Make Your Next 5K a Personal Best!

Are you ready to achieve a new personal best in your 5K running time?  Then it’s time to try Sprint 8 training.  What is Sprint 8 training? It’s not High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), but rather it’s Sprint Intensity Training (SIT), meaning you go all-out during your sprints.

Sprint 8 includes 8 intervals of anaerobic exercise in the form of 30 second all-out sprints which recruits the Type IIa and IIx fast twitch muscle fibers. Sprint 8 helps with speed and is ideal for those runners looking to shave off some time on their next race.  In comparison, long distance steady state endurance running engages primarily the slow twitch muscle fibers and adds a lot of wear and tear on the body. 

You’ll find that Sprint Intensity Training equals energy gaining. Sprint 8 training multiplies the number of energy-producing mitochondria in the muscle cells which is the key for increasing energy levels.  You’ll notice the difference in your race times!

Additionally, Sprint Intensity Training equals endurance gain. Your body improves very quickly when you do Sprint 8 cardio because it pushes the body to its max efforts, but only if you go all-out during your sprints.  This leads your body to maximize its usage of oxygen and increases overall endurance. Martin Gibala’s research shows you can double endurance capacity in three workouts per week in just two weeks’ time!

If you are a runner for fitness only, studies show that Sprint 8 actually has the same long-term fitness benefits as distance running with less wear and tear on the lower body, and much less exercise time invested! 

Sprint 8 training is an essential element included in the eFitClub’s 5K Running Program.  Click on the following link (5K Training Program) to learn more . 

Ref. Gibala MJ, Little JP, van Essen M, et al. Short-term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance. J Physiol. 2006;575(Pt 3):901–911. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2006.112094 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1995688/