Being big and robust is not all the things – it is best to strive to have some athleticism. Athleticism is just a term referring to the flexibility to maneuver and control body movement quickly and powerfully. One of the simplest ways for strength athletes and bodybuilders to enhance that is by adding sprint workouts to their training.
Sprinting is essentially the most fundamental expression of human strength and athleticism, yet it’s absent from many lifters’ programs. That is why this text will lay out several sprint workouts that anyone can add to their training program today for an quick boost in speed and agility.
So, What Is Sprinting?
Sprinting is running at maximal speeds for a brief distance, generally defined as 400m or less at an elite level. For most of the people, this distance might be much shorter depending on the fitness level.
Give it some thought. Sprinting requires you to run at your top speed, so going too far will naturally require you to decelerate.
With that said, most sprint workouts will consist of runs lower than 60 seconds or 200m.
13 Best Sprint Workouts
So now that you simply’re convinced it is best to add sprint training to your exercise programming, we’ll lay out 13 different sprint workouts.
We divided these into different variations of sprint training.
- General Sprint Training
- Sprint Interval Training
- Hill Sprints
- Resisted Sprints
- Fat Burning Sprints
- Fartleks
Also, remember which you can use these exact workouts or just use them for inspiration. You possibly can alter any of them to satisfy your needs.
Sprint Training Workouts
These workouts will include sprint workouts that do not necessarily slot in the opposite varieties of workouts. Using these generally is a bit more fun and may be used to modify things up.
1. Sprint Training Workout A
Place 6 cones in a line 10 meters apart. The sixth cone needs to be 50 meters from the primary cone.
- Sprint to the first cone
- Walk back
- Sprint to the 2nd cone
- Walk back
- Repeat
2. Sprint Workout B
This workout will use rolling starts. It involves starting with a jog after which breaking out right into a full sprint.
- Jog for 30 seconds
- Break right into a sprint for 30 seconds
- Walk back to the beginning
- Repeat 5 times
3. Sprint Workout C
This sprint workout involves ramping up over your distance. Ideally, you’ll have 200 meters to run.
- Sprint 0-40 meters at 60%
- Sprint 40-80 meters at 70%
- Sprint 80-120 meters at 80%
- Sprint 120-160 meters at 90%
- Sprint 160-200 meters at Max Effort
Sprint Interval Training Workouts
Sprint interval training, also referred to as SIT, is your classic type of sprint training. It consists of alternating work intervals with rest intervals.
Through the work interval, you run at maximal intensity after which rest for the prescribed rest interval. That is then repeated for the prescribed workout.
4. Sprint Interval Training Workout A
- Sprint 1:00
- Walk 3:00
- Repeat 5 times
5. Sprint Interval Training Workout B
- Sprint 50 meters
- Rest 1:00
- Repeat 10 times
Hill Sprints Workouts
Hill sprints are brutal workouts. Because the name implies, it consists of sprinting uphill.
You need to use a treadmill on an incline when you don’t live in an area with appropriate hills.
In regards to the workouts, you should use the identical basic principles found with sprint interval training.
6. Hill Sprint Workout A
- Sprint up a hill for 20 seconds
- Walk or jog for 1:00
- Repeat until you sprint 500 meters
7. Hill Sprint Workout B (Treadmill)
- :20 Sprint
- 1:00 Walk
- Increase Incline :20 Sprint
- :20 Sprint
- Increase Incline :20 Sprint
- Repeat the method until you possibly can’t sprint the 20 seconds
- Reverse the method until you hit flat again.
Resisted Sprints Workouts
Resisted sprints involve sprinting while towing a sled or parachute. Either one requires more force production from the sprinter’s legs.
Now, concerning top-end speed, research is inconclusive on whether resisted sprints can actually increase maximal speed.
Nevertheless, where resisted sprinting can profit you is by way of acceleration. Going from a dead stop to maximum speed requires significant force production.
Using a sled or parachute weighs down the body, requiring more strength and power in your initial strides.
Imagine you weigh 80kg and use a 20kg sled. This could mean your legs must produce power to propel 100kg. At first, this may slow your acceleration down, but after training, you’ll have the opportunity to drag harder and faster. You then return to sprinting with just your body weight or 80kg. Your legs, which have been to maximise sprinting speed with 100kg, now must sprint but 20kg lighter, a minimum of theoretically.
When using resisted sprinting, it is important not to make use of too heavy of a load or train an excessive amount of.
8. Resisted Sprint Workout A
This workout includes short sprints to concentrate on acceleration
- Sprint for 10 seconds
- Rest 1:00
- Repeat 10 times
9. Resisted Sprint Workout B
- Sprint until you hit a maximal speed
- Recovery walk 1:00
- Repeat Process X 5-10
Fat Burning Sprints Workouts
Remember, if you desire to use sprint workouts for sprinting, all it is advisable do is use sprint intervals with an identical work-to-rest ratio, resembling 1:1. You may try to make use of a piece interval that is longer than rest, but these might be very tough and needs to be utilized by more advanced athletes.
10. Fat Burning Sprint Workout A
- Sprint:30
- Recovery Walk:30
- Repeat 5-10 times
11. Fat Burning Sprint Workout B
- Sprint for 20 seconds
- Recovery Walk 40 second
- Repeat 5-10 times
12. Fat Burning Sprint Workout C
This workout uses a Tabata format. The one difference is you will walk or jog throughout the rest intervals.
- Sprint 10 seconds
- Walk/Jog 20 seconds
- Repeat 8-10 times
Fartleks
Fartlek, Swedish for “speed play,” refers to an unstructured type of running that consists of a runner alternating speed during an extended run.
