Introduction to the Episode

Philip Pape 0:01

One of the most common questions I get is what do I do for cardio or will cardio kill my gains ? Well , forget traditional cardio , hiit workouts or metabolic conditioning . There's a form of high-intensity movement that's completely different , one that can complement your strength , power and muscle development while accelerating fat loss . Today , we're uncovering why sprinting true anaerobic sprinting is the secret weapon for lifters who want explosive strength and a leaner physique without compromising their gains . You'll learn the science behind why sprinting complements muscle building , while other forms of conditioning tend to break it down , and exactly how to implement it to accelerate your results . Welcome to Wits and Weights , the show that helps you build a strong , healthy physique using evidence , engineering and efficiency . I'm your host , philip Pape , and today we are examining why sprinting belongs in every serious lifter's training arsenal . Let me be clear we are not talking about cardio jogging or those exhausting HIIT circuits that leave you drained . We are talking about pure , explosive , anaerobic work , the kind that triggers muscle fiber recruitment and hormonal responses similar to heavy lifting . Even if you've sworn off cardio to protect your gains , the unique benefits of proper sprinting might change your mind . Now , before we get into these benefits , I want to tell you about two exciting things happening in our Wits and Weights Physique University coaching program . First , tomorrow I am hosting a live workshop where I'll break down my complete sprinting protocol the exact method I use with clients to accelerate results , to improve fat loss , to get leaner without losing muscle , and it is really a game changer . If you're wondering how to implement your quote unquote cardio Plus , we are kicking off our first ever transformation challenge in the community . We're going to have monthly challenges going forward and when you join WWPU now today , you're going to get free access to both the workshop and the challenge and 14 days of access to sort of kick the tires and see what it's all about . So click the link in the show notes or head to witsandweightscom slash physique to learn all about Physique University and everything that's included , as well as get free access for two weeks and you'll have access to tomorrow's workshop on sprinting . As well as get free access for two weeks and you'll have access to tomorrow's workshop on sprinting as well as our first challenge all the resources associated with that , as soon as you join .

Philip Pape 2:33

All right , let's break this down into three segments when we cover sprinting today . First , I'm going to talk about what most lifters get wrong about cardio and conditioning and why sprinting is fundamentally different . It is its own term , sprinting . We don't want to confuse that with running totally different things . And that's the first thing . Second , we're going to explore seven research-backed benefits that make sprinting uniquely valuable in and of itself for anyone focused on building strength and muscle . This is something I'm personally incorporating now that I wasn't before . It is a game changer . It's a level up in my personal education , both as a podcaster and a coach , and also for my clients . Finally , I'm gonna outline the framework for implementing sprinting in your training without compromising your primary goals . And again , if you wanna join us for tomorrow's live workshop in the Physique

Common Misconceptions About Cardio

Philip Pape 3:20

University , just join today . Again , you can cancel literally right after the workshop if you don't think it's for you , but at least you can be there . It's live , it's on Zoom , you'll get all the resources , you'll get the guide and I'm going to go over specific protocols in much more detail than what I'm covering today .

Philip Pape 3:35

All right , let's start with the elephant in the room , which is this widespread fear of cardio in the lifting community , and there's either a fear of it , or people are doing it wrong , or they think they have to do a lot of it , or that it's the way to instigate fat loss . And I've done other episodes about cardio itself and the value of walking as opposed to doing chronic what's called metronomic cardio like running . But then we have on the other side people saying well , I have heard that too much cardio is going to interfere with my recovery , interfere with my gains , so I'm just not going to do it at all . And I think I think the fear isn't entirely unfounded because traditional cardio training that we are all used to in our head , which is , you know , excessive , oftentimes incorrectly in terms of form , especially if you're a runner . There's a lot of heel striking , cushioned shoes , just terrible for your joints , for your recovery , for muscle tearing . That can definitely interfere with muscle growth and strength development , for sure .

