Ready to Run Super Fast? Add These Sprint Workouts to Your Training
If you’re a runner who’s trying to get fast ASAP, sprint workouts are one of the best ways to train. Sure, maybe your days of dreaming about becoming a track star are long gone. But little bursts of going all out at your top speed can help nearly any runner improve their pace, whether training for a local 5K or a major marathon—and it’s incredibly fun.
“I actually feel like it gets more important as you get older to really work on that type-2 muscle fiber [so you don’t] lose it,” says running coach Amie Dworecki. “It can be an enhancing workout really to anyone.”
The one disclaimer: Sprint workouts can be tough. And trying to do too much too fast during these sessions can set you up for injury. So if you’re itching to channel your inner Sha’Carri Richardson, here’s what you need to know before you start sprint training.
What counts as a sprint workout?
Sprint workouts are essentially HIIT workouts: They consist of short bursts of maximum-effort running, followed by periods of rest—which could look like hands-on-your-knees-gasping-for-air recovery, a casual walk walk, or even a gentle jog, according to Dworecki.
“Technically, they say the [longest] you could sprint is about 30 seconds,” she says. Although there are variations of sprints where you’re not going full out the entire time, a traditional sprint will see you maxing out your speed for 10 to 30 seconds, then recovering so you can do it all over again. A sprint training workout can be its own dedicated session, or just an add-on at the end of a longer endurance run (in this case, the sprints are typically called “strides”).
A good sprint workout will include 10 to 30 seconds of running as fast as you can, followed by a short rest period (anywhere from one to four times as long as your sprint), completing about 8 to 10 reps. But Dworecki says runners who haven’t sprinted much recently should start with just 2 or 3 reps.
“And then the next workout, add more if you aren’t feeling like you might get injured,” she says. She points out that it’s better to finish up a workout feeling like it was too easy then end up hurting yourself and having to take time off because you went out too hard. (However, she notes that some soreness is normal, so don’t be worried if your muscles get a little tender from sprinting.)
How to warmup for sprint workouts
“A lot of people hate warming up for running,” Dworecki admits. But when you’re putting in the kind of effort that sprinting requires, you definitely want your body to be prepared for it. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Jog
Start off with a 10- to 20-minute easy jog to get your blood flowing and your legs moving.
Step 2: Drills
Do some drills that can help you zero in on proper running form. Dworecki recommends A-skips (quickly drive one knee up to your chest while hopping on the other before switching legs) and B-skips (similar, but reaching the top foot forward before bringing it back to the ground). Other sprinters like squats and lunges, butt kicks, leg swings, and high knees (bringing alternating knees up to your chest quickly).
Step 3: Get specific
Spend a little time on your personal problem spots. For instance, if your calves often bother you, do some calf raises. Or if your IT band is tight, dynamically stretch it in a squatting figure-four stretch.
4 different sprint workouts to try
How you structure a sprint workout depends on your experience, fitness level, and how quickly your body typically recovers from hard sessions. With that in mind, here are four sprint workouts Dworecki recommends for different types of runners.
You can maximize your sprint speed by focusing on efficient form: Core engaged, shoulders relaxed down, quick steps, full-body forward lean, and arms kept close to your body.
1. 15-second sprint, one minute rest
A good starting point for sprinting newbies or those who haven’t sprinted in a long time (including marathoners who haven’t been working on these top speeds recently) is to follow a one-to-four work-to-rest ratio, resting for four seconds for every one second that you sprint. In particular, Dworecki recommends sprinting for 15 seconds, then resting for 60 seconds. “Just keep it really short because you really don’t know how your body is going to respond,” she says.
2. 30-second sprint, 90-second rest
If you want to push your limits a little further, Dworecki says you can step things up to a 30-second sprint, then give yourself just 90 seconds to recover, hitting a one-to-three work-to-rest ratio.
3. 30-second sprint, 30-second rest
One way to amp up the challenge of a sprint workout is to decrease the amount of recovery you take between reps. Dworecki says advanced runners can test themselves by running 30 seconds all out, then only taking the same amount of time to catch their breath before starting again.
4. Hill sprints
Sprints don’t have to be done on a track. To mix things up, take your sprint workouts to a steep incline. “Hill sprints tend to have more muscular recruitment,” Dworecki says. “It can help your strength and be really good for injury prevention.” She suggests sprinting uphill for eight to 10 seconds, then slowly jogging back down before turning around to head back up.
