Safe and restorative for the joints and connective tissue, efficient fat-burner, great for your posture, excellent form of cardio, an outstanding muscle builder that gets you shredded, and makes you mentally and physically tough – these are the main reasons why hill sprints are an all-around absolutely phenomenal exercise.
Safety
Due to the inclined and steep nature of hill sprints, your body will be unable to reach maximum speed, which is safer for your joints and muscles, and healthier for your central nervous system. You’ll be less likely to pull a hamstring or injure your Achilles tendon than in traditional sprints or jogging.
Endurance jogging and long-distance pavement running is much more taxing on your knees, hips, ankles, feet, and spine. Hill sprints, which are much shorter in length but also much more intense, train your muscles to move explosively and to exert high levels of force, with a significantly lower chance of injury to joints and muscles.
Functionality
There aren’t many requirements in order to perform hill sprints. You need an average pair of functioning legs, a hill, and the desire to transform your body.
By doing hill sprints, say, once a week, you will become more flexible and nimble, and you will feel healthier and more pain-free. Your body will be less inflamed and more capable of handling the different stresses and physical demands that come with each day. You’ll also get a nice tan out of it.
Fat-Burning
Hill sprints are both high-intensity anaerobic interval training (HIIT) and explosive plyometric style training. The combination of these two makes hill sprints one of the best ways, if not the best way, to shed fat.
Sprinting, and especially hill sprints, will have you burning more total calories and more fat, all while building muscle. And because muscle requires more energy to maintain than fat does, your metabolism will become increasingly more efficient and your body leaner.
Muscle Building
Go take a look at the physiques of professional sprinters – they all have muscular legs, ripped abs, and look like bodybuilders. The reason is that consistently sprinting builds a body that is explosive and powerful. Hill sprints rigorously exercise the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves, the entirety of your lower body. It will also hammer your abs and core, all of your upper and lower back muscles, even your arms – as these body parts are needed to stabilize, brace, and act as a counterbalance to the movement of the legs and hips.
Mentality
You to have heart and grit to do hill sprints, and if you don’t already, you’ll definitely have both after doing them. They will leave you sore, dirty, and gasping for air. Hill sprints may be safe and efficient, but they aren’t easy – which is a good thing, as it takes effort to receive results. Hill sprints will toughen you up mentally and physically.