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FACT CHECKEDI can still remember the dread of hearing one of my football coaches yell, “To the hill!”
Running hills are one of the toughest methods of cardio, but man, they are effective. A dynamic way of building strength, endurance, and speed in a way you can’t replicate on a flat surface, hill workouts are something that you’ll form a love-hate relationship with. While they are tough, they can also be adjusted to match any fitness level, so beginners to experienced runners can use them to their benefit.
Speaking of benefits, before we give you some workouts to try out, let’s take a look at why you should integrate hill workouts into your training regimen.
Running on an incline fires up your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves to a higher degree than running on flat ground.¹ Your body working harder and higher muscle activation is going to lead to a stronger, more powerful muscle. This can translate to faster running times when on flat land. Not too shabby, right?
We all could assume that running on a hill would be tougher than running on flat ground, and you’d be right. A study published in the International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications found that hill training significantly improved VO2 Max, speed endurance, and resting heart rate.²
Due to the running mechanics involved with incline work, there’s less stress involved on often injured body parts associated with running, like the shins or knees. Because of the angle, a greater load is placed on the posterior chain, giving some relief to those used and abused knees. The higher muscle activation will also help strengthen the muscles surrounding your joints, helping prevent future injury.
Due to the increased effort it takes to run uphill, your heart rate and demand for oxygen increases, in effect raising the amount of calories burned versus the same duration of running on a flat surface.³
Running is almost as much mental as it is physical. Pushing your body to an extremely uncomfortable limit to accomplish a certain goal requires a certain type of person with the mental fortitude to see it through until the end. Viewing hills as obstacles that need to be overcome can be difficult, but finishing a tough hill workout can put you in the mindset of, “If I can do this, I can run on flat ground with no problem.”
All hill workouts aren’t built the same, so we’re giving you five different workouts with different aims, so you can find the best workout to match up with your goals.
*Before starting any of these workouts, you should make sure you’re warmed up, stretched, and ready to go. Not being properly warmed up could potentially lead to injury.*
Best For: Building power and speed.
Tip: Focus on driving your knees high and pumping your arms to maintain a fast tempo.
Best For: Building endurance and stamina.
Tip: Pace yourself to complete each repeat with good form rather than going all-out.
Best For: Building endurance and pacing.
Tip: Focus on maintaining a steady effort, which improves your ability to sustain pacing in races or longer runs. A heart rate monitor should come in handy here.
Best For: Endurance, strength, and adaptability.
Tip: Choosing a new route every workout can help break up the monotony of running by challenging you in a new way every workout.
Best For: Improving leg turnover and building eccentric strength.
Tip: Control your pace; the faster you start moving, the harder it is to slow yourself down, especially if your hamstrings aren’t as conditioned as your quads.
Hill workouts can help take your running to the next level by increasing strength and endurance and reducing the risk of getting taken out by a running injury. We’ve given you five different ways to incorporate hill running into your workout, it’s up to you to figure out the best way to put them to use. Remember, hills may seems daunting at first, but once you conquer them, you’ll reap the rewards by leaving other racers in the dust on flat land. So what are you waiting for? Go run some hills and power up.
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Tyler DiGiovanni
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