IN SPORTS SUCH as football which require short, sprinting bursts lasting 8 to 10 seconds, jogging every day isn’t good enough physical training.

While jogging helps get the aerobic system into good shape, any type of fast running or sprinting is anaerobic. It’s this anaerobic system that must be triggered to get the upper end of the cardiovascular system into shape.

It’s great to be able to run 10 miles, but for any sport which requires sprinting, jogging doesn’t cut it. A person who can run a marathon, might be able to run 26.2 miles, but they’ll still have a hard time running 50-yard sprints without becoming winded.

High-Intensity Sprinting

High-intensity sprinting (HIS) follows a workout philosophy of brief, intense and infrequent training sessions.

Anaerobic sprinting shouldn’t be done on the same days as weight training. This puts too much stress on the body and can eventually lead into over-training modes. If a player is over-training, the body's immune system can become weak and is much more vulnerable to illnesses.

There are other negative signs of over-training, which include headaches, loss of appetite, fatigue, loss of weight and muscle size. Remember that more training isn’t always better. Too much training can be harmful. Instead of building up the body’s muscles and fitness levels, it can eventually begin to break them down.

Doing one day of pre-season HIS training per week is enough. A possible additional day of sprinting can be added, but only if your athlete’s body has come to full recovery since the last session and it doesn’t interfere with one of the weight-training days or other pre-season training days.

When starting players on a HIS program, begin slowly. Doing too much too soon can have negative effects.

It’s better to work in progressive stages than to be overaggressive from the start.

Training Regiment
The beginning of each program should be started with a warm-up jog. This warm-up jog should generally take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the weather. On the colder days a longer warmup may be required, and on the warmer days a shorter period will be sufficient. A warm-up jog should bring the body to the point of light sweating.

After the jog is completed, the next phase of the warm up involves stretching. During stretching exercises, the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, groin and lower back should all be worked, as they’re crucial muscles used during sprinting. After these two phases of the warmup are completed, the sprinting program can begin.

Basic Training Program
Start off simple. These training programs should be intense for a relative short amount of time.
Football is a game of short-yard sprints, so don’t get too extensive with the yard distances that are going to be sprinted. Anything over 50 yards, such as 100-yard sprints, is a lot and should only be performed once advanced conditioning has taken place. A good distance to begin the initial training stage is 25-yard sprints.

One aspect of the training program that should be focused on is recovery time. Recovery time is the period between when one sprint is finished and the next is started. In football games, the same type of concept takes place, as there’s a normal 25- to 30-second break (recovery time) between plays. This break is the recovery time that’s essential to focus on.

In the beginning of your training sessions, use higher recovery times such as 40 seconds between 50-yard sprints and 25 seconds between 25-yard sprints. Make sure that your players sprint at full speed with maximum effort. If not, they’re not getting any benefit and the program becomes a waste of time.

Mix Up The Sprints
The 25-yard and 50-yard sprints can be mixed up whichever way seems fit, but make sure that the recovery time isn’t broken. If you’re mixing the sprint distances (25- and 50-yard sprints), start with the longer sprint.

Have your players sprint these runs until a fatigue level is reached, or they honestly feel that an additional run cannot be completed. If the athlete feels any type of sickness such as dizziness, headache, chest pain, possible muscle pull or severe pain, running should cease immediately.

At the end of each training session, there should be a cool-down period of approximately 10 minutes. This time should be used for walking around the track or the field until full recovery is reached. Start the walk immediately after the last sprint is completed, as the body shouldn’t come to a sudden cool down.

Once the athlete gets good at meeting your set recovery times, try knocking 3 to 5 seconds off the times.

Once a good base is built from the 25- and 50-yard sprints, 100-yard sprints can be attempted. Start off with high recovery time between the 100-yard sprints — at least 60 seconds — and gradually decrease recovery periods over time.