Hill Sprints

I've been finishing off my fitness clients at one of my jobs with a simple but effective method: hill sprints.

We have a gently sloping hill near the building. So as a final workout "finisher" I take them outside and have them do 8 sprints up the slope and then back down the stairs, every minute on the minute with a continuously running clock. They get to rest for any "leftover" seconds after the run. If they do it fast, it's like 40 seconds rest. By the 8th round it's generally 20-25 seconds, tops.

It's a quick (8 minute!) and effective way to get my clients running hard, doing intervals, and finishing up strong on a workout. It's technically simple ("run!") and yet very effective. Plus it makes them feel good, like they gave it all they had. Give it a try sometime, it's pretty effective. You can scale it by adding weight (get a vest) or just find a steeper hill.