Hill Training

Hill running has a strengthening effect as well as boosting your athlete's power and is ideal for those athletes who depend on high running speeds - football, rugby, basketball, cricket players and even runners. To reduce the possibility of injury hill training should be conducted once the athlete has a good solid base of strength and endurance. In this article, Tulloh (1992)^[2] identifies the benefits of the various forms of hill training.

What it does for you

In hill running, the athlete uses their body weight as a resistance to push against, so the driving muscles from which their leg power is derived must work harder. The technique to aim for is a "bouncy" style where the athlete has a good knee lift and maximum ankle movement range.They should aim to drive hard, pushing upwards with their toes, flexing their ankle as much as possible, landing on the front part of the foot and then letting the heel come down below the level of the toes as the weight is taken. It stretches the calf muscles upwards and downwards as much as possible and applies resistance, which will improve their power and elasticity over time. The athlete should look straight ahead as they run (not at their feet) and ensure their neck, shoulders, and arms are free of tension. Many experts believe that the "bouncy" action is more important than the speed at which the athlete runs up the hills.

Hill work results in the calf muscles learning to contract more quickly and generating work at a higher rate; they become more powerful. The calf muscle recruits more muscle fibres, around two or three times as many as running on the flat. The "bouncy" action also improves the quads' power in the front of the thigh as they provide the high knee lift required. Competing in their sport/event can mean higher running speeds and shorter foot strike times.

Hill training offers the following benefits:

helps develop power and muscle elasticity
improves stride frequency and length
develops coordination, encouraging the proper use of arm action during the driving phase and feet in the support phase
develops control and stabilisation as well as improved speed (downhill running)
promotes strength endurance
develops maximum speed and strength (short hills)
improves lactate tolerance (mixed hills)

The benefits of short, medium and long hills are quite different and can be used at other times of the year.

Short Hills

A short hill takes no more than 30 seconds to run up and inclines 5 and 15 degrees gradient. The athlete's energy source on short hills is entirely anaerobic. The athlete should focus on a running technique with vigorous arm drive and high knee lift, with the hips, kept high, so they are 'running tall', not leaning forwards.

The session is anaerobic so the recovery time can be long, a walk back down the hill or a slow jog of 60 to 90 seconds. The total volume will depend on the athlete's fitness and the reason for doing it. A sprinter looking for strength might do ten repetitions of 15-second duration up a steep slope with a long recovery. In contrast, a distance runner trying to improve sprinting speed might do 30 repetitions of 15 seconds.

Short hills of 5 to 10-second duration will help improve the Adenosine Triphosphate and Phosphate-creatine (ATP+PC) energy system and hills of 15 to 30-second duration will help develop the ATP+PC+muscle glycogen energy system. Example of short hill sessions:

8 to 10 repetitions over 50 metres (sprinters and hurdlers)
8 to 10 repetitions over 40 metres (jumpers and throwers)
8 to 10 repetitions over 150 metres (middle distance athletes)
8 to 10 repetitions over 200 metres (long distance athletes)

Medium hills

A medium hill takes between 30 to 90 seconds to the run-up. This hill length is a reasonable distance for the middle-distance runner because it combines the short hills' benefits with the stresses on local muscular endurance and lactic acid tolerance. Use a hill as steep as one in six to one in ten so you can run at something near to race pace. The energy source is aerobic and anaerobic, and the athlete will experience the build-up in blood lactate as they go further up the hill.

Although the session will usually be fast and competitive, the style must be emphasised. Scuttling up the hill with a short stride and forward lean may be the best way to get up in a race, but we are trying to develop particular qualities in training. Therefore, it is better to go for a longer stride and higher knee lift: running tall with the hips pushed forwards, keeping the back upright. Again, the volume of the session depends on the individual.

With a group of youngsters, you can do six to eight runs of 45 seconds, followed by some 10-second sprints on a steeper hill. With top-class senior runners, you can do 12 to 15 runs of about 70 seconds, which is equivalent to an interval training session on the track. A good practice is to increase the number by one or two each time the session comes around while trying to run them at about the same pace. The recovery is a slow jog back to the bottom, and when the times start falling much below those of the first few runs, it is time to stop.

