting, simply grab the handrails and jump onto the side rails of the treadmill. To jump back on, grab the handrails and start sprinting again. Maintain your grip on the handrails for the first second or two. If you choose to train outside, my recommendation would be to sprint for distances instead of times. Take the given time and multiply it by 8; that's the distance you'll run in yards. So a 10-second sprint becomes an 80-yard sprint. Your rest period is the amount of time it takes to briskly walk or jog back to the starting point. Each week, do a single sprint workout, six days per week. The workouts are structured to be progressive, allowing each week to build on the previous week. If at any point you feel like the workout is too easy, simply increase the speed or incline on the treadmill not the time. The time is how we measure progress week to week, so increasing your sprints because you feel strong one day is going to mess with the program. Ideally, do these workouts first thing in the morning. If you're going to be training in the morning, sprint first and train after. Stretch before and after. Stay hydrated. Insert other disclaimers. Don't be an idiot and hurt yourself.

On to the show!

Week 1
Sprint 1 2 3 Work 20 10 15 Rest 10 20 15 Sprint 4 5 6 Work 20 10 10 Rest 10 10 50

Cooldown: 4 min walk Optional: 15 min incline walk for extra fat burning Total Sprint Time for the Workout: 85 seconds Total Sprint Time for the Week: 510 seconds Notes on Week 1: You'll notice that in this week you're sprinting for a total of 510 seconds, which is a great start. However, the important part here is the set up. You're never going to dig yourself into too deep of a hole, because the rest periods are structured to allow you a nice bit of recovery. There are only two sprints lasting 20 seconds one when you're fresh, and one when you've rested for a "long" period of 15 seconds. More importantly, each of those 20 second sprints is followed by a short sprint of only 10 seconds. This short follow up sprint won't tax you too much, so you can recover more effectively on subsequent rest periods. Overall, this will break you in and allow for some nice fat loss. Week one is also a good gauge of where your weaknesses may reside. If at the end of the workout you're winded, we've got some issues and you should repeat this. On the other hand, if you're not winded but having trouble closing out some of the sprints, that may be an issue with local fatigue, and will work itself out over the week.

Week 2
Sprint 1 2 3 Work 20 10 15 Rest 10 20 15 Sprint 4 5 6 Work 15 15 10 Rest 15 15 50

Cooldown: 4 min walk Optional: 15 min incline walk for extra fat burning Total Sprint Time for the Workout: 85 seconds Total Sprint Time for the Week: 510 seconds Notes on Week 2: During the second week of the program, you'll notice that your total sprint times are the same. Where's the progression from week one? While your work time is unchanged, the structure of the workouts is what makes this a bit harder. You only have a single 20-second sprint here, followed by a short 10-second sprint. However, from there you have to deal with three 15-second sprints in a row, all with equal rest periods. This forces higher performance with less rest. While you're not doing more overall work than Week 1, you're allowed less recovery during the latter part of the workout. This will help increase work capacity and prepare you for more total work in the coming week.

Moreover, having multiple "long" sprints helps build local endurance in your legs, ensuring that as you progress in the program, tired legs won't hamper you.

Week 3
Sprint 1 2 3 Work 20 15 15 Rest 10 15 15 Sprint 4 5 6 Work 15 15 10 Rest 15 15 50

Cooldown: 4 min walk Optional: 15 min incline walk for extra fat burning Total Sprint Time for the Workout: 90 seconds Total Sprint Time for the Week: 540 seconds Notes on Week 3: This week, we progress in a few different areas. First, you'll notice that the total work time increases to 90 seconds of total sprinting per day. While five seconds may seem a small difference, when we're talking sprints, every little bit helps. Looking at the structure, you can see how the difficulty will escalate. The short 10-second sprint and 20-second rest combo is gone, meaning that your longest rest period is now at the very end of the workout. Instead of being able to recover to any real degree, you jump into 15/15 alternations for the majority of the workout. Although it's only a 1:1 work/rest combo, it's still physically exhausting and serves to improve cardiovascular endurance while burning fat. This also begins to draw on the enhanced local endurance in your legs that was built during the first three weeks.

