Team, this week I am going to give you a great workout to do: hill sprints.
I actually love hill sprints, but never do them as often as I would like.
A hill sprint session will work on your power and strength; the steeper the gradient of the hill, the more power you’ll need to push up it.
Hill sprints: the need to know
Stand tall: do not lean forward over your knees as you run up the hill – this can cause you to lose your power. Standing tall gives you much better power to make it up the hill, stand up through your running action and lift your chest.
Arm swing is important when doing hills as lots of power is generated from your arm swing. It can also help you keep your balance.
Keeping your natural running cadence, or your stride, is very important. As you head up the hill, try to keep your stride the same. Start from flat with your natural cadence and run up into the hill as this will help you keep a consistent stride. As soon as you feel a change in your stride, stop and start again – you will improve the more hill sprints you do.
Hill workout
This session will test you but will give you awesome results!
- 15 mins warm up
Jogging/running and leg stretches
- 10 x hill starts
Walk for 10 secs from the bottom of the hill, sprint for 10 secs, then walk back to the start point.
- 10 x cadence runs
Mark out 50 metres on a flat area and walk into a running action; that is your natural cadence. Focus on good form and speed.
- 10 x hill hops (each leg)
Find a small hill/incline and hop up on your right leg for 10 hops. Walk back down and do 10 on your left leg.
- 10m frog leaps
With your feet shoulder-width apart, squat down and leap forward going uphill over 10 metres.
- 10 x tempo hill runs
Choose your hill and mark out 25-50 metres. Start from a flat run into the hill and keep your same speed and tempo over the distance. Jog down the hill to help with your stride length.
- Warm down jog
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