Long hills

A long hill takes from 90 seconds to three minutes plus. Here most of the energy comes from aerobic sources, but if parts of the hill are steep and t running them hard, there will still be an accumulation of blood lactate. There will be local muscular fatigue in the leg and possibly in the abdominal muscles, but the main limiting factor will be the athlete's cardiovascular system.

These hills can be used in two ways:

as a hard aerobic training session during the pre-competition season
as a hard time-trial session in the early part of the competition period

As these hill sessions are aerobic, the athlete will not use as much power per stride as the shorter hills and so perhaps would not be used by middle-distance runners, except for one or two time-trial runs. They are perfect for cross-country or road running distances of 10,000m and upwards. A session of, say, eight three minutes, with a run back of four or five minutes, will do an excellent hard workout.

Mixed hill running

The attraction of mixed hill training is that it can be fitted in with the terrain the athlete is running on and can be interesting and full of variety. If they do a fartlek session around a hilly course, they can fit in several different runs. Two advantages can come from this type of hill training:

Race simulation. It is a good principle to rehearse in training the situations they are likely to meet in a race, such as trying to break open a gap by running hard over the top of a hill and keeping the pace going instead of easing up.
Downhill running. This is something that often causes jarring and strains. I do not advise doing repeated fast downhill runs, but I would suggest that they practice finding the most relaxed way of running downhill without strain.

Mixed hill running can also be used to improve running economy and boost an athlete's VO₂ max. To do this, identify a six or seven-mile undulating hilly course, commence the session jogging at a modest pace and gradually pick up the intensity as they move through the hills. The key is not just to run up and down a few hills in their workout but to find a place where they can run up and down hills nearly constantly. If they cannot find a six or seven-mile course with constant undulations, use a shorter course and run back and forth on it. The key is not letting the flat ground run be more than 25% of the workout.

During most of the run, the athlete's heart rate should be close to 85% of the maximum (85% of the maximum heart rate matches up with 76% VO2 max). Do not let them blast up hills early in the workout. It can stop them from working through subsequent miles. The idea is to run constantly at a challenging but not super-fast speed. They should not feel like they are racing but as though they are running slightly slower than the lactate threshold, even if the actual pace is slower. Alternatively, they can use heart rate, which should be around 85% of the maximum during at least the last two-thirds of their run. A run of six to seven miles in this manner is enough for a great workout, but you can expand the session as much as you want with some additional hilly but more comfortable miles. If you plan on a mixed hill session over a 10 to 12-mile course once a week, you will be amazed at how their running takes off.

Rough terrain

There are many advantages of combining hills and hard going, e.g. sand. When the sand is soft, the athlete must work much more challenging and increase their leg speed to keep themselves going. At the same time, there is a reduced risk of damaging their legs through impact injuries. It has the same effect as hill running, but the distances can be reduced because of the difficulty. Other methods of building leg strength are running in boots, running through snow or running with a pack on your back. As the coach, remember the more challenging the session, the more carefully it must be integrated into the overall training plan.

Planning in the hill training

Once an athlete is fit enough to train, hill running can form a regular part of the pre-competition build-up. To avoid monotony, a 12-week 'strength' program, based on a 14-day cycle, will provide the proper build-up to a racing period. Within the 14-day cycle, you would include one session of long hills, two medium hills, plus a hilly fartlek session. As the competition approaches, you should drop the hills once a week, making the other days more race-specific. The more complex and longer the hill session, the easier the training must be the next day until the athlete's body has learned to cope.

The middle-distance runner might drop the long hills but keep the medium ones going until they start the track training - even then, hills can be done once every two weeks to maintain strength. The runner trying to increase finishing speed might want to keep the short hills going right through the early part of the track season. However, there must come a time when the main work becomes race-specific and will be done on flat ground.

