And while it’s always a little more convenient to train on a 400-meter track with lanes—racing spikes are optional—you don’t need fancy polyurethane to get a good workout. In fact, Kara Saunders (neé Webb), the second-fittest woman on Earth, prefers to run on a grass track about a mile from her CrossFit gym in Brisbane, Australia.
What you will need, though, is a little determination—because the following CrossFit track workouts are no walk in the park.
5 CrossFit Workouts You Can Do on the Track
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Warmup and Cooldown
Before you get to sprinting, make sure your muscles are warm and loose. Ray Cooney, the lead trainer and co-owner of Sopris CrossFit in Carbondale, Colorado, recommends the following warmup before you do any running-specific workouts:Jog 800 meters25 meters of each of the following:InchwormHigh kneesButt-kickersSoldier kicksRunner’s lungeAfterward, he suggests a slow, one-mile recovery.
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Usain Bolt
As fast as possible:4 x 100-meter SprintRest as needed between rounds to get as close to your initial 100-meter time as possible.4 x 400-meter SprintRest as long as the run time.2 x 800-meter SprintRest 30 seconds between sets.This metcon, also from Cooney, is harder than it looks. Since you probably don’t have a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio, don’t be surprised if you need extra time on the 100s, or if your 400 and 800 splits start to get longer as you get tired.
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Road Runner
400-meter Sprint40 Jump Squats300-meter Sprint 30 Jump Squats200-meter Sprint20 Jump Squats100-meter Sprint 10 Air SquatsThe last thing you (or your legs) will want to do after sprinting is squats and or jumps—but that’s the prescription, courtesy of Matthew LeBaron, a running coach at Brick New York. If it makes you feel any better, the final set is air squats, instead of jump squats, and there are “only” 10.
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Death by Shuttle Run
Start by running 10 meters. Every minute, add an additional 10-meter shuttle run sprint in the opposite direction. Rest during the remainder of the minute.Minute 1: Run 10 meters Minute 2: Run 10 meters twice (shuttle down and back) Minute 3: Run 10 meters three times (down, back, down) …etcThe workout ends when you can’t complete the total distance in less than 60 seconds.You’re a boss if you can get past minute 12, says Ryan McCarthy, a rowing and CrossFit coach at Bowery CrossFit in New York City. Keeping your splits fast will depend on fast transitions, so get low, fire your feet hard into the ground, and explode hard out of each direction change.
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Partner Pacing
This workout is done with a partner. You’ll do 20 rounds total—10 rounds each—as fast possible. Each round consists of:100-meter Sprint10 Burpees”Partner one sprits 100 meters and immediately does 10 burpees,” says Todd Brandon Morris, a Level Two CrossFit Coach and workout programmer for CrossFit NYC. “Once partner one finishes that 10th burpee, he or she rests as partner two starts his or her 100-meter sprint and 10 burpees. Don’t have a partner? No worries. Start a timer on your phone and do one round every two minutes.”
Before you get to sprinting, make sure your muscles are warm and loose. Ray Cooney, the lead trainer and co-owner of Sopris CrossFit in Carbondale, Colorado, recommends the following warmup before you do any running-specific workouts:
Jog 800 meters
25 meters of each of the following:
Inchworm
High knees
Butt-kickers
Soldier kicks
Runner’s lunge
Afterward, he suggests a slow, one-mile recovery.
Usain Bolt
As fast as possible:
4 x 100-meter Sprint
Rest as needed between rounds to get as close to your initial 100-meter time as possible.
4 x 400-meter Sprint
Rest as long as the run time.
2 x 800-meter Sprint
Rest 30 seconds between sets.
This metcon, also from Cooney, is harder than it looks. Since you probably don’t have a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio, don’t be surprised if you need extra time on the 100s, or if your 400 and 800 splits start to get longer as you get tired.
Road Runner
400-meter Sprint
40 Jump Squats
300-meter Sprint
30 Jump Squats
200-meter Sprint
20 Jump Squats
100-meter Sprint
10 Air Squats
The last thing you (or your legs) will want to do after sprinting is squats and or jumps—but that’s the prescription, courtesy of Matthew LeBaron, a running coach at Brick New York. If it makes you feel any better, the final set is air squats, instead of jump squats, and there are “only” 10.
Death by Shuttle Run
Start by running 10 meters. Every minute, add an additional 10-meter shuttle run sprint in the opposite direction. Rest during the remainder of the minute.
Minute 1: Run 10 meters Minute 2: Run 10 meters twice (shuttle down and back) Minute 3: Run 10 meters three times (down, back, down) …etc
The workout ends when you can’t complete the total distance in less than 60 seconds.
You’re a boss if you can get past minute 12, says Ryan McCarthy, a rowing and CrossFit coach at Bowery CrossFit in New York City. Keeping your splits fast will depend on fast transitions, so get low, fire your feet hard into the ground, and explode hard out of each direction change.
Partner Pacing
This workout is done with a partner. You’ll do 20 rounds total—10 rounds each—as fast possible. Each round consists of:
100-meter Sprint
10 Burpees
“Partner one sprits 100 meters and immediately does 10 burpees,” says Todd Brandon Morris, a Level Two CrossFit Coach and workout programmer for CrossFit NYC. “Once partner one finishes that 10th burpee, he or she rests as partner two starts his or her 100-meter sprint and 10 burpees. Don’t have a partner? No worries. Start a timer on your phone and do one round every two minutes.”
