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The effects of exercising are well known. Weight reduction, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, stress reduction, etc.

Does sprint training afford the same benefits as, say, running/jogging?

I'm doing my sprint training and absolutely loving it. Although I am tired after, I don't feel like I did when I used to run and ride.

I know sprinters have awesome bodies, but looks can be deceiving. Do they have the same health benefits as those who get their heart rate up in the "cardio zone" and hold it there for a sustained length of time?

Well sprinting is a bit different then jogging or ridding a bike. Jogging and ridding a bike is more of a endurance type workout that trains the
Aerobic Glycolysis/Oxygen System. The aerobic energy system utilizes proteins, fats and carbohydrate (glycogen) for resynthesizing ATP. . The process produces carbon dioxide and water as by-products. Sprinting on the other hand trains the Anaerobic system. Energy is supplied by the partial breakdown of carbohydrates. The carbohydrate which is used is either stored glycogen in the muscles, glucose which is circulating in the blood or glycogen stored in the liver which is converted to glucose and then enters the bloodstream to be carried to the muscles. Lactic Acid is formed as a waste product of Glycolysis and if not dispersed will inhibits the muscle contracting. The reason you are probably tired is because your have not been training the energy system that is used during sprinting. It will take some time but as you continue to train your body will adapt to the training. Hope this helped.

Thanks Coach.

I understand aerobic and anaerobic training, VO2, lactic acid, oxygen debt, DOMS, etc.

What I am asking is whether sprint training reaps the same health benefits as endurance type training. Such as low resting heart trate, lower blood pressure, etc.

I've seen several books and articles in recent years promoting the health and fitness value of short, intense exercise; the only title I can recall is Phil Campbell's "Ready, Set, Go Fitness". Haven't read any of them, so I can't tell you what evidence is covered.

However, I do recall that a medical study was published about two years ago that tracked more than a thousand people over 20 years, specifically looking at the issue of heart disease. The conclusion was that for exercise to reduce the risk of heart disease, it needed to push the heart rate into the anaerobic zone at some point in the workout (over 90% of maximum heart rate, I think). It didn't matter whether this was accomplished by intense sprint workouts or tempo runs on the road. I don't recall where that was published, but there was an article that summarized it in National Masters News when it came out.