More adults should train like sprinters

Sure, but the question isn't whether older people should sprint. It is whether older people should train like sprinters. Not the same thing.

Almost everyone should do some strength work. This doesn't mean that everyone should train like a body builder. Everyone can sprint. Doesn't mean that everyone can train like a sprinter.

You make an interesting point about strength and sprinting mechanics as necessary preconditions to benefit from sprint training and avoid injuries. I'd argue the best combination is intense speedwork (which presumes a level of strength to control sprinting biomechanics and avoid blowout injuries) and interval workouts at distances between 150m and 600m. A couple of days of each per week interspersed with a recovery days strikes a good balance.

I read the article. It doesn’t paint Attia in the best light but it’s also not that bad. All you have to do is listen to his podcast or any number of interviews with him and you can tell that he’s a bit of a tool. The journalist asked for an interview. He said no. The journalist badgered him and he gave in. Of course he wasn’t thrilled to do it. I’m by no means a big Attia fan. I have listened to a handful of episodes of his podcasts. His general message of exercise more, mostly at a lower intensity, do strength and stability training, eat more protein, seems like pretty good advice. Like all of these influencers, take it with a grain of salt. You don’t have to agree with everything that he says and I certainly don’t.

You said he has a lot of things wrong. What are you alluding to?

Well for starters he pretty much overdoes it with his exercise recommendations…he approaches it from a performance standpoint…

I would say that 6 sets of 4 or 4 sets of 6, whichever it is, is overkill.

Neither a masters trainer or even a young sprinter should be doing that. Especially if the goal is to maintain some “pop” or speed in the legs.

Even if speed maintenance/ development wasn’t the main focus of the session, I bet that T levels could be boosted via lesser sets / reps and there are safer ways to boost VO2 max.

As you were writing this in the middle of the night, I was reading the study again! The study was geared towards soccer... a sport where short (4-6 seconds) bursts of speed are common and repeated many times. Subjects were also an average of 17.5 years old so whether a comparable benefit would occur in age 60-ish runners isn't certain. I would be great to see a similar study on masters runners.

It also gradually increases the number of set so at 7 weeks, subjects in the 1:9 ratio were doing 4x10 reps (one 6-sec rep with a 54-sec recovery.). Add in the recovery between sets and that's a 45 minute workout!

In my opinion, masters runners could make better use of those 45 minutes with the following workouts.

The Sprint 8 workout (1:3 ratio of 30 sec "sprint" and 90 sec recovery) has a proven benefit for older runners. So does the short 1:1 (30 sec mile pace, 30 sec slow jog) Billat 30-30 workout and both can be completed in less time... the Sprint 8 in 16 minutes and the Billat 30-30 in 17-24 minutes.

However, I strongly agree that aging distance runners could benefit from some weekly short speed (with speed defined in this case as faster than their race pace).

No, 150m to 600m is way too long. You’re training to be slow like a distance runner. It should be most of the time in 10m to 40m intervals at full speed. Occasionally do longer distance sprints.

This is for both sprint training and being healthy sprinting like a sprinter.

An "interval" is a rest period between hard efforts. Why would you do your rest periods at full speed?

It's ridiculous that the shortest distance of sprinting is at 150m. And up to 600m? Who can sprint for that long? Rhetorical question. Noone can. That's not sprinting. Typical distance runner mindset.

Lots of suggestions made during the course of this thread. But along the way we may (myself included) have strayed somewhat from the premise of the original post.
As older trainees…can we sprint? Is it a good idea to sprint as part of our weekly workout sessions. If not…why not?
If so, what does that sprint session look like in terms of reps ( distance, intensity, recovery, quantity) and frequency?
I still maintain that two to four forty yard dashes ( probably with a rolling start) with the intensity dialled down to 90 -95% effort, with a focus on smooth, relaxed, good form, rather than tense, strained all out effort, with plenty of rest between each, will do. Like hair gel, a little dab is all that’s needed to suffice. Once or twice a week would do the trick.
The same in terms of 100 metre “strides” building up to relaxed fast effort for two to three seconds in the middle can also be used. Same number of reps, similar rest periods, same frequency.
If a bit of acceleration training is warranted, then four, 2 to 5 second hill sprints from standing should suffice. Once again, same frequency, similar rest periods.
If you want to do some jumping then some single effort box jumps ( not so high that you end up landing like a frog…keep the box height low enough that you can get some extension after your jump) and then step down not jump down. Remember, at our age, those landings start to add up.
Nothing fancy, nothing excessive. No need to overthink it.

Your suggestion is looking through the lens of long distance running mentality. It's still jogging. And then, once or twice a week, throw in some short sprints.

No, that's not the premise of the original post. Premise of the original post is to train more like a sprinter. That is, not base it off of long distance training. It's based off of sprinting.

Problem is, many people on this thread have no clue about sprinting. That's why you see people looking to do 150m repeats. Or, some type of intervals that may be shorter distances, but with short rest times. Or Crossfit type training.

Sprinter type training is zero distance running. Zero. Do 2-3 sprint sessions per week(actual sprint sessions and not distance running "sprint" sessions.) Plyos, and lifting. Rest on weekends. Or, if your weekdays are busy, schedule accordingly, but have 2 full rest days per week at least.

If the goal is a sprint, then whatever ground you can cover in 10-20 seconds is probably fine, whether that's 40m or 200m. Just make sure you're on flat stable ground and you have enough room.

