What is The Purpose of a Hill Workout?
What is The Purpose of a Hill Workout?
If you are a track athlete, you are probably familiar with hill workouts. These are typically done in the pre-season before the track season begins.
Hill workouts suit everyone, but the Incline, distance, and rest will vary depending on the event.
What is the purpose of a hill workout?
Athletes utilize hill workouts for different reasons depending on the coach or athlete’s goal. Most often, hill sprints are used to gain strength, improve acceleration ability, or provide an alternative conditioning method with resistance.
Hill workouts are for the following reasons:
- To increase strength
- Improve acceleration ability
- Alternative to sled pulls if you do not have the equipment (although sled pulls might be more effective)
- Another form of conditioning
- To teach specific aspects of the sprinting technique
I am not a distant runner so that I will focus on sprints. However, if you are into running longer distances, you can still do hill workouts; your desired outcome from the workouts might differ.
Finding the correct hill with the proper slope can be tricky. You want the Incline to be significant enough to give you the drive to force your knees up.
As a post-collegiate athlete, wife, and mom, I use hill workouts for two reasons. The first reason is that they are more convenient and accessible when I can’t reach the track or the gym. It is effortless for me to find a hill in the neighborhood without going far.
It also allows me to do sprinting conditioning without being on a track or treadmill. Switching it up and still condition helps a lot on days when I’ll miss a workout.
As a wife and mom, I must make specific workouts work to continue growing. This season’s method of hill workouts works for me, so that is what we are doing.
That said, I only use them when I haven’t worked out in a long time, but not during the main part of my training season. Again, the only time I would use them during my season is if I have no access to a track or gym, then I make it work.
Honestly, hills are a lifesaver to my fitness journey.
