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WANT TO RUN FAST? RUN UPHILL

Just 10 seconds can make you stronger and faster--you only have to run uphill, fast.

By Marc Bloom

Photographs by Yuko Shimizu

PUBLISHED 08/21/2007

Ten seconds. That's all the time it takes to become a faster runner.

Too good to be true? Not according to Brad Hudson, the coach of such distance stars as Dathan Ritzenhein and Jorge Torres. All you have to do is run those 10 seconds uphill--as fast as you can. "There's nothing better for developing speed and muscle power," says Hudson.

When Hudson, a 1991 and '93 world championship competitor in the marathon, started coaching a few years back, he looked at successful programs and found they all had one thing in common: hills. And as he sifted through research, he noted that even a small amount of hill work could yield big results: a jump in leg strength, running economy--how efficiently your body uses oxygen--and aerobic capacity. "I saw the science, and then I saw the results in my athletes," says Hudson.

One of those athletes, James Carney, improved his 10-K personal best last spring to 27:43 after incorporating Hudson's hill training into his routine. Torres credits hill work for putting him in contention for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team for the 10,000 meters. And Ritzenhein, who ran 2:14:01 last year in his debut marathon, believes hills have made him less injury-prone.

Of course, Hudson's athletes are professional runners, so short sprints are only part of their hill routine But for the rest of us, 10-second hill repeats are the most efficient way to build year-round strength and speed.


Uphill Gains

Hit the hill, but make it fast and short, and you get the maximum amount of training effect with the minimum amount of injury risk. "The best way to recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers is to run at max intensity," says Hudson. "The best way to build leg strength is hill running. So we run all-out up a steep hill. But we keep it to 10 seconds to avoid producing lactate and becoming fatigued." Running no more than 10-second repeats also reduces injury risk by limiting your fast-running time. And hills by their nature lessen the risk of injury because the slope shortens the distance you have to "fall" or land, reducing impact. "Studies of sprinting uphill show that the muscles are in constant 'overload' and the nervous system is firing hard," says Hudson. "It's the same speed benefit as track sprints, but safer."

The fast pace builds speed, but it's the hill that provides the strength benefit. Running up an incline places the same demand on your muscles as weight training--your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves must "lift" you up the slope--but they're more specific to running. And just as with plyometrics (jump drills), the "explosive" action of uphill sprints improves elasticity in your muscles and tendons, which allows you to spring quickly into action after landing.


Hills Year-Round

To develop leg strength throughout the year, Hudson's runners do short sprints on a hill that is between a six to 10 percent grade. They tack these surges onto the end of two easy runs a week. At the start of the season, they'll log just two 10-second repeats. The next week they'll do three. Once they reach eight, they cut back to doing them once a week. The first repeat is done at a fast pace, the rest at top speed. Each repeat is followed by at least two minutes of recovery, which includes walking downhill backward to keep pressure off the knees. "They're not easy to do," says Hudson. "But the pain's gone in a second or two." And you're left with stronger, faster legs.

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10-SECOND SPRINTS

Try any or all of these three workouts to say strong and fast all year round.

By Marc Bloom

PUBLISHED 08/21/2007

To get strong and fast, and stay that way year-round, add coach Brad Hudson's 10-second sprints to your weekly routine. If you're building up for a race, incorporate longer hill repeats and hill tempo work into your training program.

10-Second Hill Sprints

At the end of a 20- to 40-minute easy run, find a steep hill (six to eight percent grade). Run two 10-second repeats. Add one repeat per week until you reach eight. Do the first repeat at a fast but controlled pace; the rest at top speed. Recover after each repeat for at least two minutes by walking downhill backward. Stay at eight repeats for two to four weeks, then take two weeks off from hill running before starting the cycle again.

Longer Hill Repeats

Every two or three weeks, replace your weekly hill sprints with this workout: 20 to 40 minutes of easy running, finishing at a medium-steep slope (five to six percent grade). Do 4 x 30-second hill repeats at the fastest pace that you can maintain good form, gradually progressing to 60-, then 90-, then 120-second repeats. Walk downhill after each repetition for a total rest of at least two minutes.

Uphill Tempo

Schedule a four-week block about 10 weeks before your target race for this series of challenging tempo runs. Do a one- to two-mile warmup before each workout. Week one: Run uphill (on a three or four percent grade) for 20 minutes at a moderate pace. Week two: Increase the tempo time to 30 minutes at a moderate pace. Week three: Pull back to 20 minutes, but increase your pace to a speed that's hard but you're (pretty) sure you can hold. Week four: Hold that hard pace for 30 minutes. No long hills nearby? Break the tempo time into 10- and 15-minute segments, or use a treadmill.

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Hill Workouts

THIS WAY UP

Proper form helps you power up any incline.

By Marc Bloom

Photographs by Tin Salamunic

PUBLISHED 09/15/2008

HEAD: "Keep your head and chest up. Don't slouch," says Olympian Adam Goucher. Attempting to "grit out" a hill, many runners put their head down, which wastes energy by throwing off their form.

EYES: To keep your body upright, "fix your eyes directly ahead of you, not down at your feet," says cross-country champ Lynn Jennings. "You will sleekly move up the hill."

HANDS: "Keep your hands loose, no fists," says Jim Schlentz, who coached Olympian Kate Fonshell. Loose hands help your whole body stay relaxed.

LEGS: "Push your legs off and up, rather than into, the hill," says Goucher. This helps you feel "light," as if you're "springing" up the hill.

GOING UP: Run the first two-thirds of the hill relaxed, then slightly accelerate the last part, while carrying your pace over the top, says Schlentz. "Don't push too hard at the bottom of a hill," he says. "Then you're dead at the top."

BRAIN: "Visualize the crest of a hill 20 meters beyond where it really is, so you run to the top-and keep going," says Jennings. "I would tell myself, 'Up and over, up and over,' and would not relax till past the top."

TORSO: "Lean forward," says Jennings. "It maintains momentum."

ARMS: Coach and marathon champ Alberto Salazar emphasizes accelerated arm action to drive up a hill: "Concentrate on overusing the arms to really power up, so your running almost simulates sprinting." Your arms should form a 90-degree angle at the elbow, and swing straight back and forth, not across your body.

FEET: "Get up on your forefeet and take shorter strides," says Jennings. "Run with punctuation."

GOING DOWN: "Your feet should land underneath you," says Schlentz. "This produces minimal shock on the body." A shortened armswing will help shorten the stride.

WHY BOTHER?: Strength, efficiency, endurance. A study published in the Journal of Biomechanics found running on a steep grade at a fast pace achieved greater "muscle activation" in the legs and hip area than running at a slow pace.

SHORT ON TIME: Short hills provide maximum training effect with minimum injury risk, says elite coach Brad Hudson. Start with three or four repetitions up a hill about 60 to 80 meters long at top speed. Recover fully between runs.

DISTANT MEMORIES: Longer hills teach the body to recruit muscle fibers when they're fatigued. "This helps you develop a kick," says Hudson. Start with three or four reps of a hill 300 to 600 meters long. Recover fully between runs.