Incline Cardio vs. Sprinting

Steady-state cardio and high-intensity sprint workouts are effective methods of increasing cardiovascular fitness and burning calories. Sprinting generally burns more calories than traditional running on a treadmill, but you can narrow the gap between the two exercises and get a harder cardio workout by running or cycling at an incline. Both sprinting and incline cardio are more intense forms of exercise that can produce fast weight-loss results, but you can't do them as often as lighter exercises.

  1. Heart Rate

    • Which energy-producing system your body uses during exercise is determined by your heart rate, and your heart rate is determined by the pace you keep up during a workout. The faster your heart beats, the more calories you'll burn. Both sprinting and performing cardio at an incline jack the heart rate up much higher than traditional aerobic jogging, burning calories through the breakdown of glycogen stores rather than oxygen exclusively.

    Incline Cardio

    • Although incline cardio is unlikely to raise your heart rate quite as much as a dead sprint, you can get impressive results by jogging at an 8 or 10 percent incline. Working at an incline adds natural resistance to your workout, forcing your muscles to work harder and taxing your cardiovascular system more. You don't have to run fast at an incline to get an anaerobic benefit. Slow and steady wins the race when you're running hills.

    Sprinting

    • Sprinting all-out pushes your body into the anaerobic heart zone right away, forcing you to burn glycogen stores as your muscles eat up all the available oxygen in your blood. Because of this, sprinting burns a ton of calories and builds muscle at the same time, but it's difficult to maintain a lengthy workout. Alternating between periods of high and low intensity is ideal for getting the results you want out of a sprint.

    Considerations

    • Although both incline cardio and sprinting routines are anaerobic in nature, you still use oxygen as a major energy source during both types of exercise. In addition to the calorie burn and muscular gains you'll get out of the workouts, you can also improve your cardiovascular endurance and lactate threshold at the same time. Since both forms of exercise are relatively intense, you shouldn't do them on consecutive days. Give your body time to rest, recover and reap the rewards of the prior day's workout.