If you know me you know I like to keep things simple. I’m a big believer in the 80/20 rule. Focusing on too many things and making too many changes at once is always a recipe for disaster and will undoubtedly lead to lackluster results.
So when people ask me for some tips on how to get lean I tell them two things- diet and sprint. Pretty simple stuff.
Diet is really 80% of getting lean but that’s another topic entirely. Today we’re simply gonna focus on hill sprints for fat loss. Mainly because not enough people are doing them and many of those who are, are doing them all wrong.
If you are new to sprinting you need to take it easy. I mean reeeeaaaally easy. If the last time you ran a sprint was the week before senior prom you need to be very cautious or you’ll probably get hurt.
If this describes you I’d start with hill sprints. Why hill sprints? Well, firstly, because Walter Payton did them. And most of us should strongly consider doing whatever Walter Payton did just because he was that awesome. Because he was my favorite athlete growing up (along with Michael Jordan) I started running hill sprints way back in the 80’s when I found out that that’s what “Sweetness” did (and that poster, pictured above, was on my bedroom wall for years. You see how ripped Payton was?). When I found out a few years later that they were a major part of Jerry Rice’s off season training regimen, their greatness was reaffirmed in my mind.
Hill sprints place your body in a safer position because of the angle, so there is far less impact. The risk of pulling a hammy or popping an Achilles or something in your knee is greatly reduced. So, for most of us, this is the way to go. Another great thing about hill sprints versus other fat loss methods is that they also build muscle at the same time. Can’t really say that for the stairmaster, can you?
Now, before you get started you should warm up properly. Wearing some neoprene knee sleeves might be a good idea just to keep the knees warm. I recommend starting with about five to ten minutes of low intensity drills to get the body ready for the task at hand. A good warm up might consist of:
• Jumping jacks
• Flings
• Seal jumps
• Ali shuffle
• Low pogo jumps
• High pogo jumps
• Prisoner squats
• Gate swings
• Wide outs
• Leg swings- front, back, side to side
• Walking lunges
• High knees
• Butt kicks
• Tuck jumps
• Lateral shuffling
• Skipping
• Etc.
The nice thing about sprinting up a hill is that you don’t require as much of a warm up. After hitting 5-10 minutes of the drills listed above start with some lower intensity sprints. Do one at about 60%, then 70%, another at 80%, one more at 90% and then you’re ready to go. For the most part I recommend that your sprint work be done at around 95-97%. Very rarely should you go all out at 100%. I realize that the difference between 95-97% and 100% may seem very small but an athlete in tuned with his body can tell the difference. And keeping the intensity just that much lower makes a big difference in overall recovery and CNS fatigue.
Again, if it’s your first sprint session in years you need to start way easier than you think. I recommend no more than FIVE sprints of no more than 20-40 yards the first day. Some times I see coaches or trainers recommend starting with ten 40-50 yard sprints. When I see this it’s immediately obvious that they haven’t trained too many people and haven’t done this themselves. Or they have been sprinting for years and forgot what its like to be a beginner. Beginners need to be extremely cautious and should start at only about 85-90% for the first week or so and keep the total number of sprints very low.
See how you feel after the first session and give it a go again in about five days. Slowly increase the intensity over time. Rest periods can be as short or as long as you need them to be. You want to keep your heart rate elevated but you don’t want to rest so little that your form starts getting sloppy and you risk injury.
If you were training for speed you might be resting up to five minutes between each set. But since today’s topic is hill sprints for fat loss try to keep the rest periods a bit lower. We don’t need complete CNS recovery here.
The next thing we need to discuss is proper running mechanics. This is where most people get it all wrong. A couple weeks ago I went down to the field with my long time friend, Mike DeSanti (the creator of the recipes in the Triple Threat Muscle nutrition guide and our upcoming recipe book) and we ran some sprints. Since a qualified coach had never taught Mike how to sprint before he was just running like he always had without much thought involved.
