‘Ain’t no mountain high enough,’ Diana Ross once sang. The Motown legend had obviously been dedicated with her hill training. If you can get some hill work into your weekly routine, you’re secretly doing strength work at the same time. Every upwards step is a harder workout than usual for your muscles, which in time will make your stride more efficient. And while it feels slow getting up there, when you’re back on the flat, you’ll be faster. ‘I’m a great believer in the benefits of hill workouts,’ say RW How to use the Norwegian 4x4 workout. ‘Speed requires good running technique and to run uphill effectively you must use your muscles in a very coordinated way. Speed also requires a quick cadence, which will be encouraged by hill running.’
What are the benefits of uphill running?
Just ask the researchers. A 2015 study published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance had a group of runners perform six weeks of high-intensity uphill running intervals; not only did their running economy improve, but also they were, on average, two per cent faster in 5K time-trial performances.
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Best Garmin deals investigation in the journal Scientific Reports gave an eight-week programme of uphill training to a group of 16-20 year-olds and concluded that ‘uphill training, particularly steeper gradients, significantly enhances speed, endurance, and running performances.’
Is it worth doing downhill training too?
Don’t think of the descent as a waste of time, or as pure recovery, before your next climb. While your heart and lungs are getting a break, the downhills will increase the load on your legs, specifically causing more micro-tears in your quads and lower legs. This can be painful – which is why people shouldn’t underestimate that four-mile downhill portion at the start of the Boston Marathon – but it also stimulates muscle growth. Your body will be better prepared for downhill running when you practise.
How your body handles trail versus road running Runner’s World podcast: ‘Someone once said to me, “We don’t run with two legs; we run with one.” Downhill running is amazing at increasing the load we’re putting individually on each one of our legs, in perhaps a more light-touch way than lifting heavy weights in the gym.’
Should you still do hill training if your race is flat?
In a word: yes. The gains you’ll make running up and down hills translate to faster times on the flat. As English says: ‘There are always gains to be made from strength. ‘That could mean going to the gym; any single-leg work that you’re doing; or hill work.
‘Also, anything that tricks your head into making things feel easier on race day, is stuff you should be targeting. There’s a power that can be gained mentally by digging in and doing something tough, but that’s also over in 10 minutes.’
11 best workouts for runners doing hill training
Try to get hills into your routine at least once every one or two weeks. Here we share a great variety of different sessions to keep things interesting. You can change gradients, length of the hill, your speed, and also choose hillier routes for your longer runs. Along the way you’ll be improving all the important physiological markers: strength, efficiency, speed and endurance.
1. Hills start
Why your arms may ache after a super-hard run.
How: Jog for 10 minutes to warm up, then walk for two minutes. From the bottom of a gentle incline, run up for five seconds, then walk back to the starting point. Run up again for seven seconds, then walk down. Run for 10 seconds, walk down. Shorten your stride and keep your feet low to the ground on the ascents. Feeling strong? Repeat the sequence. Do the workout every seven to 14 days.
2. Uphill effort
Why: Research has found that most runners try to run too fast uphill. It’s best to maintain an even effort rather than try to sustain your flat pace. This workout will help you to lock in to a sustainable pace.
How: Find an ascent that takes 10 mins or longer to cover. Mimic the effort you'd expend on a flat run, no matter how slow it feels. Listen to your breathing: if it gets noticeably heavier, ease up. Or use a heart-rate monitor to moderate your effort level.
3. Summit attack
Why: This technique focuses on the moment when you crest a hill, to help you to return quickly to your faster pace on the flat.
How: Use long strides as a cue to open up your stride and accelerate as you approach the top of a hill. To practice this transition, especially when you’re tired, find a hill that takes about 45 seconds to climb. Run hard to the top, then lengthen your stride and accelerate for 15 seconds to ingrain the quick transition. Jog down for recovery. Repeat six to 10 times.
4. Downhill strides
Why: We instinctively put the brakes on when we run downhill, but learning to run with a fast cadence on the down slopes will help you to maintain good form as you use gravity to speed you to the bottom.
How: After a run, do four to six relaxed 100m strides down a gentle slope; progress over time to a steeper decline. Keep your arms wide and low for balance, shorten your stride and focus on quick steps. If your breathing gets quieter you can push a little harder.
5. Downhill repeats
Why: Your body needs to practise experiencing the eccentric muscle contractions that downhill running creates in your quads. If you get better at downhill running, your performance will improve and it won’t ache as much.
How: Find a grassy hill about 100m long, with an incline of two to three per cent (rises two to three metres over 100m). After a 10-min warm-up, run up at an easy pace, run down at a comfortably hard pace. Repeat two to four times. Each week, add a repeat or two, or find a slightly steeper hill.
6. Downhill loops
Why: If you have a hilly race in the diary, it’s a good idea to prepare yourself by running up and down a longer circuit.
How: Find a hilly loop that is about 1.5 miles long. After a 10-minute warm-up, run the loop with moderate effort on the uphills and a comfortably hard effort (equal to about your goal race pace) on the downhills. Rest for two minutes, then repeat the loop two to four times. Each week or two you can progress by adding a loop, picking up the pace or reducing your rest time between the efforts.
7. Speed hills
Why: Jo Pavey recommends this one to improve your power and leg strength, which will end up improving your running speed.
How: Find a hill that takes three minutes or longer to run up. Do 5 x 1-min uphill reps, with a jog-down recovery between each. Rest for three mins. Then do 5 x 45-sec uphill reps, with jog-down recovery. Rest for three mins. Do 3 x 30-sec uphill reps, with jog-down recovery. Rest for three mins. Finally, run up the hill for 3 mins, accelerating for the last 30 secs.
8. Short hill sprints
Why: This one’s for the more experienced runners. It will help with leg strength, make your form better and help your speed too.
How: After a good warm-up, explode up a steep hill for eight to 12 seconds. ‘Give it 100 per cent,’ says coach Jason Fitzgerald. Give yourself one to two minutes to walk down and catch your breath. ‘Don’t cut your recovery time short,’ he says. Do hill sprints once a week and work your way up to eight reps. ‘This is like weightlifting for runners,’ says Fitzgerald.
9. Killer hills
Why: Get stronger by climbing fast. ‘This is a very good transitional workout between late-winter base mileage and late-spring speedwork,’ says 2:32 US marathoner Jeannette Faber.
How: After a 10-15- minute warm-up incorporating six 100m strides, do eight to 12 repeats of a gradual hill. Progress from a moderate effort lasting 1:45-1:50 to a hard effort of 1:30-1:35. Between each repeat, jog down the hill for 2:30-3:30. Finally, warm down for 10-15 minutes.
10. Up and downward
Why: Running at a race pace on the ups and downs is hard, but will make you tougher and ensure you’re on peak form for a hilly race.
How: Run up a moderate incline in 2:05, then run down in 1:55 (this pace should feel akin to a 10K to half-marathon effort in both directions). Recover for two minutes. Repeat five times. Jog to a steeper hill. Run up in 1:05, then down in 55 seconds (should feel like a 5K to 10K effort). Recover for one minute. Repeat five times.
11. Undulating route
Why: Fiona English says that choosing hillier routes for your easy or long runs will still bring benefits even if you aren’t finding time for one of the dedicated hill routines above.
How: Simply pick a more undulating route for your easy or long runs. It doesn’t have to be the Himalayas. Start off by incorporating a couple of hills, and build from there.
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