13. Fartlek Workout
- 500m @ 60%
- 100m @ 85%
- 200m @ 60%
- 500m @ 70%
- 100m @ 90%
- 500m @ 50%
- 1000m @ 75%
- 50m @ 95%
And so forth. There’s literally no structure and no rules. Some people will make a playlist, put it on shuffle, after which run based on the music.
Others may use landmarks. For instance, they see an indication and sprint to it, then slow back down. In the event that they run on a road with light traffic, they might run at a better pace until they see a automobile—whatever you would like.
To be clear, this will not be specific to sprinting, but you possibly can easily alter a few of the variables to optimize it for speed.
Regardless, these are great to make use of as a substitute for an endurance run.
Note: As fartleks haven’t got structure, it’s inconceivable to provide you a workout as it will then have structure and not be a fartlek. It’s the character of the beast.
With that said, for instance it is advisable do a 30-minute long slow run or a 5k. Achieve this, but intersperse bursts of speed throughout.
Implementing Sprint Workouts
The way you implement sprint workouts is dependent upon your goal and their intended use.
Regardless, these are high-intensity workouts, so you need to make sure you allow loads of rest between sessions. Generally, the rule is to allow 2-3 days of rest between workouts.
For most individuals, this implies 2 sprint sessions during every week.
Should you are running a full sprint session, ideally you’re capable of do that by itself day. Nevertheless, when you perform on the identical day as resistance training, attempt to separate the sprint workout from the burden training.
Should you are simply adding sprint workouts to your training for general advantages (i.e. you are not overly concerned with maximizing sprint speeds), you can simply add some short sessions post-workout.
We listed a few of these above for you, however it’s 5-10 minutes in intervals. These are short and might easily be added to the top of your training session.
Sprinting For Beginners
Sprinting may be intimidating for brand new beginners, however it doesn’t should be.
When just starting out, do not be concerned about “not doing enough.” Run a couple of sprints at 80% effort with some intervals simply to get into the groove.
After this, you employ the identical basic components of progressive overload. Increase the intensity and volume slowly over time.
That said, initially, you ought to be concerned with increasing some volume at lower intensities before you begin using max speeds.
Again, this is comparable to lifting. When first beginning to deadlift, you do not immediately exit and immediately max out! As an alternative, you (should) use very light weights to practice form and construct some foundational strength.
4 Advantages Of Sprint Workouts
Sprinting forces your body to push itself to its limits, inevitably producing many awesome advantages.
1. Improve VO2 Max
VO2 max, or maximal oxygen consumption, is the very best amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. A better VO2 max mainly signifies that your body can perform more work with the identical amount of oxygen.
Ultimately, this implies your heart and lungs haven’t got to work as hard.
VO2 max is mostly considered the final word indicator of fitness, meaning that anything that increases is a plus.
2. Burn Off Calories
This probably comes as no surprise, but running at maximal speeds during sprint interval training burns a ton of calories in a brief period of time. We are going to let you know that quite a lot of the knowledge on the market greatly exaggerates this profit, but that does not make it unfaithful.
There are numerous aspects to think about, but research suggests you possibly can burn 200-300 calories in 20-Half-hour.¹
Alterations on this number depend upon your work-to-rest ratio during sprint training.
When training to maximise top speed, interval training uses an extended rest period to make sure maximum effort. This is comparable to resting longer when lifting heavy loads. You could sprint for 30 seconds, then rest for 3 minutes. This obviously lengthens the time of coaching while minimizing work, leading to fewer calories.
Subsequently, if burning calories is your essential priority with sprint training, use a ratio with similar ratios to maximise the quantity of labor you do in a given closing date.
3. Improve Body Composition
Not only will you burn calories, but there’s evidence that sprint interval training promotes the burning of fat for fuel while preserving more muscle mass.²
Depending in your fitness level, you possibly can even placed on muscle mass!
This preservation and potential growth of your muscles is attributable to the high-intensity nature of sprinting. Identical to lifting weights, sprinting requires high levels of force from the muscles, which stimulates this growth.
4. Increase Performance
Sprinting is essentially the most basic human performance variable and is crucial for any form of sport. Having the ability to run at and maintain top speeds is among the finest indicators of athletic ability and is the equivalent of your maximal lifts.
Further, a relationship between lower body strength and sprint speeds has been found – increasing strength leads to faster top speeds.
At the identical time, resisted sprint training has also been found to extend lower body strength and power, demonstrating a transfer in improvements.
Alternatives To Sprint Training
Sprinting may be highly demanding in your body. Some people cannot run, perhaps attributable to poor fitness or knee injuries.
Don’t be concerned!
Technically, sprinting can check with any type of locomotion, resembling:
Subsequently, you can apply these same principles to a mode of exercise you want. Cycling is an awesome selection as it is easy on the knees, and plenty of people find exerting maximal efforts to be easier.
Start Running Faster Today
Just as getting stronger is all the time idea, so is running faster. Sprinting faster demonstrates improvements in your biomechanics, muscular strength, power production, heart and lung strength, and overall cardiovascular function. If you desire to turn out to be more athletic and improve conditioning, add sprints to your workout today.
Now that you simply’re equipped with the workouts, try our post How To Sprint Faster to spice up your max speed.
References
- Sevits, Kyle J., et al. “Total Each day Energy Expenditure Is Increased Following a Single Bout of Sprint Interval Training.” Physiological Reports, vol. 1, no. 5, Oct. 2013, https://doi.org/10.1002/phy2.131.
- Hazell, Tom J., et al. “Running Sprint Interval Training Induces Fat Loss in Women.” Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, vol. 39, no. 8, Aug. 2014, pp. 944–950, https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2013-0503.