I wanted him to feel the difference so I let him do about five or six sprints the old way. Then I taught him to run properly. His speed increased dramatically on the next one and when he hit the 50-yard line he broke out into hysterical laughter.
“I can’t believe I just learned how to sprint at thirty years old!”
“That was awesome!”
“I never moved like that in my life!”
“I was like a gazelle!”
He could barely get the words out through the laughter and since he was cracking up so hard I started dying, myself. We laughed uncontrollably the entire way back to the goal line and it continued throughout the rest of our workout.
Mike was so blown away by the difference that proper running mechanics made that he couldn’t contain himself.
So what did I show Mike that most people don’t know?
Since this is not a discussion on maximal speed training or mastering the 40 yard or 100 meter dash we won’t concern ourselves with the start so much. Instead, to be safe, we will use flying starts, meaning you start by running at less than your maximal speed and work your way up to top speed over the course of 15-20 yards.
• Starting from the top down, the face must be relaxed. Do night clench your jaw or make any crazy faces. Relax.
• Keep the chest up and shoulders back and down.
• No side to side rotation of the pelvis, torso, shoulder girdle is allowed.
• Hips remain forward toward the finish line at all times.
• Arms should be bent ninety degrees with the hands open (no clenched fists or flailing, limp wrists).
• When you are running the arms must pump vigorously, forward and backward. NEVER LET THE ARMS CROSS THE MIDLINE OF THE BODY. Only forward and backward. Little kids run with their arms side to side. Don’t do that or we will all make fun of you.
• Think of pulling yourself through the air by driving your arms back as fast and hard as you can. The hands come up to a level even with the face and they come down and cross your pocket on the way back (but no further; don’t have them swinging way behind you).
• Drive the knees high and be sure that the foot strikes directly under your body; not out in front of you (although, on a hill this may be slightly different depending on the incline).
• Only the front portion of the foot should strike the ground; the heel should never make contact.
• When the ball of the foot makes contact with the ground think of yourself as an animal pawing at the ground and rapidly pulling it behind you.
• As Charlie Francis said, running takes place on the ground, sprinting takes place above it. If you do it right you should feel minimal impact or stress and should feel like you are flying effortlessly. If you’re taking a lot of pounding and it feels like a lot of work, you’re doing something wrong and should consider having someone watch or video tape you for some feedback.
What I listed above are basically the instructions for flat ground sprints but can easily be applied to the hill. A few angles will change here and there but for the most part, if you follow those recommendations you’ll be ahead of the pack and your sprints will be a lot safer and faster.
Just in case you aren’t convinced that hill sprinting isn’t the way to go just yet, consider that the current 49ers head coach, Mike Singletary, who played most of his career with Walter Payton and had several outings against Jerry Rice, has taken a page out of the legends books and added hill sprints to the teams off season training regimen.
“There’s something about the hill,” Singletary told reporters back in mid-March 2009, after the 49ers first minicamp and the hill was on full display for the first time. “It’s beautiful to look at but what it’s going to do for our guys is it’s going to bring about something that you can’t really get in the weight room, something that you really can’t get on the track.”
“All the guys that I know that worked out on a hill, they were a cut above some of the other competition around the league and they had a long playing careers,” Singletary said. “So I’m excited about the hill and it just adds another dimension to our workout.”
So make like Payton and Rice and the entire current 49ers team and go find yourself a hill and start sprinting…
PS. Speaking of the 49ers, their Strength & Conditioning Coach, Duane Carlise, just released a new DVD set on training for football. Check it out by clicking HERE now.
And then check out this video of the great Walter Payton (they show him sprinting the hill at 2:24)
Please leave your comments below.
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19. Jul, 2010
at 9:21 am #
Great article! One question on hill sprints, though… do you suggest giving yourself somewhat of a “running head-start” from flat ground before hitting the hill itself? Or do you just begin from an immediate incline?
19. Jul, 2010
at 5:42 pm #
Who cares, stop thinking so much and just get up the fucking hill!
