Hill workouts are a decent type of “speed” workout that are fun and generally easy to do. They are a nice way to mix up your workout regimen by getting away from the track, not to mention are often considered safer for weight/resistance training that actual added weight-based workouts. I like to incorporate hill or other speed work into my weekly running schedule at least once or twice a week, but never more than that.
The first thing to do is find your hill. This hill all may depend on your mood, fitness level, surface preference, fitness goals, among many other factors. It may be on a trail or a paved street, or it may be short and steep or have a more gradual incline but have a longer distance. It’s totally up to you–what you want out of the workout and what you feel comfortable doing.
I see hill work as having three main goals: Stressing my heart, stressing my lungs, and if I’m lucky, stressing my legs (I say this because it seems the first two get tired way quicker).
Do this by running up the hill at a moderate to hard pace that is sustainable. Sustainable is key, since you’ll be doing this most likely more than once. Don’t let your heart rate get too high or your breathing too heavy that you won’t be able to do it again, but I try to get myself a little uncomfortable. It’s up to you weather you jog or walk back down to the start/bottom, but really try and let your heart rate and breathing recover before you start again.
The number of repetitions is up to you–if you’re a beginner or even just new to hill and/or speed work, start with 2-4 and see how you feel the next day. Gradually increase as you feel comfortable and/or as you perceive your fitness to be growing.
When you’re just starting out, going for repetitions alone and aim to let yourself almost fully recover in between reps. When you’re looking to up intensity, you may want to set a goal to complete each rep in about a certain time, or limit your recovery time to a certain amount of time.
It’s a good idea to hydrate, even a few sips of water, in between at least every few reps, and in most cases you’ll most likely have to bring your own.
Although definitely not as fun in my opinion, you can do a similar workout on the treadmill by adjusting the incline back and forth (many treadmills have hill workout programs pre-set as well).
Don’t forget to have fun!
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