Hill sprints are one of the best exercises you can do for yourself. They build muscular tissue, burn fat, make you more explosive and quicker, plus they’re actually safer than sprinting on flat ground. They have also been noted to stimulate Human Growth Hormone release in the body.
Just look at Olympic sprinters. They are very well muscled, especially they’re legs. Contrast this to marathon runners whose body’s shed fat and muscle in order to be lighter for the runs. Which would you rather look like? Plus the time it takes to sprint versus running long distance is very small. In about 15 minutes you can be done.
You want to find a hill that is a suitable length and grade for you. If you live in a hill-less area you can substitute by stair sprinting although it is slightly different.
For hill sprints you want to sprint about 30 seconds. This is usually the upper limit of time a person can go all out. Of course this depends on the steepness of the hill as well as your conditioning.
In the beginning you’ll need to work up to this degree. Depending on your previous action levels you may want to run jog or even walk the hill for a period before going all out in a hill sprint.
You can push yourself even faster when you are sprinting . With each step think of pushing off just a little bit harder. Even when your lungs are burning and your legs want to quit cooperating you can do this. This is why, in addition to everything else, hill sprints build mental toughness.
Once you reach the top of the hill, or whatever part you determined as your finish line, you will walk back to the bottom. This serves as your rest period. Once you get back, get set and then go again.
I find that six sprints is the ideal amount. More than that and my times start to drop off. Again this will depend on your conditioning and the hill you run on.
By doing these hill sprints two or three times a week you’ll get into phenomenal shape.
The author, Logan Christopher, runs Legendary Strength which teaches people how to do feats of strength, strength training, enjoy better health and much more.