27. Jul, 2010
at 7:02 pm #
Great stuff Jason, and yes Sweetness was and always will be awesome.
19. Jul, 2010
at 10:23 am #
Ah man, thanks for the reminder of the greatness that is constructed outside the four mirrored walls of the gym. Extra thanks for the Niners mention and the MEN Jerry Rice and Iron Mike. I’m here just outside of Dallas bout to pass out from the methane that is the Cowgurls performance the last few seasons, lol…Thanks again J
19. Jul, 2010
at 11:22 am #
Walter will always be revered in Chicago, I think he was the best all around football player of all time, the man could do it all I think it was John Madden who said he liked to see someone throw an interception so he could see Walter tackle. Its just a thing of beauty to watch him run in the open field, its almost like he runs with his hips rather than his knees almost like he’s gliding
19. Jul, 2010
at 11:57 am #
Great article. A lot of good advice to make sure we do it properly. If time allows, at some point I would like to see one about band sprints too :)
19. Jul, 2010
at 12:59 pm #
100% spot on.
Ran a similar article regarding hill sprints a few months back. Call me sadistic but I love this exercise. Now I am well on the way to recovery after knee surgery I cannot wait to get back to these.
Heed Jay’s advice though, ALWAYS warm up and take it easy at the beginning, build up over time.
Chris – In my experience it doesn’t matter too much. I alway start at the begining of the incline, going from a flat running start will give you more momentum before the incline, just be careful with the change in terrian, you shouldn’t be going anywhere near top speed before you hit it.
Another great Post Cranked out.
Cheers
Dean
19. Jul, 2010
at 1:51 pm #
Excellent topic!
I love sprinting on grass, hills, sand ..FLAT OUT … (don’t like concrete too much, bad for the knees) and every leg movement is an abs crunch too.
it compliments lifting weights well.
Much rather do this than jog like an old granny on a treadmill …really its warrior conditioning.
Its over and done in less than 30 min so losing muscle is not an issue.
I just finished a 3000 metre race came 12th out of 500 by the way I’m nearly 50.
Raymond
19. Jul, 2010
at 5:33 pm #
Hi Jay,
I’ve been incorporating sprints into my sessions ever since I read your articles on how draining intervals can be. I’ve personally found that sprints over intervals don’t leave you fatigued throughout the day. However, I do still have a session of aerobic intervals added in as I am a soccer player.
I’ve been sprinting for conditioning and fat loss now and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while doing stronglifts 5×5 on mon/wed/fri. I do 80m repeats for the fat loss parts. Sometimes, I do shuttles instead. Rest periods are 1-2min. They work great!
19. Jul, 2010
at 5:35 pm #
Hey Jay,
I notice you don’t give recommendations about how far forward tour body should lean. I’ve seen sprinters running straight-backed and they can’t accelerate!
19. Jul, 2010
at 8:36 pm #
Lived in Chicago when Payton was running–thanks for the excellent video reminder–back to getting up that hill, it ain’t pretty–ugh!
20. Jul, 2010
at 1:21 am #
Love the Payton references and the video, he was a huge inspiration growing up…. might even name my first son after him. Hill sprints were a part of our football workouts at UW Plattevile (where the Bears had training camp for many years) and I think it’s time to bring it back into the workout. For anyone around SoCal there’s a great sand hill in Manhattan Beach- kicks my ass every time.
Thanks for the inspiration.
20. Jul, 2010
at 5:23 am #
@Tony: Where is the hill in Manhattan Beach? I will be out there for all of August.
20. Jul, 2010
at 5:22 am #
Chris- It doesn’t really matter that much. Check what Dean said.
Rod- Being a Giants fan I’m not really one for the Cowgirls, myself.
Ryan- I agree.
Josh- There’s not really much to it other than to do it.
Dean- Good stuff, thanks, man.
Raymond- Awesome to see you killing sprints at your age. Keep it up.