How often you should sprint depends on who you are as an athlete. Someone who’s new to running, or is injury-prone, or has found their body needs more time to recover as they get older might want to start with just one sprint workout per week, Dworecki suggests. More advanced runners can do up to three weekly sprint workouts as long as they’re healthy, and mix up their training overall with things like tempo runs, fartlek training, and strength work to add in some variety. “For your brain, and your muscles, too,” Dworecki says.
Benefits of sprint workouts
There are many perks you can get out of running sprint workouts. “A lot of times when people think of working out in different training zones, like steady state endurance or VO2 max or sprinting, they think, ‘This is going to help me just with this thing,’” Dworecki says. “But it tends to be more like a string that’s laying on a table: When you pull one part of the string up, it eventually lifts up all the other parts of the string.”
Put simply, working on your top speeds can have a trickle-down effect that improves all your other runs.
Sprinting can improve your VO2 max
This metric measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise—and it’s a solid indicator of your aerobic fitness. A high VO2 max will mean your heart and lungs are pumping a good amount of oxygen-filled blood, and your circulatory system is efficiently sending that blood to your muscles, which are effectively using the oxygen it’s carrying.
Improving this process via sprint workouts can have major effects—and not just for your running: One 2018 review found VO2 max to be “the strongest independent predictor of future life expectancy in both healthy and cardiorespiratory-diseased individuals.”
Your cadence might get quicker
Running as fast as we can naturally encourages us to run better. “Your running form tends to improve when you’re moving fast,” Dworecki says. In particular, you’ll see improvements in your leg turnover. Increasing your cadence, or how quickly you take steps while running, has been shown not only to decrease the impact forces that 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 bursts of sprinting build muscle. Trust us: You’ll feel it in your hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves, core, and even your arms. Although you’ll still want to do dedicated strength training, too, sprinting can help increase those muscles’ explosive power.
Your overall health will thank you
Research shows that any brief bursts of high-intensity exercise can benefit everything from your blood sugar to your blood pressure to your heart health. What’s more, sprinting in particular can also help counteract bone aging.
You’ll feel superhuman
Yes, running as fast as you can for even a short amount of time can be hard. But it’s also super fun. Going all out can make you feel like a kid on the playground again. “The adrenaline really kicks in,” Dworecki says. “It gives you a mood boost.” Plus, seeing just how speedy you are when you give it everything you’ve got can be a major confidence bump.
Tips for better sprint workouts
There are a few running tips that can help you get more out of your sprint workouts.
Work into it
Although the idea behind sprinting is to hit your all-out speed, Dworecki actually suggests working your way up to that over the course of a few reps. “You can still sprint without maxing out at first so you just get used to feeling that speed, and then your intensity can increase over time,” she says. If it feels more comfortable, you can begin at 75 to 80 percent of your max effort, then build up to 100 percent by the third rep. But even if you ease into it, you should feel the intensity pretty quickly—if you can sing while running sprints, that’s a sign you need to push yourself harder.
Pick the right location
While you technically can sprint anywhere you like, the location of your workout can affect what you get out of it. Obviously, you want to sprint somewhere that will keep you away from traffic. But your running surface can matter, too.
“Sprinting around the block on concrete can be really hard versus going to a rubberized, professional-grade track optimized for sprinting,” Dworecki says. Not only will it feel better (and likely faster), she says the slight cushioning will help keep some stress off of your joints.
Some run coaches recommend sprinting on grass for the same reason. However, Dworecki points out you have to be watchful for uneven surfaces—stick to something like a football field rather than a wild meadow to stay safe.
Focus on form
Keeping your body in the right position will help you pull off your top speeds more efficiently. In particular, Dworecki recommends focusing on these form cues: “You want to have a slight forward lean from your ankle. Engage your core. Relax your shoulders. Have about a 90-degree bend at the elbow, [keeping] your hands close to your body. And don’t overstride,” she says.
Save time for a cooldown
Because sprinting is such an intense workout, you don’t want to immediately hop in your car to drive home after you’re done. “Your blood can pool your legs and you can start to get really dizzy,” Dworecki says. Your cooldown doesn’t need to be fancy—just 5 to 10 minutes or walking and stretching out anything that feels tight will do the trick.