Philip Pape 4:33

And there is solid evidence showing that too much endurance work can elevate cortisol . Especially when you have these long sessions and now you're just taking that cortisol up chronically . It can create excessive systemic fatigue and then that impacts your lifting performance . You get to the gym and now you're sluggish , you're drained , you can't push as heavy or hard . It can generate competing adaptation signals to your muscle development . So your body's like am I in endurance mode or am I in muscle building mode and then they increase your overall inflammation and keep you under-recovered just indefinitely , so to speak .

Philip Pape 5:09

Where most people get this wrong , though , is they lump all forms of conditioning into the same category . Right , they hear cardio and they immediately think of long runs and less psyching , the brutal hit circuits for those of us who are familiar with CrossFit or F45 , and they kind of destroy you , right , and for some people , that's a badge of honor . Yeah , it killed me , it destroyed me , I couldn't get up . That is not a good thing . Now , this is like saying that all resistance training is the same , whether you're doing lightweight , high rep pump work or heavy compound movements . No , it's not all the same .

Philip Pape 5:38

The stimulus matters enormously , and sprinting is fundamentally different . It's a unique form of I don't even know if I call it conditioning , but it's definitely a specialization that is missing from a lot of our repertoires . It is not endurance work , right . It's not even really cardio in the traditional sense , because , true , sprinting is a pure expression of power , right , it's more like an explosive lift , that concentric on your bench press or your squat , than a conditioning session , and when you sprint properly , you're recruiting the same type two muscle fibers that you target during heavy squats or deadlifts , you're actually training your nervous system to generate maximum force in minimal time . And , just as a side tangent , look at the physiques of a 100 meter , 200 meter sprinter and compare that to a long distance runner . I'm not saying it's all about physique , but there is a difference in how the body expresses and develops itself to support that specialty . And this distinction is really important because it completely changes how your body responds to training . Instead of breaking down muscle tissue to fuel this long duration work , you're actually creating an anabolic environment that supports muscle growth and strength

The 7 Benefits of Sprinting

Philip Pape 6:52

development .

Philip Pape 6:52

We're going to touch on this a little bit . I don't want you to think that sprinting itself is how you build muscle , but it supports it and it can complement it in really almost magical ways . It's pretty incredible . So that's why sprinting is different . Now I want to break down the seven specific benefits that make it uniquely valuable for lifters . I'm of a mind now that everyone should be doing this . These are not theoretical . They're backed by research , they're backed by real world experience with athletes , with lifters , and so I'm going to go through each one .

Philip Pape 7:22

Number one is you can improve your conditioning very effectively without muscle loss . And the first and most immediate benefit here is really related to improved work capacity , but without any of the downsides of traditional cardio phosphagen energy system , right , the ATP-CP , the adenosine triphosphate , creatine phosphate system , and that is the same one you use for heavy lifts as opposed to your glycolytic glycogen burning system , and so that means you're going to have better recovery between sets during your lifting sessions . Because you have this higher work capacity , you have an enhanced ability to sustain your intensity throughout your workouts and then improved overall training capacity , but without breaking down muscle in the process . And I don't want to make it sound like all other forms of cardio aren't going to help you get conditioned . I do think you can do low-grade workouts , intent , like what they call low intensity , steady state cardio , and as long as it's not running , um , if it's something that's concentrically focused , like being on a bike or swimming or pushing a prowler , I still I still can recommend that to like . It's not going to necessarily hurt doing that . If it's done a couple of times a week , you know for far less of the amount of time as you lift weights . That's still the benchmark . I still stand by that . You don't necessarily need to do it . In fact , I would prefer you just walk and sometimes make your walking a little bit harder like rucking weighted vests , inclines , walking really fast , things like that than those other forms of cardio .

Philip Pape 8:55

And then add sprinting in for its unique benefits . Trust me , sprinting is its own thing . You've got to be doing this . Number two so okay , so that's number one . It increases your work capacity without any of the downsides . Number two it enhances fat loss .

Philip Pape 9:09

Okay , and this I used to be skeptical over . I didn't understand quite why that would be the case . But there's a few different reasons for it . One has to do with hormones , which we're actually going to put into a separate category and talk about in a moment . For this one , I'm just going to focus on what they call the EPOC effect excess post-exercise oxygen consumption , where your body stays in a heightened metabolic state for hours after your session .

