The Ultimate Suicides Exercise Tutorial For Explosive Results

If you’re looking for a powerful full body workout that trains your endurance and burns tons of calories, look no further than a suicides workout. The suiciides exercise drills have been used for years to train for sports, but the benefits go way past the football field.

Let’s take a look at how this powerful drill can be incorporated into any fitness routine to improve both physical and mental stamina.

 

How to Do the Suicides Exercise

Suicides may sound scary, but they’ve been a staple in the fitness community for decades. Also known as shuttle runs or sprints, they are a wildly effective cardio exercise that improves speed, endurance, and agility.

The main structure of a suicide drill involves running back and forth between two points while increasing and decreasing the distance. If you want to try out these sprints for yourself, you can follow these simple steps.

1. Find a flat and open space – A football field, basketball court, or any area with enough distance to run back and forth without obstruction is perfect
2. Mark the starting and finishing points – Use cones, chalk, tape, or any visible markers to indicate where you’ll be running from and towards. Place them at a distance that matches your fitness level or goal
3. Choose a Pattern – There are tons of variations of suicides that you can try out, including ladder suicides, pyramid suicides, or timed suicides
4. Start the Exercise – Position yourself at the starting point and sprint towards the finishing point as fast as possible. Touch the marked point or move past it by a specific distance
5. Turn Around Quickly – After reaching the finishing point, quickly turn around and sprint back to the starting point. Focus on maintaining good form and using your arms to generate power and maintain balance
6. Repeat with Varied Distances – Repeat the back-and-forth pattern for each designated distance. For example, if you’re doing ladder suicides, start with shorter sprints and gradually increase the distance with each round
7. Rest and Repeat – Take rest breaks between each set of suicides to catch your breath and recover. The number of sets and repetitions can vary based on your fitness level and goals
8. Cool Down and Stretch – after completing your suicides workout, it’s important to cool down with a light jog or walk. Follow it up with some stretching exercises to improve flexibility and reduce the risk of muscle soreness

 

Suicides can be physically demanding, so it’s essential to listen to your body and start at a comfortable pace. Gradually increase the intensity and distance as you build strength and endurance.

 

Equipment That Will Help

 

1. 7 Inch Plastic Cones

 

2. 35 Piece Agility Hub Set

 

3. Flexible Training Cones 

 

Suicide Drills Workout These Muscles the Most

Because suicide drills are, at their core, a cardio workout, they operate as an effective full-body exercise. However, there are a few core muscles that they focus on.

• Quadriceps and Hamstrings – Your thighs are highly engaged during these drills because of the running, but they are also responsible for helping you change directions quickly
• Glutes – Every one of your gluteal muscles is engaged to provide stability and power during the explosive movements of shuttle drills
• Calves – The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of your calves are responsible for the push-off and propulsion while changing directions during shuttle runs
• Hip Flexors – Your hips help drive your knees up and power each change of direction
• Core – Your abdominals, obliques, and lower back muscles are all responsible for maintaining stability and control during quick lateral movements

 

Overall, suicides are great for conditioning, as well as toning and strengthening the muscles in your body used for running.

 

Suicides are Great Training for Sports

If you’ve done suicides before, it’s more than likely that it was part of your training for a sport. Any activity that requires short bursts of intense movement followed by brief periods of rest can be improved by sprinting drills.

Athletes can develop the quick acceleration, change of direction, and stamina that are all crucial for sports such as

• Basketball
• Soccer
• Football
• Tennis
• Hockey

 

However, shuttle drills aren’t only useful for sports. They’re an easy way to improve overall fitness, endurance, and cardiovascular health.

 

Try this Suicides Workout

Warm-Up:

• 5-10 minutes of light jogging or brisk walking.
• Dynamic stretches for the lower body, focusing on muscles used during shuttle runs (quads, hamstrings, calves, hips).

 

Workout:

Basic Suicide Runs:

• Set up markers 20 meters apart.
• Run back and forth between the markers, touching each one.
• Perform 10 rounds, resting for 30 seconds between rounds.

 

Side-to-Side Suicide Runs:

• Set up markers 10 meters apart.
• Instead of running straight ahead, shuffle side to side between the markers.
• Perform 8 rounds, resting for 30 seconds between rounds.

 

Diagonal Suicide Runs:

• Set up markers in a diagonal pattern, approximately 20 meters apart.
• Run in a diagonal direction between markers, touching each one.
• Perform 8 rounds, resting for 30 seconds between rounds.

 

Interval Suicides Runs:

• Set up markers 20 meters apart.
• Sprint to the first marker, then jog back to the starting point.
• Sprint to the second marker, then jog back.
• Continue for 10 rounds, resting for 30 seconds between rounds.

 

Multi-Directional Suicides Runs:

• Set up markers in a square pattern, approximately 20 meters apart on each side.
• Run to each marker in a different direction (forward, backward, side shuffle, etc.).
• Perform 6 rounds, resting for 30 seconds between rounds.

 

Cool Down:

• 5-10 minutes of light jogging or brisk walking.
• Static stretches for the lower body, focusing on the calves, quads, hamstrings, and hips.

 

Suicide Runs Burn Lots of Calories

One of the main advantages to getting in a suicide workout is how many calories you can burn! As a high intensity activity, suicide runs require total body engagement, i.e. you’re using more muscles. In return, the more muscles that are activated, the more calories you’re likely to burn. On top of that, HIIT (high intensity interval training) exercises can temporarily increase your metabolic rate which will increase your caloric expenditure. Lastly, when you finish HIIT exercises, you get the added benefit of the afterburn effect, aka EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption). This is where the body continues to burn calories to restore oxygen levels and recover from the workout

 

Different Suicide Variations

One of the most engaging parts of suicide drills is how many different variations there are. There’s room for you to do a different drill nearly every time you pull out the cones.

 

Classic

The most basic form of the shuttle sprint involves only two points that you’re running between. They should be around 10-15 meters apart. Sprint to one marker, touch it with your hand and immediately sprint back to where you started.

 

Ladder

The ladder variation introduces different distances. You’ll need several more cones or markers set up at various intervals such as 10, 15, 20, and 25 meters. You can add more or less intervals as you train.

Start by sprinting to either the closest or furthest point, then with each round move down or up the “ladder” changing your distance in one direction until you’ve reached the end.

 

Pyramid

Pyramid suicides operate similarly to the ladder variation, but go in both directions. Start by sprinting to the marker that is closest to you, then go further and further until you’ve reached the longest distance.

Now run to the next closest until you reach the bottom once again. For example, you would run to 10 meters, then 15, 20, 15, and 10.

 

Directional

For this variation, you’ll need to set up cones in a square shape with one cone in the middle. Each cone should be about 5 – 10 meters apart.

Begin by standing at the center cone and sprinting to the outer cone, then back to the center, then to the next outer cone, and so on until you’ve gone all around the square. Then, sprint to each outer cone in the opposite direction, making your way back to the starting cone.

 

The Bottom Line

Suicide drills are a highly effective, full body workout that can benefit anyone looking to improve their physical fitness and mental stamina. They are an excellent way to train for sports and can be easily incorporated into any workout routine.

By implementing this drill, you will strengthen your cardiovascular system, burn calories, and improve coordination and agility. So next time you’re looking to challenge yourself during a workout, consider breaking out the cones and running hard.