Sprinting your way to a better booty!

It is summer time and the gyms are hot as hell. Nobody really wants to spend 30 minutes to an hour on a piece of cardio equipment, especially when it’s a gorgeous and sunny day. Even though cardiovascular training is an important part of your routine, sometimes it’s ok to change it up and get outside. There are multiple ways to do this. A great cardio workout that shocks the metabolism and recruits different muscles is hill sprints. If you are looking to improve your overall speed, conditioning and have an amazing butt and legs, this is the workout for you.

butt Our lower body consists of one of the largest muscles on out body, the Gluteus Maximus (glutes), otherwise known as the butt. Getting these muscles to contract can be challenging for many of us. Everyday life --- such as a day in the office sitting in a chair, lack of stretching, improper form, and poor posture are just some of the many factors that can cause us to have weak glutes. In order to have an overall balanced and shapely physique you don’t want to neglect this very important body part.

When you’re in the gym, whether it is cardio or weight training, many people find it difficult to work certain body parts. It is important to focus on the muscle that you are trying to work, sometimes going slower and squeezing helps, and other times it helps to go faster and try to keep the muscle under constant tension. If you have a difficult time working your butt muscles, like most of us, and can’t seem to get them sore you may want to try this alternative workout. By incorporating hill sprinting into your weekly routine, you can really make huge gains. This exercise is guaranteed to get your glutes to fire and will also help in developing the rest of your leg muscles and cardio vascular system.

If you are a beginner, I would start out slow because you don’t want to overdo yourself the first time. Make sure you warm up with at least a 10 minute walk to get the heart rate up slightly and the body warm. Always stretch out first because you don’t want to pull or tear something. This is extremely important because more the muscles are stretched out the easier it is for them to fully engage.

Find yourself a nice hill that you can sprint up and walk down. The steeper the hill better, but the more challenging. It is important to push yourself but not to the point that you cannot recover. Sprint up the hill and walk down giving yourself enough time to recover and catch your breath. The first time you may only be capable of doing a few – that’s ok! Next time you can do more and before you know it you will be in tip-top condition with the best butt in the gym…and on the beach!

There are so many benefits that can come out of one simple exercise, such as hill sprinting. You can challenge your body and mind, stimulate your muscles, help with body composition changes, work and develop different muscle groups and get a great overall workout and physique. Good luck and most of all, challenge yourself!