Runners..?

[Drako]

When you vision a long distant runner you see a skinny guy with very little muscle. I guess the reason for this is the lighter they are in weight the less they have to carry the distance.
However if you think of a sprinter you see a guy with a decent muscle size and tone. Larger muscles for explosive speed.
Neither runners have high fat levels which prove both are good for fat loss

My question is which style of running is best for losing weight and keeping muscle. Would long distant running burn up muscle or are they skinny because they train there bodies to be that specific way, the same with sprinters?

 

[12claws]

Endurance sports in general

A little off your original question but cycling is another aerobic-heavy sport I know something about...
You are correct on power to weight being a huge factor for a lot of long distance events. Big guys who crank out mega watts on the flats will get eaten alive by skinny little guys in the mountains. All that power the bigger guy was producing has to shift over to fighting gravity. Most longer distance competitive cyclists (over 50 miles) will generally try to stay as light as possible so they will be faster over the long haul.
In the shorter competitve events like time trials, criteriums, and track sprinters, you will general see them more muscled up in general because power to weight is not as much of a factor.
Now that I think about it, we've had some olympic sprinters in the past who were pretty ripped. Once you get into the marathons, all those skinny guys from Kenya seem to dominate.

 

[teej]

short distance sprints are better, they work the muscles that are used for power adn speed where as long distance running bulds slow twitch muscles good for stamina

so in your case adn most people who try to get/stay big and get cut....sprints

 

[getfitdoc]

sprints are better. but whatever you do, eat enough cals to maintain muscle, but not too much or you'll gain fat... its such a balance.

 

[Drako]

So whats your thoughts on running with weights, good idea any + and - ?

 

[12claws]

Running with weights can be bad news. My dad played college and army bball (got drafted) and ran with a weight vest for several years. He had three knee surgeries, all for compromised cartilage, by the the time he was 37 and always blamed the running and rope jumping with weights. We have virtually identical builds and I rode for the cycling team through college with only minor tendon issues and big mileage. Now at 37 myself with no knee problems.
After the knee surgery, my dad switched over to power lifting because with body building "he just wasn't getting big enough." He never had any further knee issues with squats, etc and was 280lb and 6'5" at his biggest. Anecdotal, yes, but my dad has lifted a lot of weight in his life, ridden a lot of miles, and will no longer go anywhere near a weight vest and running.

Why kind of goals did you have in mind for your running program?

 

[Drako]

Well since I went in for ACL surgery ive added a few punds of unwanted mass Im now on a lean protein diet and have my workout pretty much keyed in but without the cardio im just filling out. Guess Im just looking for some good cardio now to drop the fat of and keep my muscle so I can get back to my old self, that old chestnut so was wondering what would be the best option sprints, distance, weights or is there a better option?

 

[12claws]

My opinion (biased) is shorter duration, non-impact cardio. I personally don't like running - did it waaay back and had to quit due to shin splints plus it just pounds your knees, especially with adding weights. If your gym has an exercise bike that measures watts, try 45 minutes pedalling over 80 rpm and keeping a minimum output of 200 watts as a starting point. If you can do that, add one minute intervals of increasing output, say 350 watts and then use the 200 watt output as your rest phase. Finish off with a sprint over 1000 watts to failure and then use the cool down phase. As long as you keep the rpms over 80 (90 would be ideal) you will minimize the knee strain and should be working your quads fairly well, glutes and lower back as secondaries.
I prefer to ride a real bike outdoors for about 30 miles but the above is my winter fall back.

 

[estray]

Sprints. Distance running is catabolic.

 

[Drako]

My opinion (biased) is shorter duration, non-impact cardio. I personally don't like running - did it waaay back and had to quit due to shin splints plus it just pounds your knees, especially with adding weights. If your gym has an exercise bike that measures watts, try 45 minutes pedalling over 80 rpm and keeping a minimum output of 200 watts as a starting point. If you can do that, add one minute intervals of increasing output, say 350 watts and then use the 200 watt output as your rest phase. Finish off with a sprint over 1000 watts to failure and then use the cool down phase. As long as you keep the rpms over 80 (90 would be ideal) you will minimize the knee strain and should be working your quads fairly well, glutes and lower back as secondaries.
I prefer to ride a real bike outdoors for about 30 miles but the above is my winter fall back.

If I follow this would I have to worry about muscle loss?

 

[12claws]

Not if you eat. Estray is essentially correct. Any (strenuous) cardio you do over an hour really starts starts getting your body thinking about burning everything that is available, including muscle mass. A 45 minute session of warm up, baseline activity and sprints will drain your glycogen stores but not deplete them. Technically, extra fluids are not even required for anything under an hour but I don't like exercising without a water bottle. One thing to pay attention to is your seat height. Most people ride too low and needlessly strain their knees. Your seat should be adjusted so that you leg is almost but not quite straight at the bottom of your pedal stroke. Do not hyper extend.
Here's what kind of legs short distance cycling develops:
http://www.cyclingireland.ie/html/site/disciplines/story.jsp?id=723&type=track
And here's the upper body on one of our Olympic sprinters:
http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/040822/040822_greene_vmed_6p.widec.jpg
Not exactly built for long hauling.

 

[Drako]

So how the hell do heavyweight boxers stay big dont they run for miles.?

 

[12claws]

Diet. Endurance athletes eat lots of complex carbs and keep their body fat (ideally) in the 4% range. I've been there and you are spending a minimum of 15 hours a week just on cardio, developing one specific muscle group.
Boxers eat a lot of protein and try to take in as many calories as possible within their weight class. Weigh-in day before a fight often involves a lot of sweat box time for them so they can drop enough water to qualify.

 

[adidamps2]

go to the search function and type in sprinting...there is an awesome article on this very subject and goes into a lot of depth.