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What exercises in the gym can help you run up hills? We asked an expert trainer
Hill running is hard. Slogging up a high incline is challenging, especially when the hill is only part of a longer route or race. Go in unprepared, and it’ll wipe you out for the remainder of the run. The best Garmin watches actually have a dedicated Hill Score to show you exactly how good you are at running up hills based on recent efforts.
Hill running can actually be even more beneficial than regular running, placing more emphasis on growing the muscles in your legs due to the increased effort required. I recently wrote about my experience rucking as an alternative to running, but I was struck in my research by a suggestion that, against all odds, hill running can actually offer reduced impact to joints.
That got me thinking about the other benefits of hill running. There are almost too many to list, like using more muscle groups and increased cardiovascular activity, and I was curious about just how much I should be looking to embrace it - and how to improve my times running on incline.
For that, I spoke to Tana von Zitzewitz, a master trainer with Barry’s UK, to learn more about hill running and the best way to maximize time spent doing it. Barry’s is a workout studio with franchises all over the world, which has perfected a workout program alternating between running intervals and strength sets - so von Zitzewitz is an expert at both.
Why hill running is important
Nothing quite beats that moment when the world falls away as you reach the summit, and you almost can’t hear your own tortured breath. However, von Zitzewitz explains that break is key, starting with VO2 Max.
“If you want a quick (but far from easy) way to gain strength as a runner, improve your technique, VO2max [we've got a guide to what VO2 Max means and how to improve it), and overall speed then incorporate hill running into your weekly schedule.”
The best running watches usually have technique improvement pointers built-in, offering statistics on your cadence, stride length and distance. You can also opt for a gait analysis at a running shop, if you have one local, to ask for feedback and make sure you’ve got the best running shoes for your stride.
“As hill running incorporates quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, as well as core, upper back, and arms, it’s a bang-for-your-buck way to train; however, it is super intense,” she warns.
“So, unless you’re looking to take part in an ultrarun over Mont Blanc, then I would use hill running as part of a structured weekly run program, but not the main component.”
Gym exercises for hill running
“Explosive strength and conditioning will help you in both recruiting the fast-twitch muscle fibres and improving the run mechanics needed to attack the inclines,” von Zitzewitz explains.
“Exercises like lunges, particularly split lunges, box step-ups or jumps with dumbbells or a barbell, plyometric lunge jumps, and single leg bounds will help to build up unilateral strength, endurance, and explosiveness.”
These exercises all mimic the power needed to push off from an incline, maintaining explosive power under greater resistance than flat ground, giving a runner the tools to conquer just about any elevation with a degree of confidence.
“I wouldn’t attempt a strength and conditioning session and a hill run workout on the same day, or you will turn to jelly, but to split them up over two consecutive days, followed by an active recovery day.”
Tips for hill running: intervals
So, to the act of hill running, then, and just what is the best way to get you to the top the quickest?
“Any hill running that you do should have adequate recoveries (30 seconds of work to 90-120 seconds of recovery) after each interval to allow enough energy for the work, because hill running is like adding explosive power work to your training.”
I asked if Fartlek, otherwise known as variable speed training for runners, would be useful. von Zitzewitz is no stranger to interval work, thanks to her tenure designing classes for Barry’s attendees.
“Yes – for example, at Barry’s we use inclines throughout our weekly classes in a well-structured interval-based program,”
“These vary between slower intervals, which are more aerobic-based, and hill sprints, which are short and explosive.”
So, if you’re looking to make the most of your time running on elevated terrain, this is how to do it. You can even use a treadmill at your local gym once you’ve finished your strength and conditioning for a full-throated hill-improver gym session, or split the treadmill and strength work up into alternate days for recovery’s sake.
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