Clement- On the hill the slight forward lean will come pretty naturally. On flat ground there is a science to when you straighten up but I’m not going to get into that here.
Brandon- Word.
20. Jul, 2010
at 2:01 pm #
Jason- apparently due to overuse they’ve created an online reservation system to use the Sand Dune Park which is really stupid, however it’s worth the hassle if you want a good workout. The links below have addresses & pictures. I’m back in LA from work travel on August 7th. If you want someone to run it with, hit me up.
http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/Index.aspx?page=378
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sand-dune-park-manhattan-beach
21. Jul, 2010
at 12:37 am #
can’t wait to go out and find a hill, this article got me fired up!
21. Jul, 2010
at 6:25 am #
Jason-any suggestions for doing these on the dreadmill? (all I have access to currently).
Thanks in advance.
23. Jul, 2010
at 3:14 pm #
This may seem a hopelessly dopey question but, here it goes: I have just started running sprints on an outdoor track and on the football field. I’ve been running in an old pair of Asics running shoes. They’re too mushy. My question is what kind of shoes are best for a bigger guy (225 lbs.) to run sprints in? Or, doesn’t it matter much? Any advice would be most appreciated.
29. Jul, 2010
at 8:18 am #
I think it was John Madden who said he liked to see someone throw an interception so he could see Walter tackle. Its just a thing of beauty to watch him run in the open field, its almost like he runs with his hips rather than his knees almost like he’s gliding.
13. Aug, 2010
at 4:05 pm #
Another great article. I think Walter Payton was one of the greatest football athletes ever. Just a pleasure to watch play. Building muscle is not easy. You could be working out hard, eating the right meals and using supplements. But that sometimes is not enough. I agree with you that diet and sprint is a must to get lean.
13. Aug, 2010
at 10:18 pm #
Hi Jason,
I had a knee injury .I got my ACL reconstructed 14 months back .
At present I am doing jogging in my nearby hill.
If I start the sprinting on the hill , is there any possibility
of harming the knee ?
25. Oct, 2010
at 6:28 pm #
Great post and a KILLER video at the end! Thanks as usual man!
04. Jan, 2011
at 4:01 am #
Is it safe to do hill sprints on road surfaces? That’s the only inclined space I have readily available where I can go for a decent 20 second sprint. I’ve read that sprinting or doing plyomterics on cement surfaces can be detrimental to your knees though.
14. Jan, 2011
at 11:02 pm #
Any advice for us who have no hills available???? I would love to try out hill sprints, I’ve searched for hills near by since I first read about them a couple of months back but I can’t seem to find one!!!!….
15. Jan, 2011
at 12:10 am #
Since you’ve turned me on to hill sprints I have gotten leaner and in better shape than I’ve ever been in before. Thank you so much for all you share with us.
18. Jan, 2011
at 8:55 am #
I’ve heard several times that Walter was the first to use the Strength Shoes back in the mid to early 70′s & that he trained in them always. Same for Dickerson.
He was the man!
24. Feb, 2011
at 8:21 am #
Jason
I have been doing hill sprints for about 4 weeks now and enjoy them, but I have very little cartilidge in my right knee due to a collegiate football injury 7 years ago. I have been doing them more at a “moderate run” (bout 70%) because quite frankly my knee wont let me go all out. Is this being counter-productive? I feel like I still get a good cardiovascular workout from them but I dont want to compromise muscle/strength. I can ride the stationary bike with no problems but I would rather chew glass I hate it so much. What do u think of swimming with short bursts of high intensity? If anyone else on the board has an opinion to help me I would appreciate all the help I can get. I am 5-10 195 with about 11% bodyfat and would love to get into the single digits without compromising muscle or strength.
08. Jun, 2011
at 2:08 pm #
Awesome Awesome article!! i actually have that same Walter poster in my old room! I love Sprinting especially Hill Sprints but I do add in some 400m at the local High School from time to time.