Best sprint workouts to improve your speed and fitness

If you want an efficient way to burn calories, increase your cardiovascular and muscular endurance and take your physical fitness to the next level, consider adding sprints and intervals to your workout routine.

Sprint workouts are a great addition to a training session for cardio or resistance. You can customize them based on time, fitness level, intensity, and exercise space.

Here are some tips and examples of beginner and intermediate to advanced sprint workouts to help get you started.

Beginner sprint workouts:

A general rule of the thumb is to take it slow when it comes to adding sprint workouts to your fitness routine.

Do not add too much, too soon, in other words. You want to allow your body time to adapt to the higher intensity and give the workouts adequate rest time.

With that in mind, SHRED Fitness' certified fitness trainer Emily Fayette shares these tips to design a sprint workout for beginners.

Start with a warmup at all times. "Start with dynamic stretches, speed walking, or light jogging to prepare your muscles for the work ahead," Fayette explains.

Expand your workout. Start with shorter sprint segments, then double the recovery duration, or more if necessary. Sprint 30 seconds at 80% of your maximum effort, for example, followed by 60 to 120 seconds of recovery, which could include complete rest, brisk walk, or light jog.

Allow recovery time. "After a hard workout, don't just pull the plug — or any workout. Take time to jog or walk and stretch as your heart rate drops," she adds.

Warm-up your body: with walking, light jogging, or dynamic stretches for five minutes.

Sprint: At a moderate pace, take your first sprint, about 50% to 60% of your maximum effort. Thirty seconds sprint.

Active recovery: slow down or walk 60 to 120 seconds.

Sprint: Sprint at a maximum effort of 70% for 30 seconds.

Active recovery: slow down or walk 60 to 120 seconds.

Sprint: Sprint at the maximum effort of 70% for 30 seconds.

Active recovery: slow down or walk 60 to 120 seconds.

slow down or walk 60 to 120 seconds.

Continue this pattern with the sprint at a maximum effort of 80% for 20 minutes. Next-level sprint workouts Whether you've mastered the beginner sprints or have experience with these types of workouts already, increasing the intensity by manipulating time is an effective way to take your sprint workouts to the next level.

Once you're ready to go ahead with your sprint workouts, Fayette suggests changing the sprint duration and reducing the recovery time.

"For example, go back to the beginner 30-second workout at 80% of your maximum effort followed by 60 to 120 seconds of recovery, you can bump the sprint time to 45 seconds, with a 60- to 120-second recovery, or 30 seconds of sprints with a 60 to 90-second recovery," she says.

Sample next-level routine with warmup speed intervals:

warm-up with walking, light jogging, or dynamic stretches for five minutes.

Sprint: at 80% of your maximum effort, 45 seconds.

Active recovery: slow down or walk 60 to 120 seconds.

Repeat for 20 to 30 minutes this pattern.

Sample next-level routine with reduced active recovery time Warmup:

warm-up with walking, light jogging, or dynamic stretches for five minutes.

Sprint: 30 seconds at a maximum effort of 80 percent.

Active recovery: slow down or walk 60 to 90 seconds.

Repeat for 20 to 30 minutes this pattern.

Benefits of sprint workouts If you are still uncertain about adding sprint intervals to your workout routine, consider some of these…

key benefits:

Efficiency Adding sprints to any workout helps you benefit from high-intensity workout intervals or HIIT. This type of workout combines more intense intervals with a recovery period of low to moderate intensity.

This not only saves time and boosts your cardiovascular fitness, but a study in SportTrusted Source's Biology shows that performing a HIIT workout can burn more calories than a stable workout. Improves athletic performance in skilled or trained athletes It can help boost athletic performance by including sprint intervals in your overall fitness routine.

Trained runners were able to improve both endurance and anaerobic performance after two weeks of sprint interval training, according to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning ResearchTrusted Source.

Preserves muscle mass

Your body consists of muscle fibers type I and type II.

When running distances or doing longer cardio bouts, you recruit type I, or slow-twitch, muscle fibers.

Type II, or fast-twitch, muscle fibers are the sprints you use.

It is the type II fibers that enhance muscle definition and give your legs a lean appearance, according to the American Council on Exercise.

Moreover, since type II fibers atrophy as you age, sprinting intervals can help to preserve lean muscle mass that is often lost with age.

Boosts your power

As sprint training requires rapid energy bursts in an anaerobic state, Fayette says you're going to experience a boost to your strength and speed.

Increases anaerobic threshold

Fayette points out that this allows your body to work harder for a longer period of time when you increase your anaerobic threshold as you do with sprint training.

Precautions to consider

As with any exercise, you need to consider certain precautions before you try a sprint workout.

Higher intensity, ballistic style workouts such as sprint intervals on the track or treadmill are not suitable for people with musculoskeletal injury, poor musculoskeletal foundation, or unsuitable movement patterns, according to Mayo Clinic.

That said, by exercising on an indoor bicycle, elliptical trainer, or running in the pool, people with these conditions may still benefit from low-impact sprints. Running sprints on a track makes the surface softer than hitting the pavement.

If you have a nearby quality track, consider sprinting there. There are some fitness facilities that you can use indoor tracks.

Regardless of the terrain, make sure you've got supporting sprint running shoes. Additionally, before trying sprints, anyone with heart-related issues should talk to their doctor.

Additionally, those new to practice could benefit from working with a trainer to design a sprint program. The trainer will be able to customize a routine that fits your level and point out any errors you make with your technique.

Takeaway Sprints are an efficient and effective way to train your anaerobic system, burn calories, and improve lean muscle mass in your legs. Because these types of workouts are very demanding, only two to three days a week should you perform sprint intervals? If you feel pain or discomfort, have trouble breathing, or feel sluggish, stop what you do. If these symptoms continue to occur, talk to your doctor.