Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 115, February 2019 | Page 52

COACHING
TRAINING
Hills Are
Your
Friends
short, no more than 180m, because going further and you’re no longer achieving
the purpose of the strength session, so look for a steeper hill instead of a longer
hill. An example would be sprinting up the hill 15 to 20 times for 20 seconds,
focused on a high knee-lift, with a slow jog or walk back to the bottom.
2. Endurance: Hill training also builds endurance, and this type of session would
typically be done on a gradual or a moderately steep hill, with the length of the
repeat between 300m and 600m. In most cases, 300m is more than adequate for
building your form. However, for someone training for a 100km mountain trail run, a
few sessions consisting of 600m hill repeats might better meet their needs.
An example of an endurance hill session would be two sets of five repeats of 300m
with three to five minutes rest between sets. The speed at which you run the hill
should be somewhere between 5km and 10km race pace, and your focus should
be on maintaining correct form by leaning into the hill from your ankles, letting the
hill come to you and allowing you to land on the forefoot and under your centre of
gravity, head looking forward and shoulders relaxed with arms moving comfortably.
Keep a good rhythm, control your breathing, and keep the pace constant.
3. Eccentric and speed development: To build eccentric strength – when
REGISTERED COACH
H
ill training includes a number of short repetitions run up or down a specific
hill. A typical hill session would start with an easy 15 to 20-minute warm-up
jog, followed by running 100m up the hill at a fast pace before jogging
slowly back to your starting position, and then repeating a number of times. Your
session would end with an easy cool-down run. It’s hard work, but a fairly simple
concept, and you will reap the running benefits.
1. Strength: Hill training develops strength and power, which are the foundation
for developing speed. For strength training, the length of the hill should be kept
the muscle is lengthening and contracting at the same time – find a gradual
downhill, one so gentle that if you were running up this hill during a race you
wouldn’t even consider it a climb, then run fast down the hill, concentrating on
leaning forward from the ankles and shortening your stride to ensure that you
land on the forefoot. Make sure that you’re not leaning backwards and landing
on the heel, as is our tendency. A typical session would be three to six repeats
of 300m to 600m.
THE HILLS ARE CALLING
For a hilly race, include a few endurance sets and one or two eccentric hill sessions
in your training programme, and for races where you want to push times and go for
that PB, include some strength hill sessions. Just make sure you don’t do too many
hill sessions, thus risking injury, with downhill repetitions being especially tough on
the body.
About the Author:
Ray is a USA Track & Field and NAASFP certified coach. Find him at www.runetics.com.
BODY SCIENCE
Beginner Q&A
Most new runners tend to ask the same
basic questions when they first start lacing
up their running shoes. Here are the answers
to a few of the more common ones.
– BY ERNEST HOBBES
Q: How much and how often should I run?
A: This depends greatly on your current ability and goals. If
you are a complete novice, start with two 20-30min run-
walk-runs on non-consecutive days for the first two or three
weeks, focussing on doing less walking and more running.
Following this, increase frequency to three runs a week. If
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ISSUE 115 FEBRUARY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Looking for that one sure-fire session that’s going to help
you run that elusive PB? Then make sure you include hill
work in your training programme, as it will boost your
strength, endurance and speed. – BY RAY ORCHISON,