Sprinting: The Fastest Way to Boost Your Fitness

Sprinting: For many of us, it’s been a while. Possibly even as far back as high school. In nearly every town in the United States, you can find a 5K, 10K, half marathon or full marathon to run. But it’s far less likely that you’ll find an organized track meet to run a 100-, 200- or 400-meter dash (though they do exist).

One reason many adults avoid sprinting is that the thought of past injuries (or possible future ones) can be frightening. Another, of course, is that sprinting is hard, often leaving us doubled over gasping for air.

But hard is the idea. Sprinting puts an enormous amount of stress on our physical systems, which — when done safely — makes us stronger, more resilient and more fit.

Why sprint?

Put simply, sprinting is running at or near your top speed. “It is one of the movements that gives the biggest bang for buck,” said Matt Sanderson, a director at the fitness brand SOFLETE.

However, running flat out should be undertaken only after a thorough warm-up, regardless of your fitness level, as it can cause muscle pulls and strains as well as major injuries, like Achilles’ tears. If you have any concerns about injuries or health issues, talk with your doctor first.

If you have a larger body and are concerned about stress on your joints or bones, Mr. Sanderson recommended starting with lower-impact exercises such as sled pushes to build up strength and develop conditioning before trying to sprint.

“Spend some time preparing your tissues,” he said. “Jumping rope, even jumping or bouncing in a swimming pool.”

Lastly, remember that “top speed” is a relative term. If you ran a 12-second 100-meter dash several decades ago, adjust your expectations. Every athlete is different, but here are a few general tips for sprinting safely.

Start slow.

Even though the ultimate goal is to go fast, it’s important to start slow. Running a 100-meter dash right away is probably a bad idea.

“If you haven’t sprinted recently, maybe go and run slightly faster than you’re used to,” Dr. Lundstrom said. Then “a little bit harder, and gradually getting up to a full sprint.”

Roll up the intensity.

Experts also suggested “rolling sprints” during a standard jog to work into running at top speed. As you jog, pick a point to begin increasing the intensity of your running every 10 meters or so until you reach an effort where speaking would be hard. From there, decrease every 10 meters until you’re back to your regular jogging pace.

If you are not a jogger, you can do rolling sprints as a stand-alone workout, repeating each sprint a handful of times.

Set a baseline.

Once you start sprinting, the first thing you should do is set a benchmark time over a certain distance. This is less about bragging rights and more about having a tool to structure later workouts.

Start with a distance between 40 and 60 meters long. Simply work into a sprint and note your best time.

Use your threshold.

Once you have a benchmark time, use it to plan your workouts. One easy routine, Mr. Sanderson said, is to run repeated sprints at your chosen distance, trying to keep your efforts within a certain range of your benchmark time. He calls that range a “percentage threshold.”

Thresholds vary for each athlete, but for someone with a high fitness level, 5 percent is good. Others may aim for 10 percent.

If it takes you seven seconds to sprint 40 yards, a 10 percent threshold is 7.4 seconds. So keep repeating that sprint (with a few minutes of easy walking in between) until you run slower than about eight seconds, then stop your workout.

At first, the number of sprints that you can run may be low. But as you gain strength and speed, you’ll find that your ability to maintain speed will grow.

Stay off the local high school track — at first.

While you may be tempted to lace up your old track spikes and head to your local high school, Mr. Sanderson recommended against starting on a rubberized surface, as the bouncy track could increase the chance for injury.

“Your performance will probably go up,” he said of running on a track. “But it’s asking more of your Achilles and your calf.”

He recommends starting sprint work on turf or natural grass. From there, you can graduate to pavement and, finally, the rubberized track you may remember from high school.

Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a freelance writer out of Chapel Hill, N.C.