Week 4
Sprint 1 2 3 Work 20 20 10 Rest 10 10 20 Sprint 4 5 6 Work 10 15 15 Rest 20 15 45

Cooldown: 4 min walk

Optional: 15 min incline walk for extra fat burning Total Sprint Time for the Workout: 85 seconds Total Sprint Time for the Week: 510 seconds

STORE

WORKOUTS

ARTICLES

FORUMS

VIDEO

Search Site

Notes on Week 4: Again, we have a week where there's no increase in total training volume, but rather changes in structure. Week 4 introduces the first appearance of two 20-second sprints back to back. This is exceptionally challenging, particularly with only 10 seconds of rest in between. Thankfully, by this point you have a lot of experience with doing 15-second sprints back to back, so you're prepared for it.

The structure here is hard in the beginning, then a bit soft in the middle two 10-second sprints with 20 seconds of rest isn't hard. In many ways, this week is almost a "deload" week. It's easier than previous weeks, and serves to prepare you for the upcoming long sprints back to back.

Week 5
Sprint 1 2 3 Work 20 20 10 Rest 10 10 20 Sprint 4 5 6 Work 15 15 15 Rest 15 15 45

Cooldown: 4 min walk Optional: 15 min incline walk for extra fat burning Total Sprint Time for the Workout: 95 seconds Total Sprint Time for the Week: 570 seconds Notes on Week 5: This week workload goes up again, but that's not the only way things get more difficult. Along with increasing sprint time to 95 seconds per day, you're also packing the seconds closer together with less rest. As with Week 4, the long sprints are in the front; however, this time you only have a single 10-second sprint/20 second rest combo, followed by three 15/15 bouts to finish off the workout. You're being forced to increase work output with diminished recovery time. You'll never fully recover, and each sprint will take it out of you, making subsequent sprints even harder. Of course, the end result is increased fitness and decreased fatness.

Week 6
Sprint 1 2 3 Work 20 20 15 Rest 10 10 15 Sprint 4 5 6 Work 15 10 20 Rest 15 20 40

Cooldown: 4 min walk Optional: 15 min incline walk for extra fat burning Total Sprint Time for the Workout: 100 seconds Total Sprint Time for the Week: 600 seconds Notes on Week 6: This week, we finally get to the goal of sprinting for 100 total seconds per day, totaling 600 per week. However, unlike my first shot at this, you won't be burned out because you'll have prepared for it over the previous weeks while losing fat! With Week 6, it's all work and no play. You've got two 20-second sprints in the front. This time, there's no 10-second recovery sprint followed by 20 seconds of rest.

No sweet air just a double dose of 15-second bad boys to follow it up. After that, you finally get a break with a 10-second sprint. After 20 brief seconds of rest, however, you're right back into the grind, finishing out strong with a 20-second sprint of agony. By the end of the workout you'll be cursing my family for six generations in either direction. You'll also be burning fat and getting into the best cardiovascular shape of your life. Week 6 can be performed for up to two additional weeks (stretching the program to a total of 8 weeks) before you need to take a week off and rest. Provided you practiced some dietary diligence, by this time you should also have an adorable litter of six round and fuzzy abdominal muscles snuggled up neatly above your belly button. In honor of the efficacy of this program, please name the cutest of the bunch Roman.

Other Training and Odds and Ends

Of course, you'll want to do some other training outside of just sprints during the next six weeks, so it's important that we briefly cover that. While the 6-6-6 program can be done in concert with nearly any training program, some are a better fit than others. The best training program would be a full body fat loss workout, done 2-3 times per week. First, a fat loss workout is going to help maximize the effects you're looking for with the program in the first place (duh). Second, a full body program is very much in the same vein as the 6-6-6 program itself frequent stimulation, but lower daily volume. This means that you can do a full body program with no modifications, despite the fatigue and compromised recovery you're likely to have from the sprinting. Here's the workout I recommend while following the 6-6-6 Sprinting program:

