4 sprint drills to improve speed, agility and performance

“I actually think it becomes more important as you get older to actually train type 2 muscle fibers. [so you don’t] Lose it,” running coach Amie Dworecki said. “This is a real strengthening exercise for anyone.”

A disclaimer: Sprint training can tough. Trying to do too many moves too fast during these workouts can cause you injury. So if you’re eager to unleash your inner Sha’Carri Richardson, here’s what you need to know before you start sprint training.

What counts as sprint training?

Sprint workouts are essentially HIIT workouts: They involve short bursts of max-effort running, followed by a period of rest—this might look like hands on knees to catch your breath, a casual walk, or even a walk. Said it was a gentle jog.

“Technically, they say [longest] You can sprint for about 30 seconds,” she said. While in some sprints you won’t go all out all the time, traditional sprints allow you to reach your maximum speed for 10 to 30 seconds and then recover so you can start over. Sprint training can be its own dedicated session, or it can just be an add-on at the end of a longer endurance run (in which case the sprint is often called a “stride”).

A good sprint workout consists of running as fast as possible for 10 to 30 seconds, followed by a short rest period (one to four times the sprint time), completed around 8 to 10 times. But Dworecki says runners who haven’t done many sprints recently should start with two or three.

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“Then during the next exercise, if you don’t feel like you might get injured, add more,” she says. She points out that it’s best to end a workout feeling like it was too easy, then end up injuring yourself and having to take a break because the workout was too hard. (She notes, however, that some soreness is normal, so don’t worry if your muscles are a little tender from sprinting.)

How to warm up for sprint training

“A lot of people hate warming up before running,” admits Dvoretsky. But when you put in the effort required to sprint, you definitely want your body to be ready for it. Please follow these steps:

Step 1: Jog

Start with 10 to 20 minutes of easy jogging to get your blood flowing and your legs moving.

Step 2: Practice

Doing a few exercises can help you zero in on proper running form. Dworecki recommends A-hops (quickly bring one knee to your chest while jumping onto the other knee, then switch legs) and B-hops (similar, but move your top foot forward before returning to the ground). Other sprinters like squats and lunges, butt kicks, leg swings and high knee raises (rapidly raising alternating knees to the chest).

Step 3: Clarify the specific content

Take a moment to address your personal issues. For example, if your calves are constantly bothering you, do some calf raises. Or, if your iliotibial band is tight, dynamically stretch it with a squat figure-four stretch.

4 different sprint drills to try

How you set up your sprint training depends on your experience, fitness level, and how quickly your body typically recovers from hard training. With this in mind, Dvoretsky recommends four sprint workouts for different types of runners.

1. 15 seconds sprint, 1 minute rest

For new sprinters or those who haven’t sprinted in a long time (including recent marathoners who haven’t hit these top speeds), a good starting point is to follow a one-to-four work-to-rest ratio, with rest lasting one second for every sprint. Four seconds. Dworecki specifically recommends sprinting for 15 seconds and then resting for 60 seconds. “Just keep it short because you really don’t know how your body is going to react,” she says.

2. 30 seconds sprint, 90 seconds rest

If you want to push your limits even further, Dvoretsky says, you can increase the speed to a 30-second sprint and then give yourself just 90 seconds to recover, achieving a one-to-three work-to-rest ratio.

3. Sprint for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds

One way to increase the challenge of sprint training is to reduce the amount of recovery between repetitions. Dworecki says advanced runners can test themselves by running all out for 30 seconds, then just taking the same amount of time to catch their breath before starting again.

4. Hill sprint

Sprinting doesn’t have to be on a track. To mix things up, take your sprint training up a steeper incline. “Hill sprints tend to recruit more muscle,” Dvoretsky says. “It builds your strength and is great for injury prevention.” She recommends sprinting uphill for eight to 10 seconds, then slowly jogging back down, then turning around and heading back up the hill.

Benefits of Sprint Training

There are many benefits you can gain from sprint training. “A lot of times when people think about working out in different training areas, like steady-state endurance or VO2 max or sprinting, they think, ‘This is going to be great for me,'” Dworecki says. “But it’s more like a rope sitting on a table: when you pull up on one part of the rope, it ends up lifting all the other parts of the rope.”

In short, improving your top speed can have a trickle-down effect that improves all of your other runs.

Sprinting can improve your VO2 max

This metric measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during strenuous exercise, and it’s a reliable indicator of your aerobic fitness. High VO2 means your heart and lungs are pumping large amounts of oxygen-filled blood, and your circulatory system is moving blood efficiently to your muscles, making efficient use of the oxygen they carry.

Improving this process through sprint training can have a big impact, and not just on your running: 2018 review¹ found that VO2max was “the strongest independent predictor of future life expectancy in both healthy people and people with cardiopulmonary disease.”

Your pace may be faster

Running as fast as possible naturally encourages us to run better. “When you move quickly, your running form tends to improve,” Dvoretsky says. In particular, you will notice improvements in leg rotation. It turns out that increasing your cadence, or how fast you stride when running, can do more than just Reduce impact² This can lead to injury, but experts believe it can also make you a more efficient runner.

It’s like strength training in disguise

Those intense, all-out sprints build muscle. Trust us: You’ll feel it in your hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves, core and even your arms. While you’ll still want to do specific strength training, sprinting can help increase the explosive power of these muscles.

Your overall health will thank you

Research shows any short burst of high-intensity exercise can benefit everything from you blood sugar³ for you blood pressure⁴ for you heart health⁵. What’s more, sprinting is also particularly helpful Fight bone aging⁶.

you will feel superhuman

Yes, running as fast as you can even in a short amount of time can be difficult. But it’s also really fun. Going all out can make you feel like a kid on the playground again. “The adrenaline really kicked in,” Dvoretsky said. “It lifts your mood.” Plus, seeing how fast you go when you go all out can be a huge confidence booster.

Better Sprint Training Tips

There are some running tips that can help you get more out of your sprint training.

Try to do it

Although the idea behind sprinting is to achieve all-out speed, Dvoretsky actually recommends achieving this speed through a few repetitions of the process. “You can still sprint without hitting your limit at first, so you get used to the speed and then your intensity will increase over time,” she says. If you feel more comfortable, you can start at 75 to 80 percent of your maximum effort and then increase to 100 percent on your third rep. But even as you relax, you should quickly feel the intensity—if you can sing while sprinting, that’s a sign you need to push yourself harder.

Choose the right location

when you are technically able Sprint wherever you like, where you exercise affects how well you perform. Obviously, you want to sprint away from traffic. But your running surface is also important.

“Sprinting around the block on concrete can be really difficult compared to running on a rubber pro-grade track that’s optimized for sprinting,” Dvoretsky said. Not only will it feel better (and potentially faster), she says, but the slight cushioning will help reduce stress on your joints.

Some running coaches recommend sprinting on grass for the same reason. However, Dvoretsky points out that to stay safe, you have to be careful about uneven surfaces—and stay on a field like a football field, not on grass.

Pay attention to form

Keeping your body in the correct position will help you reach top speed more efficiently. Dworecki recommends paying attention to these shape cues in particular: “You want to lean forward slightly from your ankles. Engage your core. Relax your shoulders. Bend your elbows at about 90 degrees. [keeping] Keep your hands close to your body. And don’t step,” she said.

Save cooling time

Because sprinting is such an intense workout, you don’t want to jump in your car and drive home as soon as you’re done. “Your blood will pool in your legs and you’ll start to feel dizzy,” Dvoretsky said. Your cooldown doesn’t need to be fancy—just 5 to 10 minutes or a walk and stretching anything that feels tight will do the trick.