Hill sprints for fitness!

[exclamatio]

Hill sprints kick ass

Hill sprints are simple, all you need is a hill of any size and to get from the bottom to the top as fast as you can!

For any athlete or anyone who wants to be fitter than they are right now I can’t recommend hill sprints enough. It may be that you need to start by briskly walking to the top, if you are out of breath then you are doing it right, it doesn’t matter if you are speed walking or running just stick with it and you will get faster over the weeks. As you get fitter you can start to increase your pace and really start powering up there, this way it will always be challenging and that is why I like them so much, you will always get stronger and you will always get fitter.

When I’m training on my own or with a client I always follow a similar pattern, start with a a set or 2 at a slower pace, even a short jog before hand just to get yourself loosened off and also to allow you to focus on the upcoming sprints. The more you give, the more you will get back so it really pays to be prepared, you don’t want to set off at 100% and pull a muscle right away. My rule of thumb is you want to be sweating before you start your sprints. You are going to be putting a good deal of stress on your body here so you want to make sure your heart is already up to speed, get that blood pumping 1st and you will have a much better workout.

Sprint from bottom to top, really give it your all, when you start to slow down, push harder! A few hill sprints well done will get you fitter than weeks of aerobics class! Swing your arms as you drive with your legs, look where you are going and breath deep. I see many people looking at their feet as if it will somehow make the hill smaller. Keep that head up and breath! Looking down will only tip you off balance and make it harder not to mention more dangerous, you wouldn’t be the 1st person I’ve witnessed running right off course exhausted over a wall or right into a lamp post! At the top you must resist the urge to sit down, keep your head high and breath deep, in through your nose and out through your mouth, step side to side for a moment and walk back down, it isn’t over yet! When you get back to the start take a deep breath, forget how hard that 1st push was and explode right back up there, just go go GO!

You are working so hard on the way up and allowing your body a short time to recover so your body is forced to become more efficient in every way to cope with the exercise. You are going to burn fat, build muscle and strengthen your cardiovascular system. It’s hard but that’s why you are going to get results.

A few ideas to make your sprints a little more varied

Work with a partner, your sprint while they rest at the bottom, work your way down and give them a high 5 to set them off blasting to the top. This is a great way to train because with another person or even in a group you will motivate each other.

Set one person off with a few second head start and the 2nd person has to catch them before they get to the top, trust me if you try this you will run faster!

Set a few points on the way up as stations. I would typically use lamp posts or even parked cars as a measure. Run to the 1st, walk down, run to the 2nd, walk down and so on with each point closer to the top of the hill.

Partner carries. Work with a partner of similar build and take turns giving each other a piggy back up to the top! This is a little more advanced, make sure you do it as safely as possible and you will have some great laughs while you get fit!

[MentaL]

[ELSD]

These are nasty tbh. Huge inclined hill buy my house that I run up 1-2 times a week for a change then my basic jog. After going up and down you feel like your legs are going to fall off. This is a great workout and totally recommend to any athlete who wants to take there game to the next level. This is one of the best workouts to do.

[DarkKnightH20]

Hill Sprints -- an excellent way to get a nausea-packed workout =P

Many athletes do hill sprints since it promotes such leg power.

[NoPeace]

Hill sprints are good but running up stairs is better! And for many reasons...

NoPeace - out

[exclamatio]

I do a lot of my "hill sprints" up steps too, there are pros and cons to each :P

[DarkKnightH20]

I would think sprinting up stairs could be harsher on your knees though [in a bad way]. On the bright side -- if you fall down face-first on the stairs, you'll be left with some missing teeth. Ladies love missing teeth