There is one situation where a hilly course can be used in the track or road racing season, in the time trials or tempo runs in the last couple of weeks before a significant event. You may want to do something to see how fit your athlete is and test their ability to push themselves. For a middle-distance runner, a grassy hill or a sand-dune course of, say, half-a-mile, is just the thing for a pre-race test. Running up a hill on a soft surface is much less damaging than doing, say, 1000m on a synthetic track, yet it gives all the pain and pleasure of a challenging workout and that, after all, is what we are trying to achieve.

Downhill Running

Many runners develop muscle soreness after strenuous workouts or races. Clarkson et al. (1992)^[1] have shown that muscle pain and loss of strength can be minimised if runners undertake regular sessions of eccentric training. A single downhill session (6 to 10 downhill runs over 300 metres) on a 300 to 400-metre hill with an inclination of 10 to 15 degrees should protect against muscle pain and loss of strength for at least six weeks. It would involve downhill running for runners since downhills put the muscles in the front of the leg under intense eccentric duress.

More examples of Hill sessions

With all hill sessions, it is vital to warm-up before and cool downafter the hill session - an easy jog for 5 to 10 minutes, followed by stretching exercises. Two sessions a week for six to eight weeks will improve your overall fitness and running speed.

Strength development

Session 1

We need a hill with a slope of approx. 10% and a length of 200 metres to 400 metres
Run up at a 5km pace with a rapid stride rate and good knee lift
Recovery jog back down
Start with two sets of 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time

Session 2

We need a hill with a slope of approx. 5% and a length of 1km
Run up at a 10km pace with a rapid stride rate and good knee lift
Recovery jog back down
Start with 3 or 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time

Session 3 (treadmill)

Treadmill at 3% incline
Run up at a 10km pace for 3 minutes
3-minute jog recovery
Start with 3 or 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time

Session 4 (treadmill)

Set treadmill pace to your 10km pace and with no break
Run for 5 minutes with a 4% incline
Run for 10 minutes with a 5% incline
Run for 10 minutes with a 6% incline
Run for 10 minutes with a 7% incline

vSpeed development

Over-speed training can be achieved by running down a hill. The difficulty is finding a suitable hill with a safe surface.

We need a hill with a slope of approx. 15° decline and a length of 100m
Running down, use 40 metres to 60 metres to build up to full speed and then maintain the speed for a further 30 metres
Recovery walk back up
Start with two sets of 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time

Article Reference

The information on this page is adapted from Tulloh (1992)^[2] with Electric Word plc's kind permission.

References

CLARKSON, P.M. et al. (1992) Muscle function after exercise-induced muscle damage and rapid adaptation. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 24 (5), p. 512-520
TULLOH, B. (1992) The Power of Hills. Peak Performance, 18, p. 10-12

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2007) Hill Training [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/hilltrain.htm [Accessed


