Beach Sprints

Being away means one thing... holiday indulgent of anything that isn't healthy!

I am a sucker for ice cream, frozen yogurt and three-course dinners when I am on holiday, and this trip is no exception (as much as I am trying to stay healthy!)

With track competitions lined up for when I get back to London, I have to train whilst I am away to maintain form. This is something that anyone can do whilst they are away though, and fancy working off last night's dinner.

Beach Sprints.

This is such a simple workout, and you can make it as hard or as easy as you want to!

The best time to do this is in the morning. It's 8am and luckily the cloud is covering the island, but the heat is still a lovely 24 degrees and that is what makes the difference when training abroad.

You want to grab your running trainers, and go down towards the sea where the sand is much firmer so you have partial support on your foot.

Then, draw yourself a start line in the sand and pace out 50 steps (or more if you are feeling energetic!). Draw a line at the end of those 50 steps and you have your own work out distance on the beach!

Have a sip of water at the start line, take your marks. Then when your ready...

Run as fast as you can for the full distance. 

I am wearing a Vest and Short combo from Nike (here and here respectively), and my Nike Frees 5.0 to run in for support. You can find my trainers here.

Don't do this bare foot, as there is a higher chance of twisting your ankle.

Remember to use your arms fully, and stay relaxed when you are running so your legs extend as much as they can. Make sure you push your legs through, as this wil work your bum and give you a 'sprinters bum'!

The idea is that you are running faster than a jogging pace, and ideally going as fast as you can. 

It will feel horrible to start, and you will naturally feel out of breath, but it is a perfect workout in the morning and the kick start will wake you up. The heat adds to this, but the warmth means that your muscles will work more efficiently than being in the cold!

The sand acts as a soft sponge, which makes your body work harder to push through to the next stride. Say hello to summer legs and abs, and the distance is enough to kick start your cardio vascular fitness and help improve this!

On the plus side, if you do this in the morning you burn more calories as you are shocking your metabolism, and the short explosive movements will burn fat.

You can do as many as these as you want! I did 3 runs at 50 paces with 2 minutes recovery (catch your breath time), and then did the same at 75 and 90 paces.

Having a recovery of 2 minutes means you can catch your breath, and then shock your body and muscles again and again the moment they have recovered. Any longer and you will fall into a relaxed state which will make it harder to do the next rep.

Once you have finished your reps, have a gentle jog along the sea front. This will get rid of any lactic acid which is sat in your legs after the workout. Then all you have to do is lay back and relax on the beach for the day, knowing that the ice cream isn't such a bad thing afterall.

With a little bit of sand in between my toes!

I'm off to dinner now, I think I have earnt it and will be having desert too!

I'll let you know how it is tomorrow!