How do sprints help you

Something that everybody should be able to appreciate about sprinting is that it can really be done anywhere. You can do short sprints back and forth in your home, you can sprint in your backyard, down the sidewalk, or even on a quiet road too, plus going to the park for a run is always fun too. The fact that sprinting can be done virtually anywhere makes it an excellent choice no doubt. Yet another benefit of sprinting that will come your way is the increased efficiency and health of your lungs.

We already talked about how cardiovascular exercise such as sprinting builds stronger muscles and a much healthier heart, and it also does the same thing for your lungs. Sprinting will definitely get your chest heaving, which is exactly what you need to make your lungs stronger, just like any other form of improvement. The more you do something, the better you get at it. Over time, your lungs will get more efficient from sprinting due to their increased ability to absorb and process oxygen.

The more your sprint, the better your lungs will become at absorbing oxygen and sending it throughout your body. This has many health benefits because your body needs a whole lot of oxygen to function, which is never truer than during exercise. Simply put, your muscles need oxygen to continue functioning, especially during exercise, or else you will start to feel that burn and fatigue real quick.

This is a great cycle because the more you sprint the better your lungs get at their job, and the better your lungs get at their job the further and faster you can sprint.

Something else that sprinting can do for you is to help you control your diabetes , that is if you suffer from it. Well, when you sprint or engage in any form of intense exercise for that matter, it improves insulin action and helps keep your blood sugar level within normal levels. In the long run, controlling your diabetes has many health benefits such as saving limbs that might have to be amputated otherwise, saving your vision, saving your kidneys, and keeping you nice and slim too. Doctors say it all of the time, exercise is by far one of the best ways to help prevent and control diabetes.

Have you noticed how sprinting makes many parts of your body stronger than ever? Well, this is also true for your skeleton, aka, the strength of your bones. Your bones get stronger from sprinting because it is something which is classified as a weight bearing exercise. A weight bearing exercise is any type of exercise which forces your skeletal system to hold up an increased amount of weight for a prolonged amount of time, or it can also come from the effects of gravity and pressure, such as when your foot lands on the floor with each sprinting stride.

But sprinting is different; it works in your favour. Sprinting is for a shorter duration, and your muscles get enough time to recover after the sprint action. Therefore it helps in building muscles, said Mr Bhadri. There is no doubt that sprinting helps in burning a lot of calories in a short span of time. If you are wondering how, the answer is simple.

When you sprint, you kick-start your metabolism that allows you to burn more calories even when you stop sprinting. Sprinting is not just about weight loss , but also comes with cardiovascular benefits. It can help lower your blood pressure. The fast-twitch muscles type II muscles that you are building while you sprint helps in improving your heart function. When you do sprints, you put all your effort on your muscles making your heart pump harder, thus improving overall blood circulation.

As a result, your heart is healthy and strengthens up which reduces your chances of heart disease. The other exciting benefit of sprints is its ability to naturally increase the production of human growth hormone HGH in your body, which also plays a significant role in weight loss and also slows down the aging process by enhancing the tissue growth in your body.

Similarly to how jumping rope benefits your bones through quick, but strong, repetitive jumps. No, because your body needs time to recover. Sprinting requires maximum effort, which if done daily, will lead to over exhaustion and excessive damage to the muscles. Instead you need to give your body and muscles time to heal and recover between sprint workouts. Yes, because when you run or sprint, you engage your core muscles.

Engaging your core not only helps with proper running posture, but it also burns belly fat and tones them. Yes, sprinting does build muscles and not only in the legs. Unlike running where people tend to lose muscle if they overdo it, sprinting works your muscle. Because you run at top speed from the get-go, your thigh and leg muscles are pushed into overdrive. The more you sprint, these muscles get stronger and bigger. These muscles include the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves.

Sprinting also tones your upper body muscles. Because you run at a very fast pace, you need to be able to keep your balance. Your swinging arms act as levers that propel you forward. Meanwhile, your chest and back muscles are taut and working double time when you sprint to prevent your upper limbs from over swinging and result in loss of balance. Sprint shoes are quite different from running shoes as they lack the typical bouncy cushioning. Sprint trainers usually have spikes or lugs under the forefoot section to help them grip the surface and prevent slipping.

The forefoot is also visibility slanted upwards which helps position the foot to land on the ball and not the heel. What are they? We've got the scoop. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M. Beginner workouts Next-level workouts Benefits Precautions Takeaway If you want an efficient way to burn calories, increase your cardiovascular and muscular endurance, and take your physical fitness to the next level, then consider adding sprints and intervals to your workout routine.

Beginner sprint workouts. Next-level sprint workouts. Benefits of sprint workouts. Precautions to consider. Read this next. Written by Grant Tinsley, PhD. The 10 Best Running Shorts for Women for The 7 Best Manual Treadmills for Home.