A1 A2

Exercise Barbell Push Press Pull-up with 2-second pause

Sets 1 1

Reps 8 6-8

A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8

Alternating DB Lunge Single-Leg Glute Bridge with 3-second pause Bodyweight Plank DB Floor Press Bent Over Barbell Row Goblet Squat

1 1 1 1 1 1

8* 8* 45 sec. 12 10 6-8

* per leg Rest 10-20 seconds between exercise. Perform this circuit four times, resting 2-3 minutes between circuits. Remember that despite the short daily workout, sprinting is taxing, and should be given top priority, at least for six weeks. Therefore, while the above workout is effective, it's designed to work alongside the sprints, which is why the leg volume is toned down. As long as you choose appropriate weights and move briskly, this brief circuit will shred off fat while keeping your strength levels up. For those who wish to continue on with their regularly scheduled training, the obvious modifications concern leg training. First, on days where you train legs, sprinting will be optional. If you choose to sprint on your leg training days (masochist), sprint first and reduce your weights. Period. Don't be a tough guy, and don't think you're smarter than ol' Roman. Reduce the weight, and do the sprints first. The other mandatory change to make is to avoid sprinting the day after your leg training. You need one day to recover. Take that time to stretch, do some extra foam rolling, and read my blog.

Wrap Up
In a perfect world, we'd all grow old gracefully and become more distinguished versions of our youthful selves while not losing an ounce of our youthful athletic ability; like George Clooney with Reggie Bush's six-pack and 40-yard dash time. Unfortunately, Father Time catches up with all of us, and while we can't stop the clock, we can slow that fucker down some. Sprinting along with other activities that require natural athleticism is a great place to start.

Previous | Pages 1 2

Comment in Livespill | Discuss in Forums | Add Favorite | Print Version

PUBLISHED 02-07-12 07:56

LiVESPILL COMMENTS
Iceblade: @John Romaniello - When you state in Week 1 "If at the end of the workout you're winded, we've got some issues and you should repeat this", what are you referring to repeating? Do you mean repeat Week 1 over and over 6 days a week for multiple weeks until you are no longer winded at the end of the workout or something else? Thanks, John! This is exactly the type of workout I was hoping to find when I Googled "sprint training".
04-25-2013 12:05

chadeber: @john romaniello have you taken indigo 3G ? What's your thoughts ?
04-17-2013 19:30

WheelMan13: bump? anyone use this program?

feint80: does anyone have before-after pics or progress?

Xaevin: Week 4- Total Sprint Time for the Workout: 90 seconds not 85 seconds, which would also mean Total Sprint Time for the Week: 540 seconds. Just a little correction :D.

T NATION

STORE

04-29-2012 10:25

COMPANY
Privacy Policy Acceptable Use Policy Biotest Supplement Advice Technical Support [email protected] 800-525-1940 1998-2013 T NATION LLC

Home New & Featured Supplements Other Products Articles feint80: bump? Workouts Support All Supplements Clothing Supplements 02-19-2012 18:22 Articles Top Sellers Books Goals Forums Favorites Equipment Ingredients mom-in-MD: I'm not sure if you'll be back to answer but wanted to know if you would Video Authors recommend using the spin bike as a sub? I'm going to give it a shot anyway and will let Tags

you know ;)

02-17-2012 15:41

fitairess: I am cutting for a competition and I have to do 60 min of fasted cardio in the AM. Can I do the sprint first then my 60 min steady state cardio or should I do it before my training session in the afternoons? I have done it in the AM this week and my legs are already looking better. Thank you
02-16-2012 17:24

ddibernardo: Thanks for sharing Roman. I am going to give this a try in 6 weeks when I start my cutting phase.
02-16-2012 09:55

JK29: @maplewalnut: I apologize, I have an iPhone.

maplewalnut: @james861194: I couldn't find the one JK29 mentioned. However, after a few attempts at sifting through the free apps, I was able to find an app which allows you to customize the timer to exactly what was mentioned in the article, for each week. It's called "A HIIT Interval Timer".
02-15-2012 18:46

JK29: Also... if you want a good interval timer. Search "Seconds Free" in your app market.