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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 WOMENSRUNNING.COM 27
HILLS ARE ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE
WORKOUTS A RUNNER CAN COMPLETE.
Just take a minute to consider all the
benefits: Running hills promotes more
economical (aka energy-efficient) form,
and is easier on your joints and connec-
tive tissues than similar efforts on flat
terrain. Running hard up steep grades
also builds more power than running
on flat ground—you can think of it like
“specific strength work” for runners,
using gravity rather than weights to
increase strength.
Every runner—no matter their expe-
rience or ability—stands to benefit from
the strength, power, and speed that are
gained from these hill workouts. Be-
cause of the effort and the grade of the
incline, hill sprints recruit an enormous
number of muscle fibers, strengthening
muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and
other connective tissues. If you’re an
injury-prone runner, gradually adding
hill sprints into your training once or
twice per week can result in far fewer
running injuries. If you’re a beginner,
hill reps reinforce good form and build
power—two skills that are critical as you
become more advanced. And if you’re
training for a hilly race, they provide the
specific type of work that can help boost
your performance on race day.
Choose the type of workout below
that’s most appropriate for your goals...
and head for the hills!LONG HILL REPS
This first workout isn’t as intense as
the next two, so it’s best used in the
beginning stages of a training season,
or to mix up a tempo workout, or if a
harder speed session was scheduled
but your body needs an easier day.
This workout has you run hill repe-
titions of 2–4 minutes with a jog back
to the bottom of the hill as recovery.
The grade of the hill should not be too
aggressive—about 4–5 percent is ideal.
Structure this workout as 4–6 repetitions
so the total time of uphill running is
about 12–16 minutes.A few examples:
) 4 x 4 min hills @ 10K pace
) 6 x 2 min hills @ 10K pace
(or slightly faster)
) 5 x 3 min hills @ 10K paceSHORT HILL REPS
This kind of session is most similar to
what many runners think of when they
imagine a “hill workout.” You run uphill
for 60–90 seconds with a jog back to the
starting point as recovery.
The grade of the hill and the speed at
which you’re running make this a fan-
tastic workout for developing power and
strength, but possibly most important,
your ability to deliver precious oxygento your muscles (aka cardiovascular
endurance).
These shorter reps are intense, so
they’re best used during the middle or
later phases of training when you’re
more focused on speed. The pace should
be about 5K race pace on a hill that’s
roughly a 6–8 percent grade.A few examples:
) 8 x 90 sec hills @ 5K pace
) 10 x 60 sec hills @ 2-mile pace
) 3 x 90 sec, 3 x 60 sec, 3 x 45 sec
that begins at 10K pace and
gradually gets fasterHILL SPRINTS
Even though I don’t technically consider
hill sprints a “workout,” they’re included
here because of the immense benefit they
provide to runners. Hill sprints are liter-
ally sprints—meaning you run literally as
fast as possible. They’re only 8–10 seconds
long and unlike the previous types of hill
workouts, they’re run after an easy run
rather than as a stand-alone session.
Find the steepest hill you can find
and run 4–8 repetitions of 8–10 seconds
uphill at your top speed. The first rep
can be slightly slower to help yourself
warm up. The cool-down is at least 90
seconds (but preferably two minutes)
of walking (not running).Time
for
Inclines
Plug these three types
of hill workouts into your
training to target speed
and strength, and start seeing
major improvements in your
running, stat. BY JASON FITZGERALDTRAINING WORKOUT OF THE MONTH