topics A-Z Page Index Article Library Coaching General Young Athletes Literature Reviews Coaching Conditioning Endurance Ergogenic Aids Evaluation Injury Prevention Nutrition Physiology Planning Psychology Skill Development Speed Strength Female Athletes Master Athletes Young Athletes Sports Specific Basketball Bodybuilding Boxing Cycling Golf Rowing Rugby Soccer Squash Swimming Tennis Triathlon USA Football Training Conditioning Endurance Ergogenic Aids Evaluation Injury Prevention Nutrition Physiology Planning Psychology Skill Development Speed Strength Anatomy & Physiology Articles Biomechanics Body Systems Cardiovascular Digestive Endocrine Muscular Neurological Respiratory Skeletal Body Type Energy Systems Maximum Heart Rate Movement Analysis Coaching Articles Assessment Communication Ethics Group Dynamics Methods Philosophy Process Principles Responsibilities Styles Skills & Roles Young Athletes Fitness Development Articles Agility Conditioning Core Stability Endurance Flexibility Skill Speed Strength Training Principles VO2max Fitness Testing Articles Blood Pressure Evaluation Tests Ideal Weight Nutrition Articles Basal Metabolic Rate Eating & Competing Eating Disorders Glycemic Index Healthy Eating Minerals Vitamins Planning Articles Athlete Profiling Creating a Plan LTAD Tapering Warm Up & Cool Down Programs Aqua Training Circuit Training CNS Training Complex Training Fartlek Training Heart Rate Training Hill Training Medicine Ball Training Personal Exercise Plan Plyometric Training Track & Field Training Weight Training Psychology Articles Competitive Anxiety Mental Imagery Relaxation Techniques SCAT Sports Psychology Stress Management TEOSQ Sports American Football Basketball Boxing Cross Country Cycling Fell Running Golf Rowing Rugby Soccer Squash Swimming Tennis Triathlon Ultimate Frisbee Sport Development Funding in Sport History of Sport Olympic Games Sport Structure Sports Injury Articles ACL Cramp Cryotherapy Dehydration Hot & Cold Baths Injury Prevention Muscle Imbalance Over Training Shin Soreness Stitch Sports Merchandise Books & DVD's Clothing & Shoes Training Aids Magazines Track & Field Combined Events Decathlon Heptathlon Hexathlon Octathlon Pentathlon Jumps High Jump Long Jump Pole Vault Triple Jump Running Hurdles Long Distance Middle Distance Sprints Steeplechase Throws Discus Hammer Javelin Shot Putt Track & Field Safety Training Aids Articles Ergogenic Aids Massage Sports Drinks Supplements Website Blog Website Updates Website Information Awards Disclaimer & Copyright Help - where do I find Link Exchange Policy Visitors Comments Visitor Feedback Visitor Statistics Web Master Web Links Coaches Corner Useful Links	Hill Training Hill running has a strengthening effect as well as boosting your athlete's power and is ideal for those athletes who depend on high running speeds - football, rugby, basketball, cricket players and even runners. To reduce the possibility of injury hill training should be conducted once the athlete has a good solid base of strength and endurance. In this article, Tulloh (1992)^[2] identifies the benefits of the various forms of hill training. What it does for you In hill running, the athlete uses their body weight as a resistance to push against, so the driving muscles from which their leg power is derived must work harder. The technique to aim for is a "bouncy" style where the athlete has a good knee lift and maximum ankle movement range.They should aim to drive hard, pushing upwards with their toes, flexing their ankle as much as possible, landing on the front part of the foot and then letting the heel come down below the level of the toes as the weight is taken. It stretches the calf muscles upwards and downwards as much as possible and applies resistance, which will improve their power and elasticity over time. The athlete should look straight ahead as they run (not at their feet) and ensure their neck, shoulders, and arms are free of tension. Many experts believe that the "bouncy" action is more important than the speed at which the athlete runs up the hills. Hill work results in the calf muscles learning to contract more quickly and generating work at a higher rate; they become more powerful. The calf muscle recruits more muscle fibres, around two or three times as many as running on the flat. The "bouncy" action also improves the quads' power in the front of the thigh as they provide the high knee lift required. Competing in their sport/event can mean higher running speeds and shorter foot strike times. Hill training offers the following benefits: helps develop power and muscle elasticity improves stride frequency and length develops coordination, encouraging the proper use of arm action during the driving phase and feet in the support phase develops control and stabilisation as well as improved speed (downhill running) promotes strength endurance develops maximum speed and strength (short hills) improves lactate tolerance (mixed hills) The benefits of short, medium and long hills are quite different and can be used at other times of the year. Short Hills A short hill takes no more than 30 seconds to run up and inclines 5 and 15 degrees gradient. The athlete's energy source on short hills is entirely anaerobic. The athlete should focus on a running technique with vigorous arm drive and high knee lift, with the hips, kept high, so they are 'running tall', not leaning forwards. The