In fact, Risqat touts sprinting as something that benefits not just your power and strength but as great form of exercise that will help with endurance too. Sprinting helps to increase your speed capacity, which in turn can help you in the longer, slower runs as well. “But the best thing about sprinting is that it’s really accessible and doesn’t take that long,” she says.

She recommends finding an athletics track, a flat pavement or tarmac in the park or using the treadmill (as long as you can do so safely) to start sprinting. Follow her tips to learn how:

Warm up

Because sprinting is a high impact activity that is explosive and fast, you need the muscles and joints to be ready before starting. It’s so important that for athletes like Risqat, a warm up can last up to 50 minutes. “For recreational sprinting, you don’t need to do that much. But you need something to raise your heart rate and something to start loosening up your joints and your muscles,” she says.

That means a light jog, some dynamic mobility stretching and then some drills.

Practice drills

Before you begin, you should also be practicing sprint drills. These are movements that warm up and train specific muscles for the activity ahead. In sprinting, they might include leg cycling and arm actions. “There are a plethora of people on Instagram who put out drill videos and technique information,” Risqat says. “But if you want that one to one expertise, and can afford it, I’d recommend finding a good PT or run coach.”

Move over, running: sprint training is the new exercise trend, and this is how to do it