Butt Kicking Interval Track Workout

Posted in Interval Training. Written by Yuri

So you want a butt-kicking interval track workout, eh? Judging by the title of this post, you’ve come to the right place.

Intervals can help you tremendously when it comes to burning fat, boosting your speed, and increasing the efficiency of your muscles for intense, high-end running. And of course, the more intense your workouts, the more you will grow – within reason.

If you want a truly butt-kicking experience, one that will leave you spent and heaving by the end, the workout described below is for you.

Before You Begin

Any intense interval workout is a chore, and is in many ways more taxing on your body than a very long run taken at a slow to moderate pace.

Before you begin, you should be in good shape, and be fairly well conditioned.  If you’ve never undertaken any interval training at all, you should probably postpone this workout until you’ve had a few months of consistent interval training under your belt.

You should also know your maximum heart rate and what it’s like to run at that intensity, since we’ll use that to determine how fast you should be running.

The Workout

The purpose of this interval running workout is to increase your top-end running ability (i.e. how much effort you can maximally exert) and develop your anaerobic capacity, the ability for your body to work harder over longer periods of time.

First, warm up and engage in dynamic stretching.  Be sure to especially stretch your quads, hip flexors, hamstrings, shoulders, and calves.

After warming up and stretching, head to the starting line and run this series:

1 x 400 meters @ 80% maximum heart rate (MHR), 30-second rest

1 x 600 meters @ 80% MHR 45-second rest

1 x 800 meters @ 80% MHR

Take two minutes to rest, then run this series:

4 x 200 meters @ 90-95% MHR with 30-second walking rest in between each

Rest for three minutes.  Run this series:

3 x 400 meters @ 90-95% MHR with 60-second walking rest in between each

Rest for three minutes.  Run this series:

2 x 800 meters @ 90% MHR with 90-second walking rest in between

Rest for two minutes. Run this final series:

1 x 400 meters @ 100% MHR, 60-second rest

1 x 600 meters @ 90% MHR, 90-second rest

1 x 800 meters @ 90% MHR

Cool down and stretch.  Congratulations!