session is anaerobic so the recovery time can be long, a walk back down the hill or a slow jog of 60 to 90 seconds. The total volume will depend on the athlete's fitness and the reason for doing it. A sprinter looking for strength might do ten repetitions of 15-second duration up a steep slope with a long recovery. In contrast, a distance runner trying to improve sprinting speed might do 30 repetitions of 15 seconds. Short hills of 5 to 10-second duration will help improve the Adenosine Triphosphate and Phosphate-creatine (ATP+PC) energy system and hills of 15 to 30-second duration will help develop the ATP+PC+muscle glycogen energy system. Example of short hill sessions: 8 to 10 repetitions over 50 metres (sprinters and hurdlers) 8 to 10 repetitions over 40 metres (jumpers and throwers) 8 to 10 repetitions over 150 metres (middle distance athletes) 8 to 10 repetitions over 200 metres (long distance athletes) Medium hills A medium hill takes between 30 to 90 seconds to the run-up. This hill length is a reasonable distance for the middle-distance runner because it combines the short hills' benefits with the stresses on local muscular endurance and lactic acid tolerance. Use a hill as steep as one in six to one in ten so you can run at something near to race pace. The energy source is aerobic and anaerobic, and the athlete will experience the build-up in blood lactate as they go further up the hill. Although the session will usually be fast and competitive, the style must be emphasised. Scuttling up the hill with a short stride and forward lean may be the best way to get up in a race, but we are trying to develop particular qualities in training. Therefore, it is better to go for a longer stride and higher knee lift: running tall with the hips pushed forwards, keeping the back upright. Again, the volume of the session depends on the individual. With a group of youngsters, you can do six to eight runs of 45 seconds, followed by some 10-second sprints on a steeper hill. With top-class senior runners, you can do 12 to 15 runs of about 70 seconds, which is equivalent to an interval training session on the track. A good practice is to increase the number by one or two each time the session comes around while trying to run them at about the same pace. The recovery is a slow jog back to the bottom, and when the times start falling much below those of the first few runs, it is time to stop. Long hills A long hill takes from 90 seconds to three minutes plus. Here most of the energy comes from aerobic sources, but if parts of the hill are steep and t running them hard, there will still be an accumulation of blood lactate. There will be local muscular fatigue in the leg and possibly in the abdominal muscles, but the main limiting factor will be the athlete's cardiovascular system. These hills can be used in two ways: as a hard aerobic training session during the pre-competition season as a hard time-trial session in the early part of the competition period As these hill sessions are aerobic, the athlete will not use as much power per stride as the shorter hills and so perhaps would not be used by middle-distance runners, except for one or two time-trial runs. They are perfect for cross-country or road running distances of 10,000m and upwards. A session of, say, eight three minutes, with a run back of four or five minutes, will do an excellent hard workout. Mixed hill running The attraction of mixed hill training is that it can be fitted in with the terrain the athlete is running on and can be interesting and full of variety. If they do a fartlek session around a hilly course, they can fit in several different runs. Two advantages can come from this type of hill training: Race simulation. It is a good principle to rehearse in training the situations they are likely to meet in a race, such as trying to break open a gap by running hard over the top of a hill and keeping the pace going instead of easing up. Downhill running. This is something that often causes jarring and strains. I do not advise doing repeated fast downhill runs, but I would suggest that they practice finding the most relaxed way of running downhill without strain. Mixed hill running can also be used to improve running economy and boost an athlete's VO₂ max. To do this, identify a six or seven-mile undulating hilly course, commence the session jogging at a modest pace and gradually pick up the intensity as they move through the hills. The key is not just to run up and down a few hills in their workout but to find a place where they can run up and down hills nearly constantly. If they cannot find a six or seven-mile course with constant undulations, use a shorter course and run back and forth on it. The key is not letting the flat ground run be more than 25% of the workout. During most of the run, the athlete's heart rate should be close to 85% of the maximum (85% of the maximum heart rate matches up with 76% VO2 max). Do not let them blast up hills early in the workout. It can stop them from working through subsequent miles. The idea is to run constantly at a challenging but not super-fast speed. They should not feel like they are racing but as though they are running slightly slower than the lactate threshold, even if the actual pace is slower. Alternatively, they can use heart rate, which should be around 85% of the maximum during at least the last two-thirds of their