Philip Pape 9:34

So this really does kind of come down to a little bit of a calorie burn thing , right , kind of like when the benefits of HIIT that they've said . Well , with HIIT you can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time . The problem with HIIT is you could push past that fat burning point into the height , the stress triggering point . With sprinting you don't get to that point . So you're kind of like giving yourself a little bit of a boost is what I like to think of it and your body will kind of tail off into that calorie burn long after you finish , which is pretty cool . And then your body's going to preferentially burn fat because of the mode of the anaerobic mode of training . And of course , you maintain muscle mass because you're triggering strength , not endurance . So that also enhances fat loss , right . So all these little side effects of sprinting where your body perceives it as more of a strength activity rather than an endurance activity , and yet you get the cardio benefits .

Philip Pape 10:23

Number three is explosive power development . This is where sprinting kind of stands on its own , other than dynamic effort type work . So what I mean by that is for anybody who's used to using speed work in the gym , where you might use a submaximal weight for just a few reps but then you might do like 10 sets with very short rest periods and use explosive force . It's kind of in that regime , right , but a lot of people are not doing that in their programming , nor do you necessarily have to . But this is definitely where sprinting shines , because every sprint is essentially a full body plyometric movement . Right , you're teaching your body to generate maximum force in minimal time , to recruit those high threshold motor units , to improve the rate of force development , and all of these directly carry over to your lifting performance . I would be interested to see if you incorporate sprinting , how it actually improves potentially some of your lifts and definitely lower body lifts , but just lifts in general , all right .

Philip Pape 11:25

Benefit number four is the optimized hormonal environment . So the hormonal response to sprinting is really helpful and critical . It's more similar to heavy lifting than traditional cardio . We're talking about increased testosterone , growth hormone , lower cortisol response . It's like how lifting increases your stress and blood pressure in the moment the acute response but it lowers the chronic response compared to endurance work , whereas endurance activity excuse me , cardio could actually ramp that up and increase your stress . I know people say well , I run to relieve stress and it's enjoyable . That's like saying I drink alcohol to relieve stress . It doesn't quite work because it actually increases your chronic stress . It increases your insulin sensitivity as well , which is incredible , and that helps with nutrient partitioning and fat loss and your health markers all around . We know blood sugar control again same effect as lifting has , but this is a form of quote unquote cardio . So that's benefit number four is the hormonal environment hugely beneficial .

Philip Pape 12:27

Benefit number five is the direct strength carryover , which I've already alluded to , but I wanted to put it in its own item because the movement patterns in sprinting can enhance your lifting mechanics for primarily the lower body lifts . Think about your hip drive , right , which is critical for squats and deadlifts , not just the hip drive , but really the development systemically of your body as a system . Right , it's a movement pattern . It's the same reason we like to do full body squats is . It recruits all the muscles in synchrony , right as an orchestrated system . So you think your squats and deadlifts could potentially be enhanced .

Philip Pape 13:06

You get better at what's called triple extension your ankles , your knees , your hips , the three joints . When you think compound lift is because multiple joints are involved . When you do a squat , your ankles , your knees and your hips are involved and studies have shown sprinting can improve your triple extension . So if you're like , hey , my ankles are tight or I don't feel like I have the range or they're , you know , my knees have been bothering me , sprinting might be able to help with that , believe it or not , whereas running can often have the opposite effect . It could really bang up your knees and ankles , especially the way most people do it . And so then you get improved overall body coordination and control . I mean , look , when you sprint , it is a primal , invigorating movement that is very human and it puts you , it enhances your mind muscle connection like few other things . And so think about how that carries directly over to lifting . All right .

Philip Pape 14:00

Number six the benefit of sprinting is your recovery capacity . Now , this is a little bit different than the work capacity . This is recovery between sessions . So proper sprinting , it does a few things . That helps recovery . And again , it seems counterintuitive because it's this very explosive . It seems like a taxing thing sprinting itself . But remember , it's extremely short , at least the protocol we're going to talk about . Stick around .