And if box jumps are dangerous, then plain old standing tuck jumps or even something like burpees are probably fine. The goal with plyo is practicing explosive movement to keep your fast twitch in use and engaged. What you do exactly matters less than that you can practice engaging explosive compound or whole body movement in a safe and repeatable manner on a regular basis.

Most of these older ripped influencers are doping with multiple sources, and they will lie about it to the death. I wouldn't give their input a grain of salt unless it's been reputably verified elsewhere.

Not if you're an old dude who's beat up from decades of running. Lol

I'm 63 & a sad sight for sore eyes. I've got an arthritic ankle (need fusion surgery), arthritic hip (eventually needs replaced), chronic hamstring & Achilles problems & a bad back! 😖 If I were to sprint of any distance, I'd blow something up. Lol.

I'm relegated to spin bike workouts where I do the "Norwegian 4x4s" twice a week. I also do a lot of weight training to combat sarcopenia & help with my arthritis.

Sprinting is a young man's game 😉 If you're over 60 & can sprint, you're genetically gifted & have somehow discovered the Fountain of Youth. More power to you: Count your blessings but don't be pushing this sprinting BS on most old guys over 60 that can't sprint let alone even run. Lol

I have over 100k hard miles on my scarred up carcass and am proof that with the right approach, sprinting is actually EASIER on the body and MOST IMPORTANTLY, HEALTHIER in the long run than just shuffling off into the sunset. But you have to be willing to adopt a much different training mindset. My key concept overall is "playful discipline" coupled with "relaxed spontaneity".

Who said anything about distance training? Where in my post does it mention that? I’d not even thought about that in my recommendations.

But also, in the spirit of the original post, sprinting for older trainees, I had taken age into consideration. The post was about adding sprinting training to an older trainees weekly schedule, an older trainee interested in general health and well-being. NOT an older trainee looking to compete in sprint competitions. As such therefore there is no need to train “like a sprinter”. But you can adopt SOME ideas into your program, IF your body allows. Other ideas, like extensive plyo training, might be best left to the memories of our youth.

As a 60+ I run 12x200 @34 as well as 6x800 @330. I do 6X100 buildups before any run. Pr at 200 is 27.7 at my age plus 242@800. Juat run for fun

This has been a great thread. Lots of discussion over what qualifies as sprint training. But where's the line between long sprints and middle distance? If the goal is fitness for the 50+ crowd, does it even matter?

Short hill sprints, flying 30s, 200/300/400s, its all good and more importantly, helluva a lot more fun than pure distance running on old joints (and potentially healthier). Play with the reps, distance, recovery, set breaks, hill grade, etc. Loads of variety to enable you to strike a nice balance between speed, athleticism and endurance.

The other day I saw a couple of old bulls plodding along with a painful looking gait, looking overheated and generally miserable. I remember those distance days well and wanted to yell, liberate yourself brother! Open up the throttle and fly towards that tree yonder. Wait a minute and then do it again!

I haven't read the whole thread, however... I returned to track and field after almost 15 years out, most of which was pretty sedentary (med related). My background was middle and long distance but due to ongoing med and health issues, I could no longer put any meaningful mileage in. So I started training for sprints with two aims: firstly, to get reasonably fit, certainly fitter than most of my peers who are falling apart, and secondly, to have a laugh training and competing without getting too serious about it (oops).

Hardest thing coming back has been injury prevention and management. If you sit around for years and then try to get up and run quickly, things are going to fail. I popped a hamstring and I have watched several others my age (50s) do exactly the same in their first or second session back.

It has taken me three years to get to the point where I can handle reasonable levels of training. What I have learnt that applies to me is that, long term, I can have a max of one really fast session per week. I can manage more for a couple of weeks but then I have to dial it back again, or something will pop. Accelerations 10-40m work well to wake me up and can function as a relatively "low load" way of getting the legs moving quickly, as long as I don't always go too hard.

I have been doing more plyometrics than ever before (not hard) and quite a lot of conditioning work, but I am not supposed to lift heavy so I avoid the weights room. I will do more tempo work again this winter - didn't do as much last winter and I think it showed in my performances this summer (partly wrecked by health, again).

I am the healthiest and fittest I have been in the last 20 years so, no surprise, I am in favour of adding some sprint training to your routine as long as it is managed carefully. I would caution older folks to be conservative in their approach to begin with and build up slowly. A little can be quite effective, and a little too much can leave you with excess time on your hands to work out where you overcooked things.

Oh and I was regularly getting burnt by M60s this summer...

Remember folks we are not talking about training for competition here…

If you want to add sprinting into your week, then it would be wise, if you wish to remain injury free ( and that is the goal surely, if we are training for health and well being rather than performance?) then you should be looking to find the MINIMAL effective dose, in terms of intensity, volume and frequency, NOT the most you can tolerate. A little dab will do ya’.

The concluding paragraph of this article pretty much sums up the reality of training for competition and performance, which is miles away from the objective of the focus of this thread.

”Despite injuries being part and parcel of competitive sport, through appropriate loading and programming, and via optimizing mechanics, the risk can be mitigated.”

The author even concludes that the competitive masters athlete needs to reign it back, so that applies far more so to the rest of us.

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Fighting the Injury Bug as a Sprinter - SimpliFaster

David Maris

David Maris gives readers a unique insight into an athlete’s career through the lens of his injuries, reflecting on the role played by mechanics, workload, and other factors.

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