Sprinting Vs. Distance Running

Sprinting and distance running are both forms of exercise that involve running, but they differ in several ways. What are they?

Sprinting is a high-intensity workout where you run at your maximum effort for a short duration. This type of workout helps build muscles, strength, and improves running speed. It also tones your muscles.

Distance running, on the other hand, is a workout where you run continuously for a prolonged period without any breaks, starting from a slow pace and gradually increasing to a faster pace. This workout primarily focuses on improving your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as enhancing endurance running. However, to sustain such a pace over extended distances, a significant level of endurance is required.

Before engaging in run workouts, it is essential to properly stretch your back and legs. This will effectively warm up these muscle groups, ensuring that they are prepared for the workout. Going straight into the run workout can lead to injuries, so always make sure to stretch first before doing this.

After you have completed stretching your back and legs, the next thing to do is to engage in a period of walking for a specific duration, and then you want to incorporate warm-up runs lasting 5 to 10 minutes, such as jogging. This will effectively prepare your joints and legs for your run workout. Once you have reached the state of readiness and are prepared to commence, you can now actively go straight into your run workout.

Sprinting

During the early phases of sprinting, it is crucial to distribute the body weight evenly among the hands, feet, and knees. The arms should be positioned straight and shoulder-width apart, ensuring proper alignment of the head and back. However, if you're training for a short-distance race such as the 100 meters, the 200 meters, or the 400 meters, it should always be started in the crouch position.

In the short-distance race, each sprint runner will have their own designated lane on the track and will have to run against the wind at all times.

Distance Running

When engaging in distance running, it is crucial to be mindful of your breathing. If you are new to distance running, it is advisable to stick to a jogging pace. This method will aid in conditioning your body and adapting it to longer runs. Once your body has become accustomed to this routine and you feel self-assured, you can now go and focus on enhancing endurance. This entails gradually increasing the distance of your runs at a slower pace, ensuring that you repeat this process a certain number of times before attempting to increase your speed.

When taking part in a long-distance running event, like the 10,000 meters, it is advisable to refrain from placing yourself in the leading position. Being at the front requires expending additional energy as you have to run against the wind. On the other hand, positioning yourself behind other runners will enable you to conserve energy since you will face minimal to no resistance from the wind. Nonetheless, in a long-distance race, if you find yourself positioned behind the runner in first place, they may request you to move ahead so they can save some of their running stamina. But If you decide not to, one or a few runners behind you may overtake you.

Conclusion

Both sprinting and distance running are effective for burning calories and aiding in weight loss. However, sprinting burns more calories because the faster you run, the more calories you burn. Additionally, sprinting has numerous health benefits, making it a highly beneficial workout to incorporate into your routine.