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For fat loss and increasing your metabolic rate, sprinting provides a fantastic cardiovascular workout. It is also effective for sculpting your hamstrings, quads, butt, calves and abs. Before doing sprints, though, you need to warm up and stretch properly because injuring yourself is very easy.

Before stretching, I advise jogging a lap around the track to get the blood flowing in your muscles. After about 15 minutes of lower-body stretching, you should be ready. When stretching, the main areas where you need to focus are your groin, quad and hamstrings. These muscles are the easiest muscles to injure.

An adequate distance for sprinting is anywhere from 50 meters to 100 meters. In the beginning, I would run about ten of these at 50 to 60 percent speed. Trying to run these at full-speed in the beginning isn’t smart because your muscles aren’t ready to handle that speed yet.

Try sprinting the 100 meters, then walk back to the starting line and proceed again. The walk is your rest. Once you get to the starting line, set up quickly and go until you complete your 10 sprints. I advise doing this program at least twice a week. Always make sure your body is relaxed and not tensed up. If you are truly relaxed, your cheeks will flap rapidly as you run.

As an example of a training week, do your sprints on Mondays and Fridays. You want to give your body at least 3 days rest between runs. Muscles need this ample amount of time to recover and repair. In terms of body mechanics, make sure your arms move in 90-degree angles while in motion. When you are running, keep your arms to your side. The arm motion should look like you are taking something out of your front pocket. Think about this while you are sprinting and strive for proper arm form. Always run on the balls of your feet instead of your toes, as running on your toes eliminates power and stability.

If you try sprinting twice a week for a month, I guarantee you will see changes in your quads, hamstrings, calves and abs in this time frame. The exercise will greatly elevate your metabolism throughout the week so you will burn serious calories as well as increase fat loss. A strong sprint workout can be completed within 30 minutes.

I hope this helps anyone who is trying to incorporate new elements into their workout routine. In all honesty, I attribute my abs development and lean physique to my high school and college sprinting days.