Philip Pape 14:26

I'm going to talk about the protocol in a bit . It's extremely short and it does not go past into that stressful regime . So what it does do is it strengthens your connective tissue , it improves blood flow without creating the excessive inflammation , and so it helps you build your work capacity gradually and systematically . And , by the way , when you start sprinting it's pretty much going to gas you . You're probably not going to be able to do the full protocol , trust me , even if you're quote-unquote fit , you may not be able to handle the full protocol on day one . You're going to work up to it and once you can do the full number of sets , then you're just going to get faster and faster . That's the way you're going to progress . You're not going to add more time , you're never going to add more sets . You're going to get up to sort of the main protocol and then you're going to get faster and faster . And that is I mean , that's almost , I guess proof that it's going to improve your conditioning in that sense . Only because you're not able to do it as much . The first session , and then you can the second , and then better and better and better . Right , but anyway , this enhances recovery capacity between your lifting sessions , which is why well , not why , but I like doing sprinting on an off day or on an upper body day later on , far removed from your lifting .

Philip Pape 15:37

And then number seven , the final benefit I want to talk about today is the mental toughness and power output . I'm just kind of linking these together . The psychological demands of sprinting are unique . Now that I've done it I've started doing it myself I recognize that it's its own form of mental resilience because , say , unlike grinding through a long set or a cardio session , that's a different mental issue or mental challenge Sprinting . It requires you to be completely focused for short , intense bursts , which reminds me a lot of like a single rep of a very heavy squat , for example . It requires you to generate maximum effort on command and it creates mental resilience that , I believe , carries over to heavy lifting , and so they complement each other . So you notice , all of this is very much overlapping with lifting weights and yet it gives you the benefits of cardio

Implementing Sprinting into Your Routine

Philip Pape 16:34

.

Philip Pape 16:34

So what could be better for lifters ? That's my argument to you . That's my question is what could be better ? Do you see a problem with this ? So I like to use a protocol , now that it's inspired by Brad Kearns . He was on the show . I've actually , you know , googled , researched , used AI to explore lots of different protocols and I could see why Brad ended up at this particular one . Because it's just simple , it makes sense and it does the job , and he and the way it , the way it goes , is as simple .

Philip Pape 17:04

You do four to eight sets of 10 to 20 seconds all out , with six times the rest period . Okay , hopefully I didn't confuse you too much . So , 10 to 20 seconds . All out . And all out literally means all out , like you are hauling ass at the maximum possible effort . I mean 99.9% , if not 100% . If that's possible , all right . For 10 to 20 seconds , then you take six times that duration of rest . So if you go for 10 seconds , you rest for at least 60 seconds . If you're able to go the full 20 seconds , you rest for at least two minutes . And I say at least you can rest longer .

Philip Pape 17:42

The whole point is getting completely recovered . In fact , you might need to rest a little longer at first . And then you do that four to eight times . And let me tell you , when you do this the first time , you may barely get four of those sets and don't try to get a fifth or sixth . If your speed is dropping off , you have to go all out . If you're not going all out , you're done , you're done . Don't push it , or else you're going to get the negative effects of any other form of cardio . You're getting passed into that stress point . So , four to eight sets , 10 to 20 seconds all out , six , x times the rest period versus the work period .

Philip Pape 18:14

Now how can you do this ? Do you have to do this on flat ground . No , you could do this on a machine like a bike or elliptical or even a stair climber , and I would , in fact , encourage that initially , while you're working up to it , or use stairs or use a hill , because that'll be a lot easier on some of your joints that aren't used to this yet your calves , your shins , your ankles and then work up to the flat ground . So the way I'm doing it is I'm using a bike twice a week and as we get towards spring and everything's starting to thaw because we still have a lot of snow and ice I'm going to be adapted enough . I should be able to comfortably be getting all eight sets . I'm up to like six or seven right now because it is that difficult in a good way , and I consider myself pretty fit . I have a resting heart rate of like 45 , and yet I need to adapt to this and train for it . So you know , I'm going to get up to my eight sets twice a week and then I can incorporate at least one of those as flat ground sprinting once a week .

