Why sprint more often to progress?

What is the connection between sprints and progress in races or even long cyclosportive courses? The simple act of sprinting can not only help you finish a race victoriously, but also, and more importantly, help you progress, if you take the trouble to practice regularly in training.

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: depositphotos.com, Grok

Sprinting is a term common to several actions on a bike. But This general term actually describes physiological processes that cause different effects on the body, or that are dependent on several types of fuelsIn short, we talk about sprinting when it comes to describing the qualities of finishers, when the goal is to cross the finish line first, or when it comes to sprint to plug a hole, or attack the top of a bump.

Even if we are not talking about the same sprint, we suspect thatno progress is possible in these critical phases of the race or an event, without work, or even simple maintenance of the qualities necessary for training.

And yet. How many cyclists do we still see who never participate in the placard contests during group outings, or even lift the ass off the saddle to shake up and wake up all the sleeping fibers a little?

Even the die-hard cyclosportive, a fan of long journeys where endurance and effort management are paramount – two notions which are a priori contradictory with the very idea of ​​maximum effort over a very short distance – has everything to gain from practicing this kind of exercise.

Union minimum

In addition to the traditional training sessions on hilly courses, a few small unexpected accelerations on the hills during group outings – which still satisfies three quarters of the participants in terms of their training – sprint work should be the minimum you impose on yourself when you want to progress and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves.

Why? First of all, in order to awaken and maintain the so-called fast muscle fibers, and to avoid the famous diesel effect, when you feel like you're lacking rhythm despite being in very good physical condition. Then, working on sprinting, even for a non-sprinter, allows you to improve your own maximum speed, as well as all the gestural and muscular coordination that goes with it.

This same maximum speed acts, consequently, on the cyclist's basic speed. In addition to improving your basic speed, working on sprinting can also present interesting tactical aspects, which notably help to progress in terms of positioning during any event.

Finally, the sprint, or rather a succession of sprints allows you to work at very high intensity in order to improve the body's overcompensation capabilities, all in testits ability to resist lactic acid. It is through this type of exercise that we become aware of the concept of energy reservoir, as well as our willingness to manage more or less this or that type of effort, depending on the length of the sprint and the way we approach it.

Mise en Place

Sprints are mainly worked in two ways.

The first is to play with training buddies and sprint to the signs symbolizing the entrance signs to villages or towns; be careful of the traffic, however! This type of sprint, in addition to the fun aspect, develops the sense of positioning and the tactical side. In addition, it is the best way to testhis preferred distance from the sign and the effort required. To know himself, in a way.

The second, much less fun, consists of chaining together series of sprints, with incomplete recovery between effortsWith this type of exercise, we get the body used to dealing with the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles of the legs and arms, and above all to progress in this area.

A good way to kick-start progress

During certain events, this will allow the cyclosportive athlete to know how to manage and be able to recover more quickly from times when he goes into the red.

For the runner, the interest is more than obvious, when we know that a competition is not played on distance, but on the succession of accelerations and jolts which allow you to hook onto the right group or to detach yourself from it.

When you chain sprints together in this way, it goes without saying that the last one in the series no longer has much to do with a sprint as such, and that the expression pedal with your ears takes on its full meaning at that moment.

Well placed in the week, a session of this type empties the energy reserves in glycogen – fuel for high-performance muscles – as much as a very long outing at a very sustained pace. After recovery and proper nutrition, the body strengthens and is ready, on the day of the event, to withstand a greater assault. This is the now well-known principle of overcompensation.

Examples of exercises

Of course, we are all limited in the realm of sprinting, if only by genetics. Muscle power, explosiveness, relaxation and velocity cannot be developed at will.. Yet, many practitioners use this excuse to never work on this critical phase.

However, there are many varieties of exercises.. In addition to sprinting to the signs during group outings, it is always possible to exercise more regularly by interspersing traditional outings (even solo) with spaced sprints, for example every 30 or 40 minutes.

There are several options available to you when starting a sprint, even alone. Aim for a sign in the distance as a fictitious finish line, refer to the clock and aim for a sprint of 10, 15, 20, or even 30 seconds, start the sprint with just right, or on the contrary, lower the teeth one by one, force yourself to do everything at hyper-velocity, etc.

In short, There are many exercise variations, always with the same goal: to improve your reaction speed, punch and/or maximum speed. Over time, you also learn to manage the sprint, depending on the distance that separates you from its end. A more or less abrupt start leaves less fuel at the end of the sprint, especially if it is quite long.

Tactical aspect

Will the distance you gain from your opponent in the first three seconds of the sprint be enough after 300m, especially if they sprint while accelerating? In short, you can quickly get a taste for the specific exercise of sprinting, provided you get something out of it each time, tactically and in terms of self-knowledge and your own abilities.

You can quickly get a taste for the specific exercise of sprinting, provided you get something out of it each time, tactically and in terms of self-knowledge and your own abilities.

For sprint series, effort management is a little different, since the goal is to finish exhausted and deplete energy reserves anyway.. The point is to give it your all on the number of sprints or sets you have determined. Depending on your starting level and/or progress, you can consider 15-second sprints, interspersed with 30 seconds of recovery, or a shorter recovery (equal to the working time). A good set of five to eight times 15''/15'' is already enough to calm you down.

Then, depending on the weak points to improve or the strong points to preserve, you can vary the length of each sprint. Rather 10''/10'' if you want to progress on the start itself, or 30''/30'' at a very high level, when you want to work on your ability to resist lactic acid.

Don't think, however, that the shorter the exercises, the easier they are., because in fact, the recovery time, if it is equal to the working time, is also a component to take into account. Depending on the progression, it is possible to split the exercises into two, three or four sets of several repetitions.

On the hill or on the flat, you can vary the pleasuresIt is even possible to insist on a specific gear on these same sets, depending on whether you are looking for punch and tone, or brute force.

Good programming

When should you schedule sprint workouts? There's no set rule for isolated sprints or sprints with signs. It's possible year-round, depending on your desire and the fun factor of the outing. For specific sprint series, as mentioned above, you need to be much more cautious...

On the one hand, because the physical demands of this type of exercise must be taken into account. There must be no risk of an imbalance between predominantly aerobic outings, competitions, and lactic work, which should only serve as a top-up. It is therefore advisable to only do this type of exercise as you approach your goals.

And, on the other hand, we must think about the mental difficulty that this voluntary putting into practice represents. State of shock, during sessions where you often find yourself alone with yourself.

Finally, Like any element that contributes to progress, sprinting is always a question of measurement, patience and management..

=> All our Coaching articles