Does Sprinting build Core Muscle Strength?

Sprinting is one of the most complete full-body workouts out there, building muscle and burning fat is the name of the game. Sprinting does engage your core muscles to a big extend and your core muscles need to support the big and powerful movements of sprinting and giving it your all.

Doing high-intensity sprints regularly and for long enough with the right diet will give you an athletic physique. Most people will start to see a difference soon, especially in their waistlines and legs. You will start to see definitions in them.

What muscles does sprinting work exactly?

The most important muscles in sprinting are the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, glutes, and abdominals. It also works your chest (pectoral muscles) and arms (biceps and triceps).

Calves and tibia

Your calves, the backside of your lower leg consist of two muscles and have the responsibility of pushing you off the ground. The tibialis anterior (shin muscles) are responsible for lifting the foot in the swinging phase of sprinting as well as absorbing shock when the foot contacts the ground. When sprinting you are pushing yourself off of your toes to propel yourself forward. They are also responsible to absorb the shock of impact when you land. This puts intense strain on your calve muscles.

When you sprint you should land on your toes and not heels. Firstly, your heels do not absorb shock that well and secondly your heels aren’t a good starting point to propel yourself forward. Your toes should be the first thing in contact with the ground when you land and the last thing in contact with the ground when you propel yourself forward.

Hamstring

The hamstring is located at the back of your thigh and is a group of four muscles. Their biggest role is to propel you forward when you push yourself off the ground while sprinting. They generate explosive force when you accelerate and are responsible for extending the hips and flexion of the knees. The strength of your hamstring also contributes to stride length, the stronger your hamstrings the longer your stride. These muscles are the most active during sprinting and developing strong hamstrings will give you faster sprinting times. Hamstring injuries are also very common in athletes because they work harder than any muscle during sprint training.

Quadriceps

Situated at the front of your thigh and consist of 4 muscles. They bend the hip and extend (straighten) the knee with each stride you give. Many people are quad dominant, this is where the quads are more developed than the hamstrings. If you are looking for speed and explosiveness, develop the hamstrings more. During the landing of your foot, the quads and hamstring work together to stabilize the knee.

Hip flexors

A group of five muscles controlling hip mobility. The hip flexors stabilize the spine and pelvis and are also important when bending the knee up to your body going forward. Tight/short hip flexors will compromise your stride length, the bigger the range of motion your hip flexors have the bigger your strides would be.

Glutes

The glutes are your butt muscles and are a group of three muscles. Sprinting is one of the best exercises for toning your glutes. The glutes are largely responsible for hip extension, abduction, external rotation, and posterior pelvic tilt. Strong glutes play a vital role in sprinting, they stabilize and strengthen your hip and pelvis so you can maintain the correct posture. It extends the hip when you push yourself off the ground and stabilizes the pelvis when coming down. Strong glutes will give you a more powerful push off the ground resulting in a faster sprint.

Abdominals

The abdominals are a group of four muscles and while sprinting your abdominals contract to stabilize your core and keep your body upright. They keep everything tight in your core and protect your internal organs. They connect your upper and lower body. They also help to align the spine, pelvis, and lower body for sprinting and absorbing shock and hyperextension of your lumbar spine.

Muscles of the upper body

Sprinting works mostly on your lower body and core muscles, but the upper body also plays a role in maximizing your sprinting effort. Strong arms are a benefit to sprinting because it helps to drive you forward. Strong chest and shoulder muscles help support the movement of the arms delivering a bigger and stronger propulsion. A strong upper body will help you to maintain an upright posture. When the upper body is weak you will fatigue before the race is done and will start to slouch.

Conclusion

Sprinting is a high-intensity exercise that works all of the big muscles in your body and also builds a strong core. It is excellent for burning calories and fat. Sprinting causes the body to secrete hormones responsible for releasing abdominal and visceral fat stores for burning to increase the demand of energy needed for muscle functioning in anaerobic exercise (creating energy with the absence of oxygen).

Sprinting also builds muscle resulting in a higher resting metabolic rate, this means you will be burning more calories daily by just having more muscle. It also has added benefits of sculpting a toned body, building bigger legs, firmer and leaner waistline. It also tones the upper body like arms, shoulders, and chest.

The bottom line is sprinting builds a stronger core. The stronger your core the faster you will go, this means additional core exercise will benefit you greatly if you want to shave off your best sprinting times.