Training

Over the Hills: 5 Hill Workouts to Make You Stronger and Faster

February 18, 2010
By Kevin Mackinnon

When a coach from an American college contacted me about a few years ago about an athlete I coached, she asked what my training program was based on. I had no idea what she meant.

“You know, do you do lots of 400s, 200s, 800s, or are you more into hill training and stuff like that?” she finally asked in exasperation. Suddenly I saw the problem - the athlete we were talking about had been working with me for three years and she’d never repeated the same workout. “I do all of those and more,” I replied. “I believe in keeping things different and interesting when it comes to training.”

While I do think that it’s important to have some standard workouts that allow you to keep track of your fitness and development, training is a lot more fun when you vary the workouts that you’re doing. That’s especially true when it comes to hill training. Mixing up the hill workouts won’t just make things more interesting - it will help you improve your overall fitness.

Here are a few types of hill workouts you can incorporate into your training plan this year:

Short/ Power Hills

Find a short hill that will take between 15 and 30 seconds to run. The goal with these hills is to develop strength. Focus on a high knee lift and full extension of the drive (back) leg as you push off the ground. Race your training partner up the hill to ensure you’re pushing yourself - these should be high-intensity, fast sets.

Medium/ Pace Hills

These hills should take between 30 and 90 seconds to run. The goal here is to run at a good pace that will tax you through the set, but you need to pace yourself so that you can make the last repeat your fastest. As your fitness improves, increase either the number of hills or the intensity - but avoid increasing both at the same time.

Long/ Endurance Hills

These longer hills should take between 90 seconds and three minutes. Like pace hills, you want to maintain an even tempo throughout the hill and be able to get faster as the set progresses. Endurance hill running can be particularly beneficial for long-distance run training as it taxes your aerobic system in a controlled way.

Acceleration Hills

During a race, you’ll often find that competitive runners will accelerate off the hill, not while they’re going up it. To become a better hill runner - and a stronger runner in general - practise by running hard off the top of a hill. Pick a short- or medium-distance hill, run up at a steady pace and once you get to the top, accelerate on a flat section to a quick pace for 100-200M.

Downhill Running

How many times have you found yourself pulling away from your training partners or other runners in the race on the uphills, only to see everyone catch up to or pass you on the downhill section? Sometimes that’s because they’re just being reckless as they fly down the hill, but it certainly won’t hurt you to improve your downhill running form through practice. Find a gradual hill, preferably on grass or a gravel trail, and run down it for 200-300M. Keep your body in a forward position, run on your toes and keep your arms and shoulders relaxed.

Hill Running Tips:

1. Make sure you warm up well before you start your hill set - at least 10 to 15 minutes of easy running followed by a few strides (short accelerations).

2. When running up a hill, focus on short, quick strides. Hold your arms a bit higher so they don’t have to swing as far - the faster you move your arms, the quicker your legs will turn over.

3. Aim for one hill workout a week. While it’s fine to incorporate hills into your other runs, a focused hill set can, and should, be a tough enough set that your body will need time to recover.