The Importance of Sprinting in Human Movement
In a world where danger lurked around every corner, your ability to run fast was a strong indicator of whether you would live long enough to pass your genes down to the next generation. Avoiding a charging beast to save your life, or surging forward to catch a different beast for dinner, the net effect was still survival. A combination of the hormonal events that occurred simultaneously and the resultant gene expression within fast twitch muscle made sure that the next time this happened Grok could sprint a little faster.
Humans are the best walkers on earth, but we’re probably the worst sprinters. In a 100-meter dash, just about any quadruped would outpace us. This doesn’t diminish the importance of sprinting in our repertoire of Primal Blueprint movement—sprinting remains one of the foundational human movement patterns.
That’s why “Sprint Once in a While” is Primal Blueprint Law #5.
We aren’t good compared to other species, but sprinting is an essential part of being human. A set of footprints, discovered in Australia and dating back almost 20,000 years, revealed something extraordinary. Researchers analyzed these prints and concluded that the man who left them was running at about 23 miles per hour—a speed on par with modern Olympic sprinters—in the mud.
Another clue lies in observing children. Notice how they sprint instinctively when they want to get somewhere. They are creatures of desire, and sprinting is their most fundamental way of achieving what they want in the shortest possible time. This instinctive behavior underlines the importance of sprinting, not just as a form of exercise, but as an essential human movement.
Our anatomy also speaks to this: the glutes are among the strongest muscles in the human body, primarily driving explosive movements like sprints. This is a clear indication of our natural inclination for sprinting.
Barring previous injury, we’re all meant to sprint—which is why it’s a staple of Primal fitness. It builds both anaerobic and aerobic capacity while promoting growth hormone secretion, fat mobilization, and maximum power development. Simply put, if you want to build lean mass and burn body fat, sprinting at least once a week is the way to achieve both.
Sprinting isn’t just about running fast. There’s a methodology to it:
- Sprinting should be about maximum effort at all times. When you feel yourself slowing down, end the sprint.
- Take as long as you need to recharge and recover between sprints. Remember: maximum effort.
- If your feet are strong enough and you’ve spent a lot of time preparing your bare feet, I recommend getting a pair of barefoot shoes like Peluvas or, if the running surface allows, going barefoot.
- Your session shouldn’t take much longer than ten or fifteen minutes. Any longer and you’re probably no longer sprinting. Anywhere from 4-8 sprints is plenty for most people.
- Do it once a week at most unless you’re a sprint athlete. Every 7-10 days is plenty for most people and provides ample recovery time.
Sprinting doesn’t have to be running on a flat track, either. There are many sprint alternatives:
- Beach sprints
- Hill sprints
- Stair machines
- Bikes
- Rowers
- Ellipticals
- Rope pulldowns
- Swimming
- Jump rope
- Versaclimber
Do some form of intense anaerobic sprint bursts several times a week. These short bursts also increase human growth hormone release.
And finally, sprinting is relative. What’s sprinting for you might look very different than sprinting for a high school athlete. Sprinting once in a while is about giving maximum effort in a safe manner.
If that’s running 100 m repeats on a track, perfect.
If that’s doing 10 second sprints on a stationary bike with 90 seconds of rest in between, perfect.
Just give max effort in a manner congruent with the health of your tissues and joints, get plenty of rest and recovery in between individual sprints, and you are sprinting.
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* This blog reflects my personal views and opinions and isn’t intended as medical advice, but I hope it will be informative and inspiring as you pursue a healthy, fulfilling life.