Legs · Bodyweight
Sprints
How to do the sprints, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Timed hold
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Perform short, maximum effort sprints followed by rest periods.
- 1Accelerate quickly and drive your knees up; you should feel your glutes and hamstrings powering your stride
- 2Pump your arms vigorously and maintain a slight forward lean at the start
- 3Settle into upright posture as you reach top speed, feeling your whole body working in unison
Common mistakes
- Don't skip a proper warm-up, cold muscles are prone to injury
- Avoid overstriding or heavy heel striking; keep your steps quick and light
- Don't hunch your shoulders or clench your fists; stay relaxed even at high speed
Muscles worked
The sprints mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, calves, and lower back assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
Kovo programs the sprints for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed April 2026.