The Benefits of Resistance Sprints for Chasing Down Your PR

Whether you live for speed work or dread running faster than easy pace, sprints offer benefits for most any training program—including long-distance events like half and full marathons. Not only can picking up the pace improve race times, it can deliver serious health benefits too, including increased muscle mass, stronger bones, and reduced injury risk (among loads of other perks), as Runner’s World previously reported.

But if you’re looking to take your interval runs to the next level, well, let us introduce you to resistance sprints. A form of high-intensity running that can deliver big-time gains, resistance sprints may be just what you need to nab a new PR.

Here’s everything you need to know about the concept, including exactly how to execute resistance sprints, their mighty benefits, who they best serve, and who should avoid them.

Resistance sprints are pretty much what they sound like: short bursts of fast running performed with added load. That load can come in various forms, including a sled that you push, or a sandbag, parachute, tire, chain, sled, or resistance band that’s attached to your body as you stride.

There are two types of resistance sprints, Paul Aanonson, certified strength and conditioning specialist and owner of Simple Speed Coach in northern Colorado, tells Runner’s World. One focuses on the acceleration phase of running (when you’re increasing your pace), and the other centers on the top speed phase (when you’re striding as fast as you can).

Keep in mind that resistance sprints are a more advanced form of training. So nailing down your sprint workouts Different Workouts to Help You Boost Speed.

Curious to try resistance sprints for yourself? Lewis Jr. recommends first-timers attempt them by pushing a sled (versus tying a band, sandbag, or parachute around their waist). That’s because there’s lower risk of injury with a push sled and the sled won’t move forward unless athletes use proper acceleration form, says Lewis Jr.

Of course, not everyone has access to a sled, which is why using a resistance band may be the most practical way to dip your toe into the world of resistance sprints. Aanonson recommends using a high-quality, thick super band, about 1.75 to 2 inches in thickness. Wrap the band around your pelvis and have a partner who is of similar size or strength stand behind you and hold the band firmly in both hands.

Once you’re set up for your resistance sprint with a partner, here’s how to execute an acceleration sprint:

1. The Benefits of Resistance Sprints for Chasing Down Your PR tight core and flat back so ears, hips, and ankles are in a straight line. There should be moderate tension in the band.
2. Look at the ground about 5 to 10 feet in front of you, lead with the crown of head, and start accelerating.
3. Drive knees forward and strike leg backward into the ground, landing on the ball of the foot, says Aanonson. Let arms swing naturally—think: one hand by your pocket, the other by your eye socket, says Lewis Jr.—and minimize side-to-side or rotational movement in torso by keeping a tight core.
4. Maintaining this positioning, accelerate as fast as you can for 10 to 15 yards to complete 1 acceleration sprint. Your partner will follow behind you, stepping heel to toe and doing their best to maintain constant tension on the band.
5. What Is Anaerobic Exercise
6. Repeat for 4 reps. You’ll know you have the right resistance level when the activity feels much more challenging than a bodyweight sprint, but not so challenging that you can’t maintain stiff posture and good form.

To do a top speed sprint, you’ll run for longer and aim to reach a faster speed by the end of the rep, switching after the first 10 to 15 yards to a more upright running posture, which is more efficient for an all-out pace. You’ll likely want to use a sled, tire, chain, or parachute because it’s “very hard for a partner to hold the band for the full length of the sprint,” says Aanonson.

To conquer a top-speed resistance sprint, follow these steps:

1. With load of choice, perform the acceleration sprint described above, and then once you’ve run about 10 to 15 yards, shift posture to be more upright (a slight forward lean)—less than the 45-degree forward lean described above.
2. Keeping a tight core, with shoulders and hips in a neutral position, drive ankle upward toward knee into hip and knee Sales & Deals.
3. Maintaining this positioning, run as fast as you can until you’ve completed about 30 to 60 yards total (including the initial 10- to 15-yard acceleration sprint).
4. That’s 1 top speed sprint. Rest for several minutes, or however long you need to fully recover
5. or dread running faster than.

There are tons of perks you can reap by adding resistance sprints into your running regimen. For starters, resistance sprints are “one of the most effective ways to help athletes thats attached to your body as you stride,” David Lewis Jr., certified functional strength coach, certified speed and agility coach, and co-owner of On that note, athletes who Resistance sprints are pretty much what they sound like: short bursts of Runner’s World. Lewis Jr. typically prescribes resistance sprints to his athletes once a week.

Resistance sprints are great for increasing speed Track Running Beginners Guide lower-body strength needed to push forcefully into the ground and ultimately propel yourself faster as you stride. “It’s similar to any other form of resistance,” says Lewis Jr, giving the example of how doing squats with dumbbells can help you build up the strength to squat more, and it then makes squatting without weight even easier.

This form of speed training is also really helpful for improving your acceleration, adds Aanonson. The first three to five steps in acceleration involves a full triple extension through the ankles, knees, and hips, which is a “really powerful movement,” Aanonson explains. By improving your lower-body power and strength—which resistance sprints help you do, because the added load challenges your muscles to work harder than they otherwise would—you can boost your acceleration abilities.

Better acceleration can come in handy in a variety of race day scenarios, like passing a competitor as you near the finish line, or surging up a hill, notes Aanonson.

On that note, resistance sprints can help runners fine-tune their acceleration mechanics. Without resistance, people tend to accelerate from a more upright posture. However, the most efficient way to build your speed is to maintain a forward lean from the ankles, explains Lewis Jr., and running with resistance naturally encourages athletes to adopt this positioning.

House Of Champs cardio challenge compared to bodyweight sprints, says Aanonson, because your muscles are working harder to propel yourself forward.

“Any type of runner can benefit” from resistance sprints, says Aanonson. That includes track athletes competing in short distance races like the 100 meters, says Lewis Jr., since there’s obviously a lot of direct carryover. But it also includes long-distance runners, Steal This Speed Training Secret from the Pros 10Ks, half marathons, and marathons, as resistance sprints can inject more anaerobic training into what may be an aerobic-heavy plan, thus improving conditioning.

Resistance sprints are especially beneficial for runners who participate in sports involving explosive movements and frequent change of direction, like soccer, basketball, and football, says Aanonson. That’s because they can help fine-tune the mechanics needed for game-time speed and power.

Runners who don’t regularly do bodyweight speed work or have a strength-training program in place should build up those two components of their fitness routine before trying resistance sprints, advises Aanonson. Otherwise, you increase the chance of injury by upping your intensity before your body is ready to handle it.

On that note, athletes who already and buying too many houseplants injury would be wise to try resistance sprints under the supervision of a qualified trainer, Aanonson adds. The trainer can ensure they’re using proper form and lower their risk of aggravating any underlying issues.

Jenny McCoy

Contributing Writer

Jenny is a Boulder, Colorado-based health and fitness journalist. She’s been freelancing for Runner’s World since 2015 and especially loves to write human interest profiles, in-depth service pieces and stories that explore the intersection of exercise and mental health. Her work has also been published by SELF, Men’s Journal, and Sled Workout for Strength and Endurance, among other outlets. When she’s not running or writing, Jenny enjoys coaching youth swimming, rereading Harry Potter, and buying too many houseplants.