Hills, hills, and more hills. If you are a runner or any other athlete and you are looking for an extra boost of power put down the barbells and go straight for the mountains.
I’ve been running for almost 20 years and during that time I’ve experimented with many different forms of training. Along with endurance and speed it’s vital that runners have plenty of power. Why? The more power you can put into the ground the faster you will go. Having more power will also help you sustain your pace on runs for a longer period of time, have a stronger finishing kick at the end of races, lower your risk of injury, and make you more resistant to fatigue. As you can see the benefits are overwhelming.
While there are many effective ways to increase power there is nothing that compares or even comes close to the benefits of adding hills into your training. I’ve been training almost every day in the Appalachian Mountains for the last two decades. The training can be brutal at times (particularly when I first started running) but overall all the back-breaking years of hard work have payed dividends. If I had to select one element above all others to do in my training I would choose running on hills. Recently I was thinking about the fact that I’ve been running on mountainous terrain for so long that I don’t even notice that I’m running on hills anymore.
Hills have been a secret weapon for runners for decades. Actually it’s not really a secret but you know what I mean. Recognized as the greatest running coach of all-time by Runner’s World along with being known as the father of modern distance running Arthur Lydiard was one of the first coaches to implement and promote hill training with runners. Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand Lydiard made his runners train on hills all year round. The results .. were nothing short of sheer and utter dominance. Along with his innovative methods on hill training and being an early pioneer in running periodisation he also coached 17 Olympic medalists, including Peter Snell, Murray Halberg, and Barry Magee.
Today a lot of the best runners in the world come from Kenya and Ethiopia. Many of these runners start from an early age. They run to school, work, or wherever they need to go. Not to mention the people in these countries love and support running like most people in the United States watch American football so as you can tell running is ingrained into the fabric of their being. Along with their lifelong dedication to running most runners in these countries train on hills constantly day in an day out. Why in the hell do you think runners like Eliud Kipchoge win all the time and set world records in their sleep? Anyone? HILLS.
Along with runners seeing a direct benefit from hill training other athletes utilize hill training in their routines as well. Some of the greatest NFL players of all-time like Pro Football Hall Of Famers LaDanian Tomlinson, Walter Payton, and Jerry Rice regularly trained on hills throughout their entire careers.
There are multiple ways that you can use hills in your training from regular runs and long runs to designated hill repeats. The utilization of hill repeats particularly steep hills is an excellent way to increase not only your power but your acceleration and overall running economy. Now I know what some of you are thinking. What if I live in an area that’s mostly flat with barely any hills? Quite the conundrum but there is a solution. If you are one of those people don’t worry you can still improve your power through a variety of others ways like treadmills, the StairMaster, and of course weightlifting (squats, deadlifts, etc.).
While hills are my first choice for power I’m also a huge advocate for regular weight training. Yes I would choose hills over lifting weights but if you have both options at your disposal I would definitely suggest doing both in your training for the most benefit. Along with these options if you really want to get creative you could also run on stairs outside or you could even run up a multi-level parking garage.
My point. Hills can benefit anyone whether you are a hardcore ultra distance runner or someone looking for an extra edge in your training so go out and run for the hills. You won’t regret it. Through sheer will and passion anything can happen. Never surrender.
Alex Reid
Move At Will 