The Elkridgean Cyclist - Sprinting to a Younger Me

I'm not an athlete. My husband tells me I'm a sedentary person. I don't really agree, but I can act the part of couch potato as well as the next person (okay, maybe better). Actually, the only creature of my acquaintance that out-couches me is my beagle mix, Buttercup. Buttercup is the best sleeper I've ever known. Sure, she likes to go out for walks but by the time we are done, her tongue is practically reaching the ground, and then she crashes hard. She might bark when people come. It depends on her mood. We haven't really figured out this little dog's mannerisms in the two years she's been in our family. She was raised in the country and lived outside most of her first 5 years. For someone who had the freedom to romp around the hills of West Virginia, she certainly adapted well to comfy couches when we brought her home, and she has never looked back.

My cat Dakota is a good sleeper too. But she plays hard (by playing, I mean committing murder of mice and moles) and she sleeps well. She leaps effortlessly onto her feeding counter with a grace that defies earthly abilities. Dakota is an athlete and a ballerina. She is my hero (except for the murdering part, but then, I'm a meat-eater like her, so perhaps I should be catching my own food too.)

As a side note, I often say that if I am to be reincarnated, I'd like to come back as a cat or dog in a household like mine.

I've read that cats sleep so well and so much because it takes so much energy to leap and to stalk and chase down their prey. Cats don't have as many arthritic problems as dogs and people. Certainly some have weight problems despite their activity. Another feline family member, Strider, comes to mind. He is the 3-legged wonder. He has always been active, and is a good leaper still, considering his 20 pounds and the loss of a front limb due to cancer. But what keeps them so youthful and strong? Perhaps it is their "sprinting."

I wrote recently about struggling to get back into shape after a devastating thumb injury. (Note how a thumb injury made it impossible for me to ride my exercise bike. Maybe my husband is right about me after all.) After my cast came off, I plugged along this winter and started to see some improvements. I lost 13 pounds and logged a lot of miles cycling. But I was still dreading those last hills on my way home after biking down by the river, which is where I must go to bike home from work. My check-up appointment time arrived, and my primary care physician was very pleased with my progress. He was so pleased, indeed, that he decided I should step it up some more. He talked to me about "Sprint-8" training. Talking to me about sprinting and fast-twitch muscles makes me giggle. I was always the kid in the back of the pack, yelling "Wait for me!" But he promised that if I tried these "sprints" for 2 weeks, the pounds would start melting away, and hill-climbing would be like cutting through butter. I shook his hand and said I'd hold him to that. Obviously you want your doctor's advice before embarking on a program like the one I'm about to describe.

Here's the deal. It's not just about doing intervals. After a 4 minute (or so) warm-up, it's about doing 30 second intervals where you work so hard you cannot possibly go another second. Your heart-rate should be maxing out in the "anaerobic" zone, and engaging fast and super-fast twitch muscles (hee hee hee). Otherwise you aren't doing it right. Then you get to back off for 90 seconds, getting your heart-rate back in the aerobic zone, but recovering somewhat.  You do 8 cycles of 30 second super-high-intensity intervals (peaks) and 90 second recovery periods. Then you cool down for another 4 minutes. Hence the name Sprint-8, also called "Peak-8" which was developed (at least in part) by Phil Campbell, author of "Ready, Set, Go! Synergy Fitness." But it isn't just about the peaks. It's about fasting before the interval session, and eating mostly protein (no more than 15 grams of carbohydrates) for a couple hours afterwards. I gather that the dietary restrictions are only for those people who struggle with their weight and metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance or couch-potato-ness). In normal aerobic work-outs, we engage mostly slow twitch muscles but engaging fast-twitch and super-fast-twitch muscles is supposed to stimulate the release of growth hormone, to make us feel younger and stronger. Phil Campbell recommends doing this 2-3 times a week. He claims that doing regular aerobic training is unnecessary as Sprint-8 does it all. I guess what we would normally consider aerobic exercise we will now call "recreational activities." I dunno. I ride my bike for the joy of it, so I'm not going to stop doing that.

Wait a minute. What activity should be used for intervals? Well, apparently it doesn't matter that much though some are safer and better than others. A recumbent bike or an elliptical machine seems to be the preferred indoor equipment. Treadmills are not recommended only because it takes time to ramp them up so it is hard to do the timing, but it can be done. Running outside is not strongly recommended because of the risk of injury, but with a good stretching routine, running can be used. The treadmill, apparently, does not stress the ligaments or muscles as much as outdoor running. I use my outdoor bike most of the time. I have a semi-recumbent bike but have a hard time getting my heart-rate up to its max on it. Besides, I have to get up those outside hills sooner or later, so I decided to make a game of it, and use those hills as my interval training ground. It's unbelievably hard, and I don't think it will ever get easier, though I might go farther and faster during intervals, because of the level of effort. My capabilities will increase but my perceived exertion will stay the same.

All's I can say at this point (10 days later) is that it seems to be working. Hill-climbing on non-interval days is not nearly so dreadful. Even though the work-out is so very hard, I find that recovery is faster. The first time I tried outdoor intervals I crashed for the rest of the day. After a few attempts, I find myself ready for more light activity within a couple hours. Once I even went to ballet class on an interval day. I didn't dance very well, but I didn't collapse. I don't fast very well, and if I'm doing these intervals on the way home from work, I just try not to eat anything after lunch. I haven't lost weight any faster, but I feel stronger, and hence, happier.

Will I ever be able to leap as effortlessly as my cat? That remains to be seen.

I have a facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheElkridgeanCyclist where we can have more discussions, share pictures, rides etc. Please join me!