There are many advantages of doing hill training. First, it builds up the confidence for uphill race. Second, it reduces impact for the training. Additionally, this training also covers both uphill and downhill running.
Benefits of hill running
The best runners in the world run hills all the time, both in their daily training and in specific hill workouts. Among the reasons:
- Hills can improve your running form by increasing knee lift, joint mobility, and neuromuscular fitness (how well your nervous system communicates with your muscles).
- Hills improve muscular strength (your legs’ ability to produce force) and power (the ability to produce a lot of force quickly).
- Hills provide an added cardiovascular boost.
We’re not just talking about uphill running here. Learning how to run downhill efficiently can also:
- improve your foot speed.
- increase your range of motion.
- make you a smoother, more efficient runner on any terrain.
- reduce your risk of injuries as you become adept at not crashing into the ground.
(Source from Runners World)
How to train for up and downhill
I understand many runners will try to avoid the beastly incline training, in Pose Method we relied on tapping the power of gravity to generate forward motion. Imagine chopping down a tree and watch it free fall. As you run in the Pose Method, you will always be falling from your GSM (hip) using your body weight as a force. The momentum of your running plus the forward fall allows gravity to continue top work for you – you literally free fall uphill.
I know many of you would say it is easier said than done but do remember that you’re using the gravity to help you along the way. In order to continue moving up hill, you going to have to maintain or even increase your cadence, which in turn mandates short strides. This would mean your hamstrings are going to be doing an awful lot or work, quick, explosive work. The faster they release from support on the earth, the less load of body weight they have to bear.
Boston Marathon said that it’s no going up Heartbreak Hill, but going back down, that does all the damage.
For downhill, do take note of these pointers:
- Keep your strides short and low to the ground.
- Keep landing directly under your body & don’t overstrike
- Don’t let your body get away from you by falling too fast
- Stay minimize forward fall. That way you’ll remove the pounding from your leg.
(Source from Pose Method of Running)
