One of the single greatest ways to burn calories and get a great body is sprinting. Please keep in mind that walking, jogging, running and sprinting are all separate activities and place different demands on the body.

One of the most commonly used methods for building muscle is resistance training, but if you are interested in gaining size and strength for the track in your hamstrings, glutes, quads and calves then sprinting is definitely an effective but often overlooked tool for doing so. I say this because sprinting stimulates hypertrophy (muscle growth ) in both fast twitch a and b fibers. In this respect it is similar to lifting weights. Think about it for a second, which is harder to do, walk 200 meters or sprint 200 meters? If you have ever compared a sprinters body to a long distance runner’s body you know exactly what I mean. The sprinter has much larger muscles because of what his/her activity stimulates.

Sprinting is an incredibly intense activity which unfortunately keeps a lot of people from doing it. One of the biggest mistakes people make when running, walking or sprinting is forgetting to change the intensity as their body adapts. Always continually progress the intensity. Too many people keep performing the same thing over and over again never forcing the body to adapt. Taking your body out of its comfort zone is a sure fire way to make it change, and you’ll find no easier way to pull this off than by taking your walk to a run and your run to a sprint.

Another wonderful bonus of sprinting is its’ profound effect on energy consumption. I would guess that most people are a little more conscious of ramming your cars gas pedal to floor these days . Reason why-expensive gas and we all know a heavier foot leads to more gas being burned at a much faster rate. Sprinting evokes the same response from our body. Crank up the speed and ultimately you’re cranking up calorie burning which leads to fat loss.

The next time you take and evening jog or bike ride start adding a sprint into your workout and see how your body responds, I think you’ll be quite impressed with the results. Be sure and upgrade your equipment(new running shoes).

Geoff Kalmbach is a Fitness Expert, columnist, speaker, and Certified Fitness Professional. Geoff has incorporated health and fitness into thousands of lives all over the world. Sign up for his FREE monthly newsletter at http://www.getfunctionallyfit.com