run. A run of six to seven miles in this manner is enough for a great workout, but you can expand the session as much as you want with some additional hilly but more comfortable miles. If you plan on a mixed hill session over a 10 to 12-mile course once a week, you will be amazed at how their running takes off. Rough terrain There are many advantages of combining hills and hard going, e.g. sand. When the sand is soft, the athlete must work much more challenging and increase their leg speed to keep themselves going. At the same time, there is a reduced risk of damaging their legs through impact injuries. It has the same effect as hill running, but the distances can be reduced because of the difficulty. Other methods of building leg strength are running in boots, running through snow or running with a pack on your back. As the coach, remember the more challenging the session, the more carefully it must be integrated into the overall training plan. Planning in the hill training Once an athlete is fit enough to train, hill running can form a regular part of the pre-competition build-up. To avoid monotony, a 12-week 'strength' program, based on a 14-day cycle, will provide the proper build-up to a racing period. Within the 14-day cycle, you would include one session of long hills, two medium hills, plus a hilly fartlek session. As the competition approaches, you should drop the hills once a week, making the other days more race-specific. The more complex and longer the hill session, the easier the training must be the next day until the athlete's body has learned to cope. The middle-distance runner might drop the long hills but keep the medium ones going until they start the track training - even then, hills can be done once every two weeks to maintain strength. The runner trying to increase finishing speed might want to keep the short hills going right through the early part of the track season. However, there must come a time when the main work becomes race-specific and will be done on flat ground. There is one situation where a hilly course can be used in the track or road racing season, in the time trials or tempo runs in the last couple of weeks before a significant event. You may want to do something to see how fit your athlete is and test their ability to push themselves. For a middle-distance runner, a grassy hill or a sand-dune course of, say, half-a-mile, is just the thing for a pre-race test. Running up a hill on a soft surface is much less damaging than doing, say, 1000m on a synthetic track, yet it gives all the pain and pleasure of a challenging workout and that, after all, is what we are trying to achieve. Downhill Running Many runners develop muscle soreness after strenuous workouts or races. Clarkson et al. (1992)^[1] have shown that muscle pain and loss of strength can be minimised if runners undertake regular sessions of eccentric training. A single downhill session (6 to 10 downhill runs over 300 metres) on a 300 to 400-metre hill with an inclination of 10 to 15 degrees should protect against muscle pain and loss of strength for at least six weeks. It would involve downhill running for runners since downhills put the muscles in the front of the leg under intense eccentric duress. More examples of Hill sessions With all hill sessions, it is vital to warm-up before and cool downafter the hill session - an easy jog for 5 to 10 minutes, followed by stretching exercises. Two sessions a week for six to eight weeks will improve your overall fitness and running speed. Strength development Session 1 We need a hill with a slope of approx. 10% and a length of 200 metres to 400 metres Run up at a 5km pace with a rapid stride rate and good knee lift Recovery jog back down Start with two sets of 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time Session 2 We need a hill with a slope of approx. 5% and a length of 1km Run up at a 10km pace with a rapid stride rate and good knee lift Recovery jog back down Start with 3 or 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time Session 3 (treadmill) Treadmill at 3% incline Run up at a 10km pace for 3 minutes 3-minute jog recovery Start with 3 or 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time Session 4 (treadmill) Set treadmill pace to your 10km pace and with no break Run for 5 minutes with a 4% incline Run for 10 minutes with a 5% incline Run for 10 minutes with a 6% incline Run for 10 minutes with a 7% incline vSpeed development Over-speed training can be achieved by running down a hill. The difficulty is finding a suitable hill with a safe surface. We need a hill with a slope of approx. 15° decline and a length of 100m Running down, use 40 metres to 60 metres to build up to full speed and then maintain the speed for a further 30 metres Recovery walk back up Start with two sets of 4 repetitions and gradually increase over time Article Reference The information on this page is adapted from Tulloh (1992)^[2] with Electric Word plc's kind permission. References CLARKSON, P.M. et al. (1992) Muscle function after exercise-induced muscle damage and rapid adaptation. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 24 (5), p. 512-520 TULLOH, B. (1992) The Power of Hills. Peak Performance, 18, p. 10-12 Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: MACKENZIE, B. (2007) Hill Training [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/hilltrain.htm [Accessed