Philip Pape 19:07

Um , and I picked up some barefoot footwear for it to give that a shot . But cause I would ? I would avoid using like cushioned running shoes , because that introduces the same kind of problems that you get from running in those shoes . So that's what I would do . I wouldn't do this twice a week on flat ground like running . Uh , you know , ground-based sprinting . I know we like to call it running , but it's not running , it's sprinting . I would do at least one of those on a machine , or both of them , and only limit your flat ground sprinting to no more than once a week and give it a shot .

Philip Pape 19:35

Give you know again if you join physique university today for a free trial and then join our workshop tomorrow and , by the way , the workshop will have a replay , in case you're listening to this episode and it's too late for the workshop , which is , um , tomorrow , tuesday , uh , whatever the date is , I'm sorry I don't . I'm recording this ahead of time , um , but whenever this episode came out , tuesday at 12 PM Eastern , the replay will be available . But in that workshop I'm going to break down how you can incorporate this into your , your programming , very specifically , with all the options , with all the ways to do it , with how to progress it and all of that . So today I just gave you the basics and that's enough to run with pun intended dad joke to sprint with , I should say . But in the workshop we're going to go over the details , all right .

Philip Pape 20:19

So one thing that's fascinating that people miss about sprinting is it starts to reframe how you define intensity , right . It's kind of like what happened to me when I started lifting weights and I realized that the word intensity in the lifting community refers to the weight on the bar , not how much you're pushing it or how much you're sweating or your heart rate goes up . So sprinting kind of has a similar thing . When you , when you experience true maximal output in a sprint , it starts to create a . You experience true maximal output in a sprint , it starts to create a new reference point for effort in your training . That heavy set of squats that felt like a 10 RPE might now feel like an eight . Think about how mind-blowing and amazingly helpful that could be because your capacity to generate force , to recruit muscle fiber , to push past perceived limits Remember , some of this is just mental .

Philip Pape 21:06

Some of this is just mental . It all expands your base , expands of your explosiveness , your power , your perception of what hard is , and that's why sprinting is not just oh , it's just another training tool . It's a catalyst . It can enhance everything else you do in the gym , right ? You're not just adding more work , which is typically what we do with cardio . It's adding the right kind of work that amplifies your primary training goal .

Philip Pape 21:30

So the last thing I'm going to say about sprinting for lifters it's simple and it's efficient . That's the essence of this show , isn't it ? It's simple and efficient . You don't need complex protocols or hours of your time . A few short , like one or two a week , which would take maybe 15 , I mean , do the math but 15 to 20 minutes tops with all the rest . It's mostly rest , let's be honest . But one or two short focus sessions can dramatically improve your body's ability to build muscle , to burn fat , to generate power . You are going to feel super athletic , you're gonna feel even younger than you already are feeling from lifting weights and when you program it correctly , it becomes a force multiplier for everything else you're doing in the gym .

Philip Pape 22:11

So if you want to take your training and physique to the next level , now's the perfect time to join Wits and Weights Physique University so you get access to tomorrow's sprinting protocol workshop plus free entry into our upcoming challenge when you join this week . By the way , these challenges we do they're going to be mini challenges about 10 days long . They're not going to be like an entire month every time , month after month . That's going to burn people out . I'm all about efficiency . It's 10 days . We level up one skill . The first challenge is going to be about actually steps right . So we're going to give you some fun ways to level up your steps not just step count , but different things to try to make it more fun and interesting part of your life .

Philip Pape 22:46

So all of this stuff , it's not theory . We give you systems , we give you support to build your best physique using these tools . So you don't have to do chronic cardio , you don't have to restrict food , all of the things we onboard you . We give you a custom nutrition plan . We give you monthly workouts , the monthly challenges and tons and tons of support and great people in there who are super curious and excited . So if you're a curious person who just wants to learn and you want to get pretty much as much education as you would get in a nutrition certification , but as a person who just wants to level up their physique , go to winstonweightscom slash physique or click the link in the show notes to join Today . Two weeks free , free challenge , free workshop . I'll see you there Until next time . Keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember that getting lean doesn't mean endless hours of cardio . It means training with purpose and with power . I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast .