Does a Sprinter Need Aerobic Capacity?

Aerobic capacity refers to the maximal amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise. The more oxygen you can use, the more efficient your body will be at maintaining exercise for a longer period of time. Sprinters primarily rely on the anaerobic energy-producing system during a race, so they don't need aerobic capacity to win. Still, increasing aerobic capacity can assist in the recovery phase directly following a sprint.

  1. Heart Rate

    • How fast your heart beats during a run determines which energy-producing system your body will use to keep you going. Sprints contract your muscles fast and require immediate propulsion, which is something your cardiovascular system can't keep up with. Because of this, your heart rate increases rapidly in an attempt to fuel the working muscles, pushing you into the anaerobic heart zone.

    Energy Systems

    • Although your primary energy source during a sprint consists of glycogen stores your body breaks down for instant energy, that doesn't mean you don't use oxygen during a sprint. The faster your heart beats and the more intense the workout, the more oxygen you'll consume in an attempt to fuel your muscles. Your aerobic system isn't fast enough to supply you with the energy needed during a short sprint, but it's essential for making up the oxygen deficit you incur during the exercise.

    Recovery

    • Even if improving your aerobic capacity won't directly improve your speed or muscular endurance during a sprint, it will translate to faster performances over time. Directly following a sprint, your body goes through a short period of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption during which you need to pay back the oxygen debt you incurred during your sprint. The higher your aerobic capacity, the faster your heart rate will return to normal resting levels following a rep, allowing you to get more reps in during each training session.

    Improving Aerobic Capacity

    • Traditionally, it was thought that steady-state cardio training and high-volume, low-intensity endurance training was the ideal method for increasing aerobic capacity. But recent research has shown that sprint training can increase aerobic capacity to the same degree as high-volume cardio in a fraction of the time. A 2012 study conducted by Royal Sussex County Hospital found that sprint interval training is an efficient form of improving aerobic fitness in just 10 percent of the time it would take to achieve the same results with steady-state cardio.