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Hill Sprints for Results

August 25th, 2009 C2G Leave a comment Go to comments

I have recently discovered hill sprints. They may be, hands down, the most efficient and effective cardiovascular, endurance and fat loss exercise you can do.

Hill sprints have been proven to melt away fat, rapidly increase your VO2 max, and aid in strength and muscle development. It can be thought of as combo resistance training and aerobic exercise. It has also been proven to help promote growth hormone and testosterone production which is very beneficial to your over all health.

Personally, I detest long distance running. It bores me to tears. Before I found hill sprints, the only enjoyment I could find from cardiovascular exercise was in competitive sports. With this type of sprinting I can push myself hard with out becoming mind-numb. It allows you to give it your all in minimal amounts of time.

How To Hill Sprint

The premise for hill sprinting is simple and pretty hard to screw up…

Warm up for 5-10 minutes by jogging on flat ground then do some light stretching. Next, find a hill and sprint up it. Jog or walk down. Catch your breathe. Rinse, repeat.

If you are a beginner or out of shape, I strongly recommend starting off very light and progressively increasing your intensity and volume with each new training session.

For example, if you are beginner, find a hill that you think you can sprint up 8 times for a good work out. Do 6 sprints. If at the 6 mark you can comfortably do 1 more, go for it. Do not be afraid to hold off and wait to increase your volume until the next session. Next, with each training session increase your amount of sprints by 1 or 2.

Once you work up to 15 sprints, you should look to find ways to increase the challenge. Either find a steeper hill or increase the weight you have to carry (using weight vest or back pack).

For optimal results you should be sprinting at max speed and effort, using your upper body to build momentum, and focusing on powerful high-kneed strides. However, be careful of your limits. Do not hurt yourself by pushing too hard.

Additionally, you can experiment with different variations and intensity, such as sprinting up the hill several times with little to no breath catching break.

The important thing is that you increase your volume and/or intensity with each new training session. This has a profound effect on the motivation and mental side of training. It is exciting when you can quantify your results with ease.

You should aim to include hill sprints in to your fitness program 2-3x a week. It is important that your body has time to rest and recover in between training sessions.

All Around Awesome Exercise

Beyond cardio and fat loss benefits, hill sprints increase explosive power, agility, and total body strength. Practically any athlete can benefit from this exercise. Take a look at any competitive or Olympic sprinter, they have the most impressive and muscular physiques.

Hill sprints also promote functional strength and athleticism. You are more likely going to need a quick burst of strength and speed in an emergency rather than the endurance to run 10+ miles.

If you’d like some additional information check out these articles on hill sprinting:

Why Hill Sprints are the Fastest way to get Strong, Fast and Lean

Hill Sprints Get You Fit Fast

Forget the Gym- Try Hill Sprints Instead