One of the quickest ways you can burn fat off your body but still maintain your muscle is by doing hill sprints. Not only is this one of the most effective ways to burn calories, it takes a lot less time than most other versions of cardio. Compare 45 minutes on a stationary bike with a mere 15-20 minutes of solid hill sprints.
In half the time it takes to do a standard gym cardio session, you could receive many more benefits from hill-sprints. Think in terms of the body types between an Olympic sprinter and a marathon runner. Sure a marathon works out much longer, but would you like to look like that?
Hill sprints can be put on the top shelf of exercises for me along side kettlebells and as always, I'm not without my reasons. First and foremost is safety. Here is an excerpt from top strength coach, Charles Staley:
Due to the inclined surface, maximum limb speed cannot be attained and thus serves as a safety barrier for your precious hamstrings! However, in the process, your posterior-chain muscles (low-back, glutes, hamstrings and calves) get an incredible strengthening effect! This means that you can avoid pulling and injuring your muscles on inclined surfaces and hit the muscles in your backside at the same time!
The benefits of doing hill-sprints go beyond the short amount of time you'll be doing them. In addition to working out much faster than a normal cardio session, your body will also benefit from metabolism-exploding effects all day.
There are some requirements to training with hill-sprints safely. For one, you need to warm up adequately so you're body can handle the additional stress. Using a heart rate monitor is also a good idea to train safely. After the workout, be sure to cool down for a bit. After finding a hill with a decent grade, follow this simple hill-sprint workout:
Five minute warmup with dynamic movements (squats, lunges, pushups, side lunges, etc)
25 yard hill-jog up 2x
25-yard sprint up and walk down, 3x
Sprint up 35 yards, walk down, 3x
45-yard sprint up and walk down, 3x
50 yard hill-sprint up, walk down-repeat 2x-rest 30 seconds
Cool Down-walk around to get your heart rate down and follow that up with a nice stretch.
By changing the number of sprints, amount of rest, and the lengths, you can make this workout much more difficult or easier.
Hill Sprints offer a powerful, calorie-burning, time-saving workout. Try hill sprints for a month 2 to 3 times a week and I guarantee you will see some major results. Remember, this is an intense, hard workout but not without reward. You will be stronger, faster, and leaner not to mention with a little extra time on your hands. Now, that's smart training! - 15255
In half the time it takes to do a standard gym cardio session, you could receive many more benefits from hill-sprints. Think in terms of the body types between an Olympic sprinter and a marathon runner. Sure a marathon works out much longer, but would you like to look like that?
Hill sprints can be put on the top shelf of exercises for me along side kettlebells and as always, I'm not without my reasons. First and foremost is safety. Here is an excerpt from top strength coach, Charles Staley:
Due to the inclined surface, maximum limb speed cannot be attained and thus serves as a safety barrier for your precious hamstrings! However, in the process, your posterior-chain muscles (low-back, glutes, hamstrings and calves) get an incredible strengthening effect! This means that you can avoid pulling and injuring your muscles on inclined surfaces and hit the muscles in your backside at the same time!
The benefits of doing hill-sprints go beyond the short amount of time you'll be doing them. In addition to working out much faster than a normal cardio session, your body will also benefit from metabolism-exploding effects all day.
There are some requirements to training with hill-sprints safely. For one, you need to warm up adequately so you're body can handle the additional stress. Using a heart rate monitor is also a good idea to train safely. After the workout, be sure to cool down for a bit. After finding a hill with a decent grade, follow this simple hill-sprint workout:
Five minute warmup with dynamic movements (squats, lunges, pushups, side lunges, etc)
25 yard hill-jog up 2x
25-yard sprint up and walk down, 3x
Sprint up 35 yards, walk down, 3x
45-yard sprint up and walk down, 3x
50 yard hill-sprint up, walk down-repeat 2x-rest 30 seconds
Cool Down-walk around to get your heart rate down and follow that up with a nice stretch.
By changing the number of sprints, amount of rest, and the lengths, you can make this workout much more difficult or easier.
Hill Sprints offer a powerful, calorie-burning, time-saving workout. Try hill sprints for a month 2 to 3 times a week and I guarantee you will see some major results. Remember, this is an intense, hard workout but not without reward. You will be stronger, faster, and leaner not to mention with a little extra time on your hands. Now, that's smart training! - 15255
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Author Marcus Martinez can show you how to your fitness goals. For fitness tips view his free training programs concerninghealth & fitness.