Olympic Gold and Silver medalist Frank Shorter once said: “Hills are speed work in disguise.” As coaches who have grown up and gone to schools at places that always seem to be at the top of a hill, we can’t agree enough with Frank that hills should be an important part of your training routine. The best part about hill training is that depending on the length and grade of the hill you are running on, and the time and intensity your training plan calls for, you can accomplish many different workouts. One of the biggest advocates of hill training was famous coach Arthur Lydiard. He used hill repeats to great success when training his athletes for races from the 800 meters to the marathon. We have listed a few different benefits of hill work that you can do reap in your training right now to make yourself stronger:
Endurance – Longer hills are great when you want to continue building endurance and also want to incorporate a bit of speed. We routinely incorporate hills into our training plans when our clients are transitioning from base work into early speed work. The longer hill allows you to shift your focus without the shock of running on the track. These repeats can be between two and three minutes in length and should be done up a hill of mild to moderate grade.
Power and Speed – Hills are also a great way to develop power and speed in your running. If you have access to a hill of a moderate to steep grade, short repeats of between 15 seconds and a minute in length can do great things for your running. Our training plans routinely incorporate these types of hills at the end of a training cycle when our clients want to work on their kick or they are training for shorter races.
Form – Focusing on form while running hills will allow you to be a more efficient runner. Not only will hills force you to push your hips forward and maintain a more upright stance in order to get the most out of each stride, but running hills forces your body to use your arms to full effect. This total body workout ensures that when you return to flatter ground, you’ll be able to run more efficiently.
Flexibility – Arthur Lydiard championed the benefits of ankle flexibility for his runners and used hills in order to achieve this. By strengthening and lengthening the tendons and muscles in and around your ankle, you’ll be able to increase your stride length, improve your running economy and decrease your risk of injury
We can’t stress the importance of working hills into your weekly running routine. They are one of our favorite workouts because they can provide so many benefits to our clients in one session. Don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our expert coaches to learn about how you can incorporate hill training into your routine.
PS - See below for some videos from the Arthur Lydiard Foundation and Running Times showing how to complete some of the hill workouts we described.
Power and Speed – Hills are also a great way to develop power and speed in your running. If you have access to a hill of a moderate to steep grade, short repeats of between 15 seconds and a minute in length can do great things for your running. Our training plans routinely incorporate these types of hills at the end of a training cycle when our clients want to work on their kick or they are training for shorter races.
Form – Focusing on form while running hills will allow you to be a more efficient runner. Not only will hills force you to push your hips forward and maintain a more upright stance in order to get the most out of each stride, but running hills forces your body to use your arms to full effect. This total body workout ensures that when you return to flatter ground, you’ll be able to run more efficiently.
Flexibility – Arthur Lydiard championed the benefits of ankle flexibility for his runners and used hills in order to achieve this. By strengthening and lengthening the tendons and muscles in and around your ankle, you’ll be able to increase your stride length, improve your running economy and decrease your risk of injury
We can’t stress the importance of working hills into your weekly running routine. They are one of our favorite workouts because they can provide so many benefits to our clients in one session. Don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our expert coaches to learn about how you can incorporate hill training into your routine.
PS - See below for some videos from the Arthur Lydiard Foundation and Running Times showing how to complete some of the hill workouts we described.
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