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As the weather gets nicer, you may decide to head out to the track for a training session. Once there, you may be surprised to see people wasting their time running endless laps like a mouse in a wheel. Although they are there to promote lean body mass, you are there to look like an Olympic sprinter. What’s the one thing an Olympic caliber sprinter must do? You guessed it: sprint.

Getting out for a sprint workout once or twice a week has many benefits. If you want to increase your lean body mass, burn fat, improve conditioning and have a great training session, a sprint workout will do the trick.

With those great benefits, why is no one out there doing it? Answer: because sprinting is hard. It will leave you breathing heavy and at times humbled. But if you want great results and want to get outside to train, sprinting is the way to go.

Pyramids—sprinting for distances that increase then decrease—can build conditioning, explosiveness, and speed. Usually reserved for bodyweight exercises or weight training, pyramids can easily be integrated into your sprint workouts.

Traditionally, you work your way through the pyramid with minimal rest. With a sprinting pyramid, however, you need ample rest between sets, depending on the distance of the sprint. Resting allows you to give maximal effort on each and every sprint. Your heart rate will be high, so you will be thankful for the recovery time.

Before you jump into this type of training, perform a detailed dynamic warm-up that will prepare your body for the hard work to come. A warm-up that focuses on your glutes, hamstrings and calves is essential to prevent injury.

Warm-up

• Jumping Jacks – 3×10
• Seal Jacks – 3×10
• Squats – 3×10
• Pogo Hops – 3×20
• Fire Hydrants – 2×10 on each side
• Bird Dogs – 2×10 on each side
• Glute Bridges – 2×10
• Scorpions – 2×10
• High Knee Skips – 3×25 yards
• Sprint – 3×30 yards

Sprint Pyramid Workout

• 8 sets of 50-meter sprints (1 minute rest between sets)
• 6 sets of 100-meter sprints (90 seconds rest between sets)
• 4 sets of 200-meter sprints (2 minutes rest between sets)
• 2 sets of 400-meter sprints (3-4 minutes rest between sets)
• Cool Down

Read More:

• 3 Tips to Increase Sprint Speed
• The Sprint Form Checklist
• Head-to-Toe Sprint Mechanics
• Tyson Gay’s 